This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on February 28, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Continued decline in snail mail volume and sharply lower contribution from its logistics division have kept Pos Malaysia Bhd in the red for two consecutive financial quarters.

The postal group, whose share price halved over the past 12 months, announced yesterday it posted a net loss of RM13.02 million or 1.66 sen a share, for its third quarter ended Dec 31, 2018 (3QFY19). It posted a net profit of RM9.48 million or 1.21 sen a share in the previous corresponding quarter.

Quarterly revenue fell 6.36% to RM581.24 million, from RM620.72 million last year, a filing with Bursa Malaysia showed yesterday.

“Operating conditions remain challenging for the Pos Malaysia group as a whole,” said Pos Malaysia’s group chief executive officer Syed Md Najib Syed Md Noor, in a separate statement.

For the cumulative nine months ended Dec 31, 2018, Pos Malaysia registered a net loss of RM24.62 million or 3.14 sen a share, versus a net profit RM64.22 million or 8.2 sen a share last year. Revenue was down 3.25% to RM1.76 billion, from RM1.82 billion a year ago.

On prospects, although cautiously optimistic about some of its businesses, Pos Malaysia said the group’s key revenue generators, Postal Services and Courier businesses, remain challenging as business enterprises are increasingly communicating with their customers via electronic and digital channels, foregoing mail-based communications.