Expeditors International of Washington Inc. provider of global logistic services, reported on Wednesday its first-quarter net earnings increased to $66.47 million or 31 cents a share from $59.29 million or 28 cents a year ago.

Despite having spent a good part of each day side-stepping 'chicken little' and the associated pieces of 'falling sky' that follow him about, our employees actively sought out new business opportunities this quarter, Peter Rose, Chief Executive Officer said in a statement.

The company's revenue rose 17 percent to $1.31 billion from $1.1 billion in the same period last year.

The revenue forecast was of 31 cents a share of $1.3 billion according to a survey made by Thomson Financial Network.

Shares of Expeditors slumped 4.16 percent to $46.94 at the end of Wednesday trading on the Nasdaq.