UK Mail exceeded its business expectations for the third quarter of its financial year from 1October to December 2012 with a 14 per cent revenue increase boosted by higher parcel volumes
during the peak Christmas period.For the three-month period ended 31 December 2012, the company’s parcels division recorded avolume increase of some 20 per cent driven by booming online shopping and related home deliveries. “ This resulted in a continuation of the mix change towards B2C that we saw in the first half.Working with our customers we sought to manage our peak Christmas volumes to ensure they werewithin our expanded capacity. Our operations were very well managed across the peak period, whichensured that our leading customer service levels were maintained throughout this very busy period,”UK Mail said.
The group’s underlying revenue increased by around 8 per cent after adjusting for theincrease in Royal Mail prices implemented on 2 April 2012 and one more working day than in the sameperiod last year.
UK Mail’s mail business also saw ‘good revenue growth’ due to a further increase in mailvolumes. “This growth continues to be driven by strong customer retention and new customer wins,”the company added. A decline in revenues was registered for its courier business, in line withexpectations.
The group stressed that it remains in a ‘sound financial position’. UK Mail CEO Guy Buswell,commented: “I am pleased to announce that we performed well during our peak Christmas tradingperiod, maintaining our strong customer service levels even as volumes significantly increased.”
“We still assume the economic backdrop will remain challenging into 2013 and the pricingenvironment will stay competitive. We are well prepared for this and with our highly competitivebusiness model, tight focus on costs and strong balance sheet, we remain confident that we willcome through this period of significant change in our industry as one of the strongest players inthe markets in which we operate,” he added.
During its 2011-2012 business year ending March 31, 2012, UK Mail increased its revenues by 8per cent thanks to higher parcel and mail volumes.
