NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
FedEx Corp. said Wednesday it expects to beat first-quarter and full fiscal year forecasts, as broad-based economic improvement across many sectors in the U.S. and world economies should help shipment volumes.
The package and freight delivery company also reported fiscal fourth quarter results in line with its recently raised guidance.
FedEx (FDX: up $1.37 to $79.80, Research, Estimates) stock gained 1.7 percent on the news in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company posted net income of $412 million, or $1.36 a share, in the period ended May 31, although special items reduced its comparable earnings per share to $1.33, up from 92 cents a share on that basis a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had been looking for EPS of $1.25 at the time of its revised guidance June 10.
FedEx said it now expects to earn between 90 cents and $1 a share in its fiscal first quarter, up from 61 cents a share a year earlier. First Call's forecast is for EPS of 80 cents in the period.
The company also expects to earn between $4.20 to $4.40 a share in the full fiscal year, up from $3.52 a share it earned excluding special items in the recently completed fiscal year. First Call's forecast is for EPS of $4.27.
"We continue to see strong and sustainable recovery across many key sectors of the economy," said Chairman and CEO Fred Smith in a call with investors.
The company saw improvement in the fourth quarter across its various units -- FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, which handles packages on a deferred delivery basis and FedEx Freight, which handles pallet-sized shipments of freight with trucks. It also saw a contribution from the newly acquired Kinko's chain, which added $521 million in revenue and $39 million in operating income in its first quarter with the company.
The strongest growth at the company's core FedEx Express unit again came from international shipments, which saw 12 percent growth in volumes while its other shipment classifications saw single-digit percentage increases. Smith said China was a key driver of the international growth, as year-over-year volumes from China were up 50 percent.
Smith said FedEx would seek authority for additional flights to and from China under terms of a new U.S.-Chinese aviation deal announced recently, and that he anticipates FedEx adding a new major hub in China as well.
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