Tag: Royal Mail

Royal Mail will this week unveil profits of more than pounds 200m for the first half of the year – and will attempt to allay fears that the profits have been bought at the cost of a deteriorating service. The results, which put the Royal Mail on track to make profits of more than pounds 400m for the full year and pay a pounds 200m dividend to employees, are an extraordinary turnaround from 2002, when the company was losing pounds 1m a day. Last year, it broke even in the first half. Mail delivery performance figures for the second quarter will show that Royal Mail is meeting its target of 98.5 per cent of second class letters delivered within three working days. More than 92 per cent of first class letters are delivered the next day, against a target of 92.5 per cent.
The figures will be a boost to the credibility of Adam Crozier, the chief executive of Royal Mail, who took direct responsibility for the operational side of the business earlier this year after it missed all 15 performance targets for last year.

Local authorities can expect cheaper and better-targeted distribution of their printed comms material following a deal struck with Royal Mail. Royal Mail has agreed to extend the periods for which councils can book it to distribute their materials to two years. It has also allocated distribution according to council boundaries rather than by postcodes, said LG Communications secretary and treasurer Kevin Wilson. The deal was struck between PROs from councils including Staffordshire, West Sussex and Surrey, and Royal Mail national sales manager Tim Cable, in Milton Keynes last week.

Postage stamp prices must go up to ease Royal Mail’s financial problems, Adam Crozier, chief executive of the state-owned group, said yesterday. Royal Mail had returned to profit after several years of heavy losses but still lacked investment and had an old-fashioned pricing structure, he said. “None of our prices are aligned with our costs.” Business customers paid more to subsidise domestic stamp prices. Royal Mail was also pressing for the introduction of size-based, rather than weight-based, pricing of mail to better reflect the costs of sorting and delivery.

Christmas postal deliveries in London could be hit if union members balloted today vote to take industrial action over pay, the BBC reported. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is calling for strikes in a row over overtime needed to clear the increase in post in the run-up to the holidays, according to the report. The union claimed workers were being forced to work on their days off, but the Royal Mail said the CWU was asking for extra pay for overtime that may not be needed.

The chief executive of the Royal Mail apologised to British businesses for the poor service it has provided but stressed it had now turned the corner. Adam Crozier told the CBI Annual Conference in Birmingham that stamp prices were likely to rise in the future so Royal Mail could compete with other European operators entering the market. But despite making progress, Mr Crozier denied claims that the service was being primed for privatisation. He said: ‘My aim is to run a more efficient Royal Mail. The future ownership of the Royal Mail is a matter for the shareholder – the Government. ‘My understanding is that is not on the agenda at the moment.’ He said great progress had made during the Royal Mail’s renewal plan, but much work needed to be done.