Landstar Posts Record Second Quarter Profit, Revenue

Landstar System has reported record second quarter net income of $35.9 million, or 80 cents per diluted share, on record revenue of $814 million in the 2014 second quarter.

This compares to net income of $29.5 million and revenue of $674 million the same time a year ago, or 64 cents per diluted share, for the asset-light trucking and logistics provider based in Florida.

Truck transportation revenue hauled by independent contractors and truck brokerage carriers in the 2014 second quarter was $764.7 million, or 94% of revenue, compared to $622.7 million, or 92% of revenue in the 2013 second quarter.

Revenue hauled by rail, air and ocean cargo carriers was $39.9 million, or 5% of revenue in the 2014 second quarter compared to $42.6 million, or 6% of revenue in the 2013 second quarter.

Landstar announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of 7 cents per share payable on August 29 to stockholders of record at the close of business on August 11. This represents a 17% increase to the company's previous quarterly dividend while the board noted it intends to pay dividends on a quarterly basis going forward.

“Overall, demand for Landstar's truck transportation services in the 2014 second quarter was very strong, as the number of loads hauled via truck increased 9% over the 2013 second quarter,” said Landstar chairman and CEO Henry Gerkens. “Even stronger was the revenue per load hauled via truck which increased 13% over the 2013 second quarter. Both the number of loads hauled via truck and the related average revenue per load were the highest quarterly amounts in the company's history.”

He said from an equipment standpoint, revenue hauled via van equipment during the 2014 second quarter increased 26% compared to revenue hauled via van equipment in the 2013 second quarter while revenue hauled via unsided/platform equipment, in the 2014 second quarter exceeded the 2013 second quarter by 18%.

"At this point, I believe the current operating environment will remain very much intact throughout the balance of 2014. The increase in underlying demand as well as industry-wide truck productivity issues should continue to contribute to the very healthy pricing environment for spot market transactions,” said Gerkens. “Although the 2014 third quarter is only several weeks old, the strong trends have continued. Based on the continuation of these positive trends through the 2014 third quarter and given that the revenue generated in the company's third quarter has historically been very similar to revenue generated in the company's second quarter, I would expect 2014 third quarter revenue, gross profit, operating income and diluted earnings per share to be similar with those experienced in the 2014 second quarter."

More information is available on the Landstar website.