Christmas cheer for UK Mail after a difficult few months
COVENTRY-based parcels carrier UK Mail Group has reported that it performed well in the peak Christmas trading period.
It will be a relief for the firm which suffered difficulties in the months leading up to the festive period.
In November its chief executive Guy Buswell stepped down by mutual agreement just days after the firm revealed that the enforced relocation from Birmingham has had a severe impact on the business.
The company was forced to sell-up and move from its former hub in Bromford due to the building lying in the path of the HS2 high-speed rail route.
But in a quarter three trading statement issued today, UK Mail said its performance was in line with its expectations.
“Our parcels business delivered good volume growth of some 8% compared to the same period last year,” it said.
“Volume growth in the third quarter was again largely driven by an increase in internet shopping-related home deliveries.
“Our new automated hub operated very well throughout the peak period, and is starting to achieve good throughput levels. As a result our strong customer service levels were maintained throughout this very busy trading period.
“Our mail business achieved satisfactory volume growth, of some 2%.”
UK Mail said it remains in a sound financial position.
Company chairman Peter Kane said: “I am pleased to report that UK Mail has performed well during our peak Christmas trading period, maintaining our customer service levels even as volumes continued to increase.
“It is clear from weekly volume patterns that there are now effectively two peaks, one around the ‘Black Friday’ weekend in November and another in late December.
“Our new hub is now working effectively and delivering good service levels to our customers. We need to build on this base as we move forward into 2016. The key challenge is to drive the planned efficiency savings from the hub whilst further developing our customer offering.”
