Australia Post earned a record pre-tax profit of $561.7 million (EUR352 million) in 2006/07 representing an increase of 8.9 % compared to the previous year, accordingto the corporation’s Annual Report released yesterday.
This record financial result underlines the strength of the postalcorporation, with revenue growth in all three of its core business areas – letters, parcels andretail – also contributing to the record-high revenue of $4.71 billion (EUR 2.95 billion) whichrepresents an increase of 4% compared to the previous year.
Australia Post’s Annual Report 2006/07 also indicates that Australianmail volumes are continuing to grow – despite predictions that paper-based mail would decline inthe era of electronic communications.
Domestic letter volumes grew by 1.9 % to 93.1 million items, which isthe strongest increase in letter volumes since the 1990s. Domestic parcel volumes increased by 3.7% making this the fifth successive year of robust growth for Australia Post’s parcelsnetwork.
Australia Post met or exceeded all of its customer service chartercommitments during 2006/07. This includes on-time letter delivery performance of 96.3 % (up from95.6 % last year).
Australia Post’s Chairman, David Mortimer, attributes the strongresults to a steadfast commitment to developing the corporation’s three core business areas. “Ourongoing growth stems from a consistent focus on our three core businesses – letters; retail &agency services; and parcels & logistics,” Mr Mortimer said. “While we’ve managed enormouschange over recent years, we’ve maintained a strategic focus on investing in and improving thesethree core business areas.”
Out of Australia Post’s three core business areas, the letters businesshas traditionally been the major contributor to the corporation’s revenue and profit. However, thisyear, the before tax profit of $255.9 million (EUR 160.36 million) earned by the parcels &logistics business exceeded that of the letters business with $160 million (EUR 100.27million).
Australia Post’s Managing Director Graeme John said he was pleased withthe strong results achieved across all areas of the corporation. “The continuing growth of ourparcels and logistics business was the single largest contributor to this year’s result,” Mr Johnsaid. “Our growth in parcels and logistics is partly driven by online trading but it’s alsodue to an increasing recognition among Australian businesses that we offer an efficient andcomprehensive range of distribution services.”
