Gloomy UPS
October 23rd, 2008 8:20 am | by John Jansen |6:47 *UPS SAYS CONDITIONS `SUBSTANTIALLY WORSE’ THAN ANTICIPATED
6:46 *UPS 3Q EXPORT VOLUME PER DAY ROSE 7%
6:46 *UPS 3Q AVG DAILY U.S. DOMESTIC VOLUME FELL 3.4% 6:49 *UPS SAW ‘SIGNIFICANT SLOWING’ TOWARD THE END OF THE QTR
And a link to the full release from UPS.
3 Responses to “Gloomy UPS”
By Dr.Dan on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
Is UPS (and logistics sector) a harbinger of overall economic activity ?
We know that Baltic dry index is down in the dumps and that is a well known indicator of manufacturing activity
By Alex on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) — United Parcel Service Inc., the world’s largest package-delivery company, said third-quarter profit fell 9.9 percent and that “significant slowing” in the economy will keep 2008 earnings at the low end of its forecast.
Net income was $970 million, or 96 cents a share. Revenue rose 7.4 percent to $13.1 billion on gains in international shipping and logistics services, the Atlanta-based company said in a statement.
UPS’s fuel surcharge for air shipments, which has a two- month lag to actual fuel costs, rose to a record 35 percent for August and September, prompting customers to switch to cheaper ground options. The worst credit crisis since the Great Depression has cut demand for shipping goods including auto parts and home-building materials.
The economic environment “proved substantially worse than we initially anticipated, with significant slowing toward the end of the quarter,” Chief Financial Officer Kurt Kuehn said in the statement.
Analysts predicted earnings of 89 cents, the average of 17 estimates complied by Bloomberg. Year-ago profit was $1.08 billion, or $1.02 a share.
UPS said it expects 2008 earnings to be toward “the lower end” of its forecast of $3.50 to $3.70.
By Amicus on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
Either they are in denial or there is really no cash problem for some firms, even in a downturn. Frankly, the “deleveraging” theme (a mantra, even for some economists) is absent these figures:
“– Repurchased 48.5 million shares at a cost of $3.3 billion.
– Paid $1.8 billion in dividends.
– Invested $2.1 billion in capital expenditures.
– Ended the quarter with $1.8 billion in cash and short-term investments.
UPS experienced ample liquidity in the commercial paper market at very favorable rates.”