Guernsey Post to install £1.8m parcel sorting machine

The machine can sort up to 6,000 parcels an hour and will be installed in July 2023

Guernsey Post is spending £1.8m on a new automated parcel sorting machine.

It can process up to 6,000 parcels an hour and will be installed in July as part of plans to redesign the company's headquarters at Envoy House.

It comes as the service announces a profit of £1.6m for the year up to March 2022.

However, bosses said it would move into a "short-term loss-making position" due to the restructure.

'Multimillion-pound investment'

Boley Smillie, chief executive, said: "The company is embarking on a multimillion-pound investment, funded from our own reserves, which includes the redesign of its postal headquarters and the installation of fully automated parcel sorting equipment."

Guernsey Post's finance director, Steve Sheridan, said: "We are excited to invest in this new parcel technology, which will enable Guernsey Post to be more efficient and grow our capacity.

"During the pandemic, Guernsey Post experienced strong growth in parcel volumes to levels that we would not have otherwise anticipated to reach for another three or four years.

"Our existing forecasts suggest that this growth will continue for the foreseeable future, albeit at a slower rate.

"However, the parcel growth is in stark contrast to the decline of core letter revenue which continues to fall by more than 10% per year."

Guernsey Post said the restructuring work would be completed in 2023.

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