(New York) The American letter and parcel delivery group FedEx published results above expectations on Tuesday, thanks to cost savings, and sees its growth pick up in the coming months.

Net profit for its lagged fourth quarter (March to May) was $1.47 billion, down 4% year-on-year, according to a press release.

Reported per share and excluding exceptional items, the indicator most followed by the market, it reached $5.41, above the $5.34 anticipated by analysts.

The Memphis (Tennessee) company owes this pleasant surprise to new efforts on costs. Its Drive program, launched in 2023, saved $2.2 billion in a full year.

During the past quarter, expenses grew less quickly (0.6%) than turnover (0.8% to 22.1 billion), which made it possible to improve margins.

“We increased our operating profit and margins for four consecutive quarters” during the 2024 financial year, closed at the end of May, underlined general manager Raj Subramaniam, quoted in the press release.

FedEx announced in mid-June that it planned to cut 1,700 to 2,000 jobs in Europe within its administrative and sales teams.

This exercise will have been difficult to get through, with a slowdown in demand in several branches.

In the fourth fiscal quarter, volumes accelerated in the FedEx Ground segment and recovered in freight and the FedEx Express express delivery service.

For the current financial year, which began in early June, FedEx expects growth of between 1 and 5% year-on-year.

It also expects to generate net income per share of between $20 and $22 excluding exceptional items, more than analysts expected.

The group is engaged in a program to rationalize its structure and has notably decided to remove 22 Boeing 757-200s from its fleet, to modernize its equipment, but also reduce its fleet to “better align it with the level of current demand and future”.

FedEx is preparing in particular for the expiration of its subcontracting contract with the United States Postal Services (USPS), which will end in September.

The company expects that the exit from this partnership will allow it to improve its profitability.

In electronic trading after the close of trading on Wall Street, the stock jumped 14.23%, driven by the group’s results, but also by the announcement of a $2.5 billion share buyback plan.