Deutsche Post on Wednesday abandoned its break-even target for its struggling DHL package delivery arm in the US and said it would stop reporting separate results for the unit. The news led to a substantial sell-off of the stock.

The German postal group, the world’s largest logistics company, has been plagued by problems, particularly over service levels, following its acquisitions of DHL and Airborne, a Seattle-based delivery company bought for $1bn in 2002.