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$1.1 billion operating profit in first quarter

$1.1 billion operating profit in first quarter

The U.S. Postal Service had a $1.1 billion operating profit in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2015, up from $765 million in the same period last year and $144 million two years ago. (See pg. 17 of the Quarter I, 2015 Report on Form 10-Q.)

In addition, USPS’ cash balance grew to $7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2014, an increase of more than $2 billion from the same point in time last year. (See pg. 4 of the Quarter I, 2015 Report on Form 10-Q.)

Overall revenue increased by $767 million over the same period last year, an increase of 4.3 percent. Volume increased as well, to 42.6 billion pieces in the first quarter of 2015, up from 42 billion pieces in the first quarter of 2014.

First-Class Mail revenue increased by 3.7 percent (a volume decline of just 1.1 percent, the slowest decline since the Great Recession of 2007-2009), Standard Mail revenue increased by 7.6 percent (volume increase of 3.5 percent), and Shipping & Packages revenue increased by 10.5 percent (volume increase of 12.8 percent). (See pg. 18 of the Quarter I, 2015 Report on Form 10-Q.)

Expenses (not including retiree health benefits pre-funding and workers’ compensation accounting adjustments) increased by $410 million, or 2.4 percent, compared with the same period last year. The increase came from a combination of last year’s pay increases and additional work hours during the busy holiday season. However, the increase in expenses was well below the 4.3 percent increase in revenue. (See pg. 17 of the Quarter I, 2015 Report on Form 10-Q, “Results of Operations.”)

As letter carriers can attest, the package business was off the charts. The “Parcel Select, Parcel Return, and Standard Parcels” package segment volume increased by 22.6 percent over last year. Priority Mail volume increased by 8.5 percent over last year. Overall package revenue was up by 10.5 percent, boosting the Postal Service’s bottom line. (See pg. 19 of the Quarter I, 2015 Report on Form 10-Q.)

The first quarter’s results, made possible in large part by the hard work of letter carriers, is a promising start for the Postal Service in fiscal year 2015.

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