More parcels, fewer letters: pandemic dents Swiss Post finances

Far more people ordered goods by parcel during the pandemic. © Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

The Covid-19 pandemic cost the state-owned Swiss postal service CHF139 million ($150 million) last year, which was largely responsible for driving down profits by 30%.

Swiss Post delivered a record 182.7 million parcels in 2020, up nearly a quarter in volume from the previous year. But the number of letters being posted declined by 5.6%.

The pandemic also negatively impacted the annual results of the organisation’s banking division, Postfinance, which saw profits plummet by a third. This was blamed largely on fewer people using ATMs in Switzerland or credit cards abroad, plus the burden of negative interest rate charges.

For 2020, Swiss Post recorded a profit of CHF178 million – some CHF77 million less than 2019 – the group announced on Thursday.

Swiss Post chairman Urs Schwaller, 68, also announced he would step down from his role on December 1.