The Kahala Posts Group (KPG), an alliance of 10 leading postal services, forecast revenue growth of 9% for 2009 despite the global financial crisis.

“Despite the downturn in the global economy, KPG has experienced steady volume and revenue growth in the past 12 months, while expanding our membership to 10 members,” said Japan Post CEO Norio Kitamura during a Board meeting held in Kyoto of Japan.

“Importantly, this growth has occurred at a time when express and air cargo industries have suffered from a serious downturn in the international parcel and cargo market,” he added.

KPG posted volume growth of more than 11% in 2008, with revenues surpassing $1.5bn. Continued growth was seen through the first two quarters of 2009.
KPG, formed in 2003 by six founding members, Australia Post, China Post, Hongkong Post, Japan Post, Korea Post, and the United States Postal Service, was added by the national post service providers of Spain, the UK, France and Singapore.

“The addition of these new members means KPG has grown from an Asia-Pacific alliance into a network with a truly global reach,” Kitamura said, adding it will continue to expand its network globally.

KPG now reaches 328m delivery points with access through 176,000 post offices and by phone and the Internet in most markets. It offers relatively cost effective services compared to market integrators like DHL, UPS and FedEx.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

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