With the conclusion of the collective bargaining negotiations in Germany, inflation is currently only a risk of low significance to the Group.
As was described in the section on the change in risk exposure after the reporting date in the 2024 Annual Report, changes to customs-related and commercial regulations arising from US trade policy represent a risk of medium significance to us as of June 30, 2025. The risk could substantially increase in the future if trade conflicts worsen and other countries take retaliatory measures. We also assess VAT-free letter mail services by competitors, as described in the same section of the 2024 Annual Report, to be a risk of medium significance for Post & Parcel Germany.
In the case of the civil suit filed by one postal service provider for repayment of allegedly excessive conveyance fees for standard letters delivered in 2017, the plaintiff’s appeal against non-permission was dismissed by the German Federal Court of Justice. Risks from the regulatory framework of the German post and parcel market are therefore now only of low significance to the Group.
The Group’s overall opportunity and risk situation did not otherwise change significantly during the first half of 2025 compared with the situation described in the 2024 Annual Report. Based upon the Group’s early-warning system, and in the estimation of its Board of Management, there are currently no identifiable risks for the Group that, individually or collectively, cast doubt upon the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern. Nor are any such risks apparent in the foreseeable future.
