Group revenue increased by €2,428 million to €84,186 million in the 2024 fiscal year. Revenue in the Express division saw a slight increase of 0.8%. In the Global Forwarding, Freight division, revenue increased by 2.1% in the year under review to €18,403 million due to higher volumes and freight rates. Revenue of €230 million from DHL Logistics, which was fully consolidated for the first time in December 2023, contributed to the increase. New business deals and contract extensions generated a further increase in revenue in the Supply Chain segment. In the eCommerce division, revenue was 9.9% up on the prior-year figure of €6,174 million due to higher volumes. Revenue of €237 million from MNG Kargo, which was acquired in October 2023, contributed to the increase. At €16,893 million, revenue in the Post & Parcel Germany division in the fiscal year exceeded the prior-year figure by 3.0%. The upward trend continued to be driven by the sustained growth in the Parcel Germany business unit, while the German letter mail business declined as expected.
The contract liabilities recognized at the beginning of the fiscal year primarily led to revenue in the fiscal year.
The following table shows the factors affecting revenue:
FACTORS AFFECTING REVENUE
€m
2024
Organic growth
2,206
Portfolio changes
467
Currency translation effects
–245
Total revenue increase
2,428
The allocation of revenue to geographical regions is presented in the segment reporting.
12 Other operating income
€m
2023
2024
Income from the remeasurement and derecognition of liabilities
377
462
Insurance-related income
403
435
Income from currency translation
452
341
Income from the reversal and remeasurement of provisions
353
239
Operating lease income
209
202
Income from fees and reimbursements
130
151
Income from the disposal of assets
88
72
Income from prior-period billings
66
59
Income from loss compensation
40
55
Subsidies
48
47
Sublease income
42
36
Miscellaneous other operating income
579
685
Total
2,787
2,784
Other operating income fell by €3 million year on year.
While income from currency translation declined, there was an increase in insurance-related income and income from the remeasurement and derecognition of liabilities.
Income from operating leases was attributable mainly to leasing of the aircraft fleet’s cargo space.
In addition to a large number of smaller individual items, miscellaneous other operating income also includes dividend income of €2 million (previous year: €24 million).
13 Changes in inventories and work performed and capitalized
€m
2023
2024
Income (+)/expenses (–) from changes in inventories
–47
–13
Work performed and capitalized
212
243
Total
165
230
Changes in inventories are attributable largely to real estate development projects, while work performed and capitalized largely relates to IT projects.
14 Material expense
€m
2023
2024
Cost of raw materials, consumables and supplies and of goods purchased and held for resale
Aircraft fuel
3,058
2,796
Fuel
1,149
1,111
Packaging material
450
435
Goods purchased and held for resale
403
364
Spare parts and repair materials
171
174
Branch and office expenses
81
82
Other expenses
217
223
5,529
5,185
Cost of purchased services
Transport costs
28,158
29,067
Cost of temporary staff and services
2,620
2,780
Maintenance costs
2,018
2,326
IT services
856
873
Lease expenses
Of which short-term leases
538
524
Of which leases (incidental expenses)
274
296
Of which low-value asset leases
108
104
Of which variable lease payments
25
26
Commissions paid
627
687
Other purchased services
910
898
36,134
37,581
Material expense
41,663
42,766
Material expense increased particularly due to higher transport costs in the Global Forwarding, Freight division and higher expenditure on maintenance.
Aircraft fuel expenses include additional costs for sustainable aircraft fuels in the amount of €121 million (previous year: €113 million) that DHL Group uses as part of its decarbonization measures.
The other expenses item includes furthermore a large number of individual items.
15 Staff costs/employees
€m
2023
2024
Wages, salaries and compensation
21,599
22,563
Social security contributions
3,286
3,529
Retirement benefit expenses
976
997
Cost of other services for employees
1,116
1,216
Staff costs
26,977
28,305
Staff costs relate mainly to wages, salaries and compensation, as well as all other benefits paid to employees of the Group for their services in the fiscal year. The increase results primarily from wage and salary raises and from staff acquired as part of company acquisitions in the past year.
Social security contributions relate, in particular, to statutory social security contributions paid by employers.
Retirement benefit expenses include the service cost related to the defined benefit retirement plans, note 37. These expenses also include contributions to defined contribution retirement plans for civil servants in Germany in the amount of €285 million (previous year: €303 million), as well as for the Group’s hourly workers and salaried employees in the amount of €543 million (previous year: €507 million), note 7.
