Royal Mail crisis deepens: Losses to hit GBP745m as months of industrial action take their toll

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mar ... -toll.html

Royal Mail faces losses of nearly £750million as the crisis engulfing the company deepens.

With bosses due to be grilled by MPs today over the worsening state of the service, analysts said the business was on course to rack up a £745million loss for the 12 months to the end of March.

That represents more than £2million a day and follows a £416million profit last year.

Royal Mail has been battered by strikes, the end of the pandemic parcel boom and a recent Russian cyber-attack that has stopped it sending post overseas.

So large are Royal Mail’s projected losses that it would push its parent company, International Distributions Services (IDS), to a £290million loss for the year from a £662million profit in 2022.

The eye-watering sum also stands in stark contrast to IDS’s international delivery business GLS, which is predicted to rake in a profit this year of £317million.

Royal Mail, which was set up 507 years ago by Henry VIII, is facing a threat to its existence as it tries to boost its competitiveness with a series of changes to working conditions and the automation of sorting offices around the country.

The plans have been opposed by the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents around 115,000 postal workers.

In a bitter industrial dispute, staff walked out over the crucial Christmas period, leaving cards and presents piled up in post rooms across Britain.

Matters were made worse last week when Royal Mail warned a cyber-attack has caused ‘serious disruption’ to its overseas postal service, leaving it unable to send parcels and letters abroad.

The attack has mainly affected the firm’s massive Worldwide Distribution Centre near Heathrow airport.

A Russia-linked hacking firm called Lockbit claimed responsibility. More than 100 Royal Mail engineers are working to find a solution and get the service back up and running. But the company has not yet provided a date for when overseas post will resume.

The incident adds another headache for IDS boss Simon Thompson, who is due to appear before the Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee today to answer questions about the state of the firm.

Appearing alongside him will be Nick Read, the boss of the Post Office, a separate state-owned company, as well as CWU heads Dave Ward and Andy Furey.

The seemingly endless stream of problems at Royal Mail has dented IDS shares, which have tumbled 55 per cent over the last 12 months and are languishing well below the 2013 330p float price.

Thompson warned in a letter to staff last month that they were ‘fighting for the life of this business’.

IDS has previously said it could split the company in two to separate troublesome Royal Mail from the much more successful GLS branch.

[Royalman68]

It is very scary stuff, but it's true. If we are not careful and believe the strike is the only silver bullet to solve our issues with the Royal Mail. We may soon be delivering our own P45. How can any business run let alone survive, if they make a loss of over £700 million? If Royal Mail goes under, not only do we lose our jobs, but more importantly, our pensions. So do your research before voting next time, Don't just blindly believe everything the union says.

[RobertT]

It is very scary stuff, but it's true. If we are not careful and believe the strike is the only silver bullet to solve our issues with Royal Mail. We may soon be delivering our own P45. How can any business run let alone survive, if they make a loss of over £700 million? If Royal Mail goes under, not only do we lose our jobs, but more importantly, our pensions. So do your research before voting next time, Don't just blindly believe everything the union says.

We won't lose what we've already got via our RM pensions!

The RMSPS is paid for by the government/tax payer.

The RMPP is in surplus as of the last report and accounts, and would come under the Pensions Protection Fund if RM went bust and was unable to fund the scheme. Although 90% will only be guaranteed.

The RMDCP is basically just a savings account, totally separate from RM and not dependent on the success of the company.

[WalkerX]

From mega-profit to eye-watering losses in 12 months. Recipe for the board to be fired in any other industry.

[ANDREW CROCOMBE]

Letters have declined ok, parcels at a steady rate since pre covid , so one has to guess that the obvious reasons for the supposed £1 million a day losses must be 1) sickness 2) costs of empty vans driving miles 3) the backward way of working - having to sort things 2 or 3 times before they reach your frame's and 4) exorbitant wages and pay outs to greedy shareholders (vultures) Really hope we win and the massive growth of rounds STOPS before it's too late please.

