Two out of three steps complete

For the subsidiary, this certification is another important step towards accreditation as a De-Mail service provider. With this move, Federal Data Protection Commissioner Schaar has signalled that the De-Mail service to be provided by FP via Mentana-Claimsoft in future is consistent with data protection legislation. The basis for his positive assessment was an expert report that examined the fulfilment of the requirements set out in the De-Mail criteria catalogue. 

In December 2011, Mentana-Claimsoft GmbH became the first future De-Mail provider to receive ISO 27001 certification on the basis of IT baseline protection from the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). This confirms the security of the De-Mail infrastructure of the FP subsidiary. ”With the second certification that we have now received from the BfDI, our goal of sending the first official De-Mails in the near future is within our grasp,” commented Andreas Drechsler, member of the Management Board of Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG. 

The final hurdle

Now there is only one more certificate that the BSI must issue to Mentana-Claimsoft GmbH, recognising the existence of a performance and operability test. ”We hope that the rest of the process will be completed quickly and that we will soon have accreditation as a De-Mail provider in our hands. We will then present the business model at CeBIT,” Drechsler continued.

De-Mail increases the level of security when exchanging documents electronically. It is a legally binding and secure communication infrastructure by which digital letters can be sent with special legal effect in Germany. The De-Mail Act provides the legal basis for this. De-Mail is of particular interest to senders who otherwise send documents in physical format, such as authorities and companies. Reminders, invoices, delivery notes, confirmations of orders, notifications, personal data or registered post with advice of receipt are examples of important mail that can be delivered completely electronically and in a legally binding manner by De-Mail in future.

Mentana-Claimsoft AG, a subsidiary of Francotyp-Postalia (FP), is the first future De-Mail provider to receive ISO 27001 certification on the basis of IT-Grundschutz (IT baseline protection) from the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). The certificate, which Mentana boardmember Axel Janhoff received at the BSI in Bonn on Friday, confirms the security of Mentana-Claimsoft AG’s De-Mail infrastructure. 

The “ISO 27001 certificate on the basis of IT-Grundschutz” is a crucial milestone en route to accreditation as a De-Mail provider. It certifies the successful conclusion of an extensive audit, which Mentana-Claimsoft AG has undergone in recent months. “The so-called security of the information domain was examined”, explains Friedrich Hembach from the BSI. “That starts with the technical infrastructure and ends with the measures to protect against fire in the computer centre. The question of whether responsible persons have been defined for specific tasks – and whether these report directly to the executive management in order to have rapid access to the decision-makers in cases of doubt – also plays a key role.” The audit was carried out by auditors certified by the BSI. The time-consuming process usually takes several months. “Obtaining certification has placed considerable demands on us in recent weeks”, explains Janhoff. “We have documented vast quantities of existing technology and processes, provided evidence and answered questions – this naturally makes the fact that we now have the certificate even more gratifying.”  

Three certificates are required in total to obtain accreditation as a De-Mail provider from the BSI. Evidence has already been provided for the area of information security as part of the ISO 27001 certification on the basis of IT-Grundschutz. A data protection certificate (as defined in article 18 (3) No. 4 of the De-Mail Act), which is issued by the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI), is also required. And there is a function and operability test, for which, if passed successfully, the BSI issues a certificate. “We assume that our subsidiary, Mentana-Claimsoft, will soon have all the requisite evidence and will receive accreditation as a De-Mail provider correspondingly rapidly. We will finally be able to start the service at the beginning of 2012”, explains Andreas Drechsler, CSO of Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG.  

De-Mail increases the level of security when exchanging documents electronically. It is a legally binding and secure communication infrastructure by which digital letters can be sent with special legal effect in Germany. The De-Mail Act provides the legal basis for this. De-Mail is of particular interest to senders who otherwise send documents in physical format, such as authorities and companies. Reminders, invoices, delivery notes, confirmations of orders, notifications, personal data or registered post with advice of receipt are examples of important mail that can be delivered completely electronically and in a legally binding manner by De-Mail in future.

Further information on the ISO 27001 certification process can be found in the press area of the BSI website at www.bsi.bund.de.

In 2011, the FP Group is taking decisive steps in its development into a complete service provider. Results in the first nine months of 2011 are therefore characterised by important measures such as restructuring production, preparing for the launch of the new Phoenix franking system and entering the fully electronic mail communication market. The FP Group generated EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, net financial income, depreciation and amortisation) of EUR 8.4 million, against EUR 18.9 million in the same period of the previous year. EBITDA adjusted for restructuring costs amounted to EUR 17.3 million. Restructuring costs contributed significantly to the fact that the company posted consolidated net income before non-controlling interests of EUR -5.1 million in the first nine months of 2011, compared with EUR 0.8 million in the prior-year period.

