Reporting its annual results for 2011, DHL saw its overall group net profit rise by 32.8 per cent to €2.4 billion, on sales up 2.8 per cent to €52.8 billion.

The group’s express division reported an operating profit (ebit) up 86.5 per cent to €927million on the back of sales which rose 22 per cent as the operator exited a number of domestic operations, including China, Canada and Australia. The growth was driven by a double-digit volume rise in international shipments.

The group said profits in its supply chain division rose by 56.7 per cent to €231 million last year on the back of sales up just over one per cent to €13.22 billion, which were affected by the sale of a US subsidiary. Adjusting for that and exchange rate effects, sales were up six per cent.

DHL said growth was particularly strong in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as in life sciences & healthcare and automotive sectors, seeing new business worth €1.3 billion.

Operating profit (ebit) in the forwarding division was up 12 per cent to €429 million on sales up 4.9 per cent to €15 billion. Profits in its mail division fell by 1.2 per cent despite a small rise in sales.

Group CEO Frank Appel said: “We hit all our targets, made very good progress with the implementation of our Strategy 2015 and further bolstered the already very strong platform for a sustainable
expansion of our earnings in the future.”