$FDX Pops in Premarket as Losses Come In Less Than Expected, Guidance Also Better Than Expected

“(Reuters) – FedEx Corp profit fell 11.9 percent in the second quarter, less than investors had feared, as the No. 2 U.S. package delivery company struggled to improve demand at its air freight business.

The company reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $438 million, or $1.39 per share, on Wednesday, compared with $497 million, or $1.57 per share, a year earlier.

Disruptions relating to Superstorm Sandy – which walloped the East Coast late in October and killed more than 130 people – pulled earnings down by about 11 cents per share.

Factoring out those charges, profit was $1.50 per share, more than the $1.41 analysts had forecast, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

In premarket trading, the company’s shares were up 2 percent.

Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx has been trying to improve profit at its air express business, which has seen demand fall as shippers turn to less costly ways of shipping goods. Operating profit at that unit, which accounts for more than half FedEx’s sales, fell 33 percent in the quarter.”

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