KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 20): Pos Malaysia Bhd today announced posting a net loss of RM15.1 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2019, compared with a net profit of RM4.98 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago. This marks its fourth consecutive quarterly loss.

Revenue slipped 3% to RM572.95 million, from RM590.46 million before, an exchange filing today showed.

It is worth noting that the postal group has recently changed its financial year end from March 31 to Dec 31.

Pos Malaysia attributed the lower earnings to its weak postal services results, hit by the decline in traditional mail volume due to electronic substitution.

“The loss was a result of the continuing decline in our mail volume (18% year-on-year), coupled with our high costs to serve the Universal Service Obligation.

“We are working closely with our regulator since 2018 and continue to seek a quick resolution on the tariff balancing. We expect a positive outcome from the regulator on the tariff rebalancing,” said Pos Malaysia's group chief executive officer Tuan Syed Najib Syed Md Noor in a separate statement.

Nevertheless, Pos Malaysia sees challenging business outlook going forward, as contraction in mail volume continues as forecasted, with business enterprising switching to electronic and digital channels.

It said firm steps are being taken to address issues impacting its key revenue generators, postal services and courier business, but the outcome of these steps will only be evident in the medium term.

Shares of Pos Malaysia closed unchanged today at RM1.61 apiece, after 1.04 million shares were done. At its current price, the group is valued at RM1.26 billion.