Profits rise slightly in third quarter at UPS, but fail to impress Wall Street

ATLANTA - United Parcel Service Inc. reported a small increase in third-quarter profits Tuesday, despite the defection of some customers on fears of labor problems, but the results failed to meet Wall Street&#39;s expectations.<br> <br> Atlanta-based UPS said net income for the quarter was $578 million, or 51 cents per share, up from $568 million, or 50 cents a share, in the same period of 2001.<br> <br> The result was just short of the 54 cent consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. The company&#39;s outlook for the fourth-quarter was also below Wall Street forecasts. UPS said Tuesday that it expects fourth-quarter earnings to come in between 55 cents and 60 cents per share. The Thomson First Call forecast is for 61 cents.<br> <br> In morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares fell $2.42, or 3.7 percent, to $61.76.<br> <br> UPS said total third-quarter revenues rose 4.8 percent to $7.75 billion from $7.40 billion in the same July-September period last year. Much of the growth came in its international business.<br> <br> International revenue increased 17 percent, to $1.18 billion, for the third quarter, with total international daily package volume increasing 1.8 percent. Domestic revenue was also higher, at $5.89 billion, up from $5.81 billion a year ago, but domestic daily package volume was down 2.1 percent for the quarter.<br> <br> The world&#39;s No. 1 package carrier said it spent much of the last three months trying to regain lost customers, some of whom began sending shipments with rivals because of the threat of a work stoppage when a five-year contract with the Teamsters expired July 31.<br> <br> The freight hauler is the union&#39;s largest employer, with about 230,000 workers. UPS and the union worked out a new contract before the deadline, but customers were jittery because of a strike in 1997. That 15-day Teamsters strike cost UPS an estimated $750 million.<br> <br> So far this year, overall package volume for UPS is down 1.8 percent from last year.<br> <br> For the nine months ending Sept. 30, net income was $1.752 billion, just below the $1.754 billion reported at the same time in 2001. Revenues were $23.0 billion for the nine months, compared with 22.3 billion in the comparable 2001 period.<br> <br>

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