Revenues at An Post rose by 9 per cent last year to €820 million, according to figures supplied recently by the State company to the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.
The postal service's operating profit, however, dipped slightly from €16.2 million to just more than €15 million. This was due to investments in a number of areas, including its fleet of vans and extra security at its network of post offices.
After years of cost containment, aimed at keeping a lid on spending and returning the postal group to profitability, An Post last year spent €30 million on its fleet and on fuel costs. The company acquired 500 new vans in 2006, with more to come on stream this year.
Rising fuel costs also affected its operating performance.
While the operating profit was reduced last year, the performance will be seen as encouraging when measured against the €3 million loss on day-to-day operations recorded by the company in 2004.
The 9 per cent increase in the company's turnover last year was a marked change on its sales performance in the previous 12 months. In 2005, An Post's revenues rose by just €2 million or 0.3 per cent on the previous year.
Growth in the company's 2006 revenues were boosted by a 4 per cent increase in the volume of mail delivered. The number of international packets delivered increased by 14 per cent as the company benefited from the growing popularity of online shopping.
An Post's results will also show that its bottom line profit figure was boosted by an €80 million net profit from the sale of a 14.4-acre site on the Naas Road in Dublin, close to the Red Cow roundabout. The site was formerly used by SDS, a parcel delivery service that was closed by An Post.
Although the land sale was announced in May, the deal was not finalised until just before the year end. On the flip side, the company agreed to pay workers about €20 million last year in arrears due to them under previous national wage agreements.
An Post's annual results are due to be approved shortly by Cabinet. The company will publish its annual report on April 26th. An Post reported a pre-tax profit of €40.9 million in 2005, more than three times the €11.6 million surplus in the previous year.
