FedEx Forecast a Bit Sunnier

FedEx Corp.’s (FDX) fiscal first quarter earnings slipped by 22% year-over-year on high fuel costs, just managing to meet Wall Street estimates. FedEx earned $384 million, or $1.23 per share, in the quarter ended August 31, compared with $494 million, or $1.58 per share, a year earlier.

The company’s revenue though rose 8% to $9.97 billion from $9.20 billion a year ago. The impact from the global growth slowdown was partially absorbed by cost-cutting measures. FedEx stock was trading at $92.03 on Friday, crawling up 0.99% in the morning.

The company plans to hike shipping charges by 6.9% for the U.S. export services from January 5, 2009. This hike though will be slightly offset by a reduction in fuel surcharges by 2 percentage points.

Going forward, the management reaffirmed its fiscal full-year earnings guideline of $4.75 to $5.25 per share, in range with analysts’ expectation of $5.21. It also anticipates a rise in earnings -- to the range of $1.40-$1.60 a share -- for the second quarter, slightly higher than analysts’ estimate of $1.36.

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