NZ Post to increase postage rates

New Zealand Post Group, the state-owned postal service, is increasing its postage rates for domestically self-wrapped parcels and introducing an additional charge for rural deliveries in March, to cover rising petrol costs and inflation.

The postage rates will increase from five to 11 percent, while parcels destined for rural delivery addresses will incur an addition charge of $2.80, effective Mar. 1.

“The reality is that the costs of providing parcel delivery services – in particular fuel costs – have increased markedly since 2008,” the company said in a statement. “There will be no increase for postage included bags which are currently used by just over half our parcel-sending customers. There will be no increase for commercial customers on ParcelPost contracts either.

“It has, in recent years, been common practice for private sector delivery firms to levy additional charge for parcel delivery to rural delivery addresses, to reflect the higher costs of delivery.”

In November the state-owned postal service posted a full-year loss of $35.6 million as its balance sheet bore the brunt of a $29.1 million hit related to the Christchurch earthquakes, the exit from Australian assets, increased bad debt provisioning, and the sluggish economy.

The earnings loss for the 12 months ended June 30 compares to a profit of $1.3 million in the previous year. The earnings loss before interest and tax was $25 million in the period, down from an EBIT surplus of $47.4 million previously.

Earnings were impacted by an increase in Kiwibank bad debt provisioning of $67 million in response to the impacts of depressed economic conditions and the Christchurch earthquakes, along with a $35 million write down to its Parcel Direct Group unit in Australia, and restructuring costs of $12.3 million.

(BusinessDesk)

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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