Deutsche Post DHL Group announced it is raising its short- and medium-term targets as its latest performance continued to top expectations — broadly supported by the continued strong momentum in global e-commerce and the simultaneous recovery in world trade.

In a statement, the logistics behemoth said it continued to grow dynamically in the first quarter of 2021 with the Group recording a 22% increase in revenue to EUR 18.9 billion US$22.8 billion) as operating profit (EBIT) more than tripled to EUR 1.9 billion (US$2.29 billion), making it the strongest opening quarter ever.

It said all its five divisions were able to significantly increase EBIT.

Against the backdrop of the good earnings performance, the DHL Group noted that it has raised its short- and medium-term targets. For 2021, the Group expects EBIT of more than EUR 6.7 billion (US$8 billion) from EUR 5.6 billion and free cash flow of more than EUR 3 billion (US$3.6 billion) from EUR 2.3 billion for 2021.

Its gross CAPEX was also set at EUR 3.4 billion earlier, which it raised to EUR 3.8 billion.

For 2023, the company forecasts EBIT of more than EUR 7 billion (US$8.45 billion) from EUR 6 billion earlier. 

"We had the best opening quarter ever and were able to unleash our full strength as a Group. All five of our divisions are on track for growth and are ideally positioned to benefit from the continuing boom in e-commerce and the resurgence in global trade. Our 570,000 employees are operating our networks more efficiently than ever before. This makes me optimistic about the future," said Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL Group.

"Because of our strategic investments in our networks, we are today in a position to benefit from the surge in demand, while simultaneously improving our efficiency," DHL's Frank Appel said.

"We expect further growth in the coming quarters, even with growth rates normalizing over time. We are therefore stepping up investments in our infrastructure to be able to continue to optimally serve higher shipment volumes," he added.