Deutsche Post Finance B.V., Maastricht
7
The bond issued by the Company and maturing on the 27
.
June 2022 is guaranteed by Deutsche
Post AG, hence from an investor’s point of view the risk of Deutsche Post AG is the relevant risk.
For further details of the financial risk management of the Company, it is referred to note (16) of
the notes to these financial statements and to the Annual Report 2021 of the Group.
As legally compliant conduct in the Company’s business activities and in its interactions with
employees is an essential task of all Deutsche Post DHL Group management bodies, the Company
has to ensure compliance which is monitored by control processes.
The Group’s Code of Conduct and Anti-Corruption Policy, along with training on these topics,
help employees identify situations in which the integrity of the company could be called into
question with respect to relevant third parties. Potential violations can be reported around the
clock, including via a special web application, among other things.
With its compliance management system (CMS) the Group has implemented effective measures
for the prevention of corruption and bribery throughout the whole Deutsche Post DHL Group
including the Company.
The reported tip-offs are reviewed internally for possible violations using a standardized process.
Information on relevant violations is collected and included in the regular compliance reports
made to the Board of Management. In 2021, no instances have been reported with respect to
Deutsche Post Finance B.V.
1.9 Future business developments
Following the robust economic recovery in the reporting period, worldwide growth is expected
to continue in 2022. However, as indications showed in the second half of 2021, GDP growth will
slow to some 4 %, which is still approximately one percentage point above the long-term trend.
IHS Markit has forecast the following GDP growth for key countries and regions in 2022: China
is anticipated to post growth of 5,3 %, moderate for Chinese standards, after its race to catch up
in 2021. At 3,7 %, growth in the United States is likely to far outpace the prevailing trend once
again for reasons including fiscal policy. A rate of 2,9 % is forecast for Japan. Growth of 3,7 % is
predicted for the Eurozone. IHS Markit has recently projected growth of 3,4 % for the German
economy, a conservative estimate in view of the higher forecasts issued by the IMF in January
2022 (3,8 %) and even by the German Council of Economic Experts in November 2021 (4,6 %).
A sustained global driver of growth will continue to be the structural shift in consumer habits
towards e-commerce. The current stabilisation phase reflects the unusually high growth in the
early phase of the pandemic. During 2022 e-commerce demand is projected to grow once more
based on increased market volumes and to make a disproportionately high contribution to GDP
growth in the medium term.
As the Company is one of the most important financing vehicles of the Group, the financial
position, especially the liquidity situation and the planned capital expenditures of the Group, very
much affects the business development of the Company.
Due to the Group’s dividend payment for the 2021 financial year in May 2022, the repayment of
the Company’s bond in June 2022 and the expected closing of the Hillebrand acquisition, the
Group’s liquidity is expected to decrease up to mid-year 2022. Due to the usually good business
development in the second half of the year, the liquidity situation will improve again towards the
end of the year 2022.
In order to further support the Group’s strategic aims and further growth even at the expected
higher level, the Group intends to increase capital expenditure (excluding leasing) in 2022 to
around EUR 4,2 billion.