Poste Italiane confident on 2021 after 32% quarterly EBIT jump

MILAN (Reuters) - Poste Italiane is confident it can meet its 2021 goals, the Italian postal services firm said on Wednesday, after beating expectations with a 32% rise in second-quarter operating profit boosted by its insurance division.

CEO Matteo Del Fante said the recent signing of a new labour contract, which increases visibility on costs related to the group's 125,000 employees, and the renewal of a three-year partnership with Amazon significantly reduce the execution risk attached to the group's strategic plan to 2024.

"We already have a clear visibility to meet 2021 guidance and have confidence in our numbers," Del Fante said in a statement.

The state-controlled conglomerate has guided for 2021 earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 1.7 billion euros ($831 million) on revenue of 11.2 billion euros.

Poste Italiane posted EBIT of 429 million euros for the April-June period, above the 355 million forecast by analysts.

The group -- which includes insurance, financial and digital payment divisions beside its traditional mail and parcel business, reported revenue of 2.8 billion euros, up 18.7% from a year earlier.

($1 = 0.8423 euros)

(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; editing by Jason Neely)