Bengaluru — Royal Mail’s annual profit fell by less than expected as tighter cost controls and growth in its European delivery and UK parcel businesses helped offset a continued decline in letters. After years of underinvestment, Royal Mail was privatised in 2013 and has since reduced layers of management, improved vehicle utilisation rates, upgraded technology and cut its property bill. The UK’s former monopoly has closed more than 30 mail centres since 2008 and cut staff numbers by 12,000 in the past four years. But competition is getting tougher in the parcels market because of new entrants such as Amazon, while letter volumes continue to fall. Royal Mail also needs to convince trade unions to back its plan to close a pension scheme. CEO Moya Greene told Reuters Royal Mail accounted for about 41% of the revenue generated in the £6.2bn UK parcels market, although Amazon’s decision to start its own deliveries had further squeezed an overcrowded market. "[Amazon’s decision has] been...
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