On 27 April 2012, Law no. 17/2012 of 26 April entered into force, laying down the legal regime that governs the provision of postal services, under a full competition regime. This new law introduced a number of important amendments, including expanding its scope to cover parcels weighing more than 20kg. This change had the greatest impact on the traffic, revenues and market share indicators reported with reference to the express mail segment.
Accordingly, the present report presents information on traffic in accordance with the definitions prevailing as at the beginning of the period, except in the case of the reserved area, where the estimated impact of the new law is also reported as appropriate.
During second quarter of 2012, total postal service traffic was reported at 243.7 million items according to the definition applicable under the previous legislation, making 22.9 postal items per inhabitant and representing a decline of 9 percent over 1Q12 and a decline of 8.1 percent over 2Q11. These declines are within the bounds of the forecast range resulting from the historic trends and estimated seasonality.
If the new definition of postal traffic is considered, the volume of traffic would be reported at 245.2 million items, estimating that parcels weighing over 20kg comprise around 0.6 percent of total traffic.
During the period being reported, there were 7.4 million express mail items reported, corresponding to 3 percent of total traffic – an increase of 5.4 percent over the previous quarter and a decline of 3.1 percent compared to 2Q11.
Meanwhile, there was a decline in non-express mail traffic, of 9.4 percent and 8.2 percent in relation to 1Q12 and 2Q11 respectively, while this segment continued to make up the vast majority of traffic (97 percent).
If the new definition of traffic is used, as under the new law, the volume of express mail increased by 15.9 percent, while non-express mail increased by 0.2 percent.
In the period being reported, 96.5 percent of distributed items had a destination within the national market, while the remaining 2.7 percent were dispatched to destinations in other countries. About 97.3 percent of postal traffic was comprised by correspondence, while parcels made up just 2.7 percent of total traffic. Including parcels weighing over 20kg, the volume of parcel traffic increases 22.1 percent.
Grupo CTT retained a 96.6 percent share of total postal traffic, while all other providers retained shares of less than one percent.
In the express segment, the alternative providers had more significant market shares, and their combined market share exceeded CTT’s share of 34.8 percent. There are three companies (Chronopost, Grupo Rangel and Adicional) with individual shares of traffic exceeding 5 percent. If the new definition of postal service is used, CTT Expresso would be 3.2 percentage points higher.
Total revenues derived from postal services were reported at 176.8 million euros, corresponding to a decline of 5.7 percent over 1Q12 and of 4.5 percent compared to the same quarter of 2011. Using the new definition of postal services adds 9 percent to reported revenues compared to the previous definition. Around 35 percent of revenues refer to express mail, with the declines reported in this segment the smallest of the last year (0.2 percent).
There were 15.3 thousand people employed in the operation of postal services - 700 fewer employees over the last year. The number of people employed in the postal sector this quarter is in line with the forecast range resulting from the historical trend; over recent years, the trend in the number of people employed in the sector has been declining.
In the quarter, the number of access points and the vehicle fleet were also reduced, decreasing 0.8 percent and 2.6 percent respectively. Meanwhile, the number of distribution centres increased by 1.5 percent, while the number of outlets operated by the concessionaire and selling stamps only fell by 15.1 percent.
Consult the statistical report:
- Postal Services - 2nd quarter 2012 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1137582
