graphic
News > Companies
FedEx meets forecasts
December 20, 2000: 2:08 p.m. ET

Package delivery company earns 67 cents a share for second quarter
graphic
graphic graphic
graphic
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - FedEx Corp. Wednesday reported its profit rose 13 percent for the latest quarter, meeting Wall Street forecasts, less than a week after the package delivery company warned about results in the second half of its fiscal year.

The Memphis-based company said in a statement it earned $194 million, or 67 cents a diluted share, in its second quarter ended Nov. 30, up from $171 million, or 57 cents a share, a year earlier. Wall Street had been forecasting a profit of 67 cents a share, according to First Call, which tracks analysts' estimates. Sales rose 7 percent to $4.9 billion, FedEx said.

graphicAnalysts had raised their forecasts to 67 cents a share from 64 cents a share for the quarter after the company said last week it expected to beat second-quarter estimates.

But at the same time warned that its second-half results will be far below current forecasts, a projection that assumes the U.S. economy has a "soft landing" rather than falling into recession.

The company blamed a slowdown in the U.S. economy and recent severe weather that hurt shipments in December. The company is also seeing softening shipments from Asia, which had been a growing business for FedEx.

FedEx Chief Financial Officer Alan Graf told CNNfn productivity, cost management and growth helped the company overcome a tough quarter. (447K WAV or 447K AIFF)

Fuel costs rose $78 million from a year earlier, Graf said, but that was mostly offset by fuel surcharges and hedging programs. He said the surcharge would come down as fuel prices dropped.

He added the company expects its international priority service business to continue double-digit growth in calendar 2001.

FedEx isn't the only carrier affected by the changing economy. Rival UPS, the world's largest transportation company based in Atlanta, said last week it expects earnings of 60-to-62 cents a share for the latest quarter,  compared with analysts' forecasts for 64 cents a share. UPS blamed softer holiday shipments.

FedEx (FDX: Research, Estimates) stock rose 18 cents to $37.93 in afternoon trading. UPS (UPS: Research, Estimates) shares slipped $1.37 to $54.38 Tuesday. graphic

  RELATED STORIES

UPS, FedEx warn on earnings - Dec. 14, 2000

FedEx $950M takeover bid - Nov. 13, 2000

FedEx flies over 1Q forecasts - Sept. 19, 2000

  RELATED SITES

FedEx

UPS


Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney




graphic


Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.