An Post earnings jump on parcel growth

Parcel shipping and post office footfall are on the rise, and An Post also grew its banking services

An Post CEO David McRedmond and CFO Peter Quinn at its AGM at The EXO building on Dublin’s North Wall Quay on Thursday. Picture: Maxwells

An increase in parcel shipping, post office footfall, and retail income helped An Post to a 4% rise in revenues to €922.9m last year.

The growth was offset by a 6.1% decline in traditional letter volumes in 2023.

Publishing its financial statement at its AGM in Dublin yesterday, the semi state body said EBITDA doubled from €18.6m in 2022 to €38.5m in 2023 delivering a net profit for the year of €9m before exceptional items, without any state subsidy.

An Post also repaid an important €30m transformation loan to the state from the company’s positive cash flow, reducing overall debt from €82m to €39m.

The company’s network of 901 post offices provides a range of services including banking transactions for AIB and Bank of Ireland. They delivered €2.4bn in transaction value across 6m customer transactions, An Post said, up 13% on 2022. An Post also added more than 23,000 current account customers while the volume of An Post Money Loans rose by 23%.

Its delivery business also grew, with the company handling 52.7m parcels, an increase of 14%. An Post also handled 27% more parcel returns from customers to retailers in 2023. They say 2024 is already seeing parcel growth of 18%, with Irish companies now accounting for the same parcel volume as Amazon.

An Post CEO David McRedmond said the company is a vibrant commercial business that has returned to growth and positive cash-flow.

An Post last year sold its investment in the National Lottery along with other shareholders, for €17.4m. Originally the investment was €25m and over the course of the life of the investment, An Post received €46m in cash dividends. Last year also saw the relocation of An Post’s HQ and 900 staff from the GPO to the EXO Building at Dublin’s North Wall Quay.

“Financial year 2023 shows a doubling of the EBITDA operating performance,” An Post CFO Peter Quinn said. “This represents a return to more normalised profit in the post pandemic period. An Post Group revenue of €922.9m is a real increase and reflects the important role of the company in the economy.”