USPS Reports Net Loss of $9.5B
The U.S. Postal Service announced its financial results for the 2024 fiscal year ended September 30. Controllable loss, which excludes certain expenses that are not controllable by management, was $1.8 billion for the year, compared to over $2.2 billion for the prior year. The net loss for the year under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) totaled $9.5 billion, compared to a net loss of $6.5 billion for the prior year, an increase of $3.0 billion primarily attributed to the year-over-year increase in non-cash workers’ compensation expense. Over 80% of our current year net loss is attributed to factors that are outside of management's control, specifically, the amortization of unfunded retiree pension liabilities and non-cash workers' compensation adjustments.
September 30, 2024 saw the release of Delivering for America 2.0 – Fulfilling the Promise, which revisits and reexamines our original 10-year transformation and modernization plan issued in March 2021, describes the significant progress made over the past three years, and summarizes the evolution of our major strategies that are now driving the organization forward to financial stability and sustained service excellence. The entire plan can be found at: https://about.usps.com/what/strategic-plans/delivering-for-america/assets/dfa-2-0-fulfilling-the-promise-2024.pdf.
“Our pricing and product strategies are continuing to improve our revenue picture and fuel market share gains in our package business, demonstrating the increasing competitiveness of the Postal Service,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. “While we continue to reduce our costs, there remain many economic, legislative and regulatory obstacles for us to overcome. We look forward to continuing our focus on transforming and modernizing the Postal Service, driving revenue, reducing the cost to deliver, improving operational performance, and positioning the organization for long-term financial sustainability.”
Total operating revenue was $79.5 billion for the year, an increase of $1.4 billion, or 1.7 percent, compared to the prior year.
Revenue from Shipping and Packages, First-Class Mail and Marketing Mail all increased for the year. Shipping and Packages revenue increased $625 million, or 2.0 percent, compared to the prior year. First-Class Mail revenue increased $830 million, or 3.4 percent, compared to the prior year. Marketing Mail revenue increased $292 million, or 1.9 percent, compared to the prior year.
Total GAAP operating expenses were $89.5 billion for the year, an increase of $4.1 billion, or 4.8 percent, compared to the prior year. The overall increase in operating expenses was due to non-cash workers' compensation adjustments and inflationary impacts on compensation costs, retirement costs and other operating costs, partially offset by lower transportation costs.
"The financial results for the year and the ongoing trend of declining mail volume and increasing package volume reinforce our commitment to the full implementation of the Delivering for America plan,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Corbett. “Adherence to the tenets of the plan, for example, has allowed us to reduce work hours for the third consecutive year, cumulatively reducing 45 million hours that will result in $2.3 billion in annual savings prospectively, and to save $1.3 billion in transportation costs in fiscal year 2024. The plan delivers the framework for us to better innovate to grow revenue, work more efficiently, and achieve financial sustainability to fulfill our universal service mission over an integrated network to deliver both mail and packages."
Fiscal Year 2024 Operating Revenue and Volume by Service Category Compared to Prior Year
The following table presents revenue and volume by service category for the years ended September 30, 2024 and 2023:
Click to enlarge.
Selected Fiscal Years 2024 Results of Operations and Non-GAAP Measures
This news release includes controllable loss which is not calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. This non-GAAP measure is calculated as net loss adjusted for costs outside of management's control, including workers’ compensation expenses caused by actuarial revaluation and discount rate changes and the amortization of the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) unfunded liabilities. These latter costs not only are largely outside of management's control but also can fluctuate significantly based on actuarial assumptions and interest rates.
This non-GAAP measure provides meaningful information to assist users of the Postal Service's financial statements to more fully understand the financial results and assess the Postal Service's ongoing performance because it excludes items that may not be indicative of, or are unrelated to, underlying operations.
Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, and not as an alternative for, the Postal Service's reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP. This adjusted financial information does not represent a comprehensive basis of accounting.
The following table reconciles GAAP net loss to our non-GAAP financial measure for the years ended September 30, 2024 and 2023:
Click to enlarge.
The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with In-plant Impressions. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of In-plant Impressions.
