PostNL announced on Monday that turnover in the second quarter remained virtually stable at €1,025bn, while net profit fell to €3m, down from €22m in the year-earlier period.

Operating profit rose to €22m from €10m in the second quarter of 2012. Deliveries were down 11.3%.

This is a bigger fall than expected, the company said in a statement. It blames the drop on the economic climate and increasing competition. It expects a fall of between 9% and 11% across the whole of 2013.