Comparing financials of Pakistan Post to its Indian, American counterparts

Lahore :Although the state-owned Pakistan Post, one of the most profitable national public entities as of now, did manage to increase its revenue from Rs eight billion to Rs 14.77 billion within a year, as per its July 2019 claims, its 44,000 employees operating more than 13,000 post offices and servicing over 50 million people across the country, are still striving to bring down this department’s Rs12.5 billion annual deficit recorded in December 2018.

Research shows that Murad Saeed, the Federal Minister in-charge of Pakistan Post, may have introduced various new services to increase this department’s revenue beyond the 116 percent mark achieved during fiscal 2017-18 despite a 10 percent cut in budget, the reduction in Rs 22.2 billion annual expenditure here is causing him a persistent headaches for sure.

The Pakistan Post hierarchy also said a few months ago that it was vying hectically to recover a sum of around Rs. 6 billion that was stuck up with various government departments. By the way, as research shows, the United States Postal Service, currently enjoying services of 497,000 staffers, has found itself in the red once again for 2019, despite revenue increases and investment in cost-cutting measures.

This American department has reported a net loss of $8.8 billion for fiscal year 2019, more than double the loss reported last year, a 54-year old US magazine “The Federal Times,” which serves as a source of information for senior US government managers on trends and issues facing them in their job performance, had reported last month.

In neighbouring India, according to an April 15, 2019 report of “Business Today,” a widely-subscribed Indian fortnightly business magazine with a total readership of approximately 1.32 million, during the last three fiscals, the revenue deficit of the Department of Posts, trading as India Post, has ballooned nearly 150 percent, from Indian Rs 60.07 billion in fiscal 2016. The total number of employees of Indian Post had rested at 4,33,417 as of 2017.

The “Business Today” had reported: “It is now reportedly the biggest loss-making Public Sector Undertaking, leaving headline-grabbing losses of the likes of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Air India far behind.” According to another Indian media house, “The Financial Express,” India Post's annual deficit had touched a staggering Indian Rs 150 billion in fiscal 2019, thanks to high pay-and-allowance costs, now at over 90 per cent of its annual revenue.”Research shows that BSNL - which had reported losses of around Indian Rs 79.92 billion in FY18 - was expected in April 2019 to narrow it down to the Indian Rs 75 billion figure, while Air India had posted a net loss of Indian Rs 53.37 billion in fiscal 2018, down over 17 per cent year-on-year.In July 2019, it was reported by Indian media that the BSNL was expected to post losses of over Indian Rs 140 billion for the financial year 2018-19, while its revenue was stated to be around Indian Rs 193.08 billion.

The “Business Today” had further added: “India Post's pay and allowances cost reportedly stood at Rs 166.20 billion in fiscal 2019 (revised estimate), against revenue of Rs 180 billion. If you factor in pension payouts to the tune of another Rs 97.82 billion, the employee cost itself added up to Rs 264 billion in the last fiscal, nearly 50 per cent more than the total receipts. While salaries have steadily climbed with successive central pay panel awards, revenue from traditional postal services have gone the other way. ”The Indian Post, which runs the world's largest postal network along with popular savings schemes, a payments bank and, more recently, even an e-commerce portal, has projected revenue of Indian Rs 192.03 billion for fiscal 2020.On the other hand, the expenditure on salary and allowances for its massive 4.33 lakh workforce is pegged at Indian Rs 174.51 billion, while pension outgo is expected to be around Indian Rs 102.71 billion, so the revenue-deficit gap is only set to widen further in the next fiscal.