Frankfurt - Europe's biggest postal service group Deutsche Post AG reported Wednesday a steep fall in first quarter earnings after a sharp drop in revenue.

German-based Deutsche Post said the group's earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) slumped 42.1 per cent to 312 million euros (415 dollars).

The company, which is at present closing its loss-making US DHL Express business, said first-quarter revenue dropped 13 per cent to 11.5 billion euros as the economic downturn hit postal services.