FEDEX 3RD-QUARTER PROFIT UP 11%

FEDEX 3RD-QUARTER PROFIT UP 11%       FedEx Corp. on Wednesday said its fiscal third-quarter net profit rose 11 percent to $120 million, due to strong growth at FedEx Ground, cost control efforts at FedEx Express and improved productivity at its core operating companies.
   The Memphis-based integrator said operating income rose 24 percent to $237 million, on revenue of $5.02 billion, up 4 percent, for the period ended Feb. 28.
   FedEx Express' fourth-quarter operating income fell 9 percent to $145 million, on revenue of $3.78 billion, about even with the year-earlier period. U.S. domestic daily package volume declined 5 percent year-over-year, while package volume from its FedEx International Priority service slipped 2 percent. Those declines were offset by strong growth in weight of FedEx Express' transportation agreement with the U.S. Postal Service.
   FedEx Ground saw operating income leap 283 percent to $69 million, on revenue of $668 million, up 26 percent. Volume grew 21 percent, due primarily to core business-to-business shipments and from the company's expanding FedEx Home Delivery operation. Yield increased 6 percent.
   FedEx Freight, the company's less-than-truckload unit, saw operating income of $20 million, up from $18 million in the year-earlier quarter, on revenue of $440 million, up from $337 million.
   FedEx said it continues to expect fiscal fourth-quarter earnings to be 70 to 80 centers per diluted share, compared to 64 centers per share for the year-earlier period. The company expects fourth-quarter volume at FedEx Ground to grow about 16 percent year-over-year, while FedEx Express's domestic business will be down 2 percent and its International Priority shipments to be down about 1 percent.