Dutch postal delivery firm PostNL delivered 11% more packages in March 2020, compared with last year, the company said on Monday.

Over Q1 as a whole, parcel deliveries were up 3% with the sharp boost in March being generated by the further shift to online shopping because of coronavirus.

At the same time, the volume of letter post fell 12%. Even though more people are sending cards to family and friends, many companies suspended direct mail campaigns because of coronavirus, PostNL said.

First quarter turnover rose from €684m to €701m while earnings excluding one-offs were halved to €15m following the merger with Sandd.

‘Our financial position is strong and, building on our solid Q1 performance, we are committed to achieving our FY 2020 outlook for normalised EBIT of between €110m  and €130m,’ chief executive Herna Verhagen said.

‘Going forward, we see both challenges and opportunities, as e-commerce has picked up and consumer mail is becoming more popular. However, visibility is limited and the uncertainties about the duration and severity of the pandemic may impact PostNL’s ability to achieve the projected result.’