Expeditors International Q4 profits jump 15.2%

The global logistics and freight forwarding company reported net earnings attributable to common stockholders of $114.45 million in the fourth quarter, up from $99.38 million during the same 2014 period.    Expeditors International of Washington Inc. posted net earnings attributable to shareholders of $114.45 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, a 15.2 percent year-over-year increase, according to the company’s most recent unaudited financial statements.
   Revenues in the fourth quarter, however, fell 9.8 percent to $1.6 billion compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.
   The Seattle, Wash.-based global logistics and freight forwarding provider reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) grew 19.6 percent to $0.61 per share for the quarter, just beating consensus analyst expectations of $0.60 per share.
   For the full year in 2015, Expeditors increased profits 21.3 percent year-over-year to $457.22 million on revenues that grew 10.4 percent to $2.19 billion compared to 2014.
   Full-year EPS stood at $2.40 per share in 2015, up 25 percent from $1.92 per share the previous year.
   Expeditors International CFO Bradley Powell said the “strong” fourth quarter earnings reflect the company’s ability to adapt to a “rapidly changing environment” and came despite drops in both airfreight and ocean cargo volume growth late in 2015.
   The company reported air and ocean volumes fell 1 percent and 2 percent, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2015.
   “The best year in the company’s history doesn’t happen by accident,” Jeffrey Musser, president and CEO, said of the results.
   “While we believe we benefited in the first half of the year from some unquantifiable increase in airfreight because of the West Coast labor dispute, we were adversely impacted by a softening in rates and volumes in the second half of the year,” he added.
   Musser also noted Expeditors in 2015 provided record returns to its shareholders, paying out over $135 million in dividends and repurchasing close to $630 million in company stock.