UPDATE:FedEx 4Q Loss Widens On Write-Downs, Sees 1Q Below Views
2009年6月17日 - 11:29PM
Dow Jones News
FedEx Corp.'s (FDX) fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened, as a big
impairment charge stemming largely from its Kinko's business took a
chunk out of results and as the poor economy continued to sap
shipping demand.
FedEx, considered an economic bellwether, also forecast results
for its fiscal first quarter well below Wall Street expectations,
even as Chief Executive Frederick W. Smith voiced some optimism
that overall economic conditions are bottoming.
The stock slumped 2.6%, or $1.31, to $50.11 a share in recent
trading.
"We believe the worst of the recession is likely behind us,"
Smith told analysts on a post-earnings conference call.
Still, Smith warned that the downturn continues to "throttle"
FedEx's growth for the time being. The company also said it doesn't
expect gross domestic product to turn positive until the first
calendar quarter of 2010.
FedEx forecast earnings for its fiscal first quarter ending in
August at 30 cents to 45 cents a share, compared with Wall Street's
current consensus of 71 cents a share.
The company said the results likely will be hurt by depressed
manufacturing activity, as well as a recent rise in fuel
prices.
But Smith said a number of positive trends could start to help
the company later this year, including "moderating" customer
inventory-to-sales ratios that should fuel restocking and thus an
uptick in shipments. He noted that conditions in the stock and
credit markets have been improving as well, as have some indicators
of the manufacturing and housing sectors and consumer
confidence.
FedEx also said trends in its international shipments have been
showing signs of stabilization, with improvements in Asia, Latin
America and Europe, compared with the third quarter. "That's a very
good sign for us," Chief Financial Officer Alan B. Graf Jr.
said.
The international improvement was only slight, however.
International shipping volumes at FedEx's Express unit fell 12% in
the company's fiscal fourth quarter, compared with a 13%
third-quarter decline.
Overall, FedEx posted a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of $876
million, or $2.82 a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of
$241 million, or 78 cents a share.
The latest results included $1.2 billion in previously announced
write-downs, most of which stemmed from FedEx's 2004 acquisition of
Kinko's Inc.
Excluding items, earnings fell to 64 cents from $1.45, while
revenue decreased 20% to $7.85 billion. Analysts surveyed by
Thomson Reuters recently expected earnings of 51 cents and revenue
of $8.32 billion.
FedEx's big Express unit saw average daily volume fall 3.4%,
including a 2% drop in U.S. domestic package volume. Revenue per
package fell 19% amid a competitive pricing environment, lower fuel
surcharges and lower weight per package.
The company's Freight unit continued to reflect the impact of
overcapacity and extremely competitive pricing in the
less-than-truckload shipping market. The unit's volume slumped 17%
in the fourth quarter while yield -- a broad barometer of pricing
trends -- slumped 11%. Less-than-truckload shippers consolidate
freight from multiple customers on single trucks.
Daily volume at FedEx's Ground segment was flat, helped partly
by last year's exit of competitor Deutsche Post AG's (DPW.XE) DHL
unit from the U.S. market.
-By Bob Sechler, Dow Jones Newswires; 512-394-0285;
bob.sechler@dowjones.com
(Kerry E. Grace contributed to this report)