TNT’s Second-Quarter Earnings Fall

European parcel courier TNT NV, Hoofddorp, Netherlands, said its second-quarter earnings declined to about $322 million, or 88.1 cents a share, from about $383.4 million, or 99.2 cents, a year earlier.

Sales rose 4.5% year-over-year to about $4.43 billion, the company said.

TNT, which last year spun off its logistics division as Ceva Group, said that higher fuel prices and economic sluggishness in the second quarter prompted many of its customers to switch to truck-based parcel shipping from more expensive air-freight shipping, driving down profits.

During a news conference on Monday, Peter Bakker, TNT’s chief executive officer, declined to comment on reports that the company had been in talks to be acquired by FedEX Corp., Bloomberg News reported. Bakker added that TNT would consider any “serious” takeover proposals, Bloomberg said.

The Financial Times Newspaper reported earlier this month that TNT was considering a buyout offer from FedEx. Neither company has commented on the report, Bloomberg said.