<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>327996</docID> <postdate>2024-08-30 11:03:37</postdate> <headline>AusPost delivers year loss as letters keep dropping</headline> <body><p><img class=" wp-image-279097" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2880px-Australia_Post_boxes-scaled-e1693882740854.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="601" /></p> <caption>Declining rates of sending letters have led to a loss of $88.5 million for Australia Post.</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Marion Rae</strong> in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>Major employer Australia Post has posted another loss as fewer customers send letters and visits to post offices continue to decline.</strong></p> <p>The group on Friday reported a loss of $88.5 million for the 12 months to June 30, after a $200.3 million deficit in the previous year.</p> <p>AusPost said this was a "solid result" in a highly competitive market with posties competing against large, well-funded foreign multi-nationals and other private operators.</p> <p>The average household now receives fewer than two addressed letters a week, which is expected to halve in the next five years.</p> <p>Over-the-counter transactions have fallen by 4.9 per cent and by more than a quarter (28.7 per cent) since 2019 as more customers go online.</p> <p>Chief executive Paul Graham said Australia Post was "still staring into structural challenges that are not going away".</p> <p>"There are irreversible challenges confronting us, including the decline of letters and the shift from over-the-counter transactions to digital services," he said.</p> <p>"The changes we've made to the business are a significant step in the right direction for our customers, our (more than 64,000) team members, and the broader community," Mr Graham said.</p> <p>"However, there is more work to do and further reform is required to ensure Australia Post is sustainable and delivers for communities for another 200 years."</p> <p>But the shifting banking landscape, along with the increased cost of doing business, meant BankPost was heading towards losses over the medium term unless partners provide additional funding, he warned.</p> <p>AusPost said the "two-speed" nature of the business was becoming even more pronounced with revenue from parcels continuing to grow.</p> <p>Parcels and services revenue rose to $7.42 billion, while losses in the letters business were $361.8 million as letter volumes fell 12.9 per cent to 1.76 billion.</p> <p>Domestic parcel volumes increased by 1.8 per cent, contributing to parcels revenue of $6.46 billion, an increase of 3.3 per cent.</p> <p>Parcel lockers continue to grow in popularity, with more than 1.4 million customers now registered for the 24-hour service.</p> <p>Last financial year almost eight million parcels were delivered to the network of more than 59,000 lockers across almost 700 locations.</p> <p>Group revenue rose 1.8 per cent to $9.13 billion and the cost of community service obligations, which require taxpayer-owned AusPost to meet social as well as commercial objectives, was $447 million.</p> <p> </p> </body>