Prior to the commencement of trading on September 17, one of the world’s largest package delivery companies, FedEx Corp. (FDX) announced that the company’s profits during the 1Q plummeted, a direct result of lower sales and lower fuel surcharges. Despite the dismal release, FedEx did manage to meet analysts’ earnings per share expectations, along with reaffirming their 2Q earnings forecast.

For the 1Q, FedEx posted net earnings of $181M, or $0.58 per share, in sharp contrast to last year’s net income of $384M, or $1.23 per share, a decrease in profits of nearly 53% year-over-year. FedEx’s earnings per share were recently upgraded by the company to an expected $0.58 just last week, up from a range of $0.30 to $0.45 per share.

Meanwhile, overall revenues for the quarter plunged as well, falling nearly 20% year-over-year, from $9.97B to $8.01B. Company officials remarked that overall sales and profits have continued to be affected by the global recession. However, in order to offset these negative impacts, FedEx benefited from more intense cost controls.

On average, analysts within the industry were looking for the world’s second largest delivery company to record a quarterly profit of $0.58 per share on total revenues of $8.24B.

FedEx Chairman, President and CEO Frederick W. Smith commented on the company’s performance, “Better-than-expected FedEx International Priority volume, decisive management actions and our dedicated team members helped drive financial performance above our initial expectations in the first quarter.”

Smith later added, “For more than a year, we have vigilantly managed costs without sacrificing service, invested wisely and minimized job losses so that FedEx will emerge a stronger, more profitable company as the global economic recovery takes hold.”

The company operated within four business segments, FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services. Within their Express unit, FedEx reported revenues of $4.92B, down more than 23% from last year’s total of $6.42B. The company’s Ground segment posted a 2% drop in sales, falling from $1.76B to $1.73B.

The last two segments declined in revenues as well, as the Freight unit plunged 27%, slipping from $1.35B in sales during last year’s 1Q to $982M this year. Lastly, FedEx Services saw its revenues fall more than 12% year-over-year, from $513M a year ago to $451M.

Although FedEx’s 1Q report was disheartening, it did manage to come in better than the company’s 4Q results. During the preceding quarter, FedEx witnessed a net loss of $876M, or $2.82 per share, a much deeper loss than the 4Q of the previous year, which was a loss of $241M, or $0.78 per share. Revenues during the company’s 4Q declined 20% year-over-year to $7.85B.

Looking ahead to the 2Q, FedEx reiterated their projections in which earnings are expected to come in between $0.65 and $0.90 per share. Analysts, in the meantime, are looking for a 2Q profit of $0.83 per share, while expectations are ranging from $0.71 to $0.95 per share.

FedEx’s Executive VP and CFO, Alan Graf Jr., remarked on the company’s upcoming quarter, “While we see signs of improvement in the economy, the year-over-year comparisons will remain very difficult for our second quarter. We remain focused on managing our expenses and generating positive cash flow.”

Heading into the close of trading on September 17, shares of FDX remained in the red for the entire session, giving up $1.74, or 2.2%, to conclude the day at $76.46 per share. The company’s stock price slipped as low $75.55 during trading hours before rebounding marginally.

Over the past year, FedEx stock has traded within a wide range, reaching a high of $96.65 per share, last September, and falling to a low of $34.02 per share in early March of this year.