(Reuters) -The CEO of Dutch mail company PostNL on Monday said business is suffering from high inflation and low consumer confidence, leading to fewer packages being sent.
The company, which was reporting third-quarter earnings that confirmed an October profit warning, said the macroeconomic background is becoming increasingly difficult.
“It has clearly impacted consumer spending,” Herna Verhagen said in a statement. “Retail shops as well as web shops are now signalling that their stocks are growing.”
The group, which delivers parcels and letters across Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, reported an operating loss of 20 million euros ($19.89 million), swinging from a profit of 20 million euros in the same period last year.
On the cost side, PostNL said it was hit by higher labour and transportation costs.
“We expect these headwinds to continue in the quarters to come,” Verhagen said.
($1 = 1.0055 euros)
(Reporting by Dagmarah MackosEditing by Christian Schmollinger and David Goodman)
