UPS Posts Higher Quarterly Revenue, Boosted by Small Businesses

By Dave Sebastian

United Parcel Service Inc. said its revenue rose in the latest quarter, a period that saw mounting supply-chain woes world-wide, as small and midsize businesses drove gains in the U.S.

Businesses faced disruptions in the first three months of the year as the extreme Texas freeze and port backlogs compounded pandemic-driven problems. The package-delivery giant on Tuesday posted revenue of $22.91 billion, up 27% from a year earlier and ahead of Wall Street expectations.

The company, like its rival FedEx Corp., has been handling a surge in e-commerce orders during the Covid-19 pandemic as customers shopped from home. U.S. revenue rose 22.3% to $14.01 billion in the quarter, while international revenue rose 36.2% to $4.61 billion, led by Asia and Europe.

Average daily volume rose 14.3%, the company said. UPS reported $4.29 billion in revenue for its supply chain and freight segment, up 34.3% from the prior year due to strong demand.

UPS reported a profit of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared with $965 million in the comparable period last year. Earnings were $5.47 a share, compared with $1.11 a share a year earlier.

First-quarter results included a net benefit of $2.4 billion, or $2.70 a share, that includes a pension benefit, the company said.

Adjusted earnings were $2.77 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting adjusted earnings $1.72 a share.

The company said it isn't providing 2021 earnings and revenue estimates due to economic uncertainty, though it continues to expect capital expenditures of about $4 billion and for the sale of UPS Freight to close in the second quarter.

UPS in January agreed to sell its freight business to rival TFI International Inc. for $800 million, saying it is pulling out of the domestic trucking market on the soaring small-package-delivery business. The sale is one of the biggest strategic shifts by new Chief Executive Carol Tomé since she took the position last June.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 27, 2021 07:07 ET (11:07 GMT)

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS)
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