The average number of Group employees in the reporting period, broken down by employee group, was as follows:
EMPLOYEES
2023
2024
Headcount (annual average)
Salaried employees and hourly workers
569,266
576,842
Civil servants
17,341
15,565
Trainees
4,805
5,180
Total
591,412
597,587
Full-time equivalents1
As of December 31
551,233
559,051
Average for the year
547,692
551,578
1 Including trainees.
The employees of companies acquired or disposed of during the fiscal year were included on a pro rata basis. The number of full-time equivalents at joint operations included in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2024, amounted to 637 on a proportionate basis (previous year: 621).
16 Depreciation, amortization and impairment losses
€m
20231
2024
Amortization of and impairment losses on intangible assets (excluding goodwill), of which 0 (previous year: 2) impairment losses
257
273
Depreciation of and impairment losses on property, plant and equipment, of which 3 (previous year: 19) impairment losses
Land and buildings
299
321
Technical equipment and machinery
483
521
Transport equipment
369
397
Aircraft
556
580
IT equipment
137
138
Operating and office equipment
104
114
1,948
2,071
Depreciation of and impairment losses on right-of-use assets, of which 0 (previous year: 9) impairment losses
Depreciation, amortization and impairment losses increased due to investments, notes 22and 23.
The impairment losses are spread among the various asset classes and segments as follows:
IMPAIRMENT LOSSES
€m
2023
2024
Property, plant and equipment
17
0
Express
17
0
Intangible assets
2
0
Global Forwarding, Freight
2
0
Property, plant and equipment
2
3
Right-of-use assets
8
0
Supply Chain
10
3
Property, plant and equipment
1
0
Post & Parcel Germany
1
0
Impairment losses
30
3
Impairment losses in the previous year largely related to the Express division and were attributable exclusively to the most recent measurement of aircraft prior to reclassification to assets held for sale, note 32.
17 Other operating expenses
€m
2023
2024
Cost of purchased cleaning and security services
669
717
Warranty expenses, refunds and compensation payments
538
610
Travel and training costs
361
372
Other business taxes
363
371
Expenses for advertising and public relations
372
357
Currency translation expenses
433
342
Insurance costs
292
322
Office supplies
242
236
Telecommunication costs
238
232
Entertainment and corporate hospitality expenses
213
228
Customs-clearance-related charges
226
225
Consulting costs (including tax advice)
139
145
Write-downs and remeasurements
67
125
Voluntary social benefits
103
117
Losses on disposal of assets
97
113
Monetary transaction costs
108
112
Contributions and fees
102
109
Commissions paid
109
104
Services provided by the Bundesanstalt für Post und Telekommunikation (German federal post and telecommunications agency)
101
103
Miscellaneous other operating expenses
636
616
Total
5,409
5,556
Other operating expenses rose by €147 million year on year. Expenses for cleaning and security increased primarily due to new locations and customer contracts, while currency translation expenses declined.
Taxes other than income taxes are either recognized in the related expense item or, if no specific allocation is possible, in other operating expenses.
Miscellaneous other operating expenses include a large number of smaller individual items.
18 Net finance costs
€m
2023
2024
Financial income
Interest income
247
221
Gains on changes in fair value of financial assets and liabilities
133
133
Other financial income
28
30
408
384
Finance costs
Interest expense on leases
–540
–668
Interest expense from financing
–115
–149
Interest expense from unwinding discounts on provisions
–74
–106
Other interest expenses
–118
–111
Losses on changes in fair value of financial assets and liabilities
–161
–162
Other finance costs
–63
–22
–1,071
–1,218
Foreign-currency result
–167
11
Net finance costs
–830
–823
Of interest income, €34 million (previous year: €29 million) relates to income from finance lease receivables. Further disclosures on interest income and expenses are contained in note 44.
The expense from the unwinding of discounts on bonds resulting from the application of the effective interest method amounted to €12 million (previous year: €12 million).
Gains and losses on changes in fair value of financial assets and liabilities primarily relate to pension plans in the United States.
The foreign-currency result includes net monetary gains of €60 million (previous year: €10 million) related to financial reporting in hyperinflationary economies.
