The price of the standard stamp will not increase from the €1 price set last year because An Post traded better than expected.
Volumes of standard mail went down by 8 per cent in 2017 despite an increase of almost 40 per cent last year in the price of a stamp from 72c to €1.
An Post spokeswoman Anna McHugh said the decrease in volume of mail was much less than expected and was more than offset by a 30 per cent increase in parcel volume.
This was due to increasing e-commerce and the relaunch of An Post’s parcel service with delivery on Saturdays and evenings and later acceptance times for businesses.
Ms McHugh said An Post is expected to announce a profit for 2017 when its results are announced later this year.
She said this was a result of revenues from the increase in the price of the stamp and 300 redundancies across the business.
“We made a lot of tough decisions,” she said. “The internet is closing one door on standard letters and opening another on e-commerce.”
Standard parcel rates are also unchanged, but the international standard letter rate increases from €1.35 to €1.50.
An Post's latest stamp is one marking the centenary of the death of the Irish Parliamentary Party leader John Redmond.
‘Improvement’
An Post chief executive David McRedmond said 2017 was a “major improvement” in the company’s financial position.
He added: “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.”
