Royal Mail misses delivery targets again but hails 'encouraging' signs

Royal Mail has once again missed its delivery targets for first and second class post, but said it is making progress towards the goals as its turnaround plan continues.

The postal service delivered 85% of first class deliveries the next day between March and June, up from 76% in the same three months of 2025, but below regulator Ofcom's 90% target.

Second class mail was delivered within three days 91% of the time, another improvement from the previous year, but short of Ofcom's 95% target.

Royal Mail said the results are "encouraging and show that the work we are doing to improve the service is having an impact".

Royal Mail, which is owned by International Distribution Services (IDS), has struggled with rising competition in the delivery market, fewer people sending letters and fines from the regulator for missing targets in recent years.

But it said that, compared with the same period last year, the portion of first class mail delivered next-day had risen significantly while the amount of second class mail delivered within three days had improved slightly.

Chief operating officer Jamie Stephenson said: "These results are encouraging and show that the work we are doing to improve the service is having an impact.

"First Class performance is well ahead of where we expected to be at this stage of our Improvement Plan, while Second Class is tracking in line with the plan."