UPS' results hurt by holiday shipping woes
ATLANTA - UPS (UPS) says its earned $1.2 billion in the fourth-quarter but a last-minute surge in holiday shipments drove up costs and hurt results.
United Parcel Service Co. reports that
it earned $1.25 per share in the final three months of 2103, compared with
adjusted profit of $1.32 per share a year earlier.
The company announced two weeks ago
that earnings would fall short of expectations because of higher costs to
handle a crush of holiday shipments that crested several days later than the
company expected.
UPS had to hire an extra 30,000
seasonal workers to handle the rush. It says bad weather in December was also a
factor.
The company said Thursday that it
expects full-year 2014 adjusted earnings between $5.05 and $5.30 per share.
Analysts forecast $5.29 per share.