UPS beats profit estimates on online delivery momentum

[July 27, 2021]  (Reuters) -United Parcel Service Inc beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit and revenue on Tuesday, helped by ecommerce deliveries, air shipments and specialized handling of healthcare products such as COVID-19 vaccines.

 The company logo for United Parcel Service (UPS), is displayed on a screen at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., October 22, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo/File Photo

Analysts expect the company to benefit from sustained volume growth as people prefer to order online rather than visit stores due to the spread of coronavirus variants.

Healthcare deliveries, including temperature-monitored shipments vaccines, are among the most profitable for the company.

Under Chief Executive Officer Carol Tomé, UPS has been reining in costs and focusing on high margin packages under her "better not bigger" strategy.

Revenue in its core U.S. domestic unit rose 10.2%, while international segment jumped 30%, boosted by Europe.

UPS has said rate hikes and increased business from small and medium-sized businesses are expected to generate about half of the margin in the company's core U.S. market. [nL3N2NR3BD

Excluding items, UPS earned $3.06 per share in the second quarter, above analysts' estimates of $2.82, according to Refinitiv data.

Total revenue jumped 14.5% to $23.42 billion, beating estimates of $23.24 billion.

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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