Royal Mail hit by sharp drop in letter posting over Christmas

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2017/01 ... r-posting/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royal Mail has revealed a sharp drop in letter mailing in the busy Christmas season as business worries over Brexit hit marketing post.

The group said the number of addressed letters tumbled 6% in the nine months to December 25, while letter revenues fell 5%.

This comes after a 4% fall in letter numbers in the previous six months.

"We are seeing the impact of overall business uncertainty in the UK on letter volumes, in particular advertising and business letters," Royal Mail said.

The group signalled an impact from Brexit fears on its letters arm in half-year results in November, when revenues from advertising mail slumped 8%.

It said the trend for marketing mail revenues had remained "broadly similar" in the third quarter.

This offset a stronger performance from its parcels business, which notched up a 3% rise in revenues over the nine months to Christmas Day, with the number of parcels delivered up 2%.

Overall revenues across its UK parcels and letters division fell 2%.

But its European parcels business, General Logistics Systems (GLS), saw a strong festive quarter with revenues jumping 9% over the nine months, helping overall group-wide revenues hold firm on a year earlier.

[PHARRY]

Could of fooled me there were loads of parcels and letters

[Nigel1505]

I read that our beloved "direct Mail" D2d, are down. that's a big shame 'cause I just love 'em.

[WOBBLY]

That's utter bulls*it Just another stick to start hitting us with to bring in further cuts!

ps I nearly got knocked over in Tsco car park before, I blame that on Brexit too oh pleeaaasee

[Speedmeister]

Ah yes, the brexit bullshit excuse. Another load of bollocks as usual.

[rubberbond]

That's very strange, if it was the case that the mail was down, could someone explain why our office couldn't clear ,day after day,week after week? Brexit my arse

[DirtyHarry]

Absolute bollocks.
Royal Mail telling downright lies again.

[Tman]

The mail's been reducing year on year on a long while now, and as the card-sending generation gradually pass on, it'll reduce even further.
Always intrigues as just who might be sending all this supposed mail in this age of paperless statements, on-line banking, and virtual greetings cards.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Barclaycard, Virgin (TV and Mobile), MBNA, Sky, Charities, Credit Card Companies, Catalogue companies - plenty of Mail Houses sending out loads of stuff for their clients, we have 2 in Huddersfield and they get loads of returns every day.

From 10 years ago the number of letters has dropped on my round, but the mail we are delivering is heavier and bulkier, and the number of packets is around 3 times what it was 10 years ago. Problem is RM think we should be quicker because the number of letters is down, but delivering packets, and scanning items takes time, so much so that the average non-attendance call is increasing as is the average attendance call, as getting people to sign a PDA can be more difficult for some than sign a bit of paper.

In essence, we deliver fewer letters but they are bulkier. We deliver more parcels and make more attendance calls but it îs more than offsets any saving from less letters.

[Tman]

Posties may well be working as hard, if not harder, than they always have, but then that's not the issue. The header says "RM hit by sharp drop in letter posting over Christmas" and that's demonstrably true.
The British public are sending fewer letters than ever.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Posties may well be working as hard, if not harder, than they always have, but then that's not the issue.

Not for you, but it certainly is for me and my colleagues in delivery.

[Newbie001]

Don't think some Post offices being on strike helped. Due to misinformation had dozens of people asking why I was working. Even saw a few customers out delivering cards themselves. One said it was to save money, the others said because they thought we were on strike.
Might not account for the full 6% downturn but must account for quite a chunk though.

[Deadly]

That's a very good point. A couple of POs I visit said pretty much the same thing with members of the public thinking they were on strike.