Royal Mail cashes in from online shopping boom

Royal Mail bosses are hoping that a surge in earnings throughout the pandemic will satisfy billionaire investor Daniel Kretinsky when they meet up with the “Czech sphinx” next 7 days.

The enterprise uncovered pre-tax earnings strike £726m throughout the yr to March, a fourfold boost on a yr before, underscoring its remarkable turnaround. Revenues jumped 16.6pc to £12.6bn as the closure of non-necessary retail throughout lockdown intended it benefited from a growth in on the web shopping. Royal Mail explained buyers will be rewarded with superior payouts as it declared a 10p dividend for the yr with programs to boost it to 20p for the next economic yr.

Mr Kretinsky is now the major investor, proudly owning much more than 15pc of Royal Mail, which is closing in on a return to the FTSE a hundred.

Royal Mail was plunged into disaster a yr ago when its boss Rico Back again abruptly stop amid increasing tensions with union leaders and a more quickly-thanexpected tumble in letter volumes. Led by chairman Keith Williams, Royal Mail bosses struck a offer with union leaders before this yr, getting rid of the threat of industrial action.

Simon Thompson, main govt, explained: “Past yr stood out as a single of amazing change at Royal Mail. It has been complicated at occasions, but we have learnt that we can provide success and change at lightning rate when we are united by a popular function.

“From beginning to provide on Sundays by way of to trialling drones – we’re modifying. And it really is doing the job. Searching forward, we have to continue to be laser concentrated on accelerating the rate of change, becoming brilliant for our clients, and accomplishing all this in an progressively successful way.”

Royal Mail’s change away from letters to focus on parcels was confirmed as the enterprise uncovered it generated much more money from parcel deliveries than letters for the first time in its historical past.

Parcels account for 72pc of revenues. Its European and US parcel enterprise GLS also fared effectively throughout the pan demic, with revenues soaring 28pc.

But even with the boosts in earnings and revenues, bosses explained that the enterprise had incurred important added charges due to Covid-19.