Creditor Relations

Current ratings by the major rating agencies

A credit rating provides a neutral, current appraisal of a company's creditworthiness. As well as a quantitative analysis of the annual report and corresponding projections, qualitative factors such as industry specifics, the market position and the company's product/service portfolio are also taken into account. Our Group's creditworthiness is continuously reviewed by the international rating agencies: Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Moody's Investors Service (Moody's).

The current rating, which reflects our high creditworthiness, means Deutsche Post DHL is well positioned in the transport and logistics industry.

Status quo
Rating agency	Long-term	Short-term	Outlook	Latest Report
Standard & Poor's	BBB+	A-2	negative	2 July 2009
Positive rating factors¹⁾	Global network, with leading market positions in international European and Asian express delivery services Dominant position in the German mail market supports group cash flow generation Global no.1 integrated logistics provider Significant disposal proceeds to fund restructuring and provide liquidity
Negative rating factors¹⁾	Regulatory risk and structural volume decline in the Mail Division Below-par profitability of businesses outside domestic mail operations Significant restructuring commitments at US Express Vulnerability to trading volume declines given high level of operational gearing to support global network
Moody's Investors Service	Baa1	P-2	stable	26 July 2009
Positive rating factors¹⁾	Global presence and scale as Europe's largest logistics company Large and relatively robust mail business Plan to increase profitability while reducing capital intensity as outlined in the Roadmap to Value programme Sale of Postbank provides cash liquidity and a buffer for the cash outflow associated with the restructuring of US Express
Negative rating factors¹⁾	High fixed cost base depresses the operating margin in case of falling business volume in the Mail and Express divisions Competition in fully liberalised German market for postal services is gradually eroding DP's market share DP's partial VAT exemption is currently being reviewed by the German government and the EU Strategic and operational prospects for a downsized US express business in view of the value of the operation for the global network

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