Parcels buttressed the postal market in 2020

The big shift in e-commerce in the pandemic was reflected in 2020 and in the revenue of the postal services.

Despite the long delays and the packages that were forgotten in the sorting centers, causing dissatisfaction and whining, in 2020 72 million parcels and small packages were handled, 32.7% more than in 2019, with the corresponding revenues at 338.7 million euros, increased by 19.9%. According to the Electronic Communications and Postal Services Market Overview for 2020, published by the National Telecommunications and Post Commission, parcel revenues account for 57% of the postal industry’s total revenue.

The turnover of companies in the sector, which includes the Hellenic Post (ELTA) as a universal service provider, as well as 9 private companies with a special license and another 591 with a general license, showed an overall upward trend. It amounted to 645 million euros from 637 million in 2019. In 2020, companies with general licenses showed an improvement in their turnover by 16.2%, as the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in demand for courier services.

Postal items are divided into envelopes and parcels, including small parcels. Envelopes may have accounted for 78% of the total number of moving items, but they accounted for only 43% of the revenue, while the remaining 57% came from parcels that reached 22% of the moving items.

Dominant in the market of parcels and small parcels are courier companies, holding 96.9% of the crowd and 93.7% of revenues. On the other hand, the market of the Universal Service, mainly ELTA, having not started the process of corporate transformation, lagged far behind in 2020 in this market, covering only 3.1% of the parcels and 6.3% of the revenues. .

Competition in courier services is intensifying

Courier companies in 2020 recorded revenues of 428.2 million euros, increased by 16.2% compared to 2019 and handled 106 million items, up 25.9% more than in 2019. Despite the fact that in 2020 in 591 companies were active in the courier market, the largest volume of postal items was handled by only 6 companies. They handled 87.7% of the postal items, accounting for 83.8% of the revenue.

Cross-border trade had a positive effect on the activity of courier companies, with 19% of their revenues coming from remittances abroad and 14% from deliveries of postal items from abroad.

The geographical distribution of parcels

For 2020, 67% of the revenues of the Greek postal market came from the distribution of postal items within the country, which correspond to 89%. Most of the postal items were transported from Attica (72%) and Macedonia (12%) inland and abroad. The same areas were also the most popular destinations of items trafficked inside and outside the country. Specifically, 42% of the items were trafficked to Attica and 17% to Macedonia.

The largest volume of postal items shipped from abroad to Greece came from the EU (61%) and Asia (28%), while the shipments of postal items abroad were mainly destined for the EU (58%). and the US-Canadá (16%).

The great turn of consumers in the e-markets and the need to respond to the new conditions, after the “heart attack” of the first months, led the companies in the industry to a series of investments in 2020. Investments in computer upgrades and support of functions with new technologies, The construction and support of modern sorting centers, as well as emergency expenditures and investments to deal with the pandemic conditions, led to an increase in fixed equipment by an average of 11%.

ELTA could not follow the trend

On the other hand, the turnover of ELTA, which is until 2028 the provider of Universal Service, showed in 2020 a decrease of 15% compared to 2019, with revenues of 149.9 million euros. The decline is attributed to a number of factors, such as the growing electronic substitution of mail, the decline of mail to individual users, as well as the decline of international mail, as a result of the pandemic difficulties in transnational and .

The results of the universal service provider have been affected on the one hand by the decline in turnover and on the other due to the fact that the results of the previous year had benefited from the revaluation of the actuarial study. The specific adjustment was made due to the mandatory observance by ELTA, as a public utility company, of the maximum limit of 15,000 euros, of the severance pay due to retirement.