United Parcel Service (UPS) posted stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings Tuesday, while boosting its planned dividend, as rebound in global traffic lifted the group's top and bottom line.
UPS said earnings for the three months ending in December were pegged at $3.52 per share, up 55.75% from the same period last year and firmly ahead of the Street consensus forecast of $3.10 per share. Group revenues, the company said, rose 11.5% to $27.8 billion, again topping analysts' estimates of a $27.1 billion tally.
The group also boosted its quarterly dividend by 48%, to $1.52 per share, payable on March 10 to shareholders of record in February 22.
Looking into the current calendar year, UPS said it sees revenues of more than $102 billion, earnings in the region of $14 billion and expects to delivery on operating margin and sales targets, originally set for 2023, one year early.
“I want to thank all UPSers for their outstanding efforts throughout the holiday season and for once again delivering industry-leading service to our customers.” said CEO Carol Tomé. “The execution of our strategy is delivering positive financial results and driving strong momentum as we move into 2022.”
United Parcel Service shares were marked 13.6% higher in early afternoon trading following the earnings release to change hands at $229.70 each, a move that would lift the stock's six-month gain to around 19.7%.
Domestic segment revenues rose 12.4% to $17.7 billion, UPS said, powered in party by a 10.5% boost in revenue-per-piece, a key industry metric. International revenues were up 13.1% to $5.4 billion while supply chain solutions sales rose 6.7% to $4.7 billion.
