Tag: Royal Mail

New Managing Director for Royal Mail Letters Business

Posted by | Nov 5, 2007 | |

Mark Higson, formerly Divisional CEO and Group Operations Director with BPB plc, has been appointed Managing Director of Royal Mail’s letters business.

Reporting to the Royal Mail Chief Executive, Adam Crozier, Mr Higson will head the senior management team responsible for the collection, sorting and delivery of more than 80 million letters daily by almost 170,000 postmen and women, and frontline managers. He takes up the role last Monday, November 5.

Mr Higson’s ten-year career with BPB, the plasterboard and plaster buildings materials company, with annual sales of GBP 2.5 billion, has included Board level responsibility for operational performance and strategy implementation.

Mr Crozier said: “I’m delighted Mark is joining Royal Mail. He’s bringing with him a highly impressive track record at BPB where he played a key leadership role in boosting the focus on customers and achieving world-class operational capability that, together, helped deliver sustained profit growth. Mark joins Royal Mail as the business steps up its drive to transform its operations to achieve the modernisation essential to enabling the company to compete successfully in the tough, open communications market. I’m looking forward to working with him in this crucial phase of Royal Mail’s development.”

Mr Higson said: “I’m hugely excited at joining Royal Mail at this crucial time as it modernises its operations to improve efficiency while delivering world-class, high quality, value-for-money service to all its customers.”

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Homeserve switches to TNT Post

Posted by | Nov 5, 2007 | |

TNT Post confirms that Homeserve, the home emergency specialist, has switched from Royal Mail to TNT Post. The contract is to handle over 100 million mail items a year. Homeserve uses both TNT Post’s Premier and PremierSort services. Premier is used for the majority of items that Homeserve hands over to TNT Post including marketing mailings and policy and renewal documents. By the end of the year TNT Post expects to have handled more than 8 million items for the company in just 3 months.

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UK holidaymakers ‘can’t be bothered’ to claim over GBP 13 billion on travel insurance

Posted by | Nov 2, 2007 | |

New figures released today by Post Office Travel Services reveal that 70 per cent of UK holidaymakers are not claiming on their travel insurance when they are entitled to and are potentially missing out on over GBP 13.5 billion.

The research shows that while 62 per cent of UK holidaymakers experienced a flight delay, 22 per cent lost or damaged luggage and 15 per cent were involved in an accident or needed to seek medical treatment, less than a third made a claim on their insurance.

When asked why they did not claim, a third of people said that the excess on their policy – the amount the individual pays to make a claim – was set too high. A further 23 per cent said they simply didn’t bother to even try to claim as it was too much hassle. Nearly one in eight didn’t even realise they could.

Holidaymakers aged between 25 and 44 were the least likely to claim, with over three quarters saying they had not made a travel claim despite having experienced something which could have warranted a policy payout.

At the Post Office customers can discuss the type of insurance they need over the counter, face to face or by telephone. This will ensure they are getting the appropriate level of cover for their specific needs. The maximum excess on all policies is GBP 50 and in the event that a customer needs to make a claim, the procedure at the Post Office is simple and straightforward. Settlement is guaranteed within five working days with a valid, fully documented claim.

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Mail posts gloomy forecast

Posted by | Nov 1, 2007 | |

Royal Mail profits fell by a third in the 2006-7 financial year, mainly as a result of a sharp rise in pension fund costs.

The group faces operating at around break-even this year and next, it said.

Chairman Allan Leighton and chief executive Adam Crozier said pension costs, revenue decline through losses to competition and the overall fall in mail volumes meant Royal Mail’s letters division was heading towards break-even in the current financial year.

They added: “Without the contribution from GLS (General Logistics Systems, the group’s European parcels business), the group could again become loss-making.”

The group said profits for 2006-07 were in line with expectations at £233m, down a third, mainly due to pension costs rising by GBP 193m to GBP 722m.

Competition had developed much more quickly than anyone forecast. Rivals would this year be handling around 4bn letters, around one in every five posted – a level Postcomm had forecast would not be reached until 2010.

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European parcels operation sparkles despite postal misery for Royal Mail

Posted by | Nov 1, 2007 | |

General Logistics Systems, the European parcels operation, is turning out to be the jewel in the crown for Royal Mail, which has seen profits slashed in its domestic letters business over the past year.

GLS increased its operating profit by 15 per cent to GBP 115m on sales of just over GBP 1bn for the financial year 2006-7. And there was also good news from Parcelforce Worldwide which made an operating profit of GBP 10m – double the figure for last year and the second year running of profit after more than 15 consecutive years of losses.

Royal Mail said Parcelforce Worldwide grew its revenue by 7.3 per cent in a market that became even tougher, and delivered a record operating profit of GBP 10m. GLS grew its revenues by 4.9 per cent in a very competitive market and its operating profit increased to GBP 115m. “The results of both GLS and Parcelforce Worldwide demonstrate the group’s potential in areas where it is allowed to compete freely without regulatory constraint.”

However, profits were slashed from GBP 344m to GBP 194m in the letters business which has also gone through a damaging strike.

“Inland addressed mail volumes fell by 2.3 per cent – the first decline after many years of growth,” said Royal Mail. “The growth in email undoubtedly played a key factor in the fall and the realistic prospect facing the Company is for further volume decline. The peak in mail volumes looks likely to be behind us.”

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