Q1 Trading Update 2024/25

This morning we released our trading update for the three months to the end of June 2024, which includes the important General Election period. 

We have maintained our positive momentum, with good parcel volume growth, supported by further improvements in quality of service and revenue growth in both letters and parcels.  

That said, during the same three month period last year we were still feeling the after effects of industrial action, so growth was depressed at that time and we should not expect the same level of growth through the remaining quarters of the year. We also benefited this quarter from the General Election taking place sooner than we expected. 

The summary of our performance is:

• Total parcel volumes increased by 11% but addressed letter volume declined by 4%, highlighting again the need for urgent action to reform the Universal Service
• Parcel revenue increased by 10.1% while total letter revenue increased by 11.2%
• During the General Election we delivered more postal votes and candidate mail than in any previous election:
  • Deliveries of postal vote returns increased by 50% and delivery of candidate mail increased by 30% compared to the 2019 General Election
  • In total we delivered 50.8 million poll cards, 7.3 million completed postal votes and 184 million pieces of candidate mail
  • We delivered everything that was handed to us on time, giving us great confidence as we look ahead to peak. 

We continue to make improvements, but we must keep up the pace 

We have seen some positive results in the first quarter of the year, which demonstrates that our approach is working and our priorities are the right ones. 

We are putting the foundations in place for growth through improved quality, the extension of the network window and removing half of our domestic flights. We have also expanded our out-of-home offering into more than 3,300 Collect+ stores and 400 lockers so far, growing to 5,000 stores in the coming weeks and 1,500 lockers by the end of the year. 

It is vital that we keep up the pace of improvement as we enter the second quarter if we are to stay on track for the year. 

Thank you 

Thank you to everyone across Royal Mail for the hard work that has gone into delivering a good start to the year, and in particular the extra effort that went in ensuring we played our part in delivering democracy. 

Let’s keep our sights focussed on delivering the plan we have already set ourselves to get back to profitability. This includes improving quality whilst controlling our costs. 

With this focus, we can build on our performance and ensure that Royal Mail can reach its full potential. 

 Find our market announcement here.