(Bloomberg) — United Parcel Service Inc., the world's largest package shipping company, forecast 2015 earnings growth that will be short of a long-term goal as it faces higher pension contributions and a stronger dollar.
Full-year profit, excluding some items, will increase 6 percent to 12 percent to a range of $5.05 to $5.30 a share, Atlanta-based UPS said in a statement Tuesday. That's below its long-term target of 9 percent to 13 percent.
UPS has been struggling with how to cope with unpredictable e-commerce shipments during its peak Christmas season. After missing some deliveries in 2013, it spent $675 million last year and hired 100,000 part-time workers to better prepare. Volume turned out to be uneven, leaving workers and equipment underutilized on some days.
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"The financial results were below our expectations," Chief Executive Officer David Abney said in the statement. "As we move into 2015, we will address this disparity with both cost and revenue actions."
UPS fell 0.2 percent to $99.96 at 10:11 a.m. in New York. The shares slid 9.9 percent this year through yesterday.
Fourth-quarter profit excluding some items was $1.25 a share, or unchanged from a year earlier, UPS said, reiterating preliminary results released on Jan. 23.
UPS cited increased pension expenses of $190 million and currency headwinds of $50 million for the slower profit growth this year.
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