United Parcel Service reported a 22.2% gain in diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of 2005, driven by double-digit export volume gains in every
international region and an increase of 387,000 packages per day in the U.S.

For the three months ended June 30, earnings per diluted share were $0.88, up from the $0.72 reported in the prior year. Net income totaled $986 million compared to the $818 million reported for the period in 2004. Revenue of $10.19 billion increased 14.9% from the $8.87 billion reported last year, reflecting, in part, the acquisition of Menlo Worldwide Forwarding late last year.
Consolidated average daily worldwide volume for the second quarter rose by 557,000 packages, or 4.1%, to 14.1 million. Worldwide average revenue per piece showed a strong 4.7% increase.
Consolidated operating profit rose 18.2% to $1.55 billion compared to $1.31 billion for the prior-year period.
UPS reported that U.S. domestic package revenue grew 5.7% during the period to $6.94 billion on 3.2% volume growth. Operating profit rose 13.2% to $1.12
billion and operating margin increased 110 basis points to 16.1%.
Pricing remained firm with an increase in average revenue per piece of
2.4%.
UPS recently unveiled an enhancement to its UPS Quantum View visibility tool, one that automatically notifies customers of all their inbound packages in
the UPS system. UPS became the only carrier in the industry to accept
ground authorized return packages at its 40,000 drop boxes, and announced a dramatic expansion of its early morning delivery territory.
During the quarter, UPS reached agreement to acquire the Overnite Corp. to provide LTL shipping options to customers. This transaction should close on Aug. 5.
"Our U.S. business is strong and we see great opportunities