UPS (United Parcel Service) (UPS Airlines) (Atlanta and Louisville) announced record 2012 fourth quarter and full year adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.32 and $4.53 respectively, with the U.S. Domestic segment leading the way. The company generated annual free cash flow of approximately $5.4 billion, a testament to operations execution and the emphasis UPS places on capital efficiency. UPS estimates that Hurricane Sandy reduced earnings per share by approximately $0.05.
UPS recorded a fourth quarter mark-to-market, non-cash, after-tax charge of $3.0 billion for its company-sponsored pension and post-retirement benefit plans. Although the plans exceeded their expected rate of return, these incremental gains were more than offset by a 120 basis point decline in year-end discount rates. As a result, on a GAAP basis, diluted earnings per share for the quarter fell to a loss of $1.83. For the full year, reported diluted earnings per share were $0.83. This adjustment does not affect cash flow, required pension funding or benefits paid to plan participants.
UPS expects full year earnings per share to be within a range of $4.80 – $5.06, an increase of 6-to-12% compared to 2012 adjusted results. The company also raised guidance for 2013 share repurchases from $1.5 billion to $4.0 billion.
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Adjusted
|
Adjusted
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Consolidated Results
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4Q 2012
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4Q 2012
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4Q 2011
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4Q 2011
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| Revenue | $14.57 B | $14.17 B | ||||||||||
| Operating profit (loss) |
($2.78 B
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)
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$2.05 B | $1.20 B | $2.02 B | |||||||
| Operating margin |
(19.1 %
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)
|
14.1 % | 8.4 % | 14.3 % | |||||||
| Average volume per day | 18.8 M | 18.3 M | ||||||||||
| Diluted earnings (loss) per share |
($1.83
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)
|
$1.32 | $0.74 | $1.28 | |||||||
During the year, UPS delivered more than four billion packages. For the quarter, it delivered 18.8 million pieces per day, an increase of 2.9% over the prior-year period.
Overall consumer spending for holiday shopping fell slightly below expectations, however; UPS still delivered more than 500 million packages, including almost 28 million on its peak day, both new records.
Cash Position
For the year ending Dec. 31, UPS generated $5.4 billion in free cash flow after capital expenditures of $2.2 billion. UPS repurchased 21.8 million shares for approximately $1.6 billion and paid dividends totaling $2.1 billion, up 9.6% per share.
Copyright Photo: Joe G. Walker. Boeing 747-45E (BCF) N579UP (msn 26062) climbs away from Anchorage International Airport (ANC).
UPS-United Parcel Service: 