On a consolidated basis, revenues declined slightly during the quarter ended September 30, from $13.17 billion to $13.07 billion on a year-over-year basis. Gross operating margins remained equal at 12.7 per cent. During the quarter, UPS delivered 15.5 million packages per day, a 2.9 per cent increase over the prior-year period. The International segment led the way with its highest third quarter in history, generating $449 million in operating profit, up 7.7 per cent over the prior-year period.
After taking an after-tax charge of $559 million in the quarter just ended, related to the restructuring of pension plan liabilities, UPS earned $469 million ($0.49/share) during the quarter, down from $1.072 billion ($1.10/share) during the third quarter of 2011.
U.S. domestic package revenues rose slightly from $7.77 billion to $7.86 billion on a year-over-year basis. However, gross operating margins declined from 13.5 per cent to 13.0 per cent
Outlook
Scott Davis, UPS chairman and CEO commented that “Our results were achieved in an environment of slowing global trade and changing market dynamics.” Nonetheless, Davis was pleased with Q3 results which provided the company with greater confidence in fourth quarter execution. As a result, Kurt Kuehn, Chief Financial Officer commented that “While there is some uncertainty around the magnitude of the holiday shopping season, we are confident in UPS’ ability to deliver. As a result, we enhanced our guidance by narrowing the range, maintaining our previous midpoint. We anticipate 2012 adjusted diluted earnings per share to be within a range of $4.55 to $4.65, an increase of 5 per cent-to-7 per cent over 2011 adjusted results.”