PostNL delivered a record number of parcels last year and increased its gross profit. Last year, the postal and parcel company was given more work in the processing and delivery of mail and parcels due to the corona pandemic. Employees, partners and retailers also benefit from the results.
In an explanation of the annual figures, top woman Herna Verhagen describes 2021 as “an exceptional year”. A year that started and ended in lockdown. PostNL delivered 384 million parcels last year, an increase of 13.8 percent compared to 2020. Without the corona pandemic, growth would have been 11.7 percent. Letter delivery fell by 0.5 percent in volume, but without the corona post (for example, letters with calls for vaccination from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport), the drop would have been 5 percent, in line with the long-term trend.
PostNL achieved a turnover of almost 3.5 billion euros, more than the almost 3.3 billion in 2020. The net profit is 258 million euros, 42 million euros more than a year earlier. This profit result is not structural, because 82 million euros consists of corona-related activities such as the delivery of corona mail during the booster campaign.
Taking advantage
Shareholders, staff, partners and retailers also benefit from PostNL’s profit results. A dividend of 0.42 euros per share will be paid and PostNL will buy back 250 million euros in its own shares. The employees under the collective labor agreement receive a profit distribution of 2 percent. Previously, 35 to 40 million euros had already been paid to retail companies and subcontractors with which PostNL works.
Pressure factors
The corona pandemic may have provided PostNL with a nice bonus, but the pandemic also caused problems for the company. For example, disruptions in the supply chain depressed the results.
Added to this are the stricter VAT rules on small packages from outside the European Union and the changed laws and regulations regarding counterfeiting in China. Since 1 July, VAT must also be paid on smaller parcels from outside the EU, previously such orders were exempt from tax.
And in China, the trade in counterfeit goods is being tackled, so that less is ordered and therefore fewer parcels come this way. In total, PostNL estimates the impact on gross profit at around 11 million euros.
Reported by NOS
