Czech Post sold half a billion CZK worth of real estate in the first half of the year

In the first half of this year, the Czech Post sold real estate for almost half a billion crowns. Last year, it sold unneeded buildings and land for CZK 690 million, while a year earlier it sold 50 buildings for CZK 1.2 billion, said spokesman Matyáš Vitík.

According to Vitík, the sale of assets is taking place continuously regardless of the closure of 300 branches last year. Last year, the post office sold 45 buildings. The company, on the other hand, backed out of selling the so-called main post office at the corner of Jindřišská Street and Politických vězňů Street in Prague 1 for about CZK 1.5 billion. Even with this building, the post office was counting on a proceeds from the sale of real estate of around CZK 2.5 billion this year.

"Currently, there is no offer for the purchase of Jindřišská, there are more options how to further dispose of the building. One of them is the possibility of issuing a contract for a leasing agent to help with the sale of the building," the spokesman said.

In the future, in addition to selling the property, the post office is also counting on a possible offer of the parcel services part of the business. Commercial Parcel is expected to be separated from the state-owned company next year. "At the beginning of August, the Czech Post will launch a tender for a consultant to help it with aspects related to the economic and legal transaction, the subject of which will be Balíkovna. One of the options is to sell 100 percent of Balíkovna. We expect the time horizon to be within 12 months from the selection of the advisor," the spokesman added.

The proceeds from the sale of Balíkovna will not exceed CZK 4 billion, but could be much lower, according to a statement by Post's CEO Miroslav Štěpán on Seznam Zprávy. It will depend on the subject of the transaction. According to him, it should be a sale of majority to 100 percent.

According to Štěpán, the Post Office will use the proceeds from the sale of the property to invest in the branch network, while the income from the eventual sale of Balíkovna would be used to modernise the network and finance the transformation process. Last year, the company reported a loss of CZK 756 million, which is CZK 1 billion less than in the previous year. Operating income, including income from the sale of assets, rose 0.9 percent to CZK 19.037 billion. This year, the company expects to break even.

Source: Czech Post and CTK