Expeditors International's second-quarter earnings fell 12 percent as the logistics company's air freight business struggled, though volume growth in other areas climbed, reported Dow Jones Newswires.
Expeditors provides services like air and ocean-freight forwarding, Customs clearance and marine insurance.
The company had warned this year that earnings would fall short of Street views, blaming a shaky global economy for lighter volumes, particularly from air freight customers.
Recently though, Expeditors has said it planned to become more aggressive in containing costs and expanding both its customer base and its reach within its existing base.
The company reported a profit of US$84 million, or 39 cents a share, down from $95 million, or 44 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell five percent to $1.5 billion.
Operating margin narrowed to 8.8 percent from 9.6 percent.
Air freight services revenue, the biggest contributor to the top line, fell 15 percent while ocean freight and ocean services revenue rose 6.6 percent reflecting the magnitude of this year's carrier buy rate increase, as carriers moved aggressively to stabilise their financial situation. Revenue from Customs brokerage and other services were slightly higher to $347.4 million.
( Source: CargoNews Asia )
