Year: 2007

FedEx Corp. Reports second quarter earnings

Posted by | Dec 20, 2007 | |

FedEx Corp. reported earnings of USD 1.54 per diluted share for the second quarter ended November 30, compared to USD 1.64 per diluted share a year ago.

Second Quarter Results

FedEx Corp. reported the following consolidated results for the second quarter:
• Revenue of USD 9.45 billion, up 6pct from USD 8.93 billion the previous year
• Operating income of USD 783 million, down 7pct from USD 839 million a year ago
• Operating margin of 8.3pct , down from 9.4pct the previous year
• Net income of USD 479 million, down 6pct from last year’s USD 511 million
Operating margin declined primarily due to the net impact of substantially higher fuel costs and continued weakness in the U.S. economy, which is limiting demand for the company’s U.S. domestic express package and lessthan-truckload (LTL) freight services. Last year’s second quarter results included USD 0.25 per diluted share net impact of costs associated with the pilot labor contract, mostly offset by the benefits from the timing of net fuel impacts and Hurricane Katrina insurance proceeds.
Total combined average daily package volume in the FedEx Express and FedEx Ground segments grew 8pct year over year for the quarter, due to growth in ground and FedEx International Priority (IP) shipments and an increase in international domestic express shipments resulting primarily from recent international acquisitions.

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Catalogue Digital Order Forms signal the end of traditional processing for B2B catalogue companies

Posted by | Dec 20, 2007 | |

The launch of a Digital Order Form from YUDU Media, the UK’s leading provider of digital catalogues, is set to end the complications of fax orders for catalogue companies and increase order intake efficiency. According to YUDU Media, 75 per cent of their B2B catalogue clients still use fax for the majority of orders which can be time consuming and confusing for both the customer and processing team.

The Digital Order Form is open to new and current YUDU Media catalogue customers at no extra cost. It works like an online shopping basket, allowing the customer to collate all the products they wish to buy, as they read through the catalogue. The completed form can then be emailed directly to the catalogue company for processing and effortlessly forwarded to all the relevant departments at the click of a button, such as financial, order intake, sales etc.

Not only can the digital order form increase efficiency and sales value for the B2B catalogue company but it also makes life easier for the user. As well as reducing the need for cumbersome fax orders, it also eliminates the need to make phone orders. Once the order has been sent via email, the catalogue company can call the customer back, to simply process the order. Any language barriers the customer may have ordering from overseas call centres are eliminated as the catalogue company already has the order.

The Digital Order Form is especially beneficial for catalogue companies who sell through distributors, as they can clone their digital catalogue, re-jacket them and programme the order form to send the customer’s orders directly to the relevant distributor.

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Oesterreichische Post to reconsider 1,700 job cuts, plans acquisitions in H1

Posted by | Dec 20, 2007 | |

The chief executive of Oesterreichische Post AG Anton Wais said he is reconsidering the 1,700 job cuts the national post office announced in the second week of December, according to the Austrian daily Oesterreich.

‘We can forget that number for the time being. I want to cool down this topic,’ Oesterreich cites Wais as saying.

Oesterreichische Post came under fire with its union after saying it will cut up to 1,700 jobs over the next four years as part of its current restructuring programme and following the loss of two major parcel clients from next year.

In September 2008, the post office is planning a large-scale parcel service offensive, according to Wais.

‘We are planning two to three acquisition in the first half of next year,’ Wais added.

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Postal Service market in Bulgaria in 2007 200m leva

Posted by | Dec 20, 2007 | |

The market for postal services in Bulgaria in 2007 was expected to reach 200 million leva, Plamen Vachkov, chairperson of the State agency for Information Technology and Communication (SAITC), said at a meeting with Edouard Dayan, director general of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) international bureau.

Over 2006, income from postal services was 166 million leva, with 161 million packages sent, Dnevnik daily said.

Largest part of the market, 67 per cent, was taken by non-standard services, mostly courier services. SAITC said it expected the decline in use of standard postal services to end when alternative suppliers would enter the market. The traditional provider of standard postal services, Bulgarian Postal Services, has a marketshare of only 30 per cent, while in 2004, it held half the market, Dnevnik said.

Dayan proposed to private operators, who took part in the meeting, to organise themselves in a Balkan pool and become collective member of the UPU.
UPU would finance activities to improve the quality of services and Bulgarian members could apply for support, Dayan said.

Dayan added that internationally, postal service were no longer just delivering letters, but had become intermediaries in e-commerce and money transfer.

