Singapore Post’s net profit for the first half of its financial year fell by 17.1 per cent year-on-year to S$18.4 million (US$14.1 million), said the company on Monday (Nov 10). 

Announcing its unaudited results for the half year ending on Sep 30, SingPost said: "The decline was largely due to contributions from the divested Australia business in the prior period, which offset the exceptional gains in H1 FY25/26."

Revenue fell 27.4 per cent to S$188.4 million, which the company said was a reflection of “the challenging operating environment for the logistics business, particularly in cross-border ecommerce delivery volumes”.

The company said its efforts to streamline its operations post-divestment and cost discipline were reflected in lower operating expenses, which fell 25.5 per cent year-on-year to S$182.4 million. 

Labour and related expenses were lower by 10.9 per cent at S$92.8 million due to "streamlined operations", while volume-related expenses were lower by 58.6 per cent at S$31.6 million, mainly due to lower cross-border delivery volumes.

Its underlying net profit fell 78 per cent year-on-year to S$5.5 million. This was due to changes in discontinued operations, it said. 

SingPost CEO Mark Chong said the company’s first-half performance “reflects the full impact of the streamlining of our business”. 

“This team has delivered a positive start to the first half, despite the persistent weakness in the global logistics and ecommerce sector. 

"We will continue to invest in our infrastructure to further enhance our service levels, while managing our cost base."