Australia Post improved net profits strongly by 16.6% to AUS$281 million during the 2011/12financial year and plans to invest AUS$2 billion in its infrastructure, products and services to
support its growing e-commerce and parcel operations under its “Future Ready” strategy.Australia Post Managing Director and CEO Ahmed Fahour announced today that the $2 billioninvestment will transform the company’s national parcel delivery network and create a universaldigital platform to respond to customer demand for modern communication services. It also aims toexpand the network of retail superstores and parcel lockers across the country and make a secure,free, personalised Australia Post Digital MailBox available to every Australian.
“This is the single largest investment in the network in Australia Post’s more than 200 yearhistory and will significantly expand the capacity of our parcels network, making it world class.Without this investment, we cannot sustain the enormous demand for parcel services and continue thehigh level of service and reliability we’ve always delivered to Australians. This investment willprovide the infrastructure and delivery options to ensure Australian businesses and consumers canreap the benefits of the digital economy,” Fahour said.
He explained that an investment of this scale was only possible due to continued stronggrowth and despite difficult economic conditions and mail decline with latest profits rising over16% thanks to efficient cost management, innovation in retail products and services. The continuousgrowth in online shopping gave an additional boost to parcel delivery. This resulted in this year’srevenue growth of 2.8% to AUS$5.1 billion and an operating profit of AUS$398 million increasing by21% compared to the previous year.
In line with expectations, Australia Post’s regulated mail business losses widened to $148million in 2011/12 as Australians continue to turn to online communications. “We recognise that thedemand for physical mail services will continue to decrease and while our parcels business isgrowing, increased competition and the fixed costs associated with maintaining our national mailnetwork will challenge our ability to continue to grow and invest in the future,” Fahour said.
With the AUS$2 billion investment over the next four years, Australia Post will continueexpanding its network of 24/7 parcel lockers and retail superstores. By the end of the year, thecompany aims to establish 128 parcel locker locations across Australia expanding to 250 locationsin total over the next two years. Consumers can subscribe to the free service with SMS or e-mailmessage sent when a parcel is ready for collection. In addition, parcels lockers for exclusive useby post office box customers will also be installed in 80 locations across the country by the endof 2012. The postal operator wants to ensure that by 2014, 80% of Australian citizens inmetropolitan areas will be able to reach a parcel collection location within 10 minutes’ drive.
Online shopping continues to grow in Australia, with local consumers spending a total ofAUS$11.9 billion in online retail sales last year. This equals a year-on-year increase of around22%. More than 70% of these items are purchased through local online retailers.
The online shopping boom obviously increased the demand for parcel deliveries with AustraliaPost operating at peak levels throughout the year as opposed to traditional peak demand times suchas Christmas. Therefore, the company aims to expand its current facilities and invest in new siteswith state-of-the-art technology including intelligent conveyor systems to increase the parcelprocessing capacity per hour and to reduce double handling.
Moreover, Australia Post will implement a fully automated track and trace parcel systemenabling to identify the location of every barcoded parcel at any time. This means customers willknow exactly where their parcel is from start to finish and can check the status of their parcel atany time.
“We’re also committed to expanding our range of products and services to meet the growingneeds of our customers who buy and sell online. One example is the provision of a cost effectiveinternational parcel service – Pack and Track International – to the UK, US, NZ, Ireland andSingapore, which enables tracking for only $6 extra than regular airmail, a significantly cheaperalternative for local businesses to access key international e-commerce markets,” the companyadded.
