PostNL raising postage rates for the second time this year; Stamps to cost €1.14

PostNL will increase the rates for sending mail from July, the company announced when presenting its quarterly results. The price of a stamp will increase by 5 cents to 1.14 euros as of July 1.

It is the second time the postal company has raised the price of a stamp this year. The cost of a stamp jumped by nearly 9 percent from 1.01 to 1.09 euros on January 1.

Sending letters abroad is also becoming more expensive. From July, a base rate of 1.80 euros will apply instead of 1.75 euros. Furthermore, the price for sending a registered letter will increase by a euro.

According to PostNL, people are sending fewer and fewer letters. The amount of mail that the company processed in the first months of this year was over 12 percent lower than in the same period in 2023. At the same time, PostNL faces rising costs.

“This puts enormous pressure on maintaining postal services,” explained Maurice Unck, director of mail at PostNL. We do not like having to confront consumers with this interim rate change. However, it is necessary because we still deliver mail five days a week, but there is much less mail, and costs are increasing.”

PostNL has been suffering from the fact that Dutch people have been sending fewer letters for some time. It is one of the reasons why the postal company argued for amending the Postal Act when presenting its annual results. Instead of delivering letters five times a week, deliveries two to three times a week would better suit the needs of consumers, CEO Herna Verhagen said in February.

Verhagen said on Monday that a number of things have started since the call earlier this year. The necessary discussions have taken place. “With customers, unions, politicians, the Ministry. But it is ultimately up to the Minister of Economic Affairs who must take the lead in this process,” the CEO said.

PostNL achieved a turnover of 765 million euros in the first quarter of this year, compared to 783 million euros in the same period a year earlier. The majority of these revenues came from processing packages. In that segment, turnover fell, but volume grew. That was mainly due to the growth in the processing of international parcels, which yield less. The operating result was -9 million euros, compared to a positive result of 7 million euros a year earlier.