[renrag40]

It is very scary stuff, but it's true. If we are not careful and believe the strike is the only silver bullet to solve our issues with the Royal Mail. We may soon be delivering our own P45. How can any business run let alone survive, if they make a loss of over £700 million? If Royal Mail goes under, not only do we lose our jobs, but more importantly, our pensions. So do your research before voting next time, Don't just blindly believe everything the union says.

Are you Thompson in disguise?

[pieoftheday]

It is very scary stuff, but it's true. If we are not careful and believe the strike is the only silver bullet to solve our issues with the Royal Mail. We may soon be delivering our own P45. How can any business run let alone survive, if they make a loss of over £700 million? If Royal Mail goes under, not only do we lose our jobs, but more importantly, our pensions. So do your research before voting next time, Don't just blindly believe everything the union says.

Are you Thompson in disguise?

He thinks we should work together as a TEAM,see his first post, so quite possibly. There
are a few that post a little, but in a management stooge kind of way, quite funny

[Royalman68]

It is very scary stuff, but it's true. If we are not careful and believe the strike is the only silver bullet to solve our issues with the Royal Mail. We may soon be delivering our P45. How can any business run let alone survive, if they make a loss of over £700 million? If Royal Mail goes under, not only do we lose our jobs, but more importantly, our pensions. So do your research before voting next time, Don't just blindly believe everything the union says.

Are you Thompson in disguise?

Greetings Comrade Corbynista, we are in 2023 not in the 1970s, just so you know. Have a great day!

[Barnacle]

From mega-profit to eye-watering losses in 12 months. Recipe for the board to be fired in any other industry.

Exactly.

[Royalman68]

From mega-profit to eye-watering losses in 12 months. Recipe for the board to be fired in any other industry.

Exactly.

Is the union now going to ask their members to take pay cuts? Their justification for inflation-busting pay rises was the amount of profit they were making. Don't get me wrong. I still want that inflation-busting pay rise.

[Slim2none]

So according to the latest trading update we are really in for a bad time over the next 90 days!

£745M - £295M leaves £450M to lose over the next 3 months! Going to make the £1M a day lie look like chicken feed!

They are really going to have to get creative with the accounting now.

[passengerpigeon]

So according to the latest trading update we are really in for a bad time over the next 90 days!

£745M - £295M leaves £450M to lose over the next 3 months! Going to make the £1M a day lie look like chicken feed!

They are really going to have to get creative with the accounting now.

IDS, which includes money-spinner GLS is losing £295 million because Royal Mail itself has lost £745 million.

[WalkerX]

So according to the latest trading update we are really in for a bad time over the next 90 days!

£745M - £295M leaves £450M to lose over the next 3 months! Going to make the £1M a day lie look like chicken feed!

They are really going to have to get creative with the accounting now.

IDS, which includes money-spinner GLS is losing £295 million because Royal Mail itself has lost £745 million.

Is this "loss" or "less profit than expected"?

[Barnacle]

So according to the latest trading update we are really in for a bad time over the next 90 days!

£745M - £295M leaves £450M to lose over the next 3 months! Going to make the £1M a day lie look like chicken feed!

They are really going to have to get creative with the accounting now.

IDS, which includes money-spinner GLS is losing £295 million because Royal Mail itself has lost £745 million.

Is this "loss" or "less profit than expected"?

Funny that the loss is nearly the same amount as Thompson has spent on superhubs and our new uniform (which they are hiding in a cellar somewhere). Almost as if it was all nonsense accounting shenanigans.

[Slim2none]

So according to the latest trading update we are really in for a bad time over the next 90 days!

£745M - £295M leaves £450M to lose over the next 3 months! Going to make the £1M a day lie look like chicken feed!

They are really going to have to get creative with the accounting now.

IDS, which includes money-spinner GLS is losing £295 million because Royal Mail itself has lost £745 million.

According to the full statement, it is Royal Mail losing £295M not IDS.