2013/11/21
Canada Post has released its 2013 third-quarter results, in which the Canada Post segment reported a $129-million loss before tax.
Transaction mail volumes declined by 7.3 per cent in the third quarter. For the first three quarters, the Canada Post segment reported a loss before tax of $165 million. The loss for the first three quarter of 2013 was mitigated by the $109-million gain from the sale of the downtown Vancouver mail processing plant in January 2013. The Canada Post segment is expected to record a substantial loss for 2013.
Over the first three quarters, Transaction Mail – which represents roughly 50 per cent of revenue for the Canada Post segment – was down by 184 million pieces.
Parcel volumes grew by about two million pieces in the first three quarters of 2013, compared to the same period last year. That’s driven by the increase in online shopping. In the third quarter alone, the Canada Post segment’s revenue from parcels was up by $32 million, or 11.2 per cent, from the third quarter of 2012.
Growth in Parcels revenue and volumes is encouraging, but it still does not offset the declines in other areas of our business.
The third-quarter results reflect the continuing challenges facing the Corporation as a result of declining mail volumes and underscore the need for continued transformation of the business.
Canada Post continues to take steps to improve service, reduce costs and streamline operations. Productivity improvements contributed to reducing the Canada Post segment’s labour costs $22 million in the third quarter alone.
More information is available in the third-quarter news release and the third-quarter financial report.