Royal Mail's red letter day is still a long way off

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comm ... y-off.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One thing keeps getting delayed in the post: Royal Mail's privatisation.

Moya Greene, the Canadian postmistress hired 15 months ago, is putting her stamp on things. But even she admits she can't deliver a privatisation "before 2013". Indeed, selling the posties before the next general election looks a tall order.

You can't blame Greene, who's making progress as the half-year figures showed. For the first time in three years, Royal Mail is throwing off cash – a £309m inflow versus last time's £52m deficit. An 8pc price rise, a tighter grip on working capital and cost cuts (including 5,000 more jobs) have reversed the cash burn.

But, as she admits, there is "a great deal to do". A higher-than-expected 6pc drop in letter volumes illustrates the threat of email, Facebook, Twitter et al – even if e-commerce is driving a 5pc rise in parcel volumes. Moreover, Greene remains "shocked by the regulatory environment that had basically strangled Royal Mail".

While that could sound like the positioning of a newish chief executive, she's got a point. Former regulator Postcomm did a pretty good wrecking job. It let competitors in – and then forced Royal Mail to compete with a postal sack over its head. Rivals could collect whatever business they fancied – before dumping it into the Royal Mail's delivery network. But not only did it have to maintain its "universal service" to 29m addresses but pass on cost savings to competitors, effectively guaranteeing their margins.

Ofcom is now in charge of regulation, with five consultations under way. But how much pricing and contractual freedom Royal Mail gets won't be clear until well into next year. Meanwhile, no sale can happen until the European Commission rules on whether the UK Government can absorb Royal Mail's £4.6bn pension liabilities and forgive up to £1.7bn debts – without breaching state aid rules.

[hans solo]

bit of a repetition here methinks moyas turned business around in 18 months
didnt leighton and crosier do the same funny that
smell a rat anyone
and wheres our share money then moya cos were going to make even more billions this quarter ie xmas
negative equity i dont think so
some of the people moya some of the people

[The FraudSquad]

bit of a repetition here methinks moyas turned business around in 18 months
didnt leighton and crosier do the same funny that
smell a rat anyone
and wheres our share money then moya cos were going to make even more billions this quarter ie xmas
negative equity i dont think so
some of the people moya some of the people

People in charge of this company, and this country for the last thirty years have been an absolute disgrace to a man(or woman) straight faced telling blatant lies and not an ounce of shame...hopefully their deeds will get them a long hot time to contemplate what they have done, after they croak!

[kawoxux]

So the government have a huge deficit, yet want to sell of a buiness that is making them profit . Never understood the obsession with privitisation, ends up providing a s**t expensive service whilst working conditions for the people who actually do the work go down whilst one or two executives make millions - instead of the government.

[oypostie]

So the government have a huge deficit, yet want to sell of a buiness that is making them profit . Never understood the obsession with privitisation, ends up providing a s**t expensive service whilst working conditions for the people who actually do the work go down whilst one or two executives make millions - instead of the government

and the mimister in charge of the sale normally ends up as a non-executive director on a nice tidy sum

[kawoxux]

So the government have a huge deficit, yet want to sell of a buiness that is making them profit . Never understood the obsession with privitisation, ends up providing a s**t expensive service whilst working conditions for the people who actually do the work go down whilst one or two executives make millions - instead of the government

and the mimister in charge of the sale normally ends up as a non-executive director on a nice tidy sum

Also made me laugh when I recently read a report saying that the profit margins for utility companies were too high... err.. thats how a private business works, to make as much money as possible. Didnt they see this coming when they privitised them all..?! ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15302723" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )

[ziko]

The Only company making profit in this time of Austerity

[AdTheBad]

As I understand the current position, and i'm probably wrong and certainly not well informed on particular companies accounts, is this.

Most, if not all large companies have been working to a model of rolling debt. Would they or could they increase their current debt structure, given that the banks themselves are in the s**t, in order to purchase RM.

The USO, pension fund,competitors mail contracts, fulltime staff and employment rights are all major liabilities.

I just wonder which banks would lend to which companies.

interesting to see how it all pans out.

[wandle]

Did anyone else notice these two statements in that article ?

e-commerce is driving a 5pc rise in parcel volumes
A higher-than-expected 6pc drop in letter volumes

Flies in the face of the 'mail volumes are falling' claptrap they keep spouting to us !!! (By 'parcels', I'm assuming that they mean what we call 'packets' ??)

I wonder, if the total number of items delivered in the previous year were analysed, what the overall percentage split is for Packets/Letters was ?

Let's say it was 60/40 and the total volumes delivered were a hypothetical 60billion packets and 40billion letters.

If, as stated, packet volumes then grew by 5% whilst letter volumes fell by 6%, it would mean that in the year just reported, 63bn packets and 37.6bn letters would have been delivered.

By careful wording, it would then be possible to correctly state that 'letter volumes are falling by 5%' whilst simultaneuosly hiding the FACT that total items delivered had risen from 100bn to 100.6bn

I firmly believe that RM's constant reference to the volumes of letters being in decline is exactly the kind of bovine excrement they are asking us and the media to swallow, to try to justify the cutting of jobs

[kingtubby]

Let's say it was 60/40 and the total volumes delivered were a hypothetical 60billion packets and 40billion letters.

Except that the reality is that letters must currently amount to more than 90% of the total. I agree though that there's no shortage of word play going on.

[k979aaa]

Did anyone else notice these two statements in that article ?

e-commerce is driving a 5pc rise in parcel volumes
A higher-than-expected 6pc drop in letter volumes

Flies in the face of the 'mail volumes are falling' claptrap they keep spouting to us !!! (By 'parcels', I'm assuming that they mean what we call 'packets' ??)

I wonder, if the total number of items delivered in the previous year were analysed, what the overall percentage split is for Packets/Letters was ?

Let's say it was 60/40 and the total volumes delivered were a hypothetical 60billion packets and 40billion letters.

If, as stated, packet volumes then grew by 5% whilst letter volumes fell by 6%, it would mean that in the year just reported, 63bn packets and 37.6bn letters would have been delivered.

By careful wording, it would then be possible to correctly state that 'letter volumes are falling by 5%' whilst simultaneuosly hiding the FACT that total items delivered had risen from 100bn to 100.6bn

I firmly believe that RM's constant reference to the volumes of letters being in decline is exactly the kind of bovine excrement they are asking us and the media to swallow, to try to justify the cutting of jobs

Royalmail don't count DSA as they don't make any money on it she must think we are all GREENE!.