International Distribution Services, the parent company of Royal Mail and GLS, has announced positive revenue growth across the board for the year ending March 29, 2026, with group revenues up 3.6% year-on-year to £13.6bn (US$19.7bn).
Royal Mail’s revenues were up 2.6% to £8.4bn (US$11bn) while GLS saw an increase of 5.2% year-on-year to £5.2bn (US$6.8bn).
However, operating profits were slightly down overall, falling £56m (US$73.8m) to £222m (US$292m) for the group. This was in part due to National Insurance increases affecting Royal Mail profits, and regulatory changes in Italy and a softer economic environment in Canada impacting GLS.
Commenting on the results, Martin Seidenberg, group chief executive officer at IDS, said, “This has been a year of real progress for IDS on many fronts, as we invest to build a modern, global logistics business at scale.
“Following Royal Mail’s agreement with the unions we are rolling out universal service changes across the UK which will lead to a more efficient, reliable and sustainable service for our customers.
“GLS continues to grow revenue and parcel volumes despite challenging conditions in parts of Europe, underlining the resilience of the group and the strength of our international network.”
Operational highlights
Out-of-home volumes at Royal Mail were up 40% year-on-year, driven by increased use of the company’s growing network of 30,000 parcel points including 3,300 lockers and 8,500 Royal Mail Shops, and ongoing growth in e-commerce and marketplace sales. Total parcel volumes increased 7% to 1.4 billion in 2025/26.
Meanwhile, addressed letter volumes fell 10%, which IDS said reinforces the need for the universal service obligation reforms that are currently underway at across 1,200 delivery offices following agreements with the Communication Workers Union and Unite CMA.
At GLS, the out-of-home network grew 30% year-on-year to over 110,000 locations, with its parcel locker network expanding by 40% to 32,500 units and 29% of B2C parcels delivered to or collected from out-of-home locations in March 2026.
The company also saw strong international and B2C growth and continued momentum across key e-commerce platforms which supported its out-of-home volume growth.
Seidenberg added, “The continued growth of marketplaces and e-commerce is increasing demand for convenient, flexible delivery and returns solutions across Europe. Our unique multi-channel offering – spanning home delivery, lockers, shops and parcel postboxes – positions the business strongly to meet evolving customer needs.
“We are investing to enhance that proposition further and, with EP Group’s backing and the commitment of our people, we remain focused on delivering convenience, reliability and sustainable long-term growth across our networks.”
Read more on the financial results here.
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