PostNL raises forecast after strong first half, as online shopping grows

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https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2021/08/p ... ing-grows/

Postal delivery company PostNL said on Monday it is increasing its full year forecast following a strong first half.

The company, which has benefited from the surge in online shopping, saw normalised operating profit rise to €63m in the second quarter of 2021, up 17% on the same period of 2020. Turnover hit €838m. The company says it delivered 95 million packages in the second quarter of the year, or 43,500 per hour.

That is up 11% on a year ago, but down on the first quarter of 2021. ‘Consumer behaviour has changed, mainly due to the impact of Covid-19, with a step-up in online shopping and an acceleration in e-commerce,’ PostNL chief executive Herna Verhagen said. ‘To accommodate the stronger growth in parcel volumes we will expand our capacity earlier and more than anticipated…We also intend to increase the number of automated parcel lockers to 1,500 by 2024.’

The company also delivered 4% more letters in the second quarter, due to both government communications about coronavirus vaccinations and a recovery in the direct mailing sector. PostNL has now raised its full year forecast from operating profit of €250m to between €280m and €310m.