FEDEX CORP. UPDATES 2ND QUARTER RESULTS

FEDEX CORP. UPDATES 2ND QUARTER RESULTS    FedEx Corp. said it expects earnings in its fiscal second quarter ending Nov. 30 to be in the range of 40 cents to 45 cents per diluted share, excluding the $101 million in government assistance the company has received under the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act.
   The assistance will be reflected in the Memphis-based company's operating income. With this compensation, earnings are expected to be 61 cents to 66 cents per share.
   “Solid growth at FedEx Ground and outstanding cost management across the entire corporation will contribute to profitability for this quarter,” said Alan B. Graf Jr., executive vice president and chief financial officer. “We believe that FedEx Ground package volume will grow approximately 9 percent and that yields will increase about 6 percent, similar to first-quarter growth rates. These projections are based on a combination of rapid acceleration of FedEx Home Delivery business and growth in our core business-to-business services.
   “We anticipate that Express’ U.S. domestic second quarter average daily package volumes will decline 11 percent year-over-year, while FedEx International Priority shipments will decline about 5 percent, both about four percentage points below first quarter growth rates,' Graf said. 'Although FedEx Express experienced volume losses and significant cost increases related to the events on Sept. 11, increased freight revenue and excellent cost management mitigated the impact to earnings. U.S. freight revenue will increase substantially due to the U.S. Postal Service line-haul agreement which began on August 27.”