1 USD = 1.32953 BGN

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Top China logistics firm eyes USD 2 bln IPO

Posted by | Dec 19, 2007 | |

China Post Logistics plans to raise over USD 2 billion in a Hong Kong and Shanghai stock market listing in 2008, sources said, amid mounting foreign competition in the booming sector.
The company, run by the state operator of the country’s huge postal system, is expected to raise at least USD 2 billion in total on both markets, though it was too early to tell how much it could rake in eventually, one of the sources familiar with the deal told Reuters.
“We do have a listing plan, but now we don’t have any timetable, maybe next year or later,” a China Post Logistics spokesman said. He declined further comment.
The state-owned logistics firm — established in 2003 with a 370 million yuan (USD 50 million) capital base — is set to balloon in size. Its parent has embarked on a plan to merge the firm with its own nationwide express mail service.
The spokesman said any listing timetable should depend on the progress of the merger, which is expected to finish in 2008.
Robust economic growth and surging foreign trade is propping up growth in China’s sprawling transportation and logistics industry.
The country’s logistics sector chalked up turnover of 53.7 trillion yuan in the first three quarters of 2007, up 25.5 percent, according to the China Logistics Information Centre.

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UK Post Office Cash connections – 30 per cent increase in international money gifts over festive season

Posted by | Dec 19, 2007 | |

Cash gifts to destinations across the globe are set to prove popular this year according to research from Post Office® and MoneyGram.

An estimated GBP 2.3 billion is sent overseas from the UK through international money transfer services each year, and Post Office® and MoneyGram research forecasts a 30 per cent increase in cash gifting in the run up to the 2007 Christmas period.

Cash gifts from the UK are relied upon by people in both developed and developing countries, not only to help celebrate the festive season but also for day-to-day living expenses. In many cases money is sent to friends and family overseas to cover essentials such as food, education and medical fees.

Top destinations for international money transfers over the 2007 Christmas period are set to be:

• Africa including South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Kenya
• Caribbean countries such as Jamaica
• Central and Latin America including Brazil and Columbia
• Eastern Europe in particular Poland, Romania and Bulgaria
• New Zealand and Australia

MoneyGram was previously available at around 3,500 Post Office® branches, but now all branches are equipped with the latest technology meaning MoneyGram transfers can be sent to and received from all 14,000 Post Office® branches. Unlike some other money transfer services it is not necessary to have a bank account to send or receive a MoneyGram transfer.

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UK: Ding dong merrily online?

Posted by | Dec 19, 2007 | |

It looks like an online Christmas for millions as the traditional Christmas day in front of the TV makes way for the internet, with almost 60 per cent of people saying they will spend time online – that’s according to new research from Post Office® Broadband.

56 per cent of people surveyed stated that they would be spending up to an hour online on Christmas day, with emailing and catching up with the news being the most popular online activities.

But with nearly 40 per cent of respondents predicting that other relatives would also be using the family PC on the same day, over 3.6million people in the UK are anticipating Christmas day “mouse rage” – a new phenomenon affecting families who argue over the use of the household computer. People living in the north-east are most likely to hog the mouse, spending up to four hours online.

65 percent of people in the Midlands intend to spend up to an hour online with 45 per cent planning to go online for between one and two hours. And in East Anglia 61 per cent will use the internet for up to an hour. Central Scotland will see 64 per cent of people using the internet for up to an hour and over half of those in North Scotland plan to do the same.

Most popular online Christmas day activities:

1. Emailing (49 per cent)
2. Catching up with the news (35 per cent)
3. Social networking (29 per cent)
4. Instant messaging (29 per cent)
5. Shopping (19 per cent)

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UPS Contract with Teamsters Ratified

Posted by | Dec 19, 2007 | |

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters today notified UPS that a new contract covering approximately 240,000 UPS employees has been certified approved and ratified.

The ratification came as five local supplemental or rider agreements received approval in a second round of employee voting. Last month, the UPS National Master Agreement was approved by 65 pct of the voting employees.

The master contract was negotiated nearly a year in advance of the current contract’s expiration on July 31, 2008, and will extend contract coverage to July 31, 2013.

“We are excited to learn that everything now is in place to implement our agreement with the Teamsters,” said Mike Eskew, UPS’s chairman and CEO. “This agreement helps to ensure that UPS is well positioned for success in the coming years.”

The new contract includes wage increases as well as significant contributions to healthcare and pension plans to help strengthen these benefits for employees. The agreement allows UPS to withdraw employees from the Central States multi-employer pension plan and to establish a jointly trusteed, single-employer plan for this group. UPS will make a pre-tax USD 6.1 billion payment to the Central States plan on Dec. 26, 2007, in connection with its withdrawal.

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