New Zealand Post's annual profit fell by a third after it sold almost half of its stake in Kiwibank.
Net profit fell to $93 million in the 12 months ended June 30, from $141m a year earlier, the state-owned enterprise said in a statement. Revenue slipped 5.1 per cent to $890m, while expenditure declined 9 per cent to $887m.
The latest earnings include a $71m contribution from its 53 per cent share in Kiwi Group Holdings, down from $131m the year earlier, after NZ Post sold 47 per cent of the Kiwibank business in October. NZ Post booked a $24m gain on the sale of its Kiwibank holding in the latest year, and a $43m gain the previous year from the sale of its Converga subsidiary.
NZ Post is in the final year of its five-year transformation plan started in 2013 as it seeks to bolster its core mail delivery business amid declining letter volumes and growing parcel volumes. In the latest year, letter volumes dropped 11 per cent while parcel volumes increased 8.5 per cent. Its postal business recorded an after-tax loss of $3m in the latest year, an improvement from a $38m loss a year earlier, as salary and wage costs dropped to $311m from $377m.
"The result is a significant turnaround from 12 months ago," said chief executive David Walsh, who stepped up from chief financial officer to take over the top role in May. "The positive effects of lower costs across the organisation and revenue growth in parcels has more than offset the impact of letter mail decline."
