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27/05/2004
Royal Mail posts £220m profits
Royal Mail has reported a profit of £220 million for last year – the first time in four yours that the business has posted positive results.
Today's figures are a massive turnaround on losses of £197 million last year. Royal Mail reported a 4% growth in turnover to £8,633 million, largely as a result of the postage price rise in May 2003, and customers posting more letters last year – with volumes up 1.6%. Cost efficiencies from operational changes also played a key role, the group said.
However, pay increases in the letters business and in other parts of the company, and increased pension costs, will add almost £700 million to Royal Mail’s costs, the company said.
The return to profitability follows a two-year period when losses from operations reached more than £1 million a day. However the return on turnover of just 2.5% is still way below a commercial return and much lower than in the 1990’s when returns of around 6% were generated in some years, and significantly lower than our main competitors, Royal Mail said.
Despite not reaching licence targets, group chairman Allan Leighton said that in the period covered by the results prior to the unofficial industrial action last autumn, the 'Quality of Service' results in the company were the best for 15 years.
Royal Mail achieved 90.1% next-day delivery for First Class mail last year, short of the 92.5% target set by Postcomm.
Without the strike, Mr Leighton said, Royal Mail would have reported Quality of Service levels "higher than at the beginning of the Renewal Plan, as well as an even higher profit number".
He added: "However, the current reductions in quality, which are driven partially by the lack of a full recovery from the unofficial action, but largely by the massive modernisation changes required in the company, are not acceptable, are now beginning to improve and are the key focus of everyone in the company.”
To underline this, Mr Leighton said that he will defer his entire earned bonus for the year until the group meets "key agreed quality of service targets in 2004-05". If these numbers are not achieved, the bonus is waived.
Elmar Toime, the Deputy Executive Chairman, has also agreed to defer half his earned bonus for the year into 2004-05, to be conditional on achievement of key Quality of Service targets. At the same time, other executive directors including Adam Crozier, Group Chief Executive, are to waive the quality of service element of their bonus for the year, which can be up to 20% of the total.
It was also confirmed today that the company had written to Channel 4 and Hardcash, the producers of the Dispatches programme, asking for an apology for the "innuendo created by accusations in the programme that credit cards, which Barclaycard has since confirmed were not posted into Royal Mail’s system, had been stolen from the postal system in an organised way".
(gmcg)
Today's figures are a massive turnaround on losses of £197 million last year. Royal Mail reported a 4% growth in turnover to £8,633 million, largely as a result of the postage price rise in May 2003, and customers posting more letters last year – with volumes up 1.6%. Cost efficiencies from operational changes also played a key role, the group said.
However, pay increases in the letters business and in other parts of the company, and increased pension costs, will add almost £700 million to Royal Mail’s costs, the company said.
The return to profitability follows a two-year period when losses from operations reached more than £1 million a day. However the return on turnover of just 2.5% is still way below a commercial return and much lower than in the 1990’s when returns of around 6% were generated in some years, and significantly lower than our main competitors, Royal Mail said.
Despite not reaching licence targets, group chairman Allan Leighton said that in the period covered by the results prior to the unofficial industrial action last autumn, the 'Quality of Service' results in the company were the best for 15 years.
Royal Mail achieved 90.1% next-day delivery for First Class mail last year, short of the 92.5% target set by Postcomm.
Without the strike, Mr Leighton said, Royal Mail would have reported Quality of Service levels "higher than at the beginning of the Renewal Plan, as well as an even higher profit number".
He added: "However, the current reductions in quality, which are driven partially by the lack of a full recovery from the unofficial action, but largely by the massive modernisation changes required in the company, are not acceptable, are now beginning to improve and are the key focus of everyone in the company.”
To underline this, Mr Leighton said that he will defer his entire earned bonus for the year until the group meets "key agreed quality of service targets in 2004-05". If these numbers are not achieved, the bonus is waived.
Elmar Toime, the Deputy Executive Chairman, has also agreed to defer half his earned bonus for the year into 2004-05, to be conditional on achievement of key Quality of Service targets. At the same time, other executive directors including Adam Crozier, Group Chief Executive, are to waive the quality of service element of their bonus for the year, which can be up to 20% of the total.
It was also confirmed today that the company had written to Channel 4 and Hardcash, the producers of the Dispatches programme, asking for an apology for the "innuendo created by accusations in the programme that credit cards, which Barclaycard has since confirmed were not posted into Royal Mail’s system, had been stolen from the postal system in an organised way".
(gmcg)
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17 May 2005
Royal Mail workers benefit from record profits
Royal Mail workers are set to receive bonuses of £1,074, following the announcement of record profits of £537 million for the year 2004-05. The national mail service reported the record profits today – an increase of 144% on the £220 million profits announced in the last financial year.
Royal Mail workers benefit from record profits
Royal Mail workers are set to receive bonuses of £1,074, following the announcement of record profits of £537 million for the year 2004-05. The national mail service reported the record profits today – an increase of 144% on the £220 million profits announced in the last financial year.
10 February 2006
Missing post costs Royal Mail £11.7m
Postal services watchdog, Postcomm, is proposing to fine Royal Mail £11.7m over "serious breaches" of its licence obligations to protect the mail and deliver it on time. Launched in 2004, the Postcomm review found that important features of Royal Mail's procedures were not being applied across the business.
Missing post costs Royal Mail £11.7m
Postal services watchdog, Postcomm, is proposing to fine Royal Mail £11.7m over "serious breaches" of its licence obligations to protect the mail and deliver it on time. Launched in 2004, the Postcomm review found that important features of Royal Mail's procedures were not being applied across the business.
17 November 2005
Royal Mail profits boosted by parcels
Royal Mail has reported a rise in profits, despite a seeing a fall in earnings in its letter business. The group reported a 20.5% increase in operating profit to £159 million for the first half of 2005/06 – a £27 million improvement on the same period the previous year.
Royal Mail profits boosted by parcels
Royal Mail has reported a rise in profits, despite a seeing a fall in earnings in its letter business. The group reported a 20.5% increase in operating profit to £159 million for the first half of 2005/06 – a £27 million improvement on the same period the previous year.
14 June 2010
CIPR Journalism Awards In Full
Deric Henderson of the Press Association has been awarded the Journalist of the Year title The Belfast Telegraph lifted the title for Coca-Cola CIPR Newspaper of the Year, and the BBC's Spotlight Programme won the Coca-Cola CIPR Scoop of the Year and the Coca-Cola CIPR Current Affairs Programme of the Year for its Irish Robinson Investigation.
CIPR Journalism Awards In Full
Deric Henderson of the Press Association has been awarded the Journalist of the Year title The Belfast Telegraph lifted the title for Coca-Cola CIPR Newspaper of the Year, and the BBC's Spotlight Programme won the Coca-Cola CIPR Scoop of the Year and the Coca-Cola CIPR Current Affairs Programme of the Year for its Irish Robinson Investigation.
27 February 2004
Royal Mail puts in 'poor' performance
The Royal Mail has performed poorly and is "unlikely" to meet any of the 15 minimum performance targets set out in its licence, according to the mail watchdog Postwatch. Postwatch said that Royal Mail’s third quarter performance was badly affected by unofficial industrial action, and would not meet its targets.
Royal Mail puts in 'poor' performance
The Royal Mail has performed poorly and is "unlikely" to meet any of the 15 minimum performance targets set out in its licence, according to the mail watchdog Postwatch. Postwatch said that Royal Mail’s third quarter performance was badly affected by unofficial industrial action, and would not meet its targets.
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