UPS first quarter profit soars

UPS first quarter profit soars    UPS reported last week a 24-percent jump in first quarter net income from the same 2003 period to $759 million, spurred by strong performance in its international division.
   Overall revenue totaled $8.92 billion, up 11.3 percent from the $8 billion reported a year ago. Operating profits were up 28.8 percent to $1.22 billion, almost equaling fourth quarter results that include peak-holiday season volumes.
   International package delivery revenues rose $24.3 percent to $1.62 billion. Operating profit for this segment doubled to $269 million, with profit margins of 16.6 percent. U.S. exports increased almost 13 percent, while exports from China were up 60 percent.
   The world’s largest package delivery company said average U.S. ground and air volume increased nearly 600,000 packages per day, or 5 percent. UPS also reported 11.7 percent gross revenue growth to $1.1 billion for UPS Supply Chain Solutions. Figures for net revenue, a more accurate measure of revenue performance that subtracts the amount of revenue paid out by UPS to cover transportation services for customers, were not available.
   U.S. package revenue rose 8.6 percent to $6.54 billion, with operating profit up 18 percent to $831 million. Ground shipping volume climbed 5.2 percent, while Next Day Air and deferred air volume grew 3.1 and 5.8 percent respectively.