Australia Post revenue has risen by 10.4 per cent, year on year, to reach $4.80 billion in the first half.
The improved Group profit before tax of $199.8 million was underlined by asset sales and revaluations, as well as favourable bond rate movements.
Australia Post revealed letter revenue of $935 million was down 1.2 per cent on last year and operational costs increased by 13.2 per cent, a reflection of Covid restraints and boosted volume.
Capital investment for the group increased to $217.8 million, up $28.4 million on last year – part of the $400 million committed to new parcels facilities, fleet and technology by mid-2022.
The business has committed an additional $20 million in upgrading systems to cloud based solutions over the next year to improve parcel scanning and tracking in the network.
Revenue from parcels and service was up almost $464.5 million, or 13.6 per cent, to $3.87 billion.
Australia Post continued to generate savings from business efficiency programs implemented across the organisation including head office support costs by $17.1 million.
Group CEO and managing director, Paul Graham, said the result was a significant achievement given the pandemic and the necessary network changes required to continue to provide essential goods and services to customers.
“Just like many businesses around the country, we have dealt with unprecedented challenges over the past year, but the ability of our people to adapt during ongoing challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic has been nothing short of remarkable,” Graham said.
“I want to thank all of our people for the spirit they’ve shown and their willingness to get the job done for our customers. It is a credit to all of our team members in processing, delivery, customer service, our Post Offices (including Licensed Post Offices) as well as our contractor partners.
“Our retail network of more than 4,300 Post Offices continues to provide critical government and financial services, particularly in rural and remote Australia, where Bank@Post remains an invaluable service for communities.
“We had 112 million visits to our corporate and Licensed Post Offices across the country in the first half, with 20 million visits alone in December.”
