Shares of Deutsche Post World Net, TNT, UPS and FedEx have been driven down even more dramaticallyin October by the global financial crisis than in September. The integrators have also considerably
lowered their growth expectations after suffering a fall in profits due to the economic slowdown.DPWN shares have experienced the most dramatic fall with a 41.47% drop as of October 31compared to September 30. The shares of the other three integrators have also all declined heavily,although less dramatically than DPWN. FedEx shares fell by 17.3%, TNT shares declined 16.41% andUPS shares were down 16.1% during October.
During September, TNT suffered a 23.5% drop in its share price (August 29 to September 30),DPWN was down 6.75%, FedEx fell 4.56% and UPS declined 1.9%.
Over the course of last month, the DPWN shares gradually declined from €14.78 on September 30to €8.65 on October 31. A week ago, DPWN announced in a preview of its June-September results,which will be released on November 10, a drop in Q3 operating profits with a gloomy full-yearprofit outlook and withdrew its previous profit forecast for 2009 because of the worsening worldeconomy. The announcement increased downward pressure on its shares.
TNT slumped from €19.50 on September 30 to €16.30 on 31 October. The share initially sufferedas a result of the company’s mid-month trading statement. In this statement, TNT announced a 10%drop in premium air express volumes along with a forecast of a further decline in the fourthquarter and a gloomy outlook for its express business this year. On October 27, TNT then announceda larger than expected 32% fall in its Q3 net profits following a slump in its premium expressbusiness in August and September, and lower mail profits. These results drove the company’s sharesfurther down.
Both FedEx and UPS remained under pressure during October due to the combination of theglobal financial markets crisis and the impact of the US economy on their businesses. FedEx sharesdeclined almost through the whole month of October from $79.04 on September 30 to $65.37 on October31. In the last week of October, however, the company’s shares recovered from the $54.94 level. Onepiece of good news reflecting continued investment was the groundbreaking for its new Central andEastern European hub at Cologne/Bonn airport.
UPS’s Q3 financial results were also hit by the global economic environment. UPS had a 7%decline in its operating profit and a volume drop but stressed that its international and supplychain businesses remained strong. The UPS shares experienced some ups and downs in October from$62.89 on September 30 to $52.78 on October 31. Shares dropped sharply after the Q3 results butrecovered by 15.35% from $44.68 last week.
