A letter from our Board of Management
Dear employees, customers, shareholders, and partners,
In 2024, PostNL celebrated its 225th anniversary—a remarkable milestone that inspires both pride and reflection. Few organisations can claim such a rich heritage, and this legacy reflects the resilience, adaptability, and purpose that have defined PostNL over the centuries. While we honour our past, we recognise that longevity is never guaranteed; it demands continuous evolution, particularly in a year as dynamic as 2024.
This milestone year highlights the dedication of our people in navigating shared challenges. On Cyber Monday, we processed a record-breaking three million parcels, reaffirming our vital role in the e-commerce market. The PostNL app continues to empower customers with greater control over their deliveries, with new functionalities introduced in 2024 enhancing the customer experience. Innovations such as self-service chatbots and AI-driven logistics have improved operational efficiency, enabling us to meet growing customer demands more effectively. We also presented our vision for a future-proof mail service, reinforcing our commitment to reliability and innovation.
While we focus on technological advancements to enhance efficiency and the customer and consumer experience, we remain equally committed to the people behind our operations. This is reflected in the two collective labour agreements we concluded, reinforcing our commitment to fair working conditions and job security.
In line with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), we have further strengthened the transparency of our reporting, underscoring our commitment to measurable progress. Sustainability remains central to our strategy, with concrete steps such as expanding our electric vehicle fleet, installing charging stations, and accelerating the roll-out of parcel lockers. These initiatives support our ambition to achieve net-zero by 2040 and contribute to a more sustainable, resilient e-commerce ecosystem.
Although we celebrated significant achievements and reaffirmed our role as a vital link in society, we also faced undeniable challenges in a volatile economic environment. Rising costs, inflationary pressures, a tight labour market, shifting consumer behaviour, and client concentration tested our resilience and adaptability. Despite these difficult market conditions, we remained firmly on course, focusing on what we could control and reinforcing our foundation. However, 2024 was not a year of full financial satisfaction. Our full-year EBIT fell below expectations, yet thanks to effective cash and balance sheet management, we achieved our outlook for free cash flow. The year underscored both our strengths and the areas requiring further improvement. Strengthening margins and enhancing adaptability remain key priorities as we continue to navigate a challenging market landscape.
One area where change is urgently needed is our mail operations. For both consumers and businesses, digital communication has largely replaced physical mail, and society has embraced this shift. At the same time, mail remains essential for specific groups, organisations, and regulatory purposes. The challenge ahead is to shape a postal service that reflects today’s reality while ensuring it remains accessible and reliable where it matters most.
Mail volumes continued to decline throughout the year, with an accelerated shift towards a two-day service. For the first eleven months, our mail operations were loss-making, with the traditionally busy Christmas card season in December helping to offset some—but not all—of these losses. This seasonality further highlights the urgent need to rethink the postal framework. The current system is no longer sustainable, and without structural adjustments, essential postal services will come under increasing pressure. Outdated service regulations require a high number of delivery staff, making mail operations increasingly labour-intensive at a time of persistent structural labour market shortages.
For years, we have adapted to declining mail volumes by centralising operations, improving efficiency, and managing costs. However, the scope for further adjustments within the current regulatory framework has been exhausted. In 2024, we presented a clear vision for the future of mail in the Netherlands. This aligns with consumer research indicating that predictability is valued over speed and ensures a socially responsible transition with no forced redundancies. Meanwhile, neighbouring countries are modernising their postal services, yet political decisions in the Netherlands remain absent. Without regulatory reform, essential public services will continue to be at risk.
To ensure the continued viability of postal services, and in the absence of political decisions on structural reform, we have requested a temporary financial contribution from the Dutch government to support the statutory provision of these public services in 2025 and 2026. Under existing legislation, the provider of the universal postal service (UPD) is entitled to receive compensation for the net costs of the service if this constitutes a disproportionate financial burden. To bridge the period until the Postal Act is amended, a temporary financial contribution is necessary. A future-proof postal framework requires urgent reforms that reflect shifting consumer behaviour and economic realities. We call on policymakers to act now to safeguard a postal service that evolves with societal needs— one that serves businesses, consumers, and the thousands of employees who depend on it.
