Overview
- Results published Tuesday show Royal Mail’s UK revenue rose 2.6% to £8.4bn and underlying earnings climbed to £5m while annual operating profit more than halved to £96m because employee costs and a £133m national insurance charge surged.
- The wider International Distribution Services group reported adjusted operating profit down about a fifth to £222m and group pre‑tax profit fell sharply, with its GLS parcel arm hit by regulatory changes in Italy and tough trading in Canada.
- Parcel volumes grew roughly 7% to 1.4bn and out‑of‑home collections increased about 40%, while addressed letter volumes fell about 10% to 5.7bn, a shift that has prompted nationwide rollout of universal service changes after a union agreement.
- Ofcom has opened a formal probe into Royal Mail’s delivery performance after the company missed targets for another year, reporting only 75.7% of first‑class mail arrived the next working day over the 12 months to March.
- Chief executive Martin Seidenberg received about £6.9m for the year as long‑term incentive awards vested early following EP Group’s April takeover by Daniel Kretinsky, a development that has intensified scrutiny of pay and governance.