Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

More parcels, fewer letters: pandemic dents Swiss Post finances

Postman scans parcel
Far more people ordered goods by parcel during the pandemic. © Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

The Covid-19 pandemic cost the state-owned Swiss postal service CHF139 million ($150 million) last year, which was largely responsible for driving down profits by 30%.

Swiss Post delivered a record 182.7 million parcels in 2020, up nearly a quarter in volume from the previous year. But the number of letters being posted declined by 5.6%.

The pandemic also negatively impacted the annual results of the organisation’s banking division, Postfinance, which saw profits plummet by a third. This was blamed largely on fewer people using ATMs in Switzerland or credit cards abroad, plus the burden of negative interest rate charges.

For 2020, Swiss Post recorded a profit of CHF178 million – some CHF77 million less than 2019 – the group announced on Thursday.

Swiss Post chairman Urs Schwaller, 68, also announced he would step down from his role on December 1.

News

Two Rothornbahn gondolas cross each other on Lenzerheide on Friday, April 3, 2009.

More

Swiss cable car activity rose in winter 2023-2024

This content was published on In the winter season up to April 2024, railway and cable car operators ferried 3% more visitors compared to the previous winter, and 5% more than the five-year average.

Read more: Swiss cable car activity rose in winter 2023-2024
flooding Rhine

More

Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria

This content was published on As part of an international agreement with Austria, the Swiss government wants to pump CHF1 billion ($1.1 billion) into flood protection measures along the Rhine over the next three decades.

Read more: Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR