Tag: UK

With 45pc of letter post revenue open to competition by the end of the year, and An Post’s announcement of its biggest ever loss of 70.5m with a continuation of losses in the current year, incoming An Post chief executive Donal Curtin faces many challenges.

Turnover increased by 9.4pc to 683.7m but operating costs rose by 10.8pc to almost 700m in 2002. The 17.4m operating loss is augmented by a provision of 52.5m for a voluntary severance and early retirement programme.

Even though this restructuring plan is running 18 months behind schedule, the full provision has been made for 2002.

The Irish Labour parliamentary opposition party tonight called for government assurances that a record loss for the state-backed An Post postal company would not “be used as an excuse for cutting rural postal services or for threatening the public’s right to send and receive mail through the post”.

Frontbench spokesman Tommy Broughan said: “Today’s announcement comes against the background of a deteriorating postal service and with further cutbacks threatened.