UPS announced fourth quarter 2011 adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.28, a 21% improvement from 2010's fourth quarter.
Total revenue increased 6% to $14.2 billion and adjusted operating profit climbed 17% to more than $2 billion.

For the full year 2011, UPS achieved a new high in adjusted diluted earnings per share at $4.35. On a reported basis, diluted earnings per share were $3.84.

Last Friday, the company announced a change in pension accounting to a mark-to-market methodology. Adopted in the fourth quarter of 2011 and applied retrospectively, this new method resulted in after-tax charges in 2011 and 2010 of $527 million and $75 million, respectively. Also, in the prior-year period, UPS recorded a net after-tax gain of $32 million from the sale of non-core business units in the Supply Chain and Freight segment. On a reported basis, fourth quarter 2011 diluted earnings per share were $0.74, a decline of 28% from the same quarter last year.

"UPS delivered record fourth quarter results in volume, revenue and profitability," said Scott Davis, UPS chairman and CEO. "In short, the quarter was a testament to the power of UPS's global model and the company's ability to operate efficiently in evolving markets."