Royal Mail makes £1 billion annual loss

Royal Mail has lost £1billion in the past year, it was revealed today.

The eye-watering figures for the 12-months to the end of March 2023 came after multiple strikes and poor performance.

Royal Mail’s parent company International Distributions Services (IDS) today reported £748million in annual operating losses.

It said the poor results were as a result of Royal Mail losing £1billion in the year to March 26.

Royal Mail has been badly hit by a wave of strikes (pictured last December)

Royal Mail delivery vehicles and cages of mail at the Bristol Filton office

IDS overall posted a £748 million annual operating loss, against profits of £577 million the previous year, but IDS said it was targeting a return to underlying earnings over 2023-24.

On an underlying basis, Royal Mail saw operating losses of £419million, against profits of £416 million the previous year.

IDS said the losses were due to crippling industrial action, while it also booked a £539 million writedown on the value of Royal Mail due to the impact of strikes and the “current risk backdrop”.

The figures come after Royal Mail last month agreed a deal with the Communication Workers Union (CWU).

But it faces further turbulence with chief executive Simon Thompson recently announcing he will step down by the end of the year and news last week that Royal Mail is being investigated for failing to meet its delivery targets in the past year.