奧運不止於比賽,奧運郵票成爲郵局大功臣

Around £8m worth of Olympic and Paralympic stamps were sold during the London 2012 Games, helping to boost profits at the Post Office. The hugely popular stamps featured UK gold medallists. More than 500 branches opened on Sundays during the Games, many for the first time, so the stamps could be sold the day after a gold medal victory.

價值大約8英鎊的奧運會及殘奧會郵票在2012年倫敦奧運會期間出售，旨在促進郵局收益。這大受歡迎的郵票以奧運金牌得主爲主。奧運會期間超過500家分支機構在星期天開業，很多都是第一次，所以這些郵票就可以在金牌角逐之後的第二天出售。

In its first trading statement since separating from the Royal Mail in April, the Post Office said operating profit in the first half of the financial year was £61m, up by £5m on the same period last year. Turnover rose £16m to £501m, with "continued strong performance" in the mail business, especially packets and special deliveries.

自從今年4月從皇家郵政中分離後在最初的交易聲明中，郵局說上半年財政營運利潤是6100萬英鎊，比去年同期增加500萬英鎊。交易量增加1600萬英鎊到50100萬英鎊，在郵件業務中的“表現持續強勁”，尤其是包裹和特殊快遞業務。

The Post Office said its network was at its most stable for more than 25 years, with 11,799 branches and a commitment to no further closure programmes. More than 250 branches have been converted into shops, with extended opening hours, while the partnership with the Bank of Ireland has recently been extended for a further three years.

郵局說其網絡處在25年來最穩定的狀態，11799家分支機構和一個委員會都沒有進一步關閉項目。超過250家分支機構都被轉換成商店，延長開放時間，而與愛爾蘭銀行的合作關係最近也將再延長三年。

Jo Swinson, the minister responsible for the Post Office, said: "I am pleased to see Post Office continuing to make progress as an independent business, and these results show that with the support of this government, Post Office's management has successfully been able to reverse two decades of decline."

Jo Swinson，負責郵局的部長說：“我很高興看到郵局作爲一項獨立的業務繼續取得進展，這些結果表明在政府的支持下，郵局的管理層已經成功地逆轉了二十多年來的下滑。”

"Post Office has achieved a considerable amount in these past six months and I firmly believe this provides the business, and its stakeholders, with a strong platform for continued growth and development in the future."

“郵局在過去6個月已經完成了大量業務，我堅信這爲商業和持股人未來持續的增長和發展提供了一個強大的平臺。”

A Communication Workers Union spokesman said: "The Post Office results are good so we now want the company to reward staff for contributing to this success.

通訊工人工會的發言人說：“郵局成效很好，所以我們現在希望公司能對促成這一成功的員工進行獎勵。

"Over 4,000 Crown Office staff have been waiting for a pay rise since April while other people in the organisation have had increases.

“4000多名皇家辦公室的工作人員從4月以來就一直在等待加薪而在該組織的其他人已經加過薪水。

"Now that we all know the Post Office finances are positive we hope that management will reward the staff who have been so instrumental in making the Post Office a success."

“既然我們都知道郵局的財政一片光明，我們希望管理層能獎勵一直致力於使郵局獲得成功的那些員工。”