As well as the restructuring costs totalling EUR 8.9 million, lower savings in personnel costs from the site continuation agreement that expired in the summer also had a negative impact on results. In this context combined with the rapid slowdown of the economic situation in many industrialised nations, which could not have been predicted at the start of the year, negative exchange rate effects related to revenues of EUR 1.6 million in total and the resulting negative effect on the margin, the company expects EBITDA before restructuring costs for 2011 as a whole of EUR 22 million to EUR 23 million in place of the previous EUR 25 to EUR 27 million, with revenue between EUR 160 million and EUR 165 million.

Assuming that depreciation and amortisation will total approximately EUR 14.9 million in the current year gives consolidated net income before restructuring costs of EUR 2.5 million to EUR 3.0 million. This equates to adjusted earnings per share of EUR 0.17 to EUR 0.20. “This result shows that the FP Group can operate profitably in a challenging market environment in a sustainable way,” explains Hans Szymanski, Chairman of the FP Group Management Board.

Savings around EUR 3 million from 2012

This operative strength has enabled many more forward-looking in-vestments in the current financial year in addition to the development of production in Wittenberge and work on Phoenix. These include the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Mentana-Claimsoft, a specialist in fully electronic mail communication and one of the first De-Mail providers in Germany, as well as the certification of our franking ma-chines in France, the largest European market. After nine months, the FP Group has cash flow from investing activities of € –11.4 million. In addition, the company will continue to reduce debt considerably in the current year. EUR 10.0 million will be channelled into normal and non-scheduled repayments of a bank loan. “With all these measures, we have laid the key foundations to strengthen our profitability and financial clout sustainably from 2012. Restructuring of production in Wittenberge alone is likely to result in annual savings amounting to approximately EUR 3 million from the second quarter of 2012,” says Szymanski.

„Mit unseren beiden Unternehmen schließen sich zwei große Marktteilnehmer zusammen und können sich damit im Wettbewerb stärker positionieren“, so freesort-Geschäftsführer Christian Queißer. „Die Zusammenarbeit bietet uns die Möglichkeit, Kunden anzusprechen, die bislang ausschließlich mit der Deutschen Post versendet haben“, ergänzt Gerd Feldgiebel, Geschäftsführer der CITIPOST GmbH.

Schaffung von zusätzlichen Arbeitsplätzen

freesort erwartet durch die Partnerschaft mit CITIPOST in den nächsten drei Jahren eine deutliche Volumensteigerung für das Sortierzentrum Hannover. „Wir überlegen sogar, zusätzliche Arbeitsplätze aufzubauen“, erklärt freesort-Geschäftsführer Christian Queißer weiter. Derzeit beschäftigt die Tochtergesellschaft von Francotyp-Postalia (FP) 180 Angestellte an acht Standorten. „Darüber hinaus können wir dank der Kooperation unseren Kunden im Raum Hannover pro Produkt bundesweit einheitlich günstige Preise anbieten“, erklärt Queißer weiter. Regionale Unterschiede in der Preisgestaltung gehören damit der Vergangenheit an.

Marktangebot verbessern und Vertrieb stärken

„Wir haben uns vorgenommen, die von uns beförderten Briefsendungen in den nächsten drei Jahren zu verdoppeln und allen Kunden ein noch besseres Angebot anzubieten als in der Vergangenheit. Unsere Stärken, der regionale Vertrieb und der direkte Kundenkontakt, werden uns dabei zu Gute kommen“, führt Lars Rehmann, weiterer Geschäftsführer der CITIPOST GmbH, aus.

Beide Unternehmen sind überzeugt, einen richtungsweisenden Schritt für die Zukunft mit dieser Partnerschaft einzugehen und setzen Vertrauen in den jeweiligen Partner. Abschließend erklärten beide Geschäftsführer übereinstimmend, dass die Vertragsgespräche im Vorfeld zielführend, sachlich und in einer vertrauensvollen Atmosphäre geführt wurden.

In the next few weeks, the FP Group will also begin production of the first machines of the new Phoenix franking system in Wittenberge, before the start-up of series production in the first quarter of 2012. The FP Group sees great potential in the Phoenix and is thus investing in this new franking platform, which distinguishes itself through countless innovations in the areas of mechatronics, software control and distribution processes. The Phoenix is to replace the franking machines optimail 30 and ultimail 60 and 90 in the mid-market product segment.

