Adjusted Earnings Per Share Up 8.7% on 6% Revenue Increase
ATLANTA, Jan. 30, 2008 - UPS (NYSE: UPS) today reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.13 for its fourth quarter, an 8.7% increase over last year. Revenue improved 6.1% driven by a double-digit increase in international export volume, growth and firm pricing in the U.S. package business and market-leading shipment gains at UPS Freight.
During the quarter, the company announced the ratification of a new five-year agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, eight months before expiration of the existing contract. As a result, $6.1 billion was paid to withdraw approximately 45,000 UPS employees from the Central States multi-employer pension plan and expensed to the U.S. Package segment in the quarter. Including the impact of that charge, diluted earnings per share fell to a loss of $2.46 for the three-month period.
"In 2007, UPS delivered on its forecast in an economic environment that became increasingly challenging over the year," said UPS Chairman and CEO Scott Davis. "We achieved this through sound execution in all parts of our business. In addition, we reached an historic labor contract with the Teamsters. I would like to thank UPSers around the world for their efforts."
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|
4Q 2007 |
|
| Consolidated Results |
4Q 2007 |
Adjusted |
4Q 2006 |
| Revenue |
$13.4 B |
|
$12.6 B |
| Operating profit (loss) |
($4.25 B) |
$1.85 B |
$1.81 B |
| Operating margin |
(31.8%) |
13.8% |
14.3% |
| Average volume per day |
17.7 M |
|
17.3 M |
| Diluted earnings (loss) per share |
($2.46) |
$1.13 |
$1.04 |
The fourth quarter produced solid growth in spite of a sluggish U.S. economy. Consolidated average daily package volume reached a record level of 17.7 million pieces, an increase of 359,000 per day. Adjusted net income for the quarter benefited from a lower effective tax rate.
For the full year, the company delivered a record 3.97 billion packages, an average of 15.8 million per day. Consolidated revenue climbed 4.5% to $49.7 billion. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $4.17, an increase of 8% compared to 2006 and at the midpoint of UPS's earnings guidance for 2007. Before adjustments, operating profit equaled $578 million and diluted earnings per share totaled $0.42.
Cash Position
UPS ended 2007 in a strong financial position. Even after the withdrawal payment to the Central States Pension Plan, for the year the company:
- Generated cash from operations of $1.1 billion.
- Purchased 35.9 million shares for $2.6 billion.
- Paid $1.7 billion in dividends.
- Invested $2.8 billion in capital expenditures.
On Jan. 9, 2008, the company announced it had adopted a new financial policy aimed at enhancing shareowner value. UPS intends to manage its balance sheet to a target ratio within a range of 50-to-60% funds from operations to total debt. The change "will enable us to make increased investments in the business, pursue growth opportunities and undertake larger share repurchases," said Kurt Kuehn, UPS's chief financial officer.
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|
4Q 2007 |
|
| U.S. Package |
4Q 2007 |
Adjusted |
4Q 2006 |
| Revenue |
$8.31 B |
|
$8.13 B |
| Operating profit (loss) |
($4.89 B) |
$1.21 B |
$1.30 B |
| Operating margin |
(58.9%) |
14.5% |
15.9% |
| Average volume per day |
15.6 M |
|
15.4 M |
Total U.S. daily volume increased 1.4%, with ground up 1.5% and Next Day Air® gaining 2.2%. Pricing remained firm, improving 2.3%. Adjusted operating profit declined as fuel prices increased rapidly during the quarter.
During the peak holiday shipping season, deliveries exceeded 20 million packages on five consecutive days and 22 million packages on two days.
| International Package |
4Q 2007 |
4Q 2006 |
| Revenue |
$2.87 B |
$2.44 B |
| Operating profit |
$557 M |
$514 M |
| Operating margin |
19.4% |
21.0% |
| Average volume per day |
2.1 M |
2.0 M |
Revenue increased 17.3% on daily export volume growth of 12.2%. Pricing remained firm as operating profit increased to a record high of $557 million.
During the quarter, UPS announced an alliance with AFL in India to enhance international export service there. The company also introduced two new services for international shippers: paperless invoice and international returns. UPS is the first package carrier to offer customers a paperless international shipping option as well as a package return capability to 98 countries and territories. These services make it easier for customers to expand their businesses to new markets around the globe.
| Supply Chain and Freight |
4Q 2007 |
4Q 2006 |
| Revenue |
$2.22 B |
$2.06 B |
| Operating profit |
$82 M |
($1 M) |
| Operating margin |
3.7% |
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Fourth quarter revenue for the segment improved 7.8% and operating profit increased $83 million over last year's results. In a challenging heavy freight environment, UPS Freight boosted revenue by 12.2% to $525 million with less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments per day increasing 7.8%, well outpacing the market. In the Forwarding and Logistics unit, revenue increased 6.4% to $1.57 billion.