Information on interest expenses from unwinding discounted net pension provisions can be found in note 37.
19 Income taxes
€m
2023
2024
Current income tax expense
–1,472
–1,415
Current recoverable income tax
25
22
–1,447
–1,393
Deferred tax income (previous year: expense) from temporary differences
–46
23
Deferred tax expense from tax loss carryforwards
–87
–124
–133
–101
Income taxes
–1,580
–1,494
DHL Group falls within the scope of the Pillar Two global minimum taxation rules. These require a top-up tax to be paid on profits in jurisdictions with an effective tax rate of less than 15%. The Group’s current income tax expense as a result of the Pillar Two taxation rules is €3 million.
The reconciliation to the effective income tax expense based on consolidated net profit before income taxes and the expected income tax expense (tax rate 30.5%; previous year: 30.5%) is as follows:
RECONCILIATION
€m
2023
2024
Profit before income taxes
5,513
5,063
Expected income taxes
–1,681
–1,544
Deferred tax assets not recognized for tax loss carryforwards and temporary differences
94
27
Effect from previous years on current taxes
–7
13
Tax-exempt income
55
19
Non-deductible expenses
–313
–279
Differences in tax rates at foreign companies
269
232
Other tax effects
3
38
Income taxes
–1,580
–1,494
Effects from deferred tax assets not recognized for tax loss carryforwards and temporary differences in the amount of €25 million (previous year: €38 million) relate to the reduction of the effective income tax expense due to the utilization of tax loss carryforwards and temporary differences, for which deferred tax assets had previously not been recognized. In addition, the recognition of deferred tax assets previously not recognized for tax loss carryforwards and of deductible temporary differences from a prior period reduced the deferred tax expense by €40 million (previous year: €100 million). Other effects from unrecognized deferred tax assets relate primarily to tax loss carryforwards for which no deferred taxes were recognized. Tax rate changes also had no material effects.
A deferred tax asset in the amount of €29 million (previous year: €41 million) was recognized in the balance sheet for companies that reported a loss in the previous year or in the current period as, based on tax planning, the realization of the tax asset is probable.
The following table presents the tax effects on the components of other comprehensive income:
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
2023
2024
€m
Before
taxes
Income
taxes
After
taxes
Before
taxes
Income
taxes
After
taxes
Change due to remeasurements of net pension provisions
–800
97
–703
476
–19
457
Hedging reserves
–39
27
–12
86
–26
60
Reserve for equity instruments without recycling
–18
–1
–19
3
–1
2
Currency translation reserve
–585
0
–585
594
0
594
Investments accounted for using the equity method
–1
0
–1
2
0
2
Other comprehensive income
–1,443
123
–1,320
1,161
–46
1,115
20 Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share are computed in accordance with IAS 33, Earnings per Share, by dividing the consolidated net profit by the weighted average number of shares outstanding. Outstanding shares relate to issued capital less any treasury shares held.
Basic earnings per share for the 2024 fiscal year were €2.86 (previous year: €3.09).
BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE
20231
2024
Consolidated net profit for the period attributable to Deutsche Post AG shareholders
To compute diluted earnings per share, the weighted average number of shares outstanding is adjusted for the number of all potentially dilutive shares. This item includes the executives’ rights to shares under the Performance Share Plan and Share Matching Scheme (as of December 31, 2024: 3,134,102 shares; previous year: 3,891,455) and the maximum number of ordinary shares that can be issued on exercise of the conversion rights under the convertible bond issued in December 2017. Consolidated net profit for the period attributable to Deutsche Post AG shareholders was increased by the amounts spent for the convertible bond.
Diluted earnings per share in the reporting period were €2.81 (previous year: €3.04).
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE
20231
2024
Consolidated net profit for the period attributable to Deutsche Post AG shareholders
€m
3,675
3,332
Plus interest expense on the convertible bond
€m
8
8
Less income taxes
€m
2
2
Adjusted consolidated net profit for the period attributable to Deutsche Post AG shareholders
€m
3,681
3,338
Weighted average number of shares outstanding
Number
1,188,885,217
1,166,162,127
Potentially dilutive shares
Number
22,764,214
21,689,388
Weighted average number of shares for diluted earnings
A dividend per share of €1.85 is being proposed for the 2024 fiscal year (previous year: €1.85 paid). Further details on the dividend distribution can be found in note 35.
