MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Fed Ex reported a fourth-quarter loss Wednesday and offered a gloomy outlook as it wrestles with a slumping U.S. economy beset by soaring fuel costs and falling prices for homes.
FedEx, considered a bellwether for the broader U.S. economy, predicted 2009 earnings of $4.75 to $5.25 per share, well below Wall Street expectations of $5.92 a share. The international package-delivery company expects to earn 80 cents to $1 per share in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Analysts forecast $1.27 per share.
“Looking ahead to ’09, we do expect conditions to remain extremely challenging, and we anticipate in both the first-quarter guidance and the yearly target (that) the current economic weakness will continue and the current level of fuel costs will not mitigate,” chief financial officer Alan Graf said in a conference call.
FedEx posted a loss for the just-ended fourth period of 78 cents per share, or $241 million, compared with a profit of $610 million, or $1.96 per share, for the same quarter last year.
Excluding one-time charges, FedEx earned $1.45 per share for the fourth quarter. Revenue rose 8 percent to $9.87 billion from $9.15 billion a year earlier.
Analysts polled by Thom son Financial expected $1.47 per share on revenue of $9.6 billion.
FedEx, which owns the world’s largest cargo airline, spent almost $1.4 billion on fuel during the fourth quarter, a cost representing 14 percent of total operating expenses, said Edward Jones analyst Dan Ortwerth.
