21st Jul 2020 09:55
(Alliance News) - Royal Mail PLC on Tuesday reported its volume trends to be broadly unchanged since its June 25 update, with parcel volume increasing, letter writing still declining, and customer behaviour remaining the same despite lockdown easing.
Parcel volume within UK business Royal Mail was up 38% year on year with 117 million more parcels sent during the quarter ending June 28.
The parcel volume growth rate continues to be driven by business-to-consumer and e-commerce.
At international arm GLS, volumes were up 22% year on year in the quarter.
The postal service and courier company recorded low levels of advertising mail in the UK business due to lower business activity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some 788 million fewer letters were sent in the quarter compared to the prior year with a drop of 33%.
Domestic-account parcel volume, excluding Amazon deliveries, was up 64%.
"As the UK starts to come out of lockdown we are not seeing any change as yet in customer behaviour. Our customers are wanting more parcels delivered to their homes and are sending fewer letters. We are working as quickly as we can to adapt our business to meet our customer needs," Royal Mail said.
It added that the business and management restructuring and cost-cutting effort that it announced late last month, including the integration of Parcelforce into Royal Mail, all are underway.
The company announced the plan, which will see the loss of 2,000 management jobs, alongside reporting that annual pretax profit fell 25% in the financial year that ended in March.
Back in May, Rico Back abruptly departed as chief executive officer, leaving then non-executive chair Keith Williams in charge as executive chair.
Royal Mail also said Tuesday that talks with the CWU union are progressing.
It said it will hold its annual general meeting on September 8 and provide an update on second-quarter volumes in October.
Royal Mail shares were up 0.2% at 182.15 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.
By Greg Roxburgh; [email protected]
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