Pitney Bowes Demonstrates Growth of Global E-Commerce

It was a remarkable end to an extraordinary year for global commerce solutions provider Pitney Bowes, with CEO Marc Lautenbach saying the company achieved a record rate of growth in the fourth quarter.

He noted the company's journey to transform its e-commerce, shipping, mailing and financial services business, resulting in sales increasing 24% to $1 billion during fourth quarter of 2020.

"The fourth quarter was a remarkable ending to an extraordinary year,” Lautenbach said. “Revenue growth was the highest modern day, organic growth rate on-record for us. We have been on a journey to transform the business. Even with the tremendous uncertainty in our economy and how the pandemic will play out, we are now poised to enter this next chapter of our transformation, profitable revenue growth. While I am proud of what the team has accomplished, we all recognize there is more work to do and we are ready.”

In the fourth quarter of 2020, Pitney Bowes reported:

• The company reduced debt by $31 million.
• Shipping-related revenues represented 54% of total revenue.
• Global e-commerce revenue exceeded $500 million for the first time, representing growth of 60% over prior year.

Presort Services revenue improved from prior quarter and was flat to prior year.

For the full year 2020, Pitney Bowes reported:

• Revenue of $3.6 billion, up 11% year over year.
• The company reduced debt by $175 million.
• Shipping-related revenues represented 50% of total revenue.
• Global e-commerce revenue of $1.6 billion, representing growth of 41%.
• Presort Services processed a total of 16.7 billion pieces.
• SendTech shipped 20,000 units of the SendPro Mailstation since launching in April.

For 2021, the Stamford, Connecticut-based company expects annual revenue to grow over prior year in the low-to-mid single digit range, making 2021 the fifth consecutive year of constant currency growth.