Australia Post today announced a full-year loss after tax of $222 million ($352 million before tax), driven by the continued decline in letter volumes which more than outweighed parcel growth.
Addressed letter volumes fell by 7.3%, with ordinary stamped letters falling by 10.3%, as Australians continue to switch to digital alternatives, with losses in the mail business growing to $381 million. Group revenue remained stable at $6.37 billion, with parcels revenue up 3.6% to $3.21 billion, for the first time delivering more than half of total revenue.
Despite recording a full financial year loss, Australia Post Managing Director and Group CEO Ahmed Fahour said the business had now made important headway reforming the letters service. "As we had forecast, this has been a challenging but crucial year of transition for our business, reflected in the numbers," he said.
"We continue to make headway with reforming our letters business and we are investing in the infrastructure and digital capabilities – vital to servicing the changing needs of our customers. We are confident we have the resources, infrastructure and support in place to manage the ongoing transition of our letters business as we become a more eCommerce-centric organisation."
Fahour added: "We are grateful to the government and members of parliament for supporting our reform program as it passed the Senate last week, enabling us to get on with this critical transformation.”
The parcels business continued to be challenged, despite revenue growing year-on-year, in a highly competitive market where domestic freight providers are building capacity and international competitors acquiring sorting and last-mile delivery capabilities in Australia.
"Despite increasing competition, for the first time ever our parcels business delivered more than half of total revenue. We are well positioned to continue our strong support for Australian business and consumers," the CEO said.
Ongoing investments in e-commerce delivered this year include expanded major parcels facilities in Sydney and Melbourne, doubling processing capacity at both sites, the continued rollout of the 24/7 Parcel Lockers network and the introduction of extended post office trading hours and Saturday deliveries.
In addition, Australia Post said it is developing key strategic partnerships with leading Chinese companies to help grow e-commerce trade between the two nations.
