An Post has repaid in full and on schedule a €30 million loan that was advanced to the State-owned company by the Government in December 2017 to support the first phase of its transformation from letters to an ecommerce parcels business.

Some €15 million of the loan was used to support the renewal of the post office network and the same amount for the continued fulfilment of a five-day per week mails delivery service. As An Post was a commercial State body, this support was provided by way of a loan.

At the time of the loan, which carried an interest rate of 1 per cent a year, An Post said the funding would allow for a continuation of a five-day-week postal service and an expansion of its parcel delivery service, but would not the halt the ongoing closure of post offices across the company’s 1,125-strong network.

The decline in traditional mail services had resulted in An Post incurring a loss of €15.6 million in 2016 with predictions at the time that this would balloon to €61 million in 2017 unless corrective action was taken. As it transpired, An Post made a profit in 2017.

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An Post said the loans also enabled it to invest in a new strategy for financial services; a national and international ecommerce parcels businesses; and the purchase of its first tranche of electric delivery vehicles.

Having come through the challenges of the pandemic, the company has repaid the loan on schedule and without requiring the available 12-month extension.

Commenting on the repayment, An Post chief executive David McRedmond said: “An Post is a vibrant commercial business that receives no subsidy [from the State]. Having returned to growth and positive cash flow after the pandemic and having sold on our interest in the National Lottery licence, we have repaid in full this Government loan.

“An Post has now completed its HQ move to the EXO building, concluded a transformation agreement with employees, implemented a ground-breaking pensions deal, driven growth in the retail business to achieve a second year of profit and secured new ecommerce parcel contracts with Irish and global brands.

“We’ve also developed the world’s first trackable digital stamp and steadily reduced our carbon emissions. The company is well set to move to a new phase of transformation thanks to the foresight and hard work of officials across Government in providing this loan in 2017, now fully repaid.”