UPS’ Second-Quarter Earnings Decline
UPS Inc. said Tuesday its second-quarter earnings per share fell 18.3%, due to high fuel costs and a sluggish U.S. economy.
Net income fell to $873 million, or 85 cents a share, from $1.1 billion, or $1.04, a year ago, the company said in a statement. Revenue rose 6.7% to $13 billion.
UPS in late June had downgraded its second-quarter earnings outlook to 83 to 88 cents per share, from a previous forecast of 97 cents to $1.04 per share.
Less-than-truckload revenue at the company’s UPS Freight unit grew 7.2%, but shipments declined 2.3% due to the stagnant U.S. economy, the company said.
Domestic package revenue rose to $7.71 billion, from $7.58 billion a year ago, while operating profit slipped to $900 million, from $1.12 billion.
International package revenue rose to $2.95 billion, from $2.5 billion a year ago, while operating profit fell to $407 million, from $475 million.
UPS sees a modest improvement in the U.S. economy in the second half of this year, Chief Financial Officer Kurt Kuehn said in a statement.
He said UPS would earn $3.50 to $3.70 per share for the full year, translating to $1.78 to $1.98 per share in the second half of the year, compared with $1.72 in the first half.
UPS is ranked No. 1 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
