3 October 2011 at 08:30 CET –
The Hague – PostNL will introduce new stamp rates from 1 January 2012. This change falls within the legal limits for price increases and has been reviewed by the supervisory authority. On 1 January 2012 new rates will take effect for mail items sent within the Netherlands and from the Netherlands to other European countries. The basic domestic rate for letters in the Netherlands will increase by four euro-cents to 50 euro-cents. For mail to European destinations the basic rate for letters will increase to 85 euro-cents, a six euro cents rise. The rate for mail being sent outside Europe will remain at its present 95 euro-cents. The tariff for single item parcels will not change per 1 January 2012. With these new rates, PostNL continues to charge one of the lowest postage rates in Europe (see enclosure).
Additionally, the price of a December stamp will rise to 36 euro-cents and next year (2012) to 40 euro-cents, thus following the trend of the standard stamp rate.
Each year an average household in the Netherlands spends approximately €30 on letterbox mail. The announced rate adjustment will result in an average increase in these expenses of around €2 per household per year.
In June last year, PostNL simplified its postage by introducing stamps that use numbers instead of value indicators (The Netherlands 1 and 2, Europe 1 and The World 1). These stamps eliminate the need for using low-value stamps to top up the postage value. Stamps bearing the old value indicator €0.44 can still be used for domestic mail after the price increase, with the addition of two 3-cent stamps. These additional stamps can be purchased at PostNL post offices or ordered online at postnl.nl.
The enclosure features a list of the current rates within Europe taken from the European letter price survey for 2011.
The full report can be downloaded at:
http://www.dp-dhl.com/en/media_relations/press_releases/2011/european_letter_price_survey_2011.html
In case of discrepancies between the Dutch and English versions of this press release, the Dutch version will prevail
About PostNL
Annually PostNL processes 8.8 billion addressed postal items (including 100 million parcels) and delivers to more than 88 million addresses in the Benelux, Germany, the UK and Italy. PostNL’s main business is mail, parcels and e-commerce. The company also provides services in the area of data and document management, direct marketing and fulfilment. PostNL employs some 77,000 people. In 2010 the company generated a turnover of nearly 4.3 billion euros. More information about PostNL can be found on its website www.postnl.com.
