Privatised Royal Mail sees parcel business boom
Recently privatised Royal Mail Group has reported a boost in like-for-like revenue of two per cent in its trading update for the nine months ended 29 December 2013.
Parcel revenue grew strongly, up eight per cent on a like-for-like basis. Addressed letter volumes fell by five per cent on a like-for-like basis, in line with the company's expected range of a four to six per cent decline. Royal Mail remained the nation's number one parcel delivery company, handling 115m parcels in the month of December.
Moya Greene, chief executive officer, Royal Mail, commented:
Our postmen and women have again delivered Christmas for the UK. We were delighted to see that people continue to send seasonal good wishes, with Christmas cards underpinning a like-for-like increase in our December stamped mail volumes.
The good news for the now private company comes in the wake of mounting criticism of the pay packet awarded to Greene.
Royal Mail recently defended its record on executive pay.
Donald Brydon, the chairman of Royal Mail, told the Sunday Telegraph:
I think it’s only fair to pay Moya the right market rate for her job.
I'm not in the school that says top executive pay is without fault, there are parts of it that are egregious and wrong. But happily we are so far away from that end of it that to try and right-size her a bit I think is a necessary part of making sure we keep her.
Last year, Moya Greene earned just under £498,000 in basic salary with further sums totalling close to £1m – less than any of her peers at the head of FTSE 100 companies.