Contract logistics provider GXO Logistics Inc. reported better-than-expected first-quarter results late Wednesday and raised revenue and income guidance for its first full year of operations.
The Greenwich, Connecticut-based company (NYSE: GXO), which was spun off by XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO) last summer, reported 59 cents per share in adjusted diluted earnings, above consensus estimates of 50 to 52 cents per share and well above the 37 cents per share in the 2021 quarter, when it was still part of XPO.
Adjusted net income hit $68 million, up from $42 million in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose 14% to just under $2.1 billion.
For the year, GXO said it expects adjusted diluted earnings per share to fall within a range of $2.70 to $2.90. The guidance translates into EPS growth of between 29% and 39%, GXO said. Revenue will grow by 11% to 15%, up from the prior range of 8% to 12%, the company said.
GXO said that its 2022 targets exclude the impact of its proposed $1.3 billion cash and stock acquisition of U.K. firm Clipper Logistics plc.
GXO shares, which traded 3% higher during the regular Wednesday session, rose more than 4.5% in the first hour of after-hours trading. Shares traded as high as $105 in mid-November but had recently fallen into the high-$50-a-share range.
Malcolm Wilson, GXO’s CEO, said the company experienced solid volume growth across all of its vertical industries during the quarter. GXO also benefited from what Wilson called “accelerated demand for first-time outsourcing, especially from e-commerce and omnichannel customers.”
More than half of GXO’s first-quarter revenue came from the e-commerce, omnichannel retail and consumer technology vertical. Geographically, most of its revenue came from the U.S. and the U.K.