Data on Nigeria Lacking as Global Postal Industry Records Growth in 2015

In a complex and fast-paced business environment, posts must respond to challenges more quickly than ever before.

The postal industry continues to transform itself in an era characterised by rapid globalisation, technological change and disruptive innovation, although statistics are hard to come by on the position of Nigeria in the global map.

The first half of 2015 saw a further revenue increase of 3.3%1, according to the IPC GPIR Key Findings released today.

Despite the significant challenges that lie ahead, the outlook for the postal industry is positive. The industry’s financial performance in the short term looks to be improving, with both average revenue growth and operating margins at the group level increasing in the first half of 2015.

The results were in part driven by improved performances across both mail and parcels business units: Compared to the same period in 2014, average revenue growth remained stable for mail (0.2%) but doubled for parcels (10.5%), while margins strengthened for both divisions.

Herbert-Michael Zapf, President and CEO, IPC said: “In 2014, we have seen the continued rise of e-Commerce, the posts’ main growth driver, and this trend has been again confirmed in the first half of 2015. The global shift towards e-Commerce and new media has revolutionised the way the postal industry cooperates with operators and the way they interact with customers.”

E-Commerce Remains Key For The Future

As the number of middle-class, tech-savvy internet users grows worldwide, businesses and consumers will continue to embrace online shopping.

According to estimates, by 2019, the global e-Commerce market will be worth more than €1.200bn, with Asia Pacific representing the largest regional market.

The parcels segment remains a key driver of postal growth. Parcel and express volume grew by 6.3% in 2014 on average, though this was slower than the overall growth in e-Commerce. International parcels and express volume continues to increase and now represents 16.3% of total parcels and express volume.

Zapf continued: “While the global postal parcel volume growth remains above GDP growth on average, it lags behind online retail growth, showing the ongoing growth potential for posts.”

Admail Remains Relatively Strong In Declining Mail Market

Total mail volume fell by 3.9% in 2014 on average, although admail continues to experience a more moderate decline (around 2%).

E-substitution remained the primary driver of mail decline across markets, with digitisation affecting a diverse range of market segments including corporate advertising and government administration. Results for posts’ mail divisions remained positive on average however, thanks to cost efficiency initiatives and innovation.

Mail remains the industry’s primary revenue source, though its share of total industry revenue fell to 44.8% in 2014.

The above insights are published today in IPC’s new publicly available report: the IPC Global Postal Industry Report Key Findings.

The full IPC Global Postal Industry Report is published yearly and provides a comprehensive and detailed review of industry trends and operator performance.

Covering 45 postal operators worldwide along with major integrators, the report includes a broad range of analyses across key areas such as digitisation, e-Commerce and diversification.

The full IPC Global Postal Industry Report is available for purchase by stakeholders outside the IPC membership.

International Post Corporation (IPC) is the leading service provider of the global postal industry that provides leadership by driving service quality, interoperability and business-critical intelligence to support posts in defending existing business and expanding into new growth areas.