In January, UPS Freight announced it was guaranteeing its on-time performance at no additional cost to customers using the LTL freight tariff in the continental United States. UPS also launched a simplified air freight services portfolio, including a substantially expanded express freight option with guaranteed door-to-door service. The new air freight portfolio is better aligned to meet market and customer needs, easier to access and use and streamlined for more effective selling by the sales force.
Outlook
"While there is more uncertainty in the U.S. economy today than there was a year ago, we remain focused and confident that we will grow our global business," said Kuehn. "No competitor can match the combination of our service portfolio, technology and integrated global network. Customers are responding well to these offerings.
"We anticipate the first quarter will be the most difficult of the year due to lower profitability from an early Easter and additional interest expense not yet offset by labor contract benefits," the CFO continued. "Therefore, earnings per share for the quarter should be within the range of $0.94-to-$0.98. For the full year, we expect earnings per share to be between $4.30 and $4.50."
UPS (NYSE: UPS) is the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain and freight services. With more than a century of experience in transportation and logistics, UPS is a leading global trade expert equipped with a broad portfolio of solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the Web at UPS.com. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.
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 View the full financial tables
EDITOR'S NOTE: UPS Chairman and CEO Scott Davis and CFO Kurt Kuehn will discuss fourth quarter and full-year 2007 results with investors and analysts during a conference call at 8:30 a.m. EST. That call is open to listeners through a live Webcast. To access the call, go to www.shareholder.com/UPS and click on "Earnings Webcast."
We supplement the reporting of our financial information determined under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) with certain non-GAAP financial measures, including, as applicable, "as adjusted" operating profit, operating margin, pre-tax income, net income and earnings per share. We believe that these adjusted measures provide meaningful information to assist investors and analysts in understanding our financial results and assessing our prospects for future performance. We believe these adjusted financial measures are important indicators of our recurring operations because they exclude items that may not be indicative of or are unrelated to our core operating results, and provide a better baseline for analyzing trends in our underlying businesses. Furthermore, we use these adjusted financial measures to determine awards for our management personnel under our incentive compensation plans. We also provide the amount of our free cash flow to supplement our cash flow determined under GAAP. We define free cash flow as net cash from operating activities adjusted for capital expenditures, proceeds from disposals of property, plant and equipment, net change in finance receivables and other investing activities. We believe free cash flow is an important measure in assessing the generation of cash for discretionary investments and dividends.
In the first quarter of 2007, we recorded a $221 million pre-tax impairment and obsolescence charge related to aircraft and a $68 million pre-tax charge related to cash payouts and the acceleration of stock compensation and certain retiree healthcare benefits for employees who accepted a voluntary separation opportunity. We recorded a $46 million pre-tax charge in the third quarter of 2007 related to the restructuring and disposal of certain operations in France within the Supply Chain & Freight segment. Additionally, in the fourth quarter of 2007, we recorded a $6.100 billion charge in our U.S. Domestic Package segment in connection with our withdrawal from the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund. We presented fourth quarter and full-year 2007 operating profit, operating margin, pre-tax income, net income and earnings per share excluding the impact of these items as we believe these adjusted measures better enable shareowners to focus on period-over-period operating performance. The underlying matters that produced the impairment charge, the pension withdrawal charge, and the charge related to the voluntary separation opportunity were unique, and we do not believe they are reflective of the types of charges that will affect future anticipated results. The restructuring charge reflected our exit of certain non-core lines of business in our Supply Chain & Freight operations, and we do not believe this charge is indicative of future operating results of our core forwarding, logistics and freight operations.
Because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare these financial measures with other companies' non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names. These adjusted financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP operating profit, operating margin, net income and earnings per share, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way of viewing aspects of our operations that, when viewed with our GAAP results and the preceding reconciliations to corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide a more complete understanding of our business. We strongly encourage investors to review our financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure.
Except for historical information contained herein, the statements made in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of UPS and its management regarding the company's strategic directions, prospects and future results, involve certain risks and uncertainties. Certain factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including economic and other conditions in the markets in which we operate, governmental regulations, our competitive environment, strikes, work stoppages and slowdowns, increases in aviation and motor fuel prices, cyclical and seasonal fluctuations in our operating results, and other risks discussed in the company's Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which discussions are incorporated herein by reference.
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