The postal and delivery service, which became privatised last October, reported a growth of 1% in group revenue in what CEO, Moya Greene, said “is traditionally a quieter period for the business.”
Contrastingly, Royal Mail’s UK Parcels, International & Letters (UKPIL) arm was down 1%, hampered by increased competition and headwinds from the current low inflationary environment.
The FTSE 100 company saw parcel volumes and revenues increase by 2% each, which it said was primarily driven by the growth of import parcels in an era of increased online shopping.
However, the decline in addressed letter volumes (2%) and revenue from letters (3%) dragged the UKPIL division down even in the run up to the EU Referendum.
Royal Mail’s General Logistics System, on the other hand, returned healthy volumes and revenue growth over the quarter of 13% each.
Greene summarised: “Overall, trading in the three months ended 26 June 2016 was in line with our expectations, with no material change in overall trends. Movements in GDP are drivers for letter and B2B parcel volumes and we are monitoring the situation.”
Major shareholders in Royal Mail include Artemis Investment Management which owns 4.06% and Oppenheimer Funds which has 3.85% of the company.
