Newly-listed Singapore Post has posted a 7.2 percent rise in full-year net profit to S$108.7 million and said it expects the business outlook to remain steady, although SARS and the weak economy could cause companies to curb promotional activity. The rise came despite a 2.1 percent fall in operating revenue to S$373 million for the year to March.
Read MoreRoyal Mail’s Chairman Allan Leighton said today he was shocked at Postcomm’s plans to give courier firms access to Royal Mail’s delivery network. “We were alarmed at the way Postcomm was moving last autumn to an access price of 14p for Royal Mail against a full price for First and Second Class basic postage of 28p and 20p,” he said. “Postcomm’s plans today propose an access price of just 11½p so the regulator has moved the access price even lower than we feared.”
Read MoreBusiness Post Group PLC welcomes today’s announcement by Postcomm, the independent postal industry regulator, permitting UK Mail Limited, Business Post’s subsidiary, access to Royal Mail’s postal facilities on specified terms, subject to public consultation over the next three months. In particular, UK Mail believes that the proposed final delivery charge of 11.88p for items of under 60 g – covering the vast majority of letter mail – transported to the Royal Mail Delivery Office represents a feasible basis for its proposed service. Paul Carvell, Business Post’s Chief Executive, said “UK Mail has been asked to pay rather more than we had hoped. However, after 18 months since UK Mail was granted its interim licence, we are keen to get on with the launch of our new service which has stimulated a lot of interest among many large business customers.”
Read MoreSummary of Access document – this document sets out the reasons why Postcomm has proposed access terms and conditions, under which Royal Mail will deliver mail on behalf of another postal operator, UK Mail, as set out in the Notice to which this is attached.
Read MoreChristian Salvesen faces takeover bid
Read MoreLa Poste, the French national postal services group, yesterday presented planned changes to its courier activity, which represents 59 per cent of its total revenue, despite ongoing industrial action by employees. The group is determined to modernise now in anticipation of the deregulation of European courier services, which is expected to be complete by 2009, and future competition from its counterparts, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands.
Read MoreA director of one of the UK’s largest mailing houses has accused Royal Mail of fiddling the times it receives mail for processing to make it appear to process mail more quickly. DPS direct mail technical director David Laybourne, who spends in the region of GBP15m a year with Royal Mail, says that, although mailing houses are contractually obliged to submit mail by 3pm every day, in practice Royal Mail has allowed customers to be as late as 6.30pm. “We do not understand why Royal Mail thinks it is acceptable to effectively lie about the day it receives mail. If we give it to Royal Mail at 3.30pm on May 14, it will now insist on amending a legal document to state that it actually received it on May 15. For some reason, a Royal Mail day now ends at 3pm.”
Read MoreThe postal charges for newspapers are to increase in France by 3.7 per cent from June 1. French newspaper publishers and the French post office, La Poste, are in talks to define the terms of their new agreement.
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