KUALA LUMPUR: Courier services are set to overtake traditional postal services as Pos Malaysia Bhd’s biggest revenue driver, said its group chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh.
Pos Laju now controls 40 per cent of Malaysia’s courier segment.
“Mail services currently contribute 30 per cent to group revenue. We see Pos Laju’s contribution overtaking traditional mail services this year to take the top spot,” said Shukrie.
In the first half ended September, Pos Malaysia’s profit rose 47 per cent to RM38.58 million from RM26.22 million posted a year ago.
The group’s first-half revenue inched up three per cent to RM810.99 million from RM789.17 million.
“For the full-year to March, we estimate our courier business Pos Laju to bring in no less than RM650 million in revenue contribution,” he said in a recent interview, here.
The postal service provider, corporatised in 1992, and listed on Bursa Malaysia in 2001, is seeing increasing income from its courier business as more consumers in Malaysia embrace e-commerce.
“In line with global trend, our mail operations are shrinking. But we are also seeing consumers changing their habits and using more of Pos Laju’s services,” he said.
“Many small and medium entrepreneurs are using the Internet to conduct their business, taking sales orders and delivering products via the courier service,” he added.
Shukrie said the exponential growth in online shopping via Amazon.com, Alibaba.com, Shoppee.com.my, 11street.my, Zalora.com.my and Lazada.com.my meant customers could buy anything from clothes, books to sports equipment online and have the products delivered by courier services.
United States-based research firm eMarketer said online sales were expected to reach US$1.9 trillion (RM8.5 trillion) this year and top US$4 trillion by 2020.
On Pos Laju’s positioning, Shukrie said: “Pos Laju is Malaysia’s leading courier, competing with 30 players, with a 40 per cent market share.”
Pos Malaysia, 53.5 per cent-owned by DRB-HICOM Bhd, is boosting its warehousing and logistics assets to become a full-service e-commerce provider.
Five months ago, DRB-HICOM shareholders approved the sale of KL Airport Services Sdn Bhd (KLAS) and a plot of land in Shah Alam to Pos Malaysia for RM818.35 million, paving the way for its plan to group all logistics activities under the postal company.
“We’ve renamed KLAS to Pos Aviation and our group operations have moved towards e-commerce logistics,” he said.
Since April, Shukrie has positioned e-commerce as Pos Malaysia’s growth driver in the years to come.
He said the group had expanded its network of e-commerce touch points such as Pos Laju EziBox (parcel locker service), Pos Laju Prepaid EziDrop (drop-off facility), Pos Laju EziDrive-Thru and Pos Laju Kiosks.
As a full service e-commerce logistic player, Pos Malaysia delivers by air and sea via its freighter and roll-on, roll off vessel. On land, the group mobilises a fleet of 420 prime movers and 2,400 trailers.
Pos Malaysia hires 23,500 people to man 697 branch offices nationwide and fleet of 30 pos-on-wheels.
“We deliver to 8.5 million addresses throughout Malaysia,” said Shukrie.