The delivery company's growth overseas tempered the effects of the domestic economic slowdown and helped FedEx meet its lowered earnings expectations for the quarter. But it forecast profit for the current quarter that was below Wall Street estimates.
Its shares fell 34 cents to $94.29 in morning trading Thursday.
FedEx earned $479 million, or $1.54 a share, for the three months ended Nov. 30 compared with $511 million, or $1.64 a share, a year ago.
The company lowered its expected earnings for the quarter last month to a range of $1.45 to $1.55, down from an earlier estimate of $1.60 to $1.75. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings of $1.50 per share.
Revenue rose 6 percent to $9.45 billion from $8.93 billion last year. Analysts were expecting revenues of $9.32 billion.
"High fuel prices and weak U.S. economic growth year-over-year have impacted our business," said Frederick W. Smith, FedEx Corp. chairman, president and chief executive, in a statement.
"We continue to benefit from solid international growth, which helps mitigate softness in U.S. industrial production. While we see challenging near-term economic trends, we remain confident about long-term prospects in all our business segments."
For the fiscal 2008 third quarter, the company expects to earn $1.15 to $1.30 per share, compared with $1.35 per share a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect a profit of $1.37 per share.
The company reaffirmed its outlook for the fiscal year, predicting earnings of $6.40 to $6.70 a share.
AP Business Writer Samantha Bomkamp in New York contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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