Frank Appel, Deutsche Post DHL Group CEO, said the global logistics services provider is on track to reach an operating profit of 5 billion euro (U.S. $6.1 billion) by 2020.
Appel said the company will reach an operating profit (EBIT) of 4.14 billion euros ($5.01 billion) in this current fiscal year.
“We are strongly positioned for a successful future,” Appel told the group’s annual general meeting in Bonn, Germany this week.
Appel said the main driver for this revenue growth within the company is e-commerce. In 2020, an estimated 2.1 billion people globally are expected to shop online, with an overall value of $4.1 trillion.
DHL Parcel Europe’s network, for example, already covers 26 European countries. Bulgaria, Ireland, Croatia and Romania were added in 2017. More than 60,000 parcel drop-off or pick-up points are now available on the continent, Appel said.
He rejected some countries’ efforts to impose barriers to cross-border trade. “If you build new barriers, you will not be successful in the long term,” Appel said. “Protectionism is the wrong path, no matter where it is or what form it takes.”
Deutsche Post DHL Group experienced an increase in consolidated EBIT of 7.2 percent in 2017 to achieve 3.74 billion euros ($4.57 billion). The group’s gross revenue in 2017 was up 5.4 percent to 60.4 billion euros ($73.8 billion).