21st Jan 2016 07:27
LONDON (Alliance News) - Postal operator Royal Mail PLC on Thursday said its revenue edged higher in the first nine months of its financial year, helped by a strong performance from its GLS logistics business and a continued pattern in the UK of revenue shrinking from letters but growing from parcels.
The FTSE 100-listed company said its group revenue for the nine months to December 27 was up 1.0%. The group said its UK revenue was down 1.0% overall, with a 1.0% rise in parcel revenue offset by a 2.0% fall in letters revenue.
Royal Mail said the trends in its parcels business were broadly similar in the third quarter as in the first half, with volume growth driven by its account parcels business and Parcelforce Worldwide. Addressed letter volumes fell again, while total letter revenue also was dragged down by a continuing change in its revenue mix.
GLS, the logistics arm, saw revenue rise 10%, with particularly good performances in Italy and Poland, though its profitability in Germany remained under pressure.
Royal Mail said its nine-month trading performance met its expectations, with a good performance in its UK business and an outperformance in the GLS unit. It said its guidance for the full year to March 27 was unchanged.
It expects to publish its full-year results on May 19.
"Once again, our postmen and women delivered a great Christmas - even better than last year's strong performance. This is because of the commitment of our people and our investment in additional temporary staff and sorting capacity," said Moya Greene, Royal Mail's chief executive.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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