The absence of a pensions deal could take a toll on Royal Mail’s business, the company's leadership has warned.
In the six months to 24 September, the company reported pre-tax profits of £77m, down by nearly a third on the same period last year.
But the company said in its financial results that the "industrial relations environment" could knock its second-half performance.
In October, the company won an injunction to block a two-day strike by its workers on the grounds that the Communication Workers Union (CWU) - whose members voted in favour of industrial action - had not entered into a dispute resolution mechanism involving an external mediator, as required under a prior agreement.
Royal Mail said: “Our priority is to reach agreement with the CWU to help underpin the sustainability of the business. We are determined to use the mediation process to do just that.”
The mediation process is expected to end in the run-up to Christmas but may take longer, the company has said.
Earlier this year, the company announced it would be closing the Royal Mail Pension Plan, its current defined benefit (DB) scheme, to future accruals from next year.
Following union opposition, the company is offering members the choice of joining either a DB cash balance scheme or a defined contribution scheme.
From 1 April 2018, the DB cash balance scheme would provide members with a guaranteed lump sum at retirement.
Royal Mail also revealed in its results that it had had a one-off deferred tax credit of £106m related to the decision to close the pension scheme.
Due to this, the group’s reported tax was a credit of £91m on a reported profit of £77m.
This deferred tax adjustment arises “from a change to the previous assumption that the surplus would be recoverable from a reduction in contributions at some point in the future which would have been taxed at the corporate tax rate,” the company explained.
It is now assumed that the majority of the surplus will be available through a refund, net of withholding tax, it added.
maria.espadinha@ft.com
