Business
Royal Mail owner set to return to profit in first figures since £3.6bn takeover
The owner of Royal Mail is expected to show a return to annual earnings on Monday in the firm’s first set of results since the completion of its £3.6 billion takeover by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.
International Distribution Services (IDS) will post figures for the 12 months to March 31 after a milestone year for the group, which saw Royal Mail taken into foreign ownership for the first time in its more than 500-year history.
The year has also seen regulator Ofcom rubber stamp reforms allowing Royal Mail to ditch second class letter deliveries on Saturdays and change the service to every other weekday, which the group can start rolling out from July 28.
IDS” data-source=””>
IDS said in January that it was on course to return to annual adjusted operating profit, before voluntary redundancy costs, in 2024-25, “despite the difficult market environment”.
Its third quarter update showed group revenues lifted 0.8% to £3.6 billion thanks in part to a parcel boost over Christmas.
Royal Mail parcel revenues rose 2.5% to £1.02 billion in the quarter as prices rose, while the division was also helped by a better performance internationally, where revenues jumped 6.6% to £227 million.
But the group warned in November that it was facing a £120 million hit from the incoming national insurance tax hike and that it could not rule out job cuts or price hikes to offset the blow.
It also saw an investigation launched in May after it only delivered just over three-quarters of first-class post on time last year, following hefty fines for missing targets in previous years.
Parent group IDS formally left the London Stock Exchange on June 2 after being taken over by Mr Kretinsky’s EP Group following clearance by the Government at the end of 2024 and approval by shareholders in April.
Royal Mail’s new owner also issued a £1 so-called golden share to the UK Government, as agreed under the deal.
Mr Kretinsky – appointed as the new chairman of Royal Mail – has pledged to stick to the Universal Service Obligation (USO) after the takeover.
Royal Mail also announced in recent days that it will be the first international postal operator to launch new services so people can continue sending goods to the United States as new customs requirements take effect from August 29.
Royal Mail customers now can use the company’s new postal delivery duties paid (PDDP) services, which follows a US executive order last month that goods valued at 800 dollars or less will no longer be exempt from import duties and taxes from August 29.
The Institute of Directors (IoD) has warned around 30% of its member firms that export to the US will be hit by the new rules, with smaller companies predominantly impacted.
The Eli Lilly logo appears on the company’s office in San Diego, California, U.S., Nov. 21, 2025.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Eli Lilly on Monday said it is lowering the cash prices of single-dose vials of its blockbuster weight loss drug Zepbound on its direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect, building on efforts by the company and the Trump administration to make the medicine more accessible.
The announcement also comes weeks after chief rival Novo Nordisk unveiled additional discounts on the cash prices of its obesity and diabetes drugs.
Starting Monday, cash-paying patients with a valid prescription can get the starting dose of Zepbound vials for as low as $299 per month on LillyDirect, down from a previous price of $349 per month. They can also access the next dose, 5 milligrams, for $399 per month and all other doses for $449 per month, down from $499 per month across those sizes.
Zepbound carries a list price of roughly $1,086 per month. That price point, and spotty insurance coverage for weight loss drugs in the U.S., have been significant barriers to access for some patients.
Eli Lilly’s announcement comes just weeks after President Donald Trump inked deals with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to make their GLP-1 drugs easier for Americans to get and afford. The agreements will cut the prices the government pays for the drugs, introduce Medicare coverage of obesity drugs for the first time for certain patients and offer discounted medicines on the government’s new direct-to-consumer website launching in January, TrumpRx.
But Eli Lilly’s deal with Trump centers around lowering the prices of a different form of Zepbound – a multi-dose pen – after it wins Food and Drug Administration approval.
That means Eli Lilly’s Monday announcement around cutting prices on the existing single-dose vials could allow more patients to get discounted treatments more quickly.
“We will keep working to provide more options — expanding choices for delivery devices and creating new pathways for access — so more people can get the medicines they need,” said Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly USA and global customer capabilities, in a statement.
