FedEx Corp. said Thursday its fiscal third-quarter net income slipped 3% to $231 million, or 73 cents a share, from $239 million, or 76 cents, a year earlier.
Excluding certain items, FedEx said its profit was 81 cents a share, while operating income fell 6% to $393 million.
Revenue for the quarter ended Feb. 28 rose 11% to $9.66 billion, the company said in a statement.
FedEx last month cut its quarterly adjusted earnings forecast by 25 cents per share, to a range of 70 cents to 90 cents per share, due to rising fuel prices and winter storms that slowed operations.
Less-than-truckload unit FedEx Freight reported an operating loss of $110 million, compared with an operating loss of $12 million a year ago. Revenue rose 8% to $1.12 billion. LTL average daily shipments fell 6% as a result of yield management initiatives and severe winter weather.
Its FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL units combined operations in January, and the LTL segment incurred one-time costs of $43 million in the quarter and costs of $130 million in its fiscal year to date, due primarily to lease termination costs and severance expenses.
Its FedEx Express unit’s operating income fell 33% to $178 million, while revenue rose 11% to almost $6.05 billion. Average daily package volume rose 5% overall and 2% domestically.
FedEx Ground’s operating income jumped 26% to $325 million, while revenue rose 14% to $2.18 billion. Average daily package volume rose 6%.
FedEx projected its fourth-quarter earnings will be $1.66 to $1.83 per share, and an adjusted $4.83 to $5 per share for its full fiscal year that ends in May, assuming the current outlook for fuel prices and continued moderate growth in the global economy.
FedEx Corp. is ranked No. 2 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
