Royal Mail's universal delivery under threat as online shoppers turn to Amazon to deliver parcels Royal Mail is obliged to deliver post anywhere in the UK for the same price But its 'universal service' is under threat because of popularity of Amazon Comes as Royal Mail shares plummet after profits fell from Â£353m to Â£279m Britainâ€™s â€˜universal postal serviceâ€™ is under threat because of the growing popularity of sending packages on Amazon, it has been revealed. Royal Mail, which is legally obliged to deliver post and packages anywhere in the UK for the same price, has seen its profits slump after Amazon shook up the parcels market by setting up its own delivery network. Moya Greene, the Royal Mail chief, today demanded ministers overhaul rules which allow other companies to â€˜cherry pickâ€™ cheaper letter deliveries around big cities, leaving expensive rural post to the national service. Royal Mail's shares plummeted to Â£3.30 today - a fall of 8 per cent - following news that profits had dropped by Â£70 million She said an urgent change in the rules was needed to â€˜secure the sustainable provision of the universal service for the futureâ€™. It comes after Royal Mail shares plummeted by 8 per cent â€" after profits fell from Â£353 million to Â£279 million. The Communication Workers Union, representing Royal Mail workers, said the drop in profits was directly linked to the Governmentâ€™s decision to privatise the service. Deputy general secretary Dave Ward warned that unrestricted competition in the postal sector would make it difficult for Royal Mail to sustain its duty to deliver the universal service obligation in the coming years. He added: 'We need Ofcom to perform its primary statutory duty by urgently reviewing the threat competition poses to the universal postal service. 'We'd like to see a cap put on competition to Royal Mail. The results today are proof that direct delivery competition is damaging the financial sustainability of the universal postal service. When Royal Mail was part-privatised last year the Business Secretary Vince Cable insisted it was the only way to protect the universal delivery service. Royal Mail is being forced to fight harder for business, with competition from the likes of TNT, Yodel, and Amazon itself hampering progress. Business Secretary Vince Cable said privatising the Royal Mail would help protect the universal service The firm said Amazon's plans would slash the rate of growth in the UK parcels market from 4-5 per cent to 1-2 per cent a year for its own business and other carriers for around two years. Parcels make up half of Royal Mail's turnover and its growth in an industry buoyed by online shopping is a key investment focus for shareholders in light of declining letter volumes. The company reported a rise in parcel volumes of 2 per cent in the six months to September 2, but the division's revenues fell 1 per cent in what was described as a 'highly competitive' marketplace. Across the group, pre-tax profits were Â£218million in the period, compared with Â£233million a year earlier. Royal Mail is legally required to deliver anywhere in the UK for the same price Operating profit before 'transformation costs' fell by 21 per cent to Â£279million, as Amazon's delivery ambitions, higher pension costs and the absence of a VAT refund received a year ago all took their toll. The figure was at the top end of a forecast range of Â£237-279million, but the City gave Royal Mail's results a negative reception this morning. The stock initially posted gains before dropping 5 per cent or 22.65p to 446.55p. Royal Mail was floated by the Government at 330p in October 2013 and soared to a peak of 618p within months, sparking fierce controversy over whether the business had been undervalued at the outset. Today, Royal Mail reported a a 2 per cent rise in group revenue to Â£4.53billion, while operating profit margins rose up by 0.2 percentage points to 6.2 per cent. Addressed letter volumes fell by 3 per cent but this was better than expected due to the improvement in economic conditions. Letter revenues increased by 1 per cent to Â£2.24billion as a result of price increases and an uplift from elections mail. In the first half of the year, Royal Mail delivered around 200million candidate mailings, mainly due to European and local government elections in May. For the Scottish independence referendum, the company said it delivered over seven million campaign mailings and over five million poll cards. Royal Mail is now targeting higher growth areas, such as clothing and footwear, in an effort to attract more parcels business from larger retailers. As the UK's 'universal service' provider, Royal Mail is required to provide access to competitors such as TNT for final mile deliveries. Postal regulator Ofcom is investigating a complaint from TNT over Royal Mail's decision to change conditions and increase the prices it charges to deliver post collected and pre-sorted by its competitors.