UPS Posts Upbeat Q1 Earnings, But Sales Miss Estimates

reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter, but the company's sales missed analysts' estimates. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company posted quarterly earnings of $1.03 billion, or $1.12 per share, compared to $911 million, or $0.98 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue gained 1.4 percent to $13.98 billion. However, analysts were projecting a profit of $1.09 per share on revenue of $14.3 billion. Operating profit climbed 11 percent to $1.7 billion. The average estimate among 24 Estimize users was for earnings of $1.11 per share and revenue of $14.31 billion. Total company shipments climbed 2.8 percent to 1.1 billion packages. Revenue in the domestic segment gained 3.8 percent to $8.8 billion, while daily package volume rose 2.4 percent. Revenue in the international segment gained 2.4 percent on a currency-neutral basis to $3.0 billion. In the supply and freight segments, revenue gained 1.3 percent to $2.2 billion. During the quarter, UPS repurchased more than 6.7 million shares for around $680 million. "The first quarter results were favorably impacted by our continued investments and revenue management initiatives," said David Abney, UPS chief executive officer. "These actions delivered high value to our customers and shareowners. We are on track to achieve the company's long-term financial targets." UPS reaffirmed its full-year earnings forecast of $5.05 to $5.30 per share. UPS named Richard Peretz as its news Chief FinancialOfficer, replacing Kurt Kuehn. UPS shares rose 1.25 percent to $98.65 in pre-market trading.