- No increase in standard stamp price of €1
- No increase in standard parcel prices*
- International standard rate increases from €1.35 to €1.50
- Meter price increases from 90c to 95c for standard letters
- Other business bulk rates increase by 10% on average
7th March 2018: An Post today announced its pricing for 2018, effective from April 4th, 2018.
The standard stamp price will not increase from the €1 price set last year. Broad market-acceptance meant that mail reductions were less than anticipated. These better-than-expected mail volumes combined with the reduction of over 300 staff across the business has enabled the Company to maintain the standard rate. At €1, it is well below the EU15 average rate of €1.14 for national mail.
Standard parcel rates are also unchanged (although there are some increases in specialised service rates and at the low volume 0.5kg–1kg national band). Parcel volumes grew by 30% in 2017 due to increasing e-commerce and the re-launch of An Post’s parcel service with delivery on Saturdays and evenings and later acceptance times for businesses. The volume growth offset the increased costs for the enhanced service, which has allowed An Post to keep rates unchanged.*
The international standard letter rate increases from €1.35 to €1.50 as mails pricing is rising and An Post faces continuous unit cost inflation from reduced volumes. An Post’s new rate of €1.50 is well below the EU15 average international letter rate of €1.68.
Rates for business mail will increase by on average 10% for 2018. These rates are all heavily discounted off the headline standard rate (see link below) to benefit bulk mailing. But as e-substitution reduces the volume of bulk mails (benefitting businesses), the unit cost increases sharply for An Post. Through cost reduction in the mails’ network, the impact has been minimised but rates have had to increase by an average of 10% so businesses can be confident of An Post’s high-quality, private and secure service to customers anywhere in the State. An Post’s bulk mail service is the only certain way to access every single address in the State.
Rates for other services such as Admailer.ie, Publicity Post, Reach+, Publications, Passport Express and MailMinder will be unchanged in 2018.
Commenting on the Price Changes, David McRedmond CEO of An Post said: “2017 saw a major improvement in An Post’s difficult financial position resulting from the price increase last April, large headcount reductions and the successful re-launch of the parcel business. An Post’s strategy is working well but the pressure needs to be maintained as the business offsets the impacts of e-substitution on mail volumes while refocusing the business on e-commerce. I am pleased that the better financial position means prices for standard letters and parcels need not be increased this year. The business has to work even harder in 2018 to deliver efficiencies, to continue implementing fair pricing and to launch new services.”
Full details are available at anpost.ie/rates2018
* Only increase is at low volume ‘0.5kg–1kg within Ireland’ parcel band
