Singapore Post will hike domestic postage rates by 65% next month as it grapples with escalating costs of maintaining the postal service and declining mail volumes.
(Bloomberg) — Singapore Post will hike domestic postage rates by 65% next month as it grapples with escalating costs of maintaining the postal service and declining mail volumes.
The standard regular mail rate will be increased to S$0.51 ($0.37) from S$0.31 effective Oct. 9, the company said in a stock exchange filing Tuesday.
The company’s shares jumped as much as 5.2% on Tuesday in Singapore, the biggest intraday gain since July 17, while the Straits Times Index fell 0.4%.
SingPost raised rates to S$.031 this year, and had previously announced plans for another single-cent increase in 2024. The company said its last significant rate rise was in 2014 when postage went up to S$0.30 from S$0.22.
A decline in mail volumes over the last decade due to the digital disruption has impacted the commercial viability of postal firms globally, SingPost said. “This rate adjustment will help address the loss caused by the persistent decline in postal volumes coupled with costlier labor, utilities, fuel, and higher conveyance expenses,” it added.
SingPost earlier said its weighing a potential sale of some assets as part of an ongoing review to transition the group to a logistics business over time.
(Updates with share price reaction in third paragraph)
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