The share prices of FedEx, UPS, Deutsche Post DHL and TNT Express missed out on a ‘growthsuntan’ this summer and plunged on the financial markets rollercoaster in July and August,
CEP-Research analysis shows. And September has started poorly for the four global express playerswith a further drop in share prices during the first few days of the month.Far from sunning themselves in better growth forecasts for the rest of this year, theintegrators saw their share prices caught up in the turbulent winds of a worsening macro-economicclimate and amid fears about a global slowdown after disappointing US and EU economic figures.
European companies Deutsche Post DHL and TNT Express were the worst-hit over the last twomonths, with double-digit falls in their share prices, while UPS performed better than FedEx in theUSA.
Deutsche Post DHL slumped 12.76% from €12.02 on August 1 to close at €10.66 on August 31,despite a mid-month rally and a slight recovery in the final days of the month. This was a 19.6%decline on the July 1 figure of €13.26. The stock has continued to drop so far this month andclosed yesterday at €9.79.
TNT Express shares dropped 10.24% last month from €7.25 on August 1 to €6.51 on August 31.Similarly, there was a mid-month improvement to the €7.00 level and a small recovery at the end ofthe month. The stock dropped 11.07% from July 1 to August 31, and was down 9.07% between September1 and 5. Yesterday, TNT shares dropped 7.18% on news of 181 job cuts at the company’s headoffice.
FedEx shares fell back by 8.46% from $86.00 on August 1 to $78.72 on August 31. This was an18.44% fall from $96.52 on July 1. The company’s stock has dropped sharply in the first few days ofSeptember, and was trading at $71.62 late afternoon, down 4.38% on the September 2 closing price.US exchanges were closed yesterday.
In comparison, UPS performed relatively well during August, with a fall in the first half of themonth largely compensated by a recovery towards the end of the month. The stock dropped just 0.34%from $67.62 on August 1 to $67.39 on August 31. However, this was an 8.88% fall on the July 1figure of $73.96. So far this month UPS has weakened, and was down 3.03% at $63.62 this afternooncompared to September 2.
