The financial results presented yesterday by Poste Italiane made headlines across all major national newspapers. “Higher profits for Poste, €617 million,” reads the headline in the Corriere della Sera, which also quoted Chief Executive Officer Matteo Del Fante: “With TIM we are enabling growth.” “It was the best first quarter in our history,” commented the CEO, announcing an upward revision of the guidance for full-year 2026: adjusted EBIT is now expected at €3.4 billion, up from the previously indicated €3.3 billion. The stock market welcomed the results, with shares rising 2.4% to €23.3, close to their historical highs. “The quarterly results,” observed the newspaper, “confirm Poste’s ability to generate value from its diversified businesses, offsetting the decline in traditional mail and low-margin activities with growth in logistics, digital payments, insurance and financial services.”
Upward Estimates
“Poste, record profitability. CEO: ‘Premium on TIM at 17%’” was the headline in Il Sole 24 Ore. The financial daily also referred to the announcement of the presentation of the new industrial plan scheduled for July 24: “At the core of the growth strategy of the group led by Del Fante and General Manager Giuseppe Lasco will be financial and insurance services — currently undergoing corporate simplification — which will account for 82% of operating profit. The growth driver will be the platform centered on payments, energy and digital identity.” La Repubblica ran the headline “Poste grows in the quarter,” quoting the CEO: “Fair price on TIM, we are leaders in telecommunications.” According to the newspaper, the record results presented yesterday “will improve further in 2027 thanks to synergies with TIM” and “will also have positive effects on dividends (which will increase by one digit in 2027 and by two digits in 2028).”
Value Creation for Shareholders
Milano Finanza also focused its analysis on the impact of the TIM transaction on the future. “Poste, more dividends with TIM” was the headline of the financial newspaper, which observed: “‘We have strengthened our conviction in the strategic value of the acquisition of control of TIM,’ declared Del Fante, recalling that the combination of Poste Italiane’s ICT activities with TIM’s consumer segment will create Italy’s leading mobile operator, launching a phase of domestic consolidation in the telecommunications sector. The entity resulting from the merger ‘will have a pro forma free float of approximately €20 billion, improving share liquidity, with a high-quality shareholder base.’” In Il Messaggero, under the headline “Poste, revenues at €3.5 billion. ‘With TIM, the dividend will rise,’” it was reported that: “The transaction ‘will generate significant value creation for shareholders,’ the CEO added during the conference call with analysts. A key factor will be the operational and commercial integration between the two companies, explained the executives at Viale Europa, also driven by technology and the Group’s app.” Poste’s app, which has 17 million users (4.2 million daily users), will be essential “to seamlessly integrate TIM’s consumer offering,” the Roman daily noted.
Italy’s Leading National Operator
“Poste grows and raises estimates. ‘TIM takeover bid already positive,’” headlined Quotidiano Nazionale. “Another record quarter. Poste moves ahead with the takeover bid for TIM,” summarized La Notizia, while La Stampa ran the headline: “Poste, record profits and upward estimates,” once again quoting the CEO: “With TIM we will become the leading operator.” “The closing of the offer is expected by September,” the Turin-based newspaper recalled. “The creation of Italy’s number one mobile operator lies ahead, as Del Fante described it. According to him, the offer ‘already grants a significant premium to shareholders.’ As explained by Poste CFO Camillo Greco, the actual premium amounts to 17%, ‘calculated on pre-transaction spot prices. The embedded premium rises to as much as 50% if calculated on average unrestricted prices, given that TIM shares have increased by 110% since our initial investment in February 2025.’”
