Deutsche Post Withdraws 2020 Guidance, Warns of Virus Hit

   By Cristina Roca

Deutsche Post AG scrapped its 2020 outlook and said the coronavirus dealt a 200 million euro ($216.1 million) hit to its earnings before interest and tax, or EBIT, during the months of February and April.

For the first quarter of the year, EBIT should be about EUR590 million, the German freight-and-logistics said. This includes a EUR230 cost booked for the restructuring of the company's Streetscooter business.

The company withdrew its 2020 guidance, saying the situation worsened in March, when all its divisions felt the effects of the global spread of the pandemic. The overall hit to the company's EBIT from the virus was EUR50 million in February and EUR150 million in March, DHL said.

DHL said it couldn't yet issue new guidance. "While we see an encouraging development in our Chinese business in recent weeks, Europe and North America are still at an earlier stage of the pandemic," the company said.

It did, however, back its 2022 EBIT guidance.

DHL said it was pushing back its annual meeting, which was planned for May 13, to a later date.

The company will report full first-quarter figures on May 12.

Write to Cristina Roca at cristina.roca@dowjones.com; @_cristinaroca

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 07, 2020 12:54 ET (16:54 GMT)

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