UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC
For the period ended Dec 31, 2023. Filed Feb 20, 2024.
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FY2023 · Filed Feb 20, 2024
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Overview
We continue to focus on executing our strategy of Customer First, People Led and Innovation Driven by making it quicker and easier for customers to do business with us. We continue to enhance customer engagement through combining our network with digital capabilities and to invest in the most attractive parts of the market, including healthcare, Asia trade lanes and small- and medium-sized businesses ("SMBs").
In furtherance of our strategy, during 2023 we acquired MNX Global Logistics, a global time-critical and temperature-sensitive logistics provider, and Happy Returns, a technology-focused company that provides innovative end-to-end return services. We opened our state-of-the-art UPS Velocity fulfillment center in the U.S. and announced plans to build a new air hub in Hong Kong. These initiatives, together with continued growth in our Digital Access Program and deployment of our Smart Package Smart Facility technology within U.S. small package operations, are intended to allow us to reach new markets and customers, and better serve our current customer base.
During the year, macroeconomic headwinds, including inflationary pressures and changes in consumer behavior, together with volume diversion resulting from our labor negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ("Teamsters"), contributed to volume declines in our U.S. small package business. Internationally, the challenging macroeconomic environment, coupled with geopolitical tensions, drove a decline in demand for our small package services in Europe and Asia. Our freight forwarding businesses, including truckload brokerage, were negatively impacted by soft demand and market overcapacity. We expect global economic conditions to improve gradually during 2024, and therefore expect volume and revenue growth to increase in the second half of the year.
In the third quarter of 2023, our Teamsters employees ratified a new national master agreement. Under the agreement, wage and benefit rates, combined with all other contract provisions, will increase union cost at a 3.3% compounded annual growth rate over the five-year term of the contract, with the majority of the increase in the first and fifth years. We experienced higher year-over-year labor costs in the second half of the year as a result of these contractual increases, which we expect to persist through the first half of 2024.
Faced with a challenging external environment, we remain focused on our strategy. We are taking action intended to right-size our business for the future and focus on key enablers of growth. These moves include exploring strategic alternatives for our truckload brokerage business and reducing headcount through our "fit to serve" initiative to create a more efficient operating model and enhance responsiveness to changing market dynamics.
We have two reportable segments: U.S. Domestic Package and International Package, which are together referred to as our global small package operations. Our remaining businesses are reported as Supply Chain Solutions.
Highlights of our results for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, which are discussed in more detail in the sections that follow, include:
| Year Ended December 31, · Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 · 2022 · $ · % | |||||
| Revenue (in millions) | $90,958 | $100,338 | $(9,380) | (9.3)% | |
| Operating Expenses (in millions) | 81,817 | 87,244 | (5,427) | (6.2)% | |
| Operating Profit (in millions) | $9,141 | $13,094 | $(3,953) | (30.2)% | |
| Operating Margin | 10.0% | 13.0% | |||
| Net Income (in millions) | $6,708 | $11,548 | $(4,840) | (41.9)% | |
| Basic Earnings Per Share | $7.81 | $13.26 | $(5.45) | (41.1)% | |
| Diluted Earnings Per Share | $7.80 | $13.20 | $(5.40) | (40.9)% | |
| Operating Days | 254 | 255 | |||
| Average Daily Package Volume (in thousands) | 22,290 | 24,291 | (8.2)% | ||
| Average Revenue Per Piece | $13.62 | $13.38 | $0.24 | 1.8% | |
Revenue and average daily package volume in our global small package operations decreased for the year, with declines in both commercial and residential shipments across all of our products. These declines were primarily the result of the macroeconomic conditions and union labor-related uncertainties described above, as well as reductions in fuel and demand-related surcharges.
Operating expenses decreased for the year, driven by a reduction in purchased transportation in Supply Chain Solutions and reductions in fuel expense in our small package operations, as well as the impact of our ongoing productivity initiatives and reductions in operating costs; these reductions were partially offset by U.S. Domestic Package segment wage rate increases in the second half of 2023 due to the new Teamsters contract.
Operating profit and operating margin decreased, as revenue declines were greater than operating expense reductions.
We reported net income of $6.7 billion and diluted earnings per share of $7.80. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $8.78 after adjusting for the after-tax impacts of:
defined benefit pension and postretirement medical benefit plan mark-to-market loss outside of a 10% corridor of $274 million, or $0.32 per diluted share;
Transformation Strategy Costs of $333 million, or $0.39 per diluted share;
goodwill and asset impairment charges of $193 million, or $0.22 per diluted share; and
a one-time compensation payment of $46 million, or $0.05 per diluted share.
In the U.S. Domestic Package segment, revenue declines for the year were driven by lower volume, a shift in product mix, and lower fuel and demand-related surcharges. These were somewhat offset by revenue per piece growth due to increases in base rates and changes in customer mix. Expenses decreased for the year, primarily due to declines in fuel prices and reductions in purchased transportation. Higher direct union labor costs were offset by a reduction in hours and lower management compensation expense.
In our International Package segment, revenue declines for the year were driven by lower volume and declines in fuel and demand-related surcharges. These were partially offset by the impact of base rate increases. Expenses decreased year over year, driven by lower fuel and third-party transportation expense as a result of volume declines and lower fuel prices.
In Supply Chain Solutions, revenue decreases for the year were driven by volume and market rate declines in Forwarding. Expenses decreased for the year, primarily due to a reduction in purchased transportation in Forwarding.
2022 compared to 2021
See Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 21, 2023.
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