Royal Mail Says UK Parcel Volumes Slide as Restrictions Ease

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Updated: Jul 21, 2021, 07:28 UTC

(Reuters) - Royal Mail Plc said on Wednesday Britons were having fewer parcels delivered to their homes as pandemic restrictions eased across the country, even as the postal company reported a 12.5% rise in first-quarter group revenue.

The company, one of the oldest postal firms, said parcel volumes in its UK business fell 13% in the three months ended June 30, as compared with a year earlier, but were up 19% from the corresponding quarter in 2019.

“We continue to expect fluctuations in volumes as we emerge from COVID restrictions, which we will need to manage accordingly,” Chairman Keith Williams said in a statement.

Royal Mail said in a statement that the rate at which UK parcel volumes were falling was increasing across the quarter.

The company refrained from providing an annual forecast for its UK business, citing uncertainties as it starts to “unwind from the impact of the pandemic”. It maintained its full-year forecast for GLS, its worldwide ground-based parcel network.

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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