Improved margins helped United Parcel Services Inc. (UPS) book higher earnings in the fourth quarter of the last financial year. However, revenue witnessed a decline due to the economic turmoil in the US, the company announced on Tuesday.

The Atlanta-based shipping company registered a profit of $757 million (75 cents per share), almost tripple of $254 million (25 cents a share) posted in the year-ago period. For the full year the company has projected earnings of $2.70 to $3.05 per share. Q4 revenue though fell by 2.5 per cent to $12.38 billion; it still managed to beat Wall Street's expectation of $12.23 billion by a whisker.

The company, however, has cautioned that the first quarter of the current fiscal will be the most challenging for the company and profitability may show a small increase over last year's figures. It has further added that the recovery is definitely improving, but slowly and gradually.

As per experts UPS managed a show in Q4 as the shipping sector got much desired boost from retailers and manufacturers right ahead of the holiday season. The shipping giant is considered as a barometer for global trade trends.