Tag: Australia

The traditional engine room of Australia Post – its letters division – is on the decline as more people turn to email or SMS to keep in touch. Australia Post today reported a one per cent lift in net profit to AUSD374.9 million for the 2004/05 year, off a record AUSD4.32 billion in revenue. But the letters division’s earnings fell almost AUSD57 million to AUSD248.3 million. The big area of improvement for the government-owned Australia Post came in the parcels and logistics business which increased its profit by AUSD41.4 million or 28.9 per cent to AUSD184.8 million. Australia Post chairman Linda Nicholls said the impact of electronic substitution on the letters business was being felt globally. “With our letter prices currently frozen and our costs rising with the addition of around 200,000 new addresses each year, growth in letter volume is going to be the crucial element determining our future profitability in the letters business,” Ms Nicholls said.

Australia Post will launch an online authentication option for its bill payment service using two-factor devices during the first half of 2006. The organisation has already held discussions with a number of key providers of e-services, including financial institutions and government agencies. An Australian Post spokesman said the level of interest has been “so encouraging” that although final approval of the service was still pending, management had approved the next stage of the project. “If all goes to plan, Post will have the service operating in the first half of 2006,” the spokesman said. According to Australia Post’s 2003-04 annual report, it processed 170 million Postbillpay transactions.