“The Phoenix is more than just a franking machine”, explains Hans Szymanski, CEO of FP. “Only with such innovative products can the FP Group achieve success in an intensely competitive market and an economic slowdown as currently seen in our domestic market in Germany. The new manufacturing site in Wittenberge is the crucial precondition enabling the Phoenix and other products to be offered at competitive prices.“ 

Redundancy scheme for Birkenwerder

The situation at the site in Birkenwerder is shaped by the impending closure of the production site on 31 March 2012. The company is currently deploying additional temporary workers to this site in order to achieve a punctual dispatch of the franking systems. For the 111 employees at the Birkenwerder production site facing redundancy, the total volume of the redundancy scheme was set at approximately EUR 7 million by the conciliation body at the end of August, against the votes of the employers. Francotyp-Postalia has entered into legal action over this decision which, in the Management Board’s view, oversteps the limit of what is economically reasonable for the company. The legality of the decision of the conciliation body will argued before the labour court in mid-November.

Despite this, Hans Szymanski is looking forward: “In the future, the FP Group will have flexible production – an important precondition for global competition.”

PROSERVICE, a company of the Sparkassen financial group and headquartered in Sankt Augustin, currently employs a workforce of 180 at three logistics sites. PROSERVICE provides services outside of the core business areas of the financial service providers and has established itself nationwide as a Sparkassen partner in consulting, logistics, accounting and procurement. 

Through its cooperation partnership with freesort, PROSERVICE can now offer all its customers a nationwide mail consolidation service. Mail consolidation means that freesort collects, franks and delivers the letters, which are pre-sorted according to the first two digits of the postcode, to Deutsche Post. Deutsche Post is responsible for consolidation of the various mail items and their delivery, but PROSERVICE entrusts the aftercare services, such as the handling of complaints, enquiries and return deliveries, to freesort. 

Christian Queißer, Managing Director of freesort, explains the advantages for PROSERVICE: “Thanks to our pre-sorting services and the huge amount of letters we deliver, we receive part-performance discounts from Deutsche Post that we pass on to PROSERVICE in the form of postage discounts.” The customer also benefits from this: no Sparkasse acting alone would be in a position to offer discounts of this magnitude and reduce costs to such a degree. This is thanks primarily to the huge volume of mail delivered.

The FP-Group can thus launch franking machines in the largest European franking machine market. In line with the legal regulations, franking machines in France may only be leased. The Management Board is therefore not expecting any large effect on revenue and earnings in 2011, since leasing is successful on the basis of recurring income and on a medium and long term basis.

Consolidation of worldwide position

The FP Group is benefitting from a streamlined approval procedure by the French postal service and in this way achieved a swift approval for the franking machine. With approx. 230,000 franking machines installed, France is the largest market in Europe. Like the American market, this is exclusively a rental market. “In the coming year, we will expand our sales in France, so that we can structure our market launch successfully,” commented Andreas Drechsler from the FP Management Board. „As in other countries, our top priority is to provide excellent service to convince French customers of the benefits of long-term cooperation.”

In France, the FP Group will also concentrate on the small and medium-sized machine segment. While in the area of large mail volumes, digital solutions are being used increasingly, the market for smaller mail volumes is stable. “With the market entry in France, we want to consolidate our worldwide position in the traditional franking business,” Drechsler continued.

The mymail is the smallest franking system in the FP Group’s product range.  The outstanding feature of the machine is a very simple operation. It can be reloaded via an internet connection, and prints advertising motifs and individually programmable text messages on an envelope. Integrated scales automatically find the right postage.

The company is a full service provider for mail communication. The company was launched more than 85 years ago as a manufacturer of franking and inserting systems. In recent years, the portfolio has been systematically expanded: The FP subsidiary, internet access GmbH (iab), is a specialist for software solutions for hybrid mail dispatch and freesort GmbH an important mail consolidation company in Germany. By purchasing the majority of shares in Mentana-Claimsoft AG at the start of 2011, the company acquired a future De-Mail provider. 

The highlight of this year’s trade fair stand will be electronic communications such as webpost, the international variant of the hybrid mail products from the FP Group, and De-Mail. Starting next year, De-Mail will enable citizens and official authorities and groups to share legally valid electronic documents online both safely and confidentially. The FP Group intends to offer this new service to its customers right from the very beginning, thus consolidating its position in the area of digital mail communication.  

Greater use of the Internet coupled with technological progress are opening up new communication possibilities and driving the convergence of digital and physical communication. “Our company is one of the pioneers of mail communications and can offer all channels, physical, hybrid and fully electronic. This makes us the first multi-channel-provider”, commented Drechsler. 

