Australia Post (AusPost) saw revenue jump by more than 10% for the 2021 financial year, resulting in record sales of A$8.3bn (US$6bn).
Total revenue was boosted by the continued growth in e-commerce brought about by Covid-19, with parcels revenue growing 17.7% to A$6.5bn (US$4.8bn), on the back of a 27% increase in Australia Post branded parcels and StarTrack volumes up more than 12%.
AP Global continued to grow the post’s cross-border e-commerce business, with revenue up 90.6% to A$429m (US$314m), with its end-to-end logistics solutions for a portfolio of global e-commerce merchants delivering more than 40 million parcels.
Australia Post also recorded a A$47.1m (US$34m) increase in profit to A$100.7m (US$74m) before tax, despite facing disruptions to network operations, hiring additional resources to support lockdowns, processing unprecedented parcel volumes and significantly reducing transportation capacity.
Letter volumes, however, continued to decline – down 11.6% to A$202m (US$148m) in revenue.
Rodney Boys, acting group CEO and managing director, said, “This strong result rests with the hard work of our people, who have continued to deliver every day through the challenges of a pandemic and numerous lockdowns.
“It is fitting that we recognize our people through the positive vote for the new Enterprise Agreement, which preserves existing terms and conditions while delivering a 3% pay rise for each of the next three years, for over 31,000 people across the deliveries, Post Office Network, customer services and office teams.
“The strength of e-commerce – up 31.8% as Australians took to online shopping in record numbers – has supported the result, as did the temporary regulatory changes which allowed us to meet the significant parcel demand and ongoing mail delivery.
“Our Post Office Network performed strongly, and despite challenging times, we kept 99% of our post offices open, allowing people to access important services, including Bank@Post – where we also signed landmark extensions with CBA and NAB for a further 10 years.
“We have accelerated our investment program, with A$450m (US$330m) invested last year in our delivery network, including in processing facilities, our last-mile delivery fleet, electric vehicles and expanding our Parcel Lockers footprint, increasing delivery options for consumers and further significant projects to be completed in the year ahead.”
Australia Post also returned dividends to the government of A$46.2m (US$34m).
