Outgoing Australia Post chief executive Ahmed Fahour has signed off on his seven-year term with a huge boost in first-half profit at the transformed parcels and letters business.
Solid growth in parcel volumes hiked first-half net profit to $131 million in the six months to December 31, from just $16 million in the prior corresponding period despite an 11 per cent fall in letter volumes.
Australia Post made the surprise announcement that Mr Fahour had resigned just hours after the result, with the 50-year-old subsequently telling media in Melbourne that he believed the company's transformation to competitive global parcels business was complete.
He said recent criticism of his $5.6 million salary had not forced his decision, although it had been considered.
The result came on the back of domestic parcel volumes jumping 5.7 per cent, revenue jumping 8.2 per cent to $3.5 billion and gains from business efficiency programs.
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"Today over 70 per cent of our revenue and 100 per cent of our profit is derived from commercial activities in parcels and e-commerce," Mr Fahour said in a statement ahead of his resignation annoucement.
"This is one of the strongest first half results in recent history and it demonstrates that we are on the right path to ensuring the future of Australia Post for our people, the community and our important stakeholders."
Australia Post's pre-tax profit also jumped from just $1 million to $197 million in the six months to December 31.
Mr Fahour said modelling shows that if the company had not changed, particularly the letters business where volumes have fallen 11 per cent, it would have accumulated losses of $2 billion and needed a bailout.
Mr Fahour said Australia Post introduced a number of innovations recently including new parcel sorting machines and automated letter sorting machines.
He said weekend and evening deliveries, and investing in global parcel and e-commerce giant Aramex, were helping the company grow market share and compete with global rivals.
"It's important we continue to focus closely on making sure our business is running as efficiently as possible, especially as we head into what is traditionally a much more challenging second half," Mr Fahour said.
