Annual Report
Delivering Long-Term Growth
Sustaining Profitability
Sustaining profitability is a key strategy to ensure our viability. With a view to minimising cross subsidies, meeting targeted returns and generating the necessary funds for future investments, Hongkong Post continuously explores and pursues new business initiatives.
Achievements
- Achieved an operating surplus of HK$405 million
- Recorded 2.7% increase in productivity
- Cumulative enhanced productivity savings increased to 14.9%
DOING MORE WITH LESS
Productivity enhancement is always on Hongkong Post's agenda. Our aim is to maintain a highly cost-effective operation to achieve business growth. We focus on how we can improve productivity and control costs. This is best achieved by examining key processes and looking at how we operate as well as how we deploy resources.
We are continually seeking ways to achieve value for money on our expenditure and a key achievement during the year was our 2.7% increase in productivity. We also continued our programme that is rationalising the workload of our postmen by launching a new initiative that validates the design of a delivery beat to ensure it makes the most efficient use of manpower and resources. Meanwhile, our cumulative enhanced productivity savings increased to 14.9% at year end of 2005/06 against the Government's target of 4.7%. This reflected the results of a range of efficiency improvements including Business Process Re-engineering and our success in other initiatives such as optimising branch office locations to reduce rental costs.
We handled 1.3 billion pieces of mail items in 2005/06
Postshop Souvenirs: Ceramic Posting Box Name Card Holder, Hong Kong Pillar Posting Box Drinking Bottle
BUSINESS GROWTH
Mail Volume
During the year, Hongkong Post handled 1.3 billion pieces of mail items, or 3.56 million items daily, and served 2.76 million residential and business addresses. This represents an increase of 2.4% over 2004/05, with local mail accounting for around 85% of the items processed and overseas mail for around 15%. We processed some 29,164 tonnes of international mail in 2005/06, representing a 4.3% increase over 2004/05. Our major destinations for international letter mail and parcels were Mainland China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia.
Speedpost
Speedpost, our international courier service, is renowned for its reliability and efficiency in delivering documents and merchandise through its global network covering 216 destinations. We continue to strengthen our competitiveness through quality enhancement. In July 2005, for example, we aligned with five other leading postal administrations - Australia Post, China Post, Japan Post, Korea Post and the United States Postal Service – to deliver an enhanced "date-certain" Speedpost service in Asia Pacific Rim markets.
We also enhanced our Speedpost Premium Service during the year by expanding our geographic coverage for delivery within Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Local Courierpost
Hongkong Post once again provided a series of exclusive gifts on Valentine's Day, promoting its Local CourierPost service with a new prepaid Valentine's Day envelope and a free Alphabet Stamp Souvenir Cover.
Postshop Souvenirs
We continued to develop new PostShop souvenirs and collectibles during the year, all with appealing designs and at affordable prices. They included a wide range of new items from pewter coinbank, stationery to postal vehicles miniatures. All these items are available at the 48 PostShop outlets and ShopThruPost.
An internal Best Postshop Souvenir Design Competition was held at the end of 2005 to encourage innovative new designs. The winning design was eventually developed into a PostShop souvenir.
Retail Business
There were many successful initiatives in our retail businesses. Through the PayThruPost service, the public can enjoy a one-stop shop service that allows them to pay at the post office bills issued by government departments or utility companies such as CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd., The Hongkong Electric Company Ltd., and The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Ltd. During the year, this service was further extended to enable subscribers to Hong Kong’s three telecommunication networks PCCW, Hong Kong CSL Ltd. and Wharf T & T Ltd. to settle bills through Hongkong Post.
We also entered into an agreement with the Hong Kong Child Health Foundation for the sale of a selection of its products. Hongkong Post remains the authorised sales agent for publications and souvenirs of seven government departments / units.
Our reciprocal postal remittance service continues to enjoy access to over 195 countries. Traffic has increased by nearly three-fold in the 16 months since the network expansion.
Postshop Souvenirs:Nesting Mobile Post Office and "Linking People" Pewter Coinbank
Our special gift sets for the Valentine's Day
A Direct Mail Seminar was organised to promote the benefits of direct mail
Customers are offered a wide variety of choices in sending gift sets to the Mainland through our Gift Fulfillment Service
Direct Mail
We participated in regular board meetings with the Hong Kong Direct Mail Association (HKDMA) and collaborated with advertising and other direct mail service practitioners with a view to developing best practice. A seminar entitled "Direct Mail - The Media Buy That's Just Too Powerful to Ignore" held in October 2005 provided an excellent platform to announce the findings of independent research into consumer preferences in promotional media. The seminar received very positive feedback and attracted over 100 participants from big corporations , including senior buyers and media influencers from advertising agencies. Hongkong Post will continue to provide enhanced service to meet with the increasing need of the business sector to reach its target customers.
