An Post has announced an increase in the price of an international stamp from 4 April, rising from €1.35 to €1.50.
The company said the increase is due to continuous unit cost inflation from reduced volumes.
But it noted that, despite the increase, the price of an international stamp remains below the average international rate of €1.68 in the European Union.
An Post also said the standard stamp price will not increase from the €1 price set last year as the decline in the level of mail was not as bad as had been feared.
It said the better-than-expected mail volumes and the reduction of over 300 staff across the business allowed it to keep the price of a standard stamp unchanged.
It is also below the European average rate of €1.14 for national mail.
Meanwhile, standard parcel rates are also unchanged, although there are some increases in specialised service rates and at the low volume 0.5kg-1kg national band.
Parcel volumes grew by 30% last year due to increasing e-commerce and the re-launch of An Post's parcel service with delivery on Saturdays and evenings and later acceptance times for businesses.
"2017 saw a major improvement in An Post's difficult financial position resulting from the price increase last April, large headcount reductions and the successful re-launch of the parcel business," commented the company's chief executive David McRedmond.
He said that An Post's strategy is working well but the pressure needs to be maintained as the business offsets the impacts of e-substitution on mail volumes while refocusing the business on e-commerce.
"I am pleased that the better financial position means prices for standard letters and parcels need not be increased this year. The business has to work even harder in 2018 to deliver efficiencies, to continue implementing fair pricing and to launch new services," he added.
