Investing.com -- Shares of InPost rallied on Monday after it reported a 29% increase in its earnings for the second quarter, beating market estimates.
At 6:32 am (1032 GMT), InPost was trading 5.3% higher at €18.84.
The company reported an adjusted EBITDA of PLN 887.3 million for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of PLN 827 million. InPost's strong performance was driven by the increasing use of its automated lockers in Poland, a rise in online shopping trends accelerated by the pandemic, and its ongoing international expansion.
Although InPost maintained its expectation that 2024 parcel volumes would exceed market growth across its regions and reaffirmed its financial goals for the year, it revised its forecast for e-commerce market growth.
Operating in nine countries, InPost delivered 264 million parcels in the quarter, marking a 23% increase from the previous year. Its network of automated parcel machines (APMs) expanded by 29% to 40,671 units, with international APMs increasing by 59% to 17,201.
"We reiterate our Buy investment thesis: we see InPost as a leader in out-of-home delivery thanks to strong commercial execution, substantial investments in its APM network, the superior economics of OOH delivery, and weak competition," said analysts at BofA Securities in a note.
So far in the third quarter, parcel volumes have risen by about 20%, with Poland seeing mid- to high-teens percentage growth and international volumes maintaining a similar growth rate as the second quarter.
"More importantly, InPost widens the gap to its competitors with more APM additions in its international markets than all competitors combined," BofA said.
In Poland, parcel volumes grew by 20% in the second quarter, driven by a 50% increase in door-to-door courier deliveries from international marketplaces. In Britain, where InPost acquired a 30% stake in British logistics firm Menzies last year, parcel volumes surged by 163%.
The adjusted EBITDA for the international segment was a profit of PLN 31.8 million, as compared to a PLN 24 million loss reported in the same period last year.
Analysts at BofA see InPost’s investments in its APM network as key to maintaining its competitive edge and driving mid-term growth, projecting 2026 adjusted EBITDA to be 17% ahead of consensus estimates.