SingPost mails in 17.4% lower profits

Rising expenses squeezed the firm's margins all-around, but two segments notably bucked the trend.

Logistics and Retail & Financial Services segments registered growing revenues, according to the Singapore Post in a release, but the rest of SingPost are under extreme pressure to still be profitable despite rising costs and waning demand.

Here's more from Singapore Post:

Q4 performance impacted by industry challenges, difficult business environment and cost pressures - Group revenue up 3.1% to S$145.9M; net profit down 17.4% to S$30.6M For the quarter, Group revenue increased by 3.1% to S$145.9 million, underpinned by growth in
Logistics and Retail & Financial Services.

• Mail revenue was steady at S$96.4 million, as growth in international mail and philatelic.
revenue offset the decline in domestic mail and hybrid mail contributions

• Logistics revenue grew 8.2% to S$54.0 million on the back of higher Speedpost
contributions and increased e-fulfilment activities in Quantium Solutions and vPOST
shipping business.

• Retail revenue rose 9.2% to S$18.2 million as increased contributions from financial
services, retail products and online store Clout Shoppe offset the drop in agency services.
Rental and property-related income declined by 4.7% to S$10.0 million with lower rental income
from repurposed post office buildings.

Total expenses were higher at S$123.7 million as the Group stepped up its investments in
infrastructure including IT to drive its diversification and regionalisation efforts.

Net profit declined by 17.4% to S$30.6 million in the fourth quarter. Excluding one-off items,
underlying net profit was S$26.8 million, a decrease of 23.1% from S$34.8 million in the same
quarter last year.

Commenting on the performance, Dr Wolfgang Baier, SingPost’s Group Chief Executive Officer
said: “Revenue growth was offset by the generally weaker business environment as well as
inflationary cost pressures. We saw a slowdown in Mail revenue in the domestic segment and
in Logistics’ cross-border mail business under our subsidiary Quantium Solutions. In spite of
that, our Logistics and Retail & Financial Services managed to grow through contributions from
non-traditional revenue streams such as e-fulfilment, e-commerce and financial services. We
continue to step up our investments to build a sustainable future for SingPost.”