Australians to pay more to send a letter after mail volumes, profits fall

Australians will be required to pay around 40 percent more for a postage stamp as new costs for mail services roll out on Monday.

The cost of sending a regular letter in Australia has been raised from 70 cents (50 U.S. cents) to one dollar (72 U.S. cents) in an effort to curb the shock loss that mail carrier Australia Post endured in 2014/15.

According to Australia Post's Michelle Skehan, the mark-up will not provide an instant turnaround of the company's fortunes as 'snail mail' continues to fall out of vogue in a rapidly expanding digital world.

"While the stamp price increase and services changes introduced today will reduce the losses, they will not return stamp mail to profit," Skehan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"Mail volume continues to decline," she said.

Last year, Australia Post revealed its first loss in more than 30 years, with the company in the red to the tune of 275 million U.S. dollars. The trend is expected to continue as mail volumes declines.

A number of measures to cut the losses have been implemented, but the latest - the price increase along with longer handling times - is one of the most drastic seen in recent years.

Regular mail will now also take up to six business days to be delivered, while a priority service - an option for an additional 50 cents (36 U.S. cents) - will be available to deliver mail within four business days.

The cost of posting a letter in Australia was at 50 cents a decade ago, but was increased to 70 cents recently.

The most recent increase is the fifth to occur in 25 years. Enditem