There’s a begrudging acceptance of delays by Royal Mail customers but investors in the 505-year-old group had been quicker to lose patience. That was until the windfall delivered by the pandemic, which turned what was expected to be a lossmaking year into one where profits more than doubled.
The pandemic jolt has accelerated the shift towards parcel delivery, restructuring and investing more in automation. For the first time, parcel revenues exceeded those from letters last year. An ecommerce boom boosted parcel revenues by more than a third and they accounted for 59 per cent of group revenue.
The group has followed the familiar playbook of a former state-owned monopoly, with union spats and historic under-investment. An agreement with the Communications Workers Union over pay and
