Parcels and Savings Bonds Power CTT to Double-Digit Profit Surge

CTT rides parcel boom and retail bond appetite to double-digit profit growth

CTT – Correios de Portugal ended the first nine months of 2025 with earnings comfortably ahead of last year, powered by two engines that now work in tandem: an enlarged parcel network and an unusually lively market for Portuguese government savings products.

The company booked net income of €32.8 million between January and September, an advance of 18.4 percent on the same stretch of 2024. Revenue climbed even faster, up 15 percent to €911.2 million, while operating cash flow as measured by EBITDA improved 21.9 percent to €134.8 million.

Parcels edge past traditional mail as the main money-maker

The Express & Parcels division produced €434.2 million of revenue—31.4 percent more than a year earlier—and now delivers 48 percent of group turnover. The spectacular leap reflects two trends: Iberian consumers continue to buy more online goods, and from 30 April CTT has incorporated the sales of Cacesa, the Spanish air-freight specialist it purchased for €106.8 million.

Cacesa gives CTT extra customs-clearing capabilities for cross-border e-commerce and extends the group’s footprint to 15 countries, including key logistics gateways such as Belgium and Italy. Management says the integration is already unlocking route optimisation and cross-selling opportunities, particularly on lanes to Latin America and the Canary Islands that Cacesa traditionally serves.

Logistics still dominates the top line, but its share is shrinking

Postal and logistics services—the backbone of the business since the days when CTT was a state monopoly—generated €775.8 million in the period, 14.3 percent more than last year and equal to roughly 85 percent of group revenue. Yet the faster expansion of parcels means this once-dominant segment now accounts for a smaller slice of the pie than it did just a few years ago.

Banking arm benefits from retail thirst for sovereign paper

Banco CTT and the group’s broader Financial Services operation posted income of €135.4 million, an advance of 19.1 percent. Low-risk Portuguese savings certificates have proved popular with households seeking refuge from market volatility and a still-elevated inflation backdrop. The fees CTT collects for placing those bonds, combined with growth in current accounts, helped propel the banking unit’s contribution.

During the first half alone, revenue tied to public-debt distribution more than tripled to €13.7 million, and nearly one in ten subscriptions was completed through digital channels—evidence that CTT’s investment in online platforms is paying off.

Investments prepare the ground for the next growth spurt

To cope with rising parcel volumes, the company has opened or expanded handling centres in Aveiro, Leiria and Palmela, adding around 20,000 square metres of capacity. A separate partnership with Microsoft is moving customer-facing applications to the cloud, a shift that should shorten delivery lead times and improve tracking accuracy.

Management also sees promise in specialised niches: July’s acquisition of pharmaceutical logistics player Decopharma gives CTT an entry point into temperature-controlled last-mile delivery, a higher-margin service that can be scaled across Iberia.

What to watch

• Revenue milestone: CTT is edging closer to the €1 billion mark and says breaking through it is a realistic goal for the full year.• Parcel infrastructure: further automation projects are planned for 2026, including more sorting robots and electric delivery vehicles, to lift processing speed and cut emissions.• Regulation: starting mid-2026, Banco CTT faces a 23.33 percent total risk-exposure requirement. The group has flagged a focus on capital discipline to meet that hurdle without crimping lending growth.

Outlook

E-commerce penetration in Portugal and Spain still sits below the EU average, suggesting room for continued parcel-volume expansion. On the financial side, retail demand for Treasury certificates is expected to stay strong at least until interest rates in the eurozone begin a clear downward cycle.

If those macro tailwinds persist, CTT appears on course to close 2025 with record revenue and earnings, while laying the operational groundwork—through network upgrades and digitalisation—to keep the momentum going into 2026.