TNT Express experiences surge in revenues, operating income

The Netherlands-based parcel carrier posted an operating income of 57 million euros on revenues of 1.9 billion euros for the fourth quarter of 2015.    TNT Express posted an operating income of 57 million euros ($63.47 million) for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to an operating loss of 53 million euros for the fourth quarter of 2014.
   Operating income during the fourth quarter absorbed net one-off charges of 39 million euros, which included restructuring charges of 11 million euros, the company said.
   Excluding the one-off charges, TNT’s adjusted operating income for the fourth quarter totaled 96 million euros, compared to 50 million euros for the corresponding period in 2014.
   TNT attributed the profit to its successful efforts to reduce indirect costs and revenue growth, which jumped 4.1 percent to 1.86 billion euros, compared to the 1.79 billion euros for the fourth quarter of 2014. Revenues benefited from foreign currency effects and workday changes, but were hindered by lower fuel surcharges. Excluding all three items, underlying revenues inched up 3 percent year-over-year due to higher revenues and volumes overall.
   Capital expenditures for the fourth quarter totaled 73 million euros (3.9 percent of revenues), down from 86 million euros (4.8 percent of revenues) for the same period in 2014.
   Overall, for the full year, operating income reached 38 million euros, a sharp increase from the 86 million euro operating loss for 2014. During the year, TNT invested 309 million euros towards modernizing its transport and IT infrastructure, launched new road and air connections, expanded network coverage and improved on-time delivery performance.
   The changes implemented during the year resulted in restructuring and other one-off charges that reduced the full year operating income by 113 million euros.
   However, revenues rose to 6.91 billion euros, compared to the 6.68 billion euros for 2014, despite the economic volatility in markets such as Brazil and China.
   Looking ahead, FedEx’s $4.8 billion acquisition of TNT Express is expected to close in the first half of 2016, the companies said at the beginning of the month. The acquisition has already received approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the European Union and Brazil’s Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica, but still needs approval from China.