Australia Post’s revenue climbs, letter volumes fall

(Source: Bigstock)

Strong first-half parcel revenue complemented by an accelerated e-commerce performance in the second half drove Australia Post’s full-year revenue by 8.5 per cent to $8.97 billion.

Parcels and Services revenue climbed 11 per cent to $7.2 billion largely due to Covid-related lockdowns in Victoria and NSW in the first half which led to a boom in online shopping.

Letter volumes fell significantly during the year with almost 97 per cent of all letters sent to households either by the government or businesses. But letter revenue was down by only 0.6 per cent to $1.8 billion. Excluding election and census mil, letter volume fell 4 per cent. Australia Post plans to increase the basic postage rate from $1.10 to $1.20, effective January.

Group expenses rose 9.2 per cent due to additional costs associated with the pandemic, as well as limitations in domestic and global airfreight services.

The postal service reported $55.3 million in gross profit before taxes – down 4.5 per cent from $100.7 million in the previous year.

Group CEO and MD, Paul Graham, said this was a “solid result” despite growing headwinds.

“Not only did our team work tirelessly to keep themselves and their communities safe, but this was achieved in an environment of evolving restrictions.

“While it’s clear more Australians are buying goods online following the pandemic, we don’t expect to see the same level of e-commerce growth [ahead]. This has been demonstrated in our second-half results and going forward, we anticipate growth to be moderate.”

He added the business will continue to invest in its network and technologies to better meet customer expectations and needs.

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