UK and international parcels continued to trade well but the decline in usage in UK letters has accelerated. Robin Byde, director of industries and transport research at Cantor Fitzgerald Europe has said the “sharper decline in UK letters is worrying”. Rico Back, Group Chief Executive Officer, Royal Mail plc, said: “Overall, our recent trading performance was broadly in line with our expectations. “Due to our letters performance to date, we expect addressed letter volume declines, excluding elections, to be in the range of 7-8% for 2018-19. As a result, addressed letter volume declines, excluding elections, are likely to be outside our forecast medium-term range next year.