Tag: New Zealand

New Zealand Post is spending NZD80 million in the next six years to dramatically improve mail sorting. The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) is working closely with NZ Post and expects it to result in fewer jobs for part-time workers. But EPMU secretary Andrew Little said the jobs left would be more skilled and satisfying. NZ Post chief operating officer Peter Fenton confirmed there would be “significant employee changes over the next five years.” He said it was too early to tell how staffing levels would change because new technology would need to be bedded in and staff kept on till it worked properly. NZ Post will spend NZD35 million on new technology to automate metro mail centres. Wellington’s mail sorting centre at Petone will be first to get new sorting machines, next February.

New Zealand Post has handed the Government a NZD50 million dividend after unveiling a record NZD137.2 million full-year profit yesterday. The result – the strongest in the state-owned postal service provider’s history – was boosted by a one-off NZD78.6 million gain on the sale of its Express Couriers business into a joint venture with Deutsche Post-owned DHL last year. The state-owned enterprise’s full-year profit was a record NZD137.2m. Part of the Government’s dividend included NZD23 million from the sale. Excluding that, its net profit was NZD58.6 million. That was still up NZD22.1 million or 60.5 per cent on last year. Chief executive John Allen said the result was also boosted by the performance of its core Postal Services Group and the maiden profit of its Kiwibank subsidiary this week.