Airborne Express manages to make a small profit

Airborne Express managed to make a small profit of $457,000 in the second quarter despite falling volumes in its core overnight express product. Airborne made good strides with its newly introduced Ground Delivery Service product that now makes up about 10 percent of the domestic volume.

Airborne has been slashing costs and restructuring itself into a leaner and more productive competitor. Already the low-cost provider of the bunch, Airborne eliminated $84 million in operating expenses in the first six months of the year alone.

Revenue was relatively flat in the quarter with total sales declining slightly to $810 million from $812 million a year ago, but that is $22 million better than first-quarter sales. The company took a $2.3 million charge in the quarter to pay for restructuring expenses mostly associated with its international operations. The company is consolidating facilities across the United States by pulling import and export operations that used to be housed in separate facilities into domestic operations. By eliminating redundant facilities and reducing associated staff, the company expects to save $12 million to $14 million a year going forward.