Australia Post has recorded a 41 per cent jump in full-year profit to $134 million, as continued growth of the parcel delivery unit helped offset declines in its domestic letters business.
The volume of parcels delivered was up 11 per cent, and recorded a revenue of $3.5 billion, while the volume of letters decreased by 10 per cent and its revenue was $2.4 billion.
The publicly-owned delivery business posted a total revenue of $6.88 billion to the year ending June 30, up one per cent from the year before.
Chief Executive Christine Holgate said the double-digit shift between the uptake of parcels and decline of letters underlined the transformation of Australia Post from a letter-delivery business into a delivery-and-service business.
She said the increased rate of bills being paid online and large organisations withdrawing from regional towns has put further pressure on the business.
"Although we continue to optimise our delivery network, we require $2 of parcel revenue to mitigate the impact of every $1 decline in letters," Ms Holgate said
"This (shift) puts added pressure on local post offices for services for local communities, including financial transactions."
Australia Post services 15,085 street post boxes and 4,356 post offices nationwide, including 2,538 in rural and remote areas.
It invested $300 million in 2017/18 in capacity and efficiency in major processing parcel facilities and across the delivery network, and will increase this to $500 million in 2018/19.
Ms Holgate expects Australia Post's profitability to come under further pressure in 2018/19, due to the continued decline in letters combined with weaker domestic and cross-border retail conditions.
The self-funded public company contributed $593 million to state and federal governments, of which $79 million was directly through dividends and the balance through taxes paid.
AUSTRALIA POST FY PROFIT JUMPS
* Net profit up 40.7 per cent to $134 million
* Revenue up 1 per cent to $6.88 billion
