PostNL delivered fewer parcels in the last three months of last year than a year earlier. According to the parcel and postal deliverer, this is due to the "one-off effect due to Covid-19", which resulted in an exceptionally high number of parcels being sent in the same period in 2020. But the company also suffered from bottlenecks in international logistics chains and new VAT rules for small packages from outside the European Union.

Due to the rapid economic recovery, there has been a strong demand for space to transport goods on ships and planes for months, making it increasingly scarce. According to PostNL, this caused disruptions in international parcel delivery. At the same time, since 1 July, VAT must also be paid for smaller packages from outside the EU. China is also taking a tougher line on the trade in counterfeit goods, which affects volumes.

PostNL transported 5,3 percent fewer parcels in the fourth quarter than a year earlier, the company estimates in its preliminary results. If there had not been a one-off effect of the corona pandemic, there would have been an increase of more than 9 percent, according to the company. Revenues at the Mail division also decreased, bringing total revenues to EUR 936 million in the final quarter. That was more than 1 billion euros a year earlier.

PostNL continued to grow strongly throughout 2021 thanks to the great popularity of online shopping. Measured over the entire past year, the company delivered 14 percent more parcels than in 2020. According to unverified figures, annual turnover amounts to approximately 3,5 billion euros, compared to almost 3,3 billion euros a year earlier.

PostNL will only provide figures on net profit when its final results are presented at the end of February. However, the company reported that profit before tax and large one-off items amounted to approximately 277 million euros for the whole of 2021, compared to 197 million euros a year earlier. Shareholders share in that increase. The company will buy up its own shares for 250 million euros this year and next, which will boost the value of the remaining shares. With this, PostNL wants to prevent the value of shares from 'diluting' through profit distributions in shares.

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