Australia Post reports $222 million loss — first full year profit loss in more than 30 years

AUSTRALIA Post has reported its first full year profit loss in more than 30 years, with the CEO blaming the result on the dwindling number of letters.

View from inside the mailbox looking out, revealing a letter and someone opening the mailbox door and peering in.

NATIONAL postal service Australia Post has reported a $222 million loss — its first full year profit loss in more than 30 years.

Australia Post CEO Ahmed Fahour has blamed the loss on a “challenging year” for the business, with the mail industry undergoing an important transformation while letter volumes continue to weaken.

In 2014/15, letter volumes fell 7.3 per cent. But parcel revenue rose 3.6 per cent. Parcels made up more than half of Australia Post’s $6.37 billion revenue.

Big boss ... Australia Post CEO Ahmed Fahour at their new state-of-the-art Melbourne parcels facility. Picture: David Geraghty

Mr Fahour said the company is investing in infrastructure and digital capabilities for the future.

“We are confident we have the resources, infrastructure and support in place to manage the ongoing transition of our letters business as we become a more eCommerce-centric organisation,” he said.

Mr Fahour announced in June that Australia Post had “reached the tipping point” and would need to cut 1900 jobs over the next three years.

Australia Post has already lost about 2000 letters workers in the past four years. About 4400 have been retrained and moved to growth areas — such as parcels — since late 2013.