May 3 (Reuters) - Belgian postal operator Bpost

missed first-quarter profit expectations on Friday

and said its full-year outlook was "pending", as it hopes to

conclude talks over the delivery of French-language newspapers

by the end of May.

Bpost's shares were down 2.3% at 1137 GMT.

The company has been under pressure from speculation that

the country's government could choose other companies for the

distribution of newspapers and periodicals.

Last week, Bpost signed a delivery agreement with Flemish

newspaper publishers, covering around 75% of the volumes it

currently delivers.

"We are doing our utmost to do the same with the

French-speaking editors soon," CEO Chris Peeters said in a

statement, adding during a call with analysts that it is hoping

for a decision by the end of the month.

Bpost, which in March guided for stable operating income in

2024 but did not give a profit forecast, said it would update

those targets once the talks were over.

Underlying mail volumes in Belgium, Bpost's main market,

fell 6.7% in the quarter, while parcel volumes grew by 2.9%.

Bpost - which also offers shipping services to e-commerce

firms in North America, Europe and Asia - posted a 20% drop in

first quarter adjusted operating profit from a year earlier to

62.1 million euros ($66.6 million).

That missed analysts' consensus of 69.7 million euros

provided by the company.

Bpost said profit was hit by costs of 7.7 million euros

related to its acquisition of France-based logistics firm Staci,

while difficult market conditions in North America weighed on

its logistics business there.

Adjusted operating profit in its E-Logistics North America

division fell 41.3% to 8.8 million euros due to lower parcel

volumes, missing expectations of 10.6 million euros.

U.S.-based parcel group UPS reported earnings above

expectations last month, as cost cuts offset still soft demand

for package delivery.

($1 = 0.9319 euros)