Royal Mail has record Christmas thanks to 'extraordinary' delivery staff

[POSTMAN]

https://www.standard.co.uk/business/roy ... 19377.html

ROYAL MAIL today praised the “extraordinary dedication” of postal workers over Christmas, as they delivered record numbers of parcels, including PPE for medical staff and Covid-19 test kits.

Chairman Keith Williams admitted that “exceptional volumes” and the high numbers of staff off work due to sickness had “impacted on service quality”, however.

The last three months were the busiest quarter for parcels in Royal Mail’s 505-year history. The letters business is in long-term decline, but even that arm improved somewhat.

Letter volumes fell 14% in the third quarter, a lower rate of decline than usual.

In the nine months to December, revenue was up 20% to £9.3 billion.

Williams said: “Our colleagues have worked incredibly hard to deliver these exceptional volumes at a time when many units have experienced rising levels of COVID-19 related absences, including necessary self-isolation. I want to thank them for their extraordinary dedication.”

He added: “At Royal Mail our busiest day during the quarter saw 32% more parcels delivered than our busiest day during the first national lockdown in 2020. Given these record volumes, we recognise that at times our service during the period was not always as we would have wished. But thanks to the efforts of our team, the retention of around 10,000 of the 33,000 flexible workers from the Christmas peak, and the introduction of new processes, we have been making encouraging progress.”

Royal Mail’s topsy-turvy shares opened today at 430p. They had fallen to 175p a year ago against a 330p float price in 2013.