The FP Group is presenting all of its products and services for POST-EXPO visitors at Stand 6022.

More Information

In future, Francotyp-Postalia Vertrieb und Service GmbH will be responsible for all of the Group’s national sales activities. This will enable the company to interconnect products related to physical, semi-electronic and und fully electronic mail communications more closely. Axel Janhoff und Thomas Reinking will assume immediate responsibility for the management of Francotyp-Postalia Vertrieb und Service GmbH and therefore sales in Germany. The purpose of the new dual leadership is to promote successfully the multi-channel strategy.  Thomas Reinking, 46, has been with the company for 20 years, and Managing Director of FP Hanse in Hamburg since 2007. The 44-year old engineering graduate, Janhoff, is a member of the Management Board of Mentana-Claimsoft and a software development expert.

Andreas Drechsler, member of the FP Management Board, explained: “This step will enable us to bundle our skills and increase the customer orientation of our sales activities. We offer mail communications from under one roof and plan to build on this strength for the benefit of our customers”.

Restructuring costs and higher personnel costs have meant that the EBITDA result for the first half of the current financial year was EUR 3.9 million, compared with EUR 12.8 million in the same period of the previous year. The development of the new production line and the impending closure of the production site in Birkenwerder have resulted in restructuring costs of EUR 8.0 million in the first half of 2011. Thereof, a provision of EUR 5.4 million was made for the redundancy scheme in the second quarter, which comprises a total volume of EUR 7.5 million for the redundancy scheme. In addition, the company had made a provision of EUR 0.3 million in the first quarter 2011 for cost adjustments at its Dutch subsidiary. Thereby, the restructuring costs for the first half-year sum up to EUR 8.4 million, while EBITDA, adjusted for restructuring costs, therefore amounts to EUR 12.3 million. Owing to an increase in provisions, the companies’ consolidated net income before non-controlling interests in the first six months of the year amounted to EUR -4.2 million, against EUR -0.8 million in the same period of the previous year.

Growth in revenue of 22.6%

In the first six months of the current financial year, the FP Group increased revenue to EUR 80.9 million, against EUR 66.0 million for the previous year. This was largely due to the change in the reporting logic as part of the new regulations for sales tax on postal services in Germany that came into effect on 1 July 2010; this resulted in a positive revenue effect of around EUR 11.6 million in the first half of 2011. At the same time, the Group moved forward with its ongoing development into a complete service provider. In March, the company acquired a majority stake in Mentana-Claimsoft, which specialises in electronic signatures and is also a member of the De-Mail project.

Development of new direction for production will pay off from 2012

This successful ongoing development has been a major contributing factor in the FP Group reaffirming its forecast for 2011 as a whole. The company expects a revenue corridor of between EUR 160 and EUR 165 million and an EBITDA range of between EUR 25 and 27 million before restructuring costs. However, on account of higher personnel costs, the FP Group anticipates that the EBITDA result before restructuring costs will come in at the lower end of this range of between EUR 25 and EUR 27 million. Hans Szymanski, CEO of FP-Group, explains: “This restructuring is a measure of key importance in securing the future of the FP Group. It may impact our result in the current financial year, but from next year onwards we will benefit from it in the long term.”

In the fourth quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011, provisions of EUR 3.6 million were already made (EUR 2.1 million for staff costs and EUR 1.5 million for onerous contracts). The difference of EUR 5.4 million will additionally set aside in the second quarter of 2011.

Once these measures have been implemented, by the end of the first quarter of 2012 at the latest, and the new production site in Wittenberge has been completed, this expense will be offset by savings of around EUR 3 million a year.

Securing the future of the FP Group

All of the FP Group’s manufacturing activities will take place at the new production site in Wittenberge in future. Mechanical component manufacturing, and shipping activities will be assigned to external companies.

In the course of the current financial year, the first prototypes for the new Phoenix franking system will be assembled in Wittenberge. Series production is set to begin in the first quarter of 2012. The mymail and centormail franking machines will also be manufactured at the new production site in Wittenberge.

“The realignment of production will enable us to create necessary competitive conditions. This is a measure of key importance in securing the long-term future of the entire Group”, states Hans Szymanski, Chairman of the Management Board of Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG. 

The long-term agreement will cement the business relationship between the two companies. Hewlett-Packard and the FP Group have been working together for many years already. Up to now, HP’s printing technology with the certified ink has been used in the mymail and ultimail ranges. In future, it will also be deployed in the new Phoenix franking system. “This contract takes our partnership with Hewlett-Packard to a new level. In this way, we are making sure that HP’s high-quality printing technology will be available in our machines in future as well”, explains Hans Szymanski, Chairman of the Management Board of the FP Group.

