Analysts expect higher FedEx results
FedEx Corp., in the midst of expanding in Asia, will report quarterly results next week that Wall Street analysts expect will be an improvement from a year ago despite high gasoline and jet fuel prices.
The company will report its fiscal 2006 third-quarter results on March 22.
According to Thomson First Call, analysts expect the shipping company to earn $1.30 a share, with a range of estimates from $1.24 to $1.35 a share.
Revenue is expected to reach $8.03 billion.
Last year, the company brought in $7.34 billion in sales during the quarter and earnings of $1.03 a share, according to First Call.
‘We believe a surprise in the quarter could come from either better than expected domestic airfreight package growth or the rate of improvement in the FedEx Express operating margin,’ wrote analysts from UBS in a March 17 note.
While surcharges have helped offset higher fuel costs, the company spent $891 million on fuel during the fiscal second quarter — a 51% increase from the year-earlier period.
On March 14, shipper Deutsche Post, which operates DHL, reported higher quarterly earnings but said that DHL faced heavy competition with FedEx and United Parcel Service Inc. in 2006.
For FedEx investors, the stock is up almost 11% this year and rebounded 49% from a 52-week low of $76.81 on Sept. 20.
