ROYAL Mail has announced a massive increase in their half-yearly profits.

Profits for the organisation between March and September were around £144m, a huge rise from the £12m profit during the same period last year.

The huge increase is being blamed on the rise in parcel deliveries which stems from more and more people shopping online.

The large profit has sparked controversy as the government is preparing plans to privatise the company.

Privatising the Royal Mail could lead to increasing the price of stamps again – the price of a first class stamp rose from 46p to 60p in April.

Justin Tomlinson, MP for North Swindon, said: “I do worry about the price of stamps.

“Bearing in mind Royal Mail’s increased profitability, I would hope that this would prevent any further increases to the price of stamps.”

Many of the unions which represent the Royal Mail have spoken out against the proposed plans to privatise the company.

Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said: “There is no need for privatisation as a solution to business transformation.

"Change is being successfully delivered by postal workers daily throughout the company.

“The regulator must step in now to protect the universal service. Competition from private companies is undermining Royal Mail’s ability to provide an affordable service to every part of the UK."

Royal Mail was in the firing line again today after announcing that 27 million items of the 54 million items sent each day in the UK are junk letters.

Clyde Loakes, of the Local Government Association, spoke of the problems that junk mail causes for the homeowner.

He said: “Most people don’t appreciate being bombarded with junk mail on a daily basis. Not only is it a nuisance, but it adds thousands of tonnes to the amount of waste that councils have to collect.”

However, Royal Mail stressed that marketing mail is a vital factor in keeping the company in good shape.

The company has lost 4000 employees in the last two years but marketing mail is being attributed for that figure not being even more.

A spokesperson for Royal Mail stressed that marketing mail helped maintain the universal service network and its delivery performance against the backdrop of declining letter volumes.