Expeditors International of Washington Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPD) reported first-quarter net income of $122.3 million and $0.71 per share on Tuesday, May 5.
Those figures compare with $139.7 million, or $0.80 per share during the first quarter of 2019, representing a 12.45% decline.
“Our first quarter [2020] performance was better than we might have expected, given the contraction in demand across geographies, as well as the severity and suddenness of the collapse in air carrier belly space and reduction in containership sailings,” Jeffrey S. Musser, Expeditors International’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The Seattle-based global third-party logistics provider posted revenues of $1.9 billion during the first quarter, a 6% decrease year-over-year. Operating Income decreased 15% to $159 million.
Air freight tonnage volume decreased 7% and ocean container volume decreased 10%, according to the company. Company officials have attributed a large part of the declines to slowing trade with China, where Expeditors International gets more than a quarter of its business and profit.
“While there is talk of various markets starting to come back on line, the impact of COVID-19 continues to have an enormous impact on the global economic environment, to both supply and demand,” Musser said.
Expeditors International was founded in 1979. The company, which has 176 offices on six continents, arranges product shipments, oversees customs, and provides warehousing and distribution services.