MaltaPost has announced that it has recorded a profit of €1.0 million in the six months ended 31 March 2013, compared to €0.8 million for the corresponding period last year.
The volume of traditional mail continued to decrease, although this was partly mitigated by a significant rise in postage rates for domestic bulk letter mail, domestic and international registered mail and domestic and international printed papers. At the same time, however, parcel business continued to increase through e-commerce.
The company’s turnover increased by 2.5% to €11.3 million, while its expenses increased by 1.4% to €10.4 million. The cost to income ratio thus stood at 87.6%, slightly lower than the 87.9% recorded in the corresponding period in 2012.
In a company announcement, MaltaPost said that the highly competitive market called for it to expand and diversify its portfolio of services. It noted that the introduction of SendOn, a forwarding service which enables customers to shop from any UK online vendor, proved to be successful, and that it is expected to be followed up by “other enhanced services that complement the growing e-commerce market.”
The company has been seeking to enter the insurance market, and it confirmed that it will do so once the necessary regulatory approvals are issued.
It also said that the process of finalising the necessary investment for the expansion of services in connection with document management and hybrid mail is set to be largely completed within the current financial year.
As for the remainder of this financial year, MaltaPost said that while the pressure on costs will be partly mitigated by tariff increases effective from 1 April, the letter mail sector continued to remain financially and operationally challenging.
“It is therefore a priority for MaltaPost to enhance its product offering as well as diversify its operation while creating alternative revenue streams. This will ensure that the company remains a robust postal operator providing a service that is affordable as well as efficient,” the company said.