FedEx posts $70 million loss, gives tepid outlook

Large pension and acquisition items were cited as reasons for the loss in earnings

FedEx Corp lost $70 million in the latest quarter because of large pension and acquisition items, and the delivery giant gave a cautious outlook for the next 12 months.

The company's fiscal fourth quarter results on Tuesday still beat Wall Street expectations, as FedEx and other delivery companies continue to benefit as consumers do more shopping online.

The growth in e-commerce, however, has strained the networks of companies like FedEx and United Parcel Service Inc. To keep up, FedEx plans capital spending of $5.1 billion in the fiscal year that just started. FedEx will use the money to expand its ground network and buy more aircraft.

FedEx said it expects earnings excluding one-time items in the new fiscal year to be between $11.75 and $12.25 per share. The midpoint of that range is less than the $12.17 per share that analysts were expecting, according to a FactSet survey.

In the fiscal fourth quarter, the loss amounted to 26 cents per share and compared with a year-earlier loss of $895 million, or $3.16 per share. Results were dragged down by a pension-accounting adjustment and costs related to the acquisition of Dutch delivery company TNT Express.

Without those and other charges, FedEx said it would have earned $3.30 per share compared with $2.66 per share a year earlier. Thirteen analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected $3.26 per share.

The Memphis, Tennessee-based company had revenue of $12.98 billion, beating the Zacks survey forecast of $12.83 billion.

Operating profit rose in both the express and ground-shipping segments, partly due to higher prices. For the year, FedEx reported profit of $1.82 billion, or $6.51 per share, on revenue of $50.37 billion.

FedEx shares were down $1.15, or about 0.7%, at $162.80 in after-hours trading following the earnings release. Through the end of Tuesday's regular-session trading, they have risen 10% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 2%.