Parcel volumes are up by 25 per cent on last year, UK Mail said in a trading update for the first half.
The rise in average daily volumes for the six months to 30th September was largely driven by an increase in home deliveries related to online shopping, the company said. This resulted in a continuation of the mix change towards B2C.
“We expect the level of parcels volume growth to moderate in the second half as we annualise the higher volume growth achieved from the end of the second quarter of the last financial year.
Volumes in the Mail business were up two per cent but revenues were down slightly, largely due to mix changes.
The Courier and Pallet businesses performed in line with expectations, with slight revenue declines on the same period in the previous year.
It said sales for the first half were expected to show an increase of about seven per cent compared to the same period in the previous year.
UK Mail is also in negotiation with the government over relocating its Birmingham hub at Wolseley Drive, which lies in the path of High Speed 2.
In the trading update it said: “We continue to make progress with securing an agreement with HS2 for the relocation of our Birmingham hub and expect confirmation by the secretary of state for transport to be received shortly. We hope to be in a position to provide a full update on our plans at the time of our interim results.”
