The Australian government has rejected calls for the $5 billion (EUR 3.1 billion) privatisation ofits national postal operator in a reply to questions made public by investment broker Commonwealth
Securities.A government spokesperson is quoted as saying it had “no plans to sell Australia Post”, astatement greeted with regret by the broker and other potential investors, which say between AUD 5billion and AUD 7 billion could be raised from a sale and used for nationwide environmentalprojects.
“Australia Post is the last major commercial business remaining in government hands,”Commonwealth Securities said in a research report. “But with the monopoly letter delivery agencyincreasingly relying on other services such as promotional mail and parcel handling to boostrevenue, the relevance of government ownership is continuing to diminish.”
Australia Post reported increased pre-tax profits of AUD 515 million (EUR 319 million) lastyear, a 9.7% increase on 2004-2005, with revenues up 4.7% to a record AUD 4.5 billion (EUR 2.78billion). This was mainly due to a 24% rise in profits in its parcels and logistics arm.
The group’s Parcel Post, Express Post and Messenger Post Couriers units, and the new ExpressCourier International (ECI) service, are handling increasing volumes.
ECI has helped AP access, through the KPG alliance, Asia-Pacific’s largest express couriernetwork, jointly developed with China Post, Hongkong Post, Japan Post, Korea Post and the UnitedStates Postal Service.
Australia Post is aiming to increase its share of the high-volume B2B market through a rangeof infrastructure enhancements, strengthened by its participation in Star Track Express andAustralian Air Express.
“At the very least, the government should begin community discussion on Australia Post’sfuture,” the investment broker said in its report released to Australian media.
Letter volumes were in long-term decline and Australia Post’s business was now centred moreon distribution, delivery services, retail operations and financial services in competition withprivate businesses, the report explained.
The sticking point over any sale of Australia Post would be its community serviceobligations, especially for rural and regional areas, it added.
