Skip Header
Important information: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This is a third-party news feed and may not reflect Fidelity’s views.

IDS Q1 revenues rise 8.4% on strong parcel demand, UK postal votes

(Sharecast News) - Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services said first-quarter revenues rose 8.2% driven by strong parcel demand and more postal votes during the recent UK general election. The company, which has agreed to a £3.57bn takeover by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, held guidance for the full year for a return to operating profit.

Group revenue rose to £3.26b, while sales at international parcels network GLS rose 4.8% and were up 10.6% for Royal Mail.

"Whilst we are making good progress on our transformation in Royal Mail, we can't do it all on our own and we urgently need to see regulatory reform of the universal service," said chief executive Martin Seidenberg.

"Letter volumes have declined from 20 billion at their peak to just 6.7 billion now, making the one-price-goes-anywhere Universal Service unsustainable in its current form."

Kretinsky has committed to the universal service obligation, which is a commitment from the postal service to deliver to anyone in the country for the same price, and pledged to keep a six-day-a-week delivery.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

Share this article

Related Sharecast Articles

GSK to pay $2.2bn to settle Zantac lawsuits
(Sharecast News) - GSK has agreed to pay $2.2bn to settle about 80,000 Zantac lawsuits in the US.
Tritax EuroBox accepts Brookfield £557m offer as Segro trumped
(Sharecast News) - Canadian investment form Brookfield has trumped Segro's effort to buy warehouse owner Tritax EuroBox with an agreed £557m offer.
Thursday preview: US CPI, ECB minutes in the spotlight
(Sharecast News) - All eyes on Thursday will be on the week's key data release, the US consumer price index for the month of September.
Bayer shares slump as US court approves review of Monsanto case
(Sharecast News) - Shares in Bayer slumped on Wednesday, after the Washington state Supreme Court said it would review a case alleging that exposure to products of the German chemicals company's Monsanto unit harmed three teachers.

Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

Award-winning online share dealing

Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.

Expert insights into investing your money

Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.