PostNL to hike domestic letter rate 8%, Europe letters 6%
PostNL is increasing the basic rate of its domestic letter service by 8% and European letter rates by 6% from January 1. The Dutch postal operator said today that from the beginning of the New Year, the rate for letters in the Netherlands would increase by four cents to 54c, while the basic price for letters in Europe would rise by five cents to a 90c rate.
The rate increase for postage applied by franking machines within the Netherlands will increase three cents.
PostNL said its bulk mail rates were also to rise, depending on the product, averaging around a 5% increase.
The company said in a statement the changes were necessary because of continuous mail volume declines, but were within the limits as set by the Dutch communications regulator OPTA, the Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority.
PostNL said even with the increases next January, it would maintain “one of the lowest postage rates in Europe”, citing Deutsche Post’s European letter price survey for 2012, which put the average domestic letter price in European countries at 56c, while the average price for European delivery was 91c.
The domestic letters business is currently pulling down PostNL’s financial performance thanks to its 8.3% year-on-year decline in mail volumes.
The company has seen its domestic mail revenues down 3.8% year-on-year in the most recent quarter reported, Q2, 2012, but has also been hit hard by problems in the restructuring of its letters delivery network.
PostNL’s international mail business, under the TNT Post brand in countries including Italy, Germany and the UK, has been achieving growth, as has the company’s parcels business.
