The weakened market and the historic transformation of the postal industry made 2013 challenging for Itella. Our net sales grew slightly, but our result weakened compared to 2012.
The highlight business of the year was OpusCapita, which offers financial management outsourcing services. The company recorded a strong result after a difficult 2012. OpusCapita is a prime example of the significance of determined operational development.
Itella Logistics continued to make a loss. We carried out a large number of measures to change the direction of the development. Warehouse logistics in Russia recorded a positive result.
Considering the transformation of the postal industry, the relative profitability of Itella Mail Communications remained fairly satisfactory. In terms of operations and sales, we had a strong Christmas season. Consequently, the fourth quarter was the strongest quarter of the year, as it has been in previous years. Ensuring a relatively strong performance and balance sheet were our key goals in a situation where mail volume development in the near future is uncertain.
Heikki Malinen
President and CEO