German mail and logistics company Deutsche Post DHL saw first quarter net profit rise 80 per cent to €1.7 billion compared to €944 million in the same quarter last year, thanks to a €1.4 billion one-off gain on the sale of its stake in the Postbank banking unit. Consolidated revenue climbed by 4.4 per cent to €12 billion, buoyed by the continuing recovery of the world economy and rising transport volumes, the company said.

“Our first quarter results demonstrate clearly that we are well prepared for the future,’’ said CEO Frank Appel. “We have broadly improved our performance, but there is much more to accomplish.’’

Deutsche Post’s underlying earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT, improved by 81.4 per cent to €566 million compared to €312 million in the first quarter of 2009. The company confirmed its guidance for the fiscal year, saying that EBIT is expected to come in at the “upper end of the forecast range of €1.6 billion to €1.9 billion,’’ as compared to €1.47 billion in 2009.” The encouraging start to the new year confirms our fundamental optimism about 2010, CFO Larry Rosen said.

“In the future our goal is to achieve a stable result in the mail division and for DHL to become the driving force of growth in consolidated net profit,’’ Rosen said. “Even though we continue to face economic, political and regulatory uncertainties, we are increasingly optimistic about the future.”