Executive Summary
In the 1st quarter of 2023, postal traffic decreased by 3.1%, revenues increased by 6.1%, and average revenue per object increased by 9.4%
In the 1st quarter of 2023 (1Q2023) postal traffic decreased by 3.1% compared to the 1st quarter of 2022 (1Q2022), reaching 141 million items.
Revenue generated by the operators legally entitled to provide postal services totalled approximately EUR 187 million, 6.1% more than in 1Q2022. This increase was due to the evolution of revenues from letter mail, editorial mail and parcels, which increased by 5.0%, 1.9% and 8.8% respectively. On the other hand, direct mail revenues decreased by 25.6%.
Average revenue per item increased compared with the same quarter of the previous year (+9.4%), as has been the case since 2018. This quarter, the increase is mainly due to the growth in revenue per item of letter mail, influenced by the price increases promoted by CTT on 7 March 2022 and 1 March 2023, and the change in the structure of traffic, namely the increased weight of parcels.
Parcel traffic increased by 12.8%
According to the type of item, letter mail, editorial mail and direct mail traffic fell by 3.4%, 2.8% and 25.9% respectively, while parcel traffic increased by 12.8%.
In 1Q2023, letter mail accounted for 74.6% of traffic, while editorial items and direct mail accounted for 7.1% and 5.3% respectively. The weight of parcels in total traffic was 13.0%, 1.8 percentage points (p.p.) higher than in 1Q2022. In terms of revenue, the relative weight of parcels was 42.4%, 1.1 p.p. more than in the same quarter of the previous year.
Incoming international traffic increased by 4.5% compared to the previous quarter.
Universal service accounted for 81.8% of traffic and 50.9% of revenues
Postal services comprised within the scope of the universal service (US) accounted for about 81.8% of traffic and 50.9% of revenues.
US traffic was down 2.8%, while its weight in total traffic increased by 0.3 p.p. compared to 1Q2022. US revenues increased by 3.4% and its weight in total traffic decreased by 1.3 p.p.
Provider shares
The CTT group had a share of about 84.4% of postal traffic, 0.6 p.p. less than in 1Q2022. The CTT group had a share of approximately 90.5% of traffic covered by US limits, a decrease of 0.3 p.p. compared to the previous quarter. On the other hand, the CTT group’s share of parcels reached 47.5% (+0.3 p.p. compared to the same quarter of the previous year).
The number of employees fell by 0.5%
In 1Q2023, there were approximately 14.7 thousand people employed in the operation of postal services, 0.5% less than in 1Q2022. This decrease is mainly due to the evolution of the number of employees of the CTT group (-0.7%). At the end of the period, the CTT group accounted for 71.1% of total employment (-0.2 p.p. compared to the same quarter last year). In the opposite direction, the number of persons employed by other service providers increased by 0.1%.
More access points and fewer distribution centres
The number of access points increased (+5.4%), while the number of distribution centres decreased (-2.8%).
The number of CTT post stations decreased by 0.2% compared to the same quarter last year, corresponding to the closure of one post station, while the number of post offices decreased by 0.6%.
