Royal Mail has released its financial results for 2010-11, and one thing is clear - it has taken a hell of a kicking due to the rise in communication technologies.

In the last five years, the time period in which web 2.0, smartphones and tablets have taken hold in the public arena, Royal Mail's letter delivery service has slumped by 22.5 per cent - from 80 million items a day in 2005-06 to just 62 million items a day in 2010-11.

The delivery specialist has also indicated that it expects further decreases of 5 per cent per year going forward.

This fall in popularity for a method of "social messaging" - which is struggling to compete with the instantness of a Facebook message, an email or a direct tweet - accounted for a huge loss of £120 million in 2010-11; almost £2 million a week.

Royal Mail knows it is fighting a battle with technologies that it cannot compete with and has committed to spending £400 million on modernisation this year alone.

"We have to develop new products and services to meet the needs of our customers and generate additional revenues to offset the decline in earnings from our letters business," said Moya Greene, chief executive of Royal Mail. "We will also innovate and build new partnerships with respected third parties.

Is Royal Mail fighting a losing battle? Do you ever send letters in the post any more, or are you all about electronic communication? Let us know using the comments below (or send us a letter if you'd prefer).