While the structural decline in mail calls for urgent reforms, the e-commerce market presents both opportunities and challenges that require continuous adaptation. E-commerce remains the cornerstone of PostNL’s strategy, and we firmly believe in its growth potential, driven by rising online consumer spending and increasing digital penetration.
In our Parcels division, market share remained stable, and volumes rebounded significantly, growing by 7%—a clear shift from the decline in 2023. This was driven by a 1.4% increase in domestic volumes and a strong 33% growth in international volumes. At the same time, the increasing impact of client concentration, particularly from large platforms and international e-tailers, put pressure on margins and was the main driver behind the deviation from expectations. The highly competitive nature of the e-commerce market demands a careful balance between capacity, network efficiency, and cost management.
The e-commerce market in 2024 was marked by volatility. Uncertain consumer spending during the summer led to lower volumes and underutilisation of our network, while the fourth quarter—traditionally the strongest period for parcels—delivered solid results but also introduced operational complexities. The sharp concentration of volumes within a short timeframe placed significant pressure on our operations, requiring meticulous capacity planning and disciplined cost management. Additionally, the structural imbalance in volume distribution—where peak demand is heavily concentrated on certain days—underscores the need for a more predictable and sustainable parcel flow throughout the week.
E-commerce logistics is inherently asset-intensive, relying on an extensive network of sorting centres, distribution hubs, vehicles, and people. Scaling operations up or down in response to fluctuating demand cannot happen overnight—it requires long-term planning, significant investment, and close collaboration across the value chain. Throughout the year, we took decisive action to mitigate the impact of market fluctuations. We implemented a range of adaptive measures to strengthen our financial position, including overhead reductions, tighter cash flow management, and more precise ramp-up schedules to ensure operational efficiency during peak periods.
As the sector evolves, new challenges continue to emerge, including rising operational costs, volatile consumer spending, and growing demands for sustainability—from emission-free delivery to the reform of labour conditions. Addressing these shifts requires continuous innovation, not only to meet customer expectations but also to ensure a fair and balanced distribution of value across the entire e-commerce chain.
Reflecting on the past year, we are reminded of the resilience and determination that define PostNL—qualities we deeply appreciate and never take for granted, especially in a year that also marked a personal transition for us. We announced that Herna will step down as CEO in April 2025 after thirteen years, passing on her responsibilities to Pim. Herna has expressed her deep gratitude for the privilege of leading this company. Having worked side by side for the past six years as a two- person Board of Management, we value the journey we have shared. It has been an honour to lead this company together, and as we look ahead, we do so with full confidence in Pim as the next CEO, supported by a strong and dedicated leadership team.
Looking ahead to 2025, we are actively working towards a future-proof and financially sustainable postal market, improving margins in e-commerce, strengthening resilience, and continuing to adapt to evolving market dynamics. As the e-commerce landscape has changed significantly, we are responding with yield measures to enhance customer value, seizing international growth opportunities by expanding our European network and presence in Belgium, and accelerating our out-of-home strategy. Additionally, we are refining key elements of our strategy where needed and look forward to sharing these developments at a Capital Markets Update after this summer.
We recognise our role in shaping the future of e-commerce logistics in the Netherlands and Belgium. As a leading last-mile provider in the Benelux, we remain committed to a strong, socially responsible, and financially sustainable postal service while enhancing our value proposition in e-commerce. Through these efforts, we continue to drive progress and sustainability, creating long-term value for all stakeholders.
To our employees: thank you for your unwavering dedication, which remains the foundation of our success. To our customers, shareholders, and partners: thank you for your trust and collaboration. As we move forward, we remain committed to innovation, adaptation, and sustainable growth, ensuring PostNL continues to serve society for generations to come.
Yours sincerely,
Herna Verhagen, CEO
Pim Berendsen, CFO
PostNL Board of Management