Snail mail postage rates increasing
Reduced costs don't help NZ Post's snail mail revenue.
New Zealand Post is increasing the price of a number of postal rates, saying increasing costs and the 60 million fewer envelopes each year means push has come to shove.
The key changes include:
-
Standard post will increase from 80c to $1
-
Boxlink will increase from 95c to $1.20
-
Medium sized approved letter will increase from 75c to 95c
-
Bulk mail products will increase approximately 5-10%
-
Parcel prices remain unchanged
A full list of the new rates can be found here.
The decline of snail mail has impacted revenue despite significant and ongoing cost reductions, the state-owned company says.
“Changes in the way people communicate are mostly being driven by the availability of email, texting, and other digital communications. This is a worldwide trend and we know letter volumes will continue to fall,” NZ Post says.
Letter volumes dropped 10% in the past year (approximately 60 million envelopes) and NZ Post expects this to exacerbate in years to come.
The vast majority of the company’s profit is due to a strong performance from Kiwibank and the sale of Converga.
“We still have a lot of work to do to get our mail and logistics business on a sustainable path.
“Our focus on lowering costs will continue, as will our drive to grow parcel volumes, both domestically and internationally.
“Price rises are also needed to keep pace with higher costs and to reflect changing customer demand for our products and services.”
Delivery frequency changed to three days a week last year but NZ Post says customers will receive standard mail within three working days.
NZ Post’s net profit rose to $110 million in the six months ended December 31, from $100 million a year earlier, the state-owned enterprise says.
Stripping out the gain from asset sales, earnings fell 14% to $74 million on an 8.8% drop in revenue to $766 million.
Follow NBR on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram for the latest news and free on-demand audio from NBR Radio.
Staff Reporter
Wed, 16 Mar 2016
Wed, 16 Mar 2016
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
Snail mail postage rates increasing
56518