OTTAWA -- The Canada Post Group of Companies reported a profit of $51 million before tax for the first quarter of the year, boosted by the sale of its mail sorting plant in downtown Vancouver in January.
The sale of the property gave the federal Crown corporation a $109-million gain before taxes.
A year earlier, the group had a pre-tax loss of $73 million in the first quarter.
Without the property sale, company said it would have lost $58 million for the three-month period this year including a $41-million loss at the core Canada Post segment.
The company said Wednesday that it expects to report a full-year loss for 2013.
Canada Post has been grappling with a persistent drop in many forms of mail as a result of newer technologies such as electronic mail and online banking.
Besides Canada Post, the group includes the Purolator courier service and other subsidiaries.
