Royal Mail (RMG) marked its one-year anniversary as a listed company by settling with the French competition authority. The company was under investigation over alleged breaches of antitrust laws by one of its subsidiaries, GLS France, during the period before the end of 2010.
IC TIP:
Sell
at
394p
But agreeing to settle doesn't preclude the end result. The investigation will continue, although any fine will be reduced due to Royal Mail's cooperation. The penalty won't be determined until late 2015 or early 2016, but Royal Mail has made an £18m financial provision in its financial statements for the half-year ended 28 September 2014. Of that, legal costs account for £6m.