Eli Lilly’s stock, which has climbed more than 36% this year, fell nearly 2% on Monday. Its meteoric rise due to the success of Zepbound and its diabetes injection Mounjaro vaulted it to becoming the first health-care company to hit a $1 trillion market value last month. Though cutting prices means lower revenue per medication sold, Eli Lilly’s sales — and shares — have continued to soar through past pricing announcements as demand balloons.
With single-dose vials, patients need to use a syringe and needle to draw up the medicine and inject it into themselves. Eli Lilly first introduced that form of Zepbound in August 2024.
It’s unclear how many patients are currently using single-dose vials of Zepbound. But Eli Lilly previously said that direct-to-consumer sales now account for more than a third of new prescriptions of Zepbound.
Novo Nordisk earlier this month lowered the price of its obesity drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic for existing cash-paying patients to $349 per month from $499 per month. That excludes the highest dose of Ozempic.
The company also launched a temporary introductory offer, which will allow new cash-paying patients to access the two lowest doses of Wegovy and Ozempic for $199 per month for the first two months of treatment.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has approved a fresh increase in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), raising the cost for both domestic consumers and commercial users.
According to the notification issued, the LPG price has been increased by Rs7.39 per kilogram, setting the new rate at Rs209 per kg for December. As a result, the price of a domestic LPG cylinder has risen by Rs87.21, bringing the new price to Rs2,466.10.
In November, the price of LPG stood at Rs201 per kg, while the domestic cylinder was priced at Rs2,378.89.
The latest price hike is expected to put additional pressure on households already grappling with rising living costs nationwide.
New Delhi: The taxable value of all supplies under GST surged by a robust 15 per cent during September-October this year, compared to the same period in 2024 due to sharp increase in consumption triggered by the tax rate cuts on goods across sectors that kicked in from September 22, according to official sources.
The growth in the same two-month period last year was 8.6 per cent. “This surge in taxable value during ‘Bachat Utsav’ demonstrates strong consumption uplift, stimulated by reduced rates and improved compliance behaviour,” a senior official said.
He pointed out that the growth has especially been strong in sectors where rate rationalisation was implemented, such as FMCG, pharma goods, food products, automobiles, medical devices and textiles. In these sectors, the taxable value of supplies has seen significantly higher growth, confirming that lower GST rates translated directly into higher consumer spending.
“It vindicates our strategy that reducing rates on essentials and mass-use sectors would create demand-side buoyancy — a Laffer Curve–type demand uplift,” he explained.These trends confirm that GST next-gen reforms have not disrupted revenue stability, and that consumption-side buoyancy has begun to translate into higher taxable value in key sectors.
This growth is in value terms which means that since GST rates were lower, the growth in volume terms will be even higher. It is clearly visible that while the Next Gen Reforms resulted in significant Bachat — increased consumption, industry has been very proactive in passing on the GST savings to the final consumers and ensuring that there is no supply side deficiency.
As GDP private consumption data will be released much later, GST taxable value serves as the most reliable real-time proxy for consumption, and the current numbers clearly indicate sustained demand expansion, the official added.
How Nick Saban and ESPN tried to help Lane Kiffin coach two teams at once
MIT Sea Grant students explore the intersection of technology and offshore aquaculture in Norway
Eli Lilly cuts cash prices of Zepbound weight loss drug vials on direct-to-consumer site
-
Sports1 week agoWATCH: Ronaldo scores spectacular bicycle kick
-
Entertainment1 week agoWelcome to Derry’ episode 5 delivers shocking twist
-
Politics1 week agoWashington and Kyiv Stress Any Peace Deal Must Fully Respect Ukraine’s Sovereignty
-
Business1 week agoKey economic data and trends that will shape Rachel Reeves’ Budget
-
Politics1 week ago53,000 Sikhs vote in Ottawa Khalistan Referendum amid Carney-Modi trade talks scrutiny
-
Tech6 days agoWake Up—the Best Black Friday Mattress Sales Are Here
-
Fashion1 week agoCanada’s Lululemon unveils team Canada kit for Milano Cortina 2026
-
Tech1 day agoGet Your Steps In From Your Home Office With This Walking Pad—On Sale This Week