United Parcel Service reported robust earnings growth for the second quarter of 2005 yesterday, driven by double-digit export volume gains in every international region and an increase of 387,000 packages per day in the United States.
For the three months ended June 30, net income totaled $986 million compared with $818 million for the year-ago period.
Revenue of $10.19 billion increased 14.9 percent from $8.87 billion reported last year, in part reflecting the acquisition of Menlo Worldwide Forwarding late last year, the Atlanta-based carrier said.
Consolidated average daily worldwide volume for the quarter rose by 557,000 packages, or 4.1 percent, to 14.1 million. Worldwide average revenue per piece showed a 4.7 percent increase.
“Our U.S. domestic volume climbed well above our expectations,” said Mike Eskew, UPS chairman/CEO. “And the international segment's performance was outstanding with export volume growth exceeding 18 percent.”
Consolidated operating profit rose 18.2 percent to $1.55 billion from $1.31 billion for the prior-year period.
The strong financial performance capped a quarter of service expansions, product and technology innovations and acquisition activity, UPS said. In the quarter, the company agreed to acquire Overnite Corp. to provide less-than-truckload shipping options to customers. This transaction should close Aug. 5.
For the third quarter, chief financial officer Scott Davis said UPS projects diluted earnings per share of 81 to 87 cents compared with the adjusted 70 cents reported for the prior-year period.
UPS also updated its 2005 outlook toward the higher end of its previous guidance, Davis said. For the full 2005 year, UPS now expects an increase of 18 percent to 20 percent in earnings per diluted share versus the adjusted $2.90 reported in 2004.
Melissa Campanelli covers postal news, CRM and database marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
