FedEx Corp. on Thursday released fiscal profit and third-quarter sales that took Wall Street’s expectations out of the water, saying it expects demand for its logistics and delivery business “to remain very high for the foreseeable future.”
FedEx FDX,
said it earned $ 892 million, or $ 3.30 per share, in the quarter, compared to $ 315 million, or $ 1.20 per share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. Shares rose nearly 2% in the session extended after ending the normal trading day down 0.9%.
Adjusted for single items, the logistics giant reported earnings of $ 939 million, or $ 3.47 per share, compared to adjusted earnings per share of $ 1.41 per share per year.
Revenue rose to $ 21.5 billion from $ 17.5 billion a year ago.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of $ 3.30 per share on sales of $ 19.97 billion.
The company attributed the increase in profit and sales to the “strong volume growth” in home package deliveries in the United States amid online purchases related to the pandemic and FedEx international services. This was partially offset by costs “to support the strong demand and expand services, variable remuneration expenses, higher labor rates and one less operational day, ”he said.
The company targeted 2021 tax profit between $ 16.80 per share and $ 17.40 per share before adjustments related to its retirement plans. It required adjusted earnings between $ 17.60 per share and $ 18.20 per share for the year.
Capital expenditures were seen at around $ 5.7 billion, an increase from the previous forecast due to changes in the aircraft’s payment schedule and an “acceleration” in expanding land-based delivery capacity, the company said.
The harsh winter in February reduced FedEx’s quarterly operating revenue by about $ 350 million and damaged operations at several of the company’s largest facilities, including its main FedEx Express hub in Memphis and FedEx Express hubs in Indianapolis and northern Texas, said.
The stock gained 165% in the last 12 months, compared to gains of around 64% on the S&P 500 SPX index,