Royal Mail warns stamp prices could rise AGAIN after £120m hit from Rachel Reeves’ Budget
Royal Mail has warned that its stamp prices could rise again after a £120million hit from the Budget.
The boss of the postal service said hiking fees — just a month after the latest rise — was a possibility as it faces an enormous burden of extra costs.
Martin Seidenberg, chief exec of International Distribution Services, said: “We are looking at all measures including pricing, parcel cost efficiencies, investment plans, auto- mation and our parcel network.
“I cannot rule out [increasing stamp prices] but we will look at not just consumer letters but also business mail and parcels.” The cost of a first class stamps went up by 30p to £1.65 last month, while second class stayed at 85p.
Since privatisation and Royal Mail’s stock market float a decade ago, first class stamp prices have almost trebled.
Mr Seidenberg said the Budget made its 130,000 permanent workforce much more expensive.
As a result of its tax burden, it has written down the value of its UK mail business by £134million.
Mr Seidenberg also blamed the measures, such as employers’ higher National Insurance contributions, for stopping it from returning to profit.
It comes as ministers review national security concerns about Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s £3.6billion takeover.
Ids reported revenues were up by £481million to £6.3billion but it still faces an operating loss of £26million, compared to a £243million loss last year.
Mr Seidenberg wants the Government to reform its Universal Service Obligation, which includes delivering and collecting mail six days a week.
It wants to drop second class posts to every other day.
Hol sales take off
Life’s a beach for Jet2 after the package holiday firm boosted its profit expectations as Brits put trips abroad at the top of their spending priorities.
The airline — which flies to Mediterranean destinations, the Canary Islands and more recently to Morocco — reported a 15 per cent rise in sales to £5billion.
And profits lifted by a fifth to £791.4million in the last six months.
Jet2 boss Steve Heapy said: “Even in difficult times the annual overseas holiday remains a highly valued and eagerly anticipated experience — often taking precedence over other discretionary spend.”
Jd sports in profit Jama
Jd Sports has been lauded for its 2024 Christmas ad featuring Maya Jama — but still took a kicking from investors yesterday.
Rapper Central Cee also appears in the promo which sees real families and friends enjoying their own festive traditions.
Punters, however, were focused on the figures and reacted badly on learning the firm will miss its £1billion profit target for 2024.
Shares fell 15.5 per cent to a two-year low.
Women’s top city job call
The Chancellor last night urged financial services firms to move quicker and promote more women into senior roles.
The sector continues to have the biggest gender pay gap of 23.7 per cent, compared to 11.7 per cent in all other industries.
Just 35 per cent of senior roles in the City are held by women and at the current pace, gender parity would not be achieved until 2038.
Aviva chief Dame Amanda Blanc, one of just eight female bosses in the FTSE 100, said financial firms were “limiting women’s careers”.
Ms Reeves, the first female Chancellor, said last night: “Diversity in boardrooms is not a tick-box exercise. It’s an economic imperative.
“That’s why we want more companies to sign up to the Women in Finance Charter. And more women promoted to top jobs.”
The previous government launched The Women in Finance Charter in 2016.
Compete on deals
The competition watchdog is to change its approach after the government said it needed to focus more on its impact on the economy.
It follows criticism the regulator was calling in too many small deals. Sarah Cardell, of the Competition and Markets Authority, said “only a truly problematic merger . . . should not proceed”.
The CMA will consider remedies including price freezes and investment commitments.
Boohoo battle
A clash of retail titans ramped up a notch yesterday as Mike Ashley demanded Boohoo founder Mahmud Kamani “must go”.
Mr Ashley, the online fashion giant’s biggest shareholder, accused the firm of “continued chaos” and “value destruction” in a letter to other investors as he lobbies for a seat on the board.
Boohoo tried to pre-empt Mr Ashley, who still pulls the strings at Frasers Group despite no longer having a board seat, by saying Mr Kamani would step down to become executive vice chair.
Consumer confidence has inched higher so far this month as people move past uncertainties around the Budget and look ahead to Black Friday spending, according to a GFK survey. The overall confidence index score moved up three points to -18.
Bosses pay plug
Nine UK water firms have been stopped by regulator Ofwat from using customer cash to pay bosses bonuses.
It blocked Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Dwr Cymru Welsh Water while the other six agreed investors should pay instead.
A total of £6.8million — around three-quarters of executive pay — would have been funnelled from customer bills had it not stepped in.
The move comes just weeks before Ofwat sets out how much bills can rise over the next five years. Companies are, on average, pushing for a 40 per cent increase.
SHARES
- Barclays up 3.70 to 262.65
- Bp up 7.05 to 388.60
- Centrica up 2.60 to 123.00
- Hsbc up 4.40 to 726.90
- Lloyds down 0.40 to 55.02
- Marks & Spencer up 8.90 to 371.90
- Natwest up 3.50 to 400.50
- Royal Mail down 3.00 to 347.00
- J Sainsbury up 0.80 to 246.80
- Shell up 46.00 to 2597.00
- Tesco up 2.30 to 350.90