EMERY FORWARDING, MENLO RECOVER FROM LOSSES

EMERY FORWARDING, MENLO RECOVER FROM LOSSES    Improved results at Emery Forwarding and Menlo Worldwide Logistics in the fourth quarter allowed their parent company CNF Inc. to end the year with a fourth-quarter group net income of $22 million, as compared to a heavy group deficit of $217.1 million a year earlier.
   The profit recovery follows a restructuring of activities of Emery and Menlo, the forwarding and logistics arms of the Palo Alto, Calif.-based CNF group.
   For the fourth quarter, Emery reported an operating income of $4.6 million, which included $5.7 million from the settlement of the Express Mail contract. This compares with an operating loss of $366.4 million in the year-ago period, which included $350.5 million of costs related to the closure of Emery Worldwide Airlines.
   Emery’s revenue increased by 8 percent in the latest quarter, to $497.4 million, from $460 million in the fourth quarter of 2001. Emery’s international air freight revenue per day grew 19 percent compared with the prior-year period.
   For the fourth quarter, Menlo Worldwide Logistics earned an operating income of $8.6 million, compared to an operating loss of $2.7 million a year ago. The logistics arm’s revenue for the quarter was $255.9 million, up 17 percent.
   For the year 2002, Emery posted an operating loss of $11.9 million, as compared to a huge operating deficit of $790.3 million recorded in 2001. Revenue decreased to $1.8 billion last year, from $2 billion in 2001.
   By contrast, Menlo Worldwide Logistics made a full-year operating profit of $31.8 million, as compared to a 2001 loss of $15.8 million.
   The CNF group, which also includes Con-Way Transportation Services and Vector SCM, made a net income of $93.6 million in 2002, as compared to a net loss of $402.9 million in 2001. Group revenue decreased to $4.8 billion in 2002, from $4.9 billion in 2001.
   Gregory L. Quesnel, president and chief executive officer of the group, said that CNF’s results for the year were “much improved” from 2001. “Con-Way reported a solid year despite the weak economy, Menlo Worldwide Logistics had a strong recovery, the results at Emery Forwarding improved substantially and Vector SCM contributed significantly to earnings this year,” he said.