A levy paid to government from the increasingly profitable Isle of Man Post Office will double to £1m this year.

The Post Office saw its profits jump £1.25m last year, accounts to be laid before the April Tynwald show.

It has posted a profit of £3.85m in the 12 months to end of March 2025, up from £2.6m the previous year.

Operating profit was £2.77m, up from £1.63m in 2024.

Turnover held steady at £25.1m.

For a second consecutive year, the board was directed by Treasury to transfer a sum of £500,000 to the government’s general reserves.

The direction also includes a requirement to transfer £1m for the current financial year, 2025-26.

The Post Office went into the black for the first time in 2020-21 after posting three years of losses.

Its profit that year was £1.61m which dipped to £1.53m the following year and then dropped to £540,000 in 2022-23 before bouncing back to £2.58m in 2023-24.

Chief executive Simon Kneen said the improvement in profitability stems largely from cost efficiencies, particularly across payroll, actuarially assessed pension charges, and logistics.

Letter volumes declined by 11%, in line with expectations, which was partly offset by modest growth in inbound parcels from the Post Office’s UK logistics partners. the accounts show.

However, letters continue to outnumber parcels at a ratio of 3:1.

And Mr Kneen said the changing product mix ‘poses relentless challenges’.

The retail network continues to come under pressure with the withdrawal of MiCard and vehicle and driving licensing services, and plans announced for a further scaling down of services.

From April 1 customers who want to pay their utility bills, rates, fixed penalty notices or renew their TV licence at a post office counter will only be able to do so at five selected branches.