Faced with up to $379 million in year-end losses, Russian Post moves to shutter unprofitable branches and refinance debt

In recognition of its ongoing financial problems, Russia’s postal service has decided to conduct an independent audit of its spending. Russian Post expects to take a loss of 27–38 billion rubles (or $269–$378.6 million) in 2023.

To cut its losses, the limited company has outlined a series of measures for improving its financial health. One of them is to close the unprofitable branches. The postal service also proposes reducing the frequency of mail deliveries.

In addition, Russian Post is asking the government for extra funding and help in refinancing the company’s debt, which came to 153.5 billion rubles (or about $1.3 billion) at the end of 2022.

If these and other remedies get government support, the postal operator expects to turn a profit of six billion rubles ($59.8 million) already in 2024. Without assistance, Russian Post would be set to continue losing money through 2025.

In September, the speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko called on the Russian government to take action to rescue Russian Post before it “tumbles” into its widening financial gap.