EXPD Expeditors International of Washington Inc

Expeditors International of Washington Inc. (EXPD) reported first quarter 2013 adjusted earnings of 39 cents per share at par with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Earnings for the quarter increased 8% from 36 cents.

Total revenue dipped 0.1% year over year to $1.41 billion, missing of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.48 billion.

Gross profit (net revenue) dropped 0.3% year over year in the first quarter to $445.3 million. Gross margin (yield) was 31.6%, flat year over year. Operating income rose 3% year over year to $128.5 million.

Revenue Segments

Airfreight Services revenue fell 2.9% year over year to $620.3 million in the first quarter.

Ocean Freight and Ocean Services revenue increased 2.6% year over year to $445.5 million.

Customs Brokerage and Other Services revenues inched up 1.9% year over year to $344.6 million.

Liquidity

Expeditors exited the quarter with operating cash flows of $165.3 million compared with $147.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

Our Analysis

For the long term, we believe Expeditors is poised for growth as it plans to expand its presence and operations internationally, as well as invest in new opportunities and services. Nevertheless, we remain cautious about the near-term softness in demand, particularly in airfreight. We expect lower demand caused by macroeconomic factors and higher freight rates charged by third party carriers to continue remaining significant headwinds over the near term.

Expeditors, which operates with the likes of Matson, Inc. (MATX), CH Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW) and Pacer International, Inc. (PACR) has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

 
CH ROBINSON WWD (CHRW): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
EXPEDITORS INTL (EXPD): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
MATSON INC (MATX): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
PACER INTL INC (PACR): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research