Jersey Post Loses £6.6m Amid 'Perfect Storm'

Jersey Post has recorded a loss of £6.6 million in 2022, amid what it calls a 'perfect storm'.

A global slump in parcel volumes, a drop of 73% in business exports and 19 days of Royal Mail strikes led to a 46% drop in the company's gross margin.

But, despite the figures, chief executive Mark Siviter says it could've been much worse.

"We lost around £8 million of the logistics business on-island. We have virtually replaced that, albeit with a lower margin.

If we weren't successful at winning new volumes in Jersey and with (island freight business) Woodside (Logistics) and globally then we could have a much greater gap in the financial results"

Nearly half of Jersey Post's revenue is generated off-island.

Mr Siviter has labelled Royal Mail a 'business in crisis', after it reported losses of over £1bn. But he was adamant that Jersey Post was not following suit and instead is 'a business in transition'.

"What's really happening is because of the change in product mix, we need to make sure that we adjust the way we operate.

That means more efficiency, investing in the infrastructure and optimising the route so that we are getting more parcels on the same route in the same van."

The company has confirmed that there had been no discussions of making staff redundant.

Royal Mail has been consulting on whether to pull the mail plane service to the island.

Mark Siviter confirmed that Jersey Post didn't have a say in whether the plane would remain, but says that if it does go islanders won't see much of an impact.

"By far most of the parcel volume comes through on the ferry in a truck. Amazon is probably the most dominant retailer in terms of e-commerce, so it will have little to any effect on deliveries."

The amount you can spend online before having to pay GST at the border is also be cut by more than half at the start of July, meaning orders worth £60 or more will be subject to the 5% levy.

Mr Sivert says its not yet clear how that will impact Jersey Post.

"Consumers could start to de-consolidate their orders, which is where they'll keep it below the de minimus [of £60], but they'll still order the same amount of products which means we will get more parcels to deliver.

On the flip side, it could mean that more parcels will have customs interventions on site here."

You can read the company's full annual report here.