Airborne expects greater loss than forecast

Airborne Inc. said Monday that its first-quarter loss will be greater than expected due to sluggish growth in domestic shipments.

“We anticipated the first quarter would be difficult, but shipment volume growth has proven even more challenging due to the slowing economy,” said Robert Cline, chairman and chief executive of the company, which operates as Airborne Express. “As a result, we expect to report a loss in the first quarter towards the lower end of analysts’ estimates.”

Those estimates ranged from 15-36 cents per share.

Domestic traffic is expected to grow a mere 1.9% over year-ago levels to approximately 83.3 million shipments, augmented by growth in its @home service to 5.5 million shipments, up from 600,000 a year ago.

The company will release preliminary first quarter results next Monday, in advance of its annual shareholders’ meeting on Tuesday, April 24. Airborne will release comprehensive first quarter results, complete with management commentary, on May 1.