Tag: Mail Services

TNT gains most in two years on speculation about market opening

Posted by | Nov 30, 2007 | |

TNT NV, Europe’s second-biggest express-delivery company, rose the most in two years in Amsterdam trading following speculation the Dutch government may delay plans to open its mail market.

TNT shares rose as much as 1.24 euros, or 4.6 percent, to 28.10 euros, the biggest increase since Dec. 6, 2005, and were up 4.2 percent as of 11:51 a.m. The stock has fallen 14 percent this year.

An agreement reached by Germany’s coalition government to introduce a minimum wage for postal workers means the Dutch government may “pull the ’emergency brake’ on its market liberalization,” Andrew Beh, an analyst at Bear Stearns in London, said in a note to investors today.

TNT is scheduled to lose its monopoly on mail delivery in the Netherlands starting in January under measures approved by the country’s parliament in June. The opening is tied to a “level playing field” in Europe, which means it may be suspended if other European countries take measures that could hurt competition.

A suspension of the Dutch market opening would remove any “immediate” threat to the company’s mail volumes and earnings before interest and taxes at the mail business, JP Morgan analyst Damian Brewer said in a separate note to investors.

European Union governments agreed on Oct. 1 to require member countries to open up their letter-delivery markets to competition no later than 2011. Eleven of the EU’s 27 member states don’t have to liberalize their markets until 2013.

Standard letters are two-thirds of the EU’s 88 billion-euro postal market and offer twice the profit margin of packages and express mail, according to the European Commission, the Brussels-based EU executive arm.

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Poor postal results hit Scotland

Posted by | Nov 30, 2007 | |

Postwatch Scotland said that this summer’s strikes and widespread flooding seriously affected the quality of postal services across the UK.

Dundee, Falkirk, Kirkcaldy, Edinburgh, Perth and Motherwell were in the worst 20 performing postcodes.

Royal Mail said the low quality of service results were due to the industrial action.

Speaking after Royal Mail’s release of their half-year performance results, Alan Alexander, chair of Postwatch Scotland, said: “Given the floods and the industrial dispute, customers will not be surprised that Royal Mail’s performance has been seriously below par during the summer.

Next year, customers in Scotland should expect Royal Mail to be announcing a much improved performance

“It is particularly disappointing that six out of the worst 20 performing postcode areas for the delivery of first class mail are in Scotland.

“Industrial peace between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union means the industry, after a step backwards, can take great strides forward.

“Next year, customers in Scotland should expect Royal Mail to be announcing a much improved performance. That should help all of us to post with confidence.”

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said the low quality of service results in Scotland were due to the official and unofficial industrial action which took place during this period.

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Airtel, Western Union offer mobile money transfer service

Posted by | Nov 30, 2007 | |

Indian workers in other countries will soon be able to send money, less than $100, to their family back home using a mobile phone.

Bharti Airtel and Western Union have decided to jointly develop and pilot a mobile money transfer service in the country. The move is part of a global initiative by the GSM Association wherein 35 mobile operators spread across 100 countries have taken a commitment to enable the world’s 200 million international migrant workers to easily and securely send remittances to their dependents.

Here’s how it works. If an Indian working in Dubai wants to send money that’s sub USD 100 to his family in Kerala, he has to punch in the exact amount to be sent on an application on his mobile handset. The application will be provided by the mobile operator when the sender registers himself for the service.

The message is delivered through the mobile operator’s network to his local bank from where the amount is transferred to Western Union. A 16-digit identification number is generated by Western Union and delivered (either through email or SMS) to the person who sent the money in Dubai.

The sender then has to give the 16-digit number to his family in India. His family has to punch in the identification number on their Airtel mobile through a special application which can be easily downloaded on their handset.

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Select Committee enquiry into post office closures

Posted by | Nov 30, 2007 | |

In a Westminster Hall debate by MPs this week on the programme of 2,500 post office closures, Peter Luff, Chairman of the relevant Select Committee, stated:

“It is a great pleasure that the swansong debate of the Select Committee on Trade and Industry, now the Select Committee on Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, should be so popular. I am informed by the Speaker’s Office that this is the most popular ever Westminster Hall debate on a Select Committee report.”

“The new Select Committee will launch an inquiry early in the new year into the progress of the post office closure process. We will have hearings, probably in late January or early February, and will revisit the process then, because this matter is obviously of deep concern to many colleagues.”

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Strikes and floods cause poor service results by Royal Mail

Posted by | Nov 30, 2007 | |

With the release of their half-year performance results, Royal Mail has confirmed what customers already knew: this summer’s official and unofficial strikes and the widespread flooding seriously affected the quality of postal services throughout the UK.

Howard Webber, Chief Executive of Postwatch, commenting on Royal Mail’s announcement said, “Given the floods and the industrial dispute, customers will not be surprised that Royal Mail’s performance has been seriously below par during the summer. There will, however, be a collective sigh of relief that the bad news is over and that the future looks distinctly brighter.

“Industrial peace between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union means the industry, after a step backwards, can take great strides forward. Next year, customers should expect Royal Mail to be announcing a much improved performance. That should help all of us to post with confidence.”

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