UPS Inc., the world's largest shipping company, on Wednesday reported a 13.5 percent drop in its profits for the first quarter of this year.

The Atlanta-based company's earnings declined to 843 million U.S.dollars, or 78 cents per share, for the three months ending on March 31, from 975 million dollars, or 89 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

The result included "an impairment charge relating to aging jet aircraft and expenses for a voluntary separation program completed during the quarter," said UPS in a press release. Excluding those one-time charges, the company's earnings would have been 96 cents per share.

In the first quarter, the company's revenue totaled 11.90 billion dollars, up 3.3 percent from 11.52 billion dollars a year ago.

Revenue from the company's international package segment surged by 10.6 percent to 2.39 billion dollars from the same period a year-earlier.

"Export volume showed strong growth with a 10 percent gain, led by a jump of more than 20 percent from Asia and a double-digit increase from Europe," USP said.

Its U.S. domestic package revenue rose 1.2 percent to 7.55 billion dollars in the first quarter.

UPS expects its second-quarter profit to be in a range of 1 dollar to 1.05 dollars per share, up from earnings of 97 cents per share a year ago.

The package delivery company offers an extensive range of options for synchronizing the movement of goods, information and funds. It serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

Source: Xinhua