Consumers and Members of Parliament demand to see Royal Mail financial report
Royal Mail came under attack yesterday for refusing to publish its delayed financial results as it emerged that it has given them to the postal regulator.
Royal Mail would not give a reason, but speculation is growing that it wants to avoid controversy over executive bonuses or hide the fact that its financial performance is better than expected. Both issues would prove tricky as it battles with the Communication Workers Union.
Royal Mail said that it had not set a date to make the results public. The figures are for its year to the end of March and usually are published in May. It has avoided a fine by sending the numbers to Postcomm within a deadline set by its license, but the regulator has no obligation to make them public.
The delay comes as postal workers are staging a month of strikes in the worst dispute to hit the business for 11 years and as thousands of post offices are being closed.
A spokeswoman for Postwatch, the consumers’ group, said: “We don’t understand why Royal Mail is not publishing the figures. We have asked for them several times. We need to be able to see the state of the business.”
Adam Crozier, Royal Mail’s chief executive, is believed to have received a bonus of about GBP 370,000, taking his total remuneration to more than GBP 1 million. Allan Leighton, the non executive chairman, is expected to have had a bonus of about GBP 100,000 for last year. Additionally, Alan Cook, head of Royal Mail’s post office network, is believed to be in line for a bonus of up to GBP 1 million if the network is profitable by 2011. At present he is presiding over the closure of 2,500 outlets.
A spokesman for Postcomm said: “Royal Mail is not required by the license to publish and it is not something that we would do.”
Royal Mail had to supply figures to Postcomm no later than four months after the end of the financial reporting period, (therefore, July 31) to fulfill its license. It is obliged to file the accounts with Companies House at the end of next month, six months after the close of its reporting period.
