27 March 2013 at 15:00 CET – The Hague – PostNL has decided to withdraw its application for compensation of the net costs in respect of 2011. The reason is that Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Henk Kamp, has announced the intention to adjust the statutory requirements for the Universal Service Obligation (USO). The package of measures could include increasing the range of postal rates as per 1 July 2013, which, in the first instance, could lead to an increase in the basic rate for letters of around € 0.06 starting that date. PostNL maintains one of the lowest postal rates in Europe. The Dutch Independent Post and Telecommunication Authority (OPTA) will verify whether these measures are necessary to ensure the profitability of the USO.
In a letter to the Lower House, the minister says he is convinced of the necessity to take further measures in order to secure the cost-effectiveness and affordability of the USO. PostNL is confident that the eventual measures will lead to a remunerative USO obligation for PostNL.
The minister informed the Lower House that he is considering adjustments to the USO-obligation and the rate regulation. Minister Kamp has announced that he will provide a further explanation of the complete package of measures in his vision on the future of the postal market in early May.
About net costs USO
Net costs are caused by the statutory USO-obligation for six-day delivery, retaining 19,000 mail boxes and an extensive network of post offices. The Postal Directive and the Postal Service Act 2009 provide for a compensation scheme for the net costs of the USO. The net costs are distributed among postal companies in the Netherlands. Since PostNL is the largest provider of postal services, PostNL will have to bear the largest part of these costs.
About PostNL
PostNL is the inventive partner in the world of sending and receiving. We have been so for 200 years already. We are primarily active in the fields of mail, parcels and e-commerce, but we also offer services in the areas of data and document management, direct marketing and fulfilment. Outside the Netherlands, we are active in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium and Luxemburg. PostNL employs a total of approximately 66,000 people. In 2012 our revenues reached almost € 4.3 billion.
We like to stay ahead of things. We are the most modern postal company in the world. We are proud of that. We are an example to the rest of the world in the automatic sorting of mail, we are the first listed postal company and we are the international champion in corporate responsibility, as leader in our sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2011.
