Earnings Watch: YRC Back in the Black, ODFL Profit Up 16%

UPDATED -- The parent to several trucking companies moved from a loss in the second quarter of last year to a profit in the most recent quarter.

Kansas-based YRC Worldwide (YRCW) reported net income of $26 million, or 80 cents per diluted share, compared to a loss of $4.9 million a year ago, or a loss of 16 cents per diluted share.

Consolidated operating revenue for the second quarter of 2015 was $1.258 billion compared to $1.318 billion, a 4% drop.

The news sent shares in the company soaring in after-hours trading, gaining nearly 18% shortly after 6 p.m., EDT, after being down more than 40% over the past year and the company fighting off bankruptcy for several years.

According to the company, improved yield and safety results contributed to a 280-basis-point year-over-year operating ratio improvement to 97.2 at its national operation, YRC Freight, and a 320-basis-point improvement and resulting operating ratio of 91.9 at its regional segment.

"During the second quarter of this year, we continued to see success in executing our freight mix and yield improvement strategy and equally important improving our safety performance which in turn increased our operating income by $36.9 million to $56.9 million," said James Welch, CEO. "Additionally, we continued to reinvest in our fleet, make incremental investments in high return technology projects and are nearing completion of the in-cab safety solutions pilot for our existing fleet. We are accomplishing all of this while improving our liquidity.”

Tonnage per day decreased 6.2% for the quarter at YRC Freight and decreased 3.5% for the regional segment.

Excluding fuel surcharge, revenue per shipment increased 9.8% at YRC Freight and revenue per hundredweight increased by 6.4%. Including fuel surcharge, revenue per shipment increased 3.8% and revenue per hundredweight increased by 0.6%.

At the regional operations, excluding fuel surcharge, revenue per shipment increased 6.5% and revenue per hundredweight increased by 5.2%. Including fuel surcharge, revenue per shipment increased 1.4% and revenue per hundredweight increased by 0.2%.

YRC said year-over-year tonnage comparison were “difficult due to the increased tonnage we experienced in the second quarter of 2014 and the implementation of pricing actions which began in the second quarter of 2014.”

More information is on the YRC Worldwide website.

Old Dominion Freight Line

The less-than-truckload carrier Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (ODFL) reported on Thursday its second quarter profit increased 15.9% from the same time a year ago.

Net income totaled $85.6 million compared to $73.8 million for the second quarter last year, while earnings per diluted share were $1.00, a 16.3% increase from 86 cents.

Revenue increased 8.4% to $762.2 million from $703 million during the same quarter of 2014 for the North Carolina-based operation.

“We are pleased with Old Dominion’s performance for the second quarter of 2015, which includes our best ever quarterly results for revenue, operating ratio and earnings per share,” said David S. Congdon, vice chairman and CEO. “We believe these second-quarter results reflect our continued ability to win market share while also maintaining our focus on yield management.”

Old Dominion’s operating ratio improved 100 basis points to 81.5% for the second quarter of 2015 from 82.5% a year earlier.

LTL tons per day for the second quarter of 2015 increased 9.1% compared with the second quarter of 2014 due to the 13.4% increase in LTL shipments, which was partially offset by the 3.8% decline in LTL weight per shipment, according to the company.

The company said LTL revenue per hundredweight for the quarter declined 0.8%, due in part to the significant decrease in fuel surcharge revenue between this year and the 2014 second quarter. LTL revenue per hundredweight excluding fuel surcharges, however, increased 5.3% during the second quarter of 2015.

Update adds YRC Worldwide earnings.