Canberra, Feb 9 : Australia Post has announced that in the first half 2023 financial year, its revenue was A$4.69 billion ($3.25 billion), down 2.4 per cent from the same period last year, which is largely driven by an ongoing decline in letter volumes. Meanwhile, the group profit before tax plunged to A$23.6 million, seeing an 88.2 per cent drop from A$199.8 million for the six months up to December 31, 2021 (1H22), according to an official statement. The national postal service provider regarded the shrinking profit "considerably lower than the prior corresponding period, largely the result of a record first-half letters loss of A$189.7 million dollars, compared to A$69.9 million in 1H22", reports Xinhua news agency According to Australia Post, letters revenue now makes up just 18.8 per cent of the group's total revenue, down from 19.5 per cent in 1H22. In early January this year, Australia Post lifted the basic postage rate from A$1.1 to A$1.2. But the group said that this increase will only partially offset the substantial letters losses. "Every year it's costing Australia Post more to deliver fewer letters. We know letters are in an unstoppable decline, thanks largely to digital communications, yet letter costs are rising due to the increasing number of delivery points we service every day," said Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Paul Graham. He anticipated that annual volumes will decline further, with Australian households receiving less than one letter per week by the end of the decade. "As flagged in our 2022 financial results, Australia Post will report a full-year loss this year for the first time since 2015," Graham added. /IANS