Kathy Tobin is also extremely pleased about the conclusion of the contract: “Our long-term partnership with Francotyp-Postalia is built on trust and good cooperation. This contract emphasises our outstanding business relationship.”

According to the Works Council Constitution Act, the purpose of a reconciliation of interests is to reach an amicable agreement between the company and the Works Council on the type and scope of an operational change. Even with the input of an external mediator, the FP management and the Works Council were unable to come to an agreement yesterday. 

The company will now start to implement the planned measures and close production in Birkenwerder. In the arbitration proceedings, the negotiating parties will also discuss a redundancy scheme for the estimated 110 employees working in production at Birkenwerder who are likely to be made redundant. “The realignment of production is a measure of key importance in securing the long-term future of the entire Group”, states Hans Szymanski, CEO of Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG. “This will enable us to create the competitive conditions necessary in the long term that, unfortunately, we were unable to implement in Birkenwerder despite our extensive efforts”, Mr Szymanski goes on to say.

“We are delighted that the FP products are being so well received on the market,” explains Anton Kosar, Managing Director of Francotyp-Postalia GmbH in Austria. “Our outstanding service and optimum customer focus are the cornerstones of our success. The requirements of our customers will remain the core focus of our business in the future”, adds Mr Kosar.

Use of the new generation devices with 2D technology will become mandatory in Austria from 1 July 2013. FP Austria put the first franking machines with 2D technology into operation back in October 2009, after Austria Post issued a new standard for franking machines on 1 October 2009. This standard includes a stamp with an integrated 2D code. The machines are capable of meeting the most demanding security requirements and are extremely user-friendly.

Contact
Francotyp-Postalia GmbH
Anton Kosar
Doerenkampgasse 7
1100 Vienna
Tel: +43 (0) 1 68 0 69 0
E-mail: pr@francotyp.com

About the companies
Francotyp-Postalia Austria is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the global FP Group, the leading complete service provider for mail communication. The Austrian company was formed in 1994, following acquisition of the general agent Karl Zuza KG. With its head office in Vienna, the company is now mainly involved in the sale and distribution of franking and inserting machines throughout Austria. This is performed either directly or in cooperation with regional trading and service partners. FP Austria currently holds over 50% of the franking machine market in Austria and is the clear market leader in this segment. 

Francotyp-Postalia Austria is pioneering the use of hybrid mail in Austria. This innovative solution is a combination of electronic and physical post in which the sender sends a letter in digital form and the recipient receives a conventional letter. Francotyp-Postalia Austria takes care of the printing, inserting, franking and handing over of the letter to a third-party delivery agent.  

This service is now also set to become available to users of the largest employment and information portal of the Austrian municipalities registered with kommunalnet. Around 85% of Austria’s municipalities access this portal on a daily basis. With approximately 700,000 visits per month, it ranks among the leading portals in Austria in the area of E-Government and inter-communal cooperation. 

“We are delighted to have secured an important cooperation partner in kommunalnet so soon after the launch of our new service. A large number of users of the portal will now be able to benefit from secure, swift and environmentally friendly hybrid mail,” explains Anton Kosar, Managing Director of Francotyp-Postalia Austria. 

Lucas Sobotka, Managing Director of kommunalnet, is looking forward to the advantages arising from future cooperation with the hybrid mail provider. “We are continuing to expand our position in the E-Government market of relevance to local communities. Thanks to the use of user-friendly hybrid mail, the 2090 local communities registered with us can benefit from the service and streamline their postal communication processes,” adds Sobotka. 

For more information, visit http://www.webpost.com/austria 

About the companies 

Francotyp-Postalia Austria is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the global FP Group, the leading complete service provider for mail communication. The Austrian company was formed in 1994, following acquisition of the general agent Karl Zuza KG. With its head office in Vienna, the Company is now mainly involved in the sale and distribution of franking and inserting machines throughout Austria. This is performed either directly, or in cooperation with regional trading and service partners. FP Austria currently holds around 50% of the franking machine market in Austria and is the clear market leader in this segment. 

kommunalnet is the central employment and information portal of the Austrian Association of Municipalities, its regional associations and Kommunalkredit Austria AG.

The portal not only offers access to E-Government (federal and state applications) services, but also provides information of relevance to communities, financial data benchmarks for municipalities as well as check lists that support the day-to-day business of registered members and promote their inter-communal cooperation. Thanks to links to selected commercial providers (e.g. Rechtsdatenbank, LexisNexis, KSV and Staples Austria), the kommunalnet web portal also offers direct access to a range of databases and online shops.