Company in the news: Royal Mail

Phil Oakley explains what the dramatic collapse of competitor City Link means for Royal Mail.

The collapse of delivery company City Link over Christmas has starkly shown the woes facing Britain's parcel businesses. Royal Mail (LSE: RMG), UK Mail and TNT have all said in recent months how hard life has become for them. Royal Mail's revenue from parcels in 2014 will probably have stagnated, or even fallen.

Despite the boom in internet shopping, many parcel companies seem to be making less rather than more money. That's because there are too many delivery vans out there chasing the business.

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Phil spent 13 years as an investment analyst for both stockbroking and fund management companies.

 

After graduating with a MSc in International Banking, Economics & Finance from Liverpool Business School in 1996, Phil went to work for BWD Rensburg, a Liverpool based investment manager. In 2001, he joined ABN AMRO as a transport analyst. After a brief spell as a food retail analyst, he spent five years with ABN's very successful UK Smaller Companies team where he covered engineering, transport and support services stocks.

 

In 2007, Phil joined Halbis Capital Management as a European equities analyst. He began writing for MoneyWeek in 2010.