Postal service increasingly under pressure; PostNL needs gov't support

PostNL again suffered a decrease in the number of letters they delivered in the year's second quarter. The stability of the postal service is under pressure, said the postal company, who are now asking for money from the government. PostNL has been pleading for an adaptation of the postal law for a longer time, which would ensure that fewer letters need to be delivered.

The number of processed letters by the mail company was 1.3 percent lower from April to June than at the same time a year ago. This would even be a decrease of 5.9 percent if election mail is not taken into account. There was a drop of 7 percent in the first six months of the year on a yearly basis. A combination of this and higher costs for labor ensured that the post department had a profit of “only” one million euros in the first six months.

“This illustrates the urgency and necessity of change,” said CEO Herna Verhagen of PostNL in a statement. “We are aiming to change our postal service to standard two-day delivery and eventually three-day delivery.”

Verhagen added that this is already the case in other countries where the government supports postal companies financially. “PostNL has had to do it by itself for a long time. We now indicate that, in addition to an adjustment of the service framework, we are also looking for financial aid to ensure that stability can continue to be guaranteed," said the CEO.

Verhagen would not say how high that financial contribution would be. “But the profit of one million euro over six months is too low. Especially if you want to be a good employer. There are salary raises attached to that. And at the same time, we want to continue investing in our network.”

In the run-up to adjusting the postal law, the government is currently researching bridging measures. This could include, for example, extending the delivery time from 2025. It is not yet known when the results of the research are expected.

PostNL booked a turnover of 795 million euros in the second quarter, 3 percent more than a year earlier. Below the line, 12 million euros remained, compared to 9 million in the same period a year earlier. The number of parcels processed by PostNL rose by 6 percent in the second quarter.