FedEx CEO: International Volumes May Have Bottomed
2009年6月17日 - 10:48PM
Dow Jones News
FedEx Corp. (FDX) Chief Executive Frederick W. Smith said
Wednesday that he sees a number of reasons for optimism in coming
months, even as he warned that current economic conditions continue
to "throttle" the company.
He noted in particular that international shipping volumes at
FedEx's Express unit "appear to have bottomed," falling only 12% in
the company's fiscal fourth quarter compared with a 13%
third-quarter decline.
Speaking on a post-earnings conference call, Smith cited a
number of other positive trends as well, including "moderating"
customer inventory-to-sales ratios that should fuel restocking -
and thus an uptick in shipments - later this year. He also noted
that conditions in the stock and credit markets have been
improving, as have some indicators of the manufacturing and housing
sectors and consumer confidence.
For the time being, however, Smith said the poor economy is
continuing to hurt the company's results.
While conditions may be stabilizing somewhat, FedEx said it
doesn't foresee gross domestic product turning positive until the
first calendar quarter of 2010.
The company forecast earnings for its fiscal first quarter of 30
cents to 45 cents a share, well below Wall Street's expectation of
71 cents a share.
FedEx shares were off $1.62, or 3.2%, at $49.80 in pre-market
trading Wednesday.
-By Bob Sechler, Dow Jones Newswires; 512-394-0285;
bob.sechler@dowjones.com