Swiss Postal Services, Railways & Telecoms: 2025 Performance Review

The Swiss federal government has assessed that its key state-owned enterprises – La Poste, Swiss Federal Railways (CFF), Swisscom, and Skyguide – largely met their strategic objectives for 2025. The assessment, a routine review of these entities, reveals a mixed picture of performance, with some areas showing strong results while others face ongoing challenges. The findings are particularly relevant as these companies play a critical role in maintaining essential services and infrastructure across Switzerland.

La Poste: Adapting to a Declining Market

La Poste largely achieved the strategic goals set by the Federal Council in 2025. The company maintained its universal service obligations for postal and payment services at fair prices and with the required quality, and preserved its market share in core areas like letters, parcels, and passenger transport. However, its market share in payment services declined. Volumes of letters and newspapers continued their downward trend, while parcel volumes saw a first increase since 2021.

Financially, La Poste experienced a 334 million Swiss franc decrease in operating income compared to the previous year, primarily due to declining volumes in its core business and lower interest income at PostFinance. The annual result decreased by 20%, reaching 332 million francs, with the Confederation receiving a dividend of 150 million francs. La Poste did not acquire any new companies in 2025.

The fundamental challenge for La Poste lies in the shifting market landscape. Traditional postal services are in decline, and new digital business models have yet to fully compensate for the lost volume. This raises long-term questions about the sustainability of the current universal service funding model. The Federal Council expects La Poste to take measures to improve its results, and is planning revisions to postal legislation, with consultations expected to open in mid-2026. More details on the assigned objectives can be found on the DETEC website.

CFF: Financial Stabilization Remains Key

Swiss Federal Railways (CFF) also largely met its strategic objectives for 2025, maintaining a safe, stable, and punctual railway operation despite a high volume of passengers and ongoing construction projects. The freight transport segment, however, continues to face significant difficulties.

The annual result improved from 275 to 496 million francs, with nearly half of this improvement stemming from one-time effects, primarily reductions in pension obligations. Real estate, long-distance passenger transport, energy, and cost optimizations also contributed to the operating result. Freight and regional passenger transport continued to operate at a loss. Net debt decreased thanks to a capital injection of 850 million francs from the Confederation, reaching 8.1x EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization), compared to 8.2 in 2024. The Federal Council reiterated its expectation that the debt ceiling of 6.5x EBITDA be met by 2030.

Stabilizing the financial situation remains the primary challenge for CFF in the coming years, both for the company as a whole and for its subsidiary, CFF Cargo. CFF is implementing restructuring measures for CFF Cargo, with the support of the Confederation, including promoting transport by single wagons, facilitated by revisions to freight transport law.

Swisscom: Leading the Telecommunications Market

Swisscom also largely achieved its strategic objectives, maintaining its leadership position in the Swiss telecommunications market and continuing to expand its high-speed infrastructure (fiber optic networks and 5G mobile networks) nationwide. The company provided the universal service without receiving financial compensation, and the security and stability of its networks and IT infrastructure met expectations.

In December 2024, Swisscom finalized the acquisition of Vodafone Italia. The integration of Vodafone Italia into Fastweb progressed as planned during the year. The group’s financial result was solid, although lower than the previous year, due to integration costs associated with Vodafone Italia. However, the dividend was increased from 22 to 26 francs per share.

Swisscom’s immediate challenge is the successful integration of Vodafone Italia. In the medium term, the company’s success depends on the continued development of high-speed networks, requiring substantial and ongoing investment in a generally stagnant market.

Skyguide: Financial Tensions Persist

Skyguide partially achieved its strategic objectives. Despite a statutory profit of 52.6 million francs (compared to a loss of 12.4 million francs in 2024), the company’s financial situation remains strained. Financing in civil aviation depends on the European model of charges. Switzerland has submitted its performance plan covering Skyguide’s costs to the EU, which is still under review by the European Commission.

Air traffic safety was guaranteed at all times, and punctuality improved, exceeding the European average. However, Skyguide again increased overflight fees due to the new reference period (2025 to 2029), and continues to apply the highest overflight fees in Central Europe.

Skyguide faces the ongoing challenge of sustainably reducing costs without compromising safety to achieve a balanced result, as required by law. Its room for maneuver is limited by the European charging model. Based on a recommendation from the Federal Audit Office, a standard relating to business continuity management (BCM) will be introduced into Skyguide’s strategic objectives, and the company will develop its BCM in accordance with this standard.

Remuneration of Management Bodies

As stipulated by corporate law and the statutes, the general assemblies of La Poste, CFF, Swisscom, and Skyguide set the maximum amounts available for the remuneration of their management bodies (boards of directors and executive management). The Federal Council approved the proposals made by the various boards of directors for the 2027 financial year. The proposed maximum amounts for 2027 remain at the current level.

The Federal Council’s assessment underscores the complex balancing act these state-owned enterprises face: maintaining essential services, adapting to changing market conditions, and ensuring financial sustainability. PublicNow provides additional context on the fulfillment of public service mandates. The upcoming revisions to postal legislation and the ongoing efforts to stabilize CFF’s finances will be key areas to watch in the coming months. 20min.ch reports on concerns regarding job relocation at Swisscom and La Poste.