Our financial performance is improving – but there's still a lot of work to do.
That's the view of Matthew Lester, our chief financial officer. He is keen to stress that we should no longer think of ourselves as a letters business.
'With the growth of online shopping, parcels is a growth business for us. That is also attractive to investors.'
Our core UK business has increased its revenue by 4%.
Costs grew slower than the rate of inflation. This time last year it was losing £120 million (after modernisation costs).
Matthew says: ‘The reduction in frontline hours has benefited the business, along with cuts to management staff.
But this is counter balanced by the pay deal for frontline staff, and other costs such as the higher price of fuel and electricity.
‘Our cost reduction plan is vital. Letters will continue to decline. We must also find other ways of generating revenue.'