Severe Winter Weather Chills UPS Forecast

by Christopher Freeburn | April 24, 2014 10:13 am

On Thursday, United Parcel Service (UPS[1]) said that its full-year profit would come in at the lower end of its previously-issued guidance[2] due to harsh weather during the first-quarter.

[3]UPS has predicted earnings per share for the year to fall between $5.05 and $5.30. The shipping giant noted that bad weather during the quarter “weighed on operating profit by approximately $200 million, due to increased expenses and slower revenue growth.” While the first three months of the year saw challenging weather conditions, CFO Kurth Kuehn said that UPS expects “expects the remainder of the year to perform as we originally guided.” 

UPS Chairman and CEO Scott Davis noted that “much of the U.S. economy was negatively affected by the severe weather conditions in the first quarter.”

During the quarter, UPS reported earnings of $911 million[4], down from $1.04 billion in the prior-year period. Adjusted EPS came in at 98 cents, well below the $1.08 predicted by analysts, the Wall Street Journal noted.

Quarterly revenue of $13.8 billion, up 2.6% from last year, also fell short of the $13.91 billion that Wall Street had been expecting.

UPS said that operating expenses during the first three months of the year rose 3.5% due to weather-related disruptions.

In Thursday morning trading, UPS shares sank modestly. UPS stock closed at $99.24 a share on Wednesday.

More Stocks in the News:

• CAT: Caterpillar Stock Jumps on Forecast, Profits[5]
• SVU: SuperValu Stock Soars on Earnings Beat[6]
• PG: Procter & Gamble Stock Ticks Lower on Revenue Miss[7]

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2014/04/severe-winter-weather-chills-ups-forecast/

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