(Reuters) -Parcel locker company InPost reported a 20% rise in fourth-quarter volumes on Tuesday, hitting new highs during the peak holiday season, driven by both its home market Poland and abroad.

InPost, which aside Poland operates in eight countries, delivered 322.1 million parcels in the quarter, which included the busy end-of-year holiday season.

It said that on the busiest pre-Christmas day it handled a record of nearly 14 million parcels in Europe.

The company operates one of the biggest networks in Europe of pick-up drop-off points and automated lockers, dubbed automated parcel machines or APMs, that allow customers to collect or drop off packages when it suits them.

It is betting on the growing popularity of out-of-home deliveries driven by the rise in online shipping. It has expanded its network and built its stronghold in Poland, and in recent years it also intensified expansion abroad, especially in key markets France and Britain.

InPost said that it added a record number of more than 11,500 APMs in 2024, bringing its network to 46,977 machines at the end of the year, including over 25,000 in Poland.

"Based on strong Q4 trading results, we feel comfortable with our full-year outlook communicated in November and we are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead," CEO Rafal Brzoska said in a statement.

In the entire 2024, it delivered 1.09 billion parcels, up 22% year-on-year and slightly above the 1.08 billion expected by analysts in company-compiled consensus.

It said that fashion segment, small and medium enterprises as well as international and local marketplaces helped drive a 20% increase in volumes in Poland in the fourth quarter.

Volumes in Britain rose 58% as it expanded its APM network in the country to more than 9,200. In Mondial Relay, which operates in France, volumes rose 10%.

(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka in Gdansk; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Milla Nissi)