Logistics Service
The partnership between Hongkong Post and China Post continued with the Hong Kong / Mainland Gift Fulfillment Service, which commenced in 2004. This allows customers in Hong Kong to send a range of gift sets to over 2,000 cities on the Mainland and locally within Hong Kong, including bouquets, cakes, flower baskets and fruit baskets. During the festive seasons, we provided mooncake gift sets, Lunar New Year gifts, and a "date-certain" delivery service for Valentine’s Day gift sets. These services were available online at ShopThruPost and through mail orders.
BUSINESS EXPANSION
We made good progress during the year in our ongoing aims to grow existing markets, move into new markets and develop new services. We expanded the International Fulfillment Service with Japan Post, to accept orders for Japanese food products through ShopThruPost and have them delivered to the customer's door in Hong Kong.
We extend our activities into complementary business areas where there are potential growth and profits. To foster the growth of e-commerce, leveraging our comprehensive retail network, we teamed up during the year with an Internet brand to trial run the new Bulk Registered Air Mail Service. This provides a faster and easier mailing solution through simplified charging and procedures.
In addition to the trial of a value-added tax prepayment service for mail sent to the UK, the same service was developed for other major European destinations. This service allows merchants in Hong Kong to prepay the value-added tax in destination countries on behalf of their customers, thus helping them promote their products overseas.
We are seeing strong growth of Internet sales at ShopThruPost with a year-on-year increase of over 80%. ShopThruPost now has more than 5,500 members.
The launch of the new Bulk Registered Air Mail Service
We are seeing strong growth of Internet sales at ShopThruPost with a year-on-year increase of over 80%
STAMPS PROMOTION
Hongkong Post built on its track record for special stamp issues by launching 10 new sets of special stamps during the year.
Hong Kong Goldfish II - This was the second series of Goldfish stamps and illustrated some of the more impressive varieties of goldfish in Hong Kong.
Creative Industries - Using inspiring graphics and bold abstract images, this series celebrated 11 key creative industries such as advertising, digital entertainment, film and video, music, antiques and crafts, and the performing arts.
600th Anniversary of Zheng He's Maritime Expeditions - These special stamps commemorated nautical technology in China during the Ming Dynasty. Hongkong Post issued a set of three commemorative stamps and a stamp sheetlet, as did China Post and Macao Post.
Hong Kong Pop Singers - This set of stamps paid tribute to five pop stars who have left their mark on Cantopop.
Four Great Inventions of Ancient China - This special stamp issue showcased four revolutionary Chinese technologies - printing, papermaking, the compass, and gunpowder - that helped mankind’s advancement in the fields of knowledge,education, exploration and construction. The inclusion of printing and papermaking is of course especially relevant to the postal industry.
Hong Kong Disneyland Grand Opening - A set of four commemorative stamps, a souvenir sheet, a stamp sheetlet and a gold-foiled stamp sheetlet were issued to mark the grand opening of Hong Kong Disneyland. The stamps and sheetlets were designed by Walt Disney Imagineering.
Hong Kong, China-Portugal Joint Issue on Fishing Villages - These stamps were the sixth joint issue with another postal administration to celebrate the fishing heritage of two villages – Tai O in Hong Kong and Aldeia da Carrasqueira in Portugal.
Children Stamps - Dress Bear Up - These stamps carried the winning designs of the Children Stamp Design Competition – Dress Bear Up, which was held in 2004. The young artists showed great imagination and ingenuity by using a wide variety of materials to produce delightful and charming costumes for six cuddlesome bears, which were featured in this stamp issue.
Year of the Dog - Four special stamps, each with a vivid image of a dog to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Charming Chinese Lanterns - A set of stamps to mark the Chinese Lantern Festival, jointly issued by Hongkong Post, China Post and Macao Post. In an especially creative touch, the stamps incorporated a special printing effect that made the lanterns glow under ultraviolet light.
The Year of the Dog Special Stamps issuing ceremony
The young designers of the Children Stamps - Dress Bear Up
"The Sixth World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference "Postage Prepaid Postcard
Joint issuing ceremony in Foshan for the Charming Chinese Lanterns Special Stamps
Three sets of Postage Prepaid Postcards were issued respectively to commemorate the Handover Ceremony of the 2009 East Asian Games from Macao to Hong Kong, Hong Kong's hosting of The Sixth World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference, and the 9th World Firefighters Games 2006.
Hongkong Post continued to support philatelic events. We participated in the Stamp Exhibition for Families organised by a local publisher, and the China Philatelic Association 60th Anniversary Stamp Exhibition, in April 2005 and January 2006 respectively. Souvenir covers were issued to commemorate our participation in the Hong Kong Stampex 2006 Stamp Exhibition in February, organised by the Hong Kong Philatelic Society.
In late 2005, we took part in the judging panel of the Civic Education Stamp Design Competition, organised by the Home Affairs Bureau and the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education. The winning design in the Primary School Division, will be selected for the Civic Education series of special stamps to be issued in 2007.
Print friendly version
Download Sustaining Profitability [PDF, 10 pages of 1.23MB]
To view and print, you need to use an Adobe Acrobat Reader. You may need to download Acrobat Reader and Asian Font Packs to view the documents if necessary.