Sale of stake in Pochta Bank, non-core assets to allow Russian Post to reduce debt by 30 bln rubles

MOSCOW. Dec 11 (Interfax) - The pending sale of a stake in Pochta Bank, as well as its non-core assets, should allow JSC Russian Post to reduce its debt by 30 billion rubles, the Digital Development Ministry said.

The ministry has not specified over what period and to what amount the debt would be reduced.

The company's financial statements indicate that debt totaled 128.3 billion rubles as on September 30, 2024.

As previously reported, the deal to sell a stake in Pochta Bank to VTB would total 36 billion rubles, with settlements scheduled to be completed on December 23. Company head Mikhail Volkov in June said that Russian Post plans to earn 3 billion rubles from the sale of non-core assets in 2024.

The Digital Development Ministry also said that Russian Post is implementing measures to improve the efficiency of its operations, thus reducing losses 3.5-fold in 2023 and attaining operating profit for the first time in five years.

The company boosted revenue 8% in four years, and raised the average salary of employees 50%.

Russian Post has refurbished over 3,500 post offices in three years, with 3,000 located in rural and hard-to-reach areas. The number of dilapidated offices has decreased 16% and temporarily closed ones 20%. The number of electronic mailings has increased nearly 2.5-fold, thus alleviating the burden on physical delivery.

The Digital Development Ministry said that it is preparing new measures to support Russian Post. The ministry has specifically drafted a bill granting the company a monopoly on the delivery of electronic registered letters, as well as access to mailboxes in apartment buildings. There are also proposals to allow Russian Post to install parcel terminals in apartment buildings.

There are additional plans to open locations for picking up orders in post offices under the franchise model.