Con-way Inc. reported net income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2007 of $36.9 million, or 78 cents per diluted share. The results compared with fourth-quarter 2006 net income of $81.8 million,
or $1.65 per diluted share.
Earnings from continuing operations in the 2007 fourth quarter were affected by a before-tax charge from business transformation initiatives at Con-way Freight of $7.7 million for office closures, relocations and severance. Results for the 2006 fourth quarter included a net gain of $41.0 million from the sale of Vector SCM LLC, the company's former logistics joint venture with General Motors Corp.
Net income available to common shareholders in the 2007 fourth quarter was $34.5 million, or 73 cents per diluted share. This compares to previous-year fourth-quarter net income of $82.4 million, or $1.66 per diluted share. The 2007 results included a 5-cent-per-share loss related to discontinued operations while the 2006 fourth-quarter net income included a 1-cent-per-share gain from discontinued operations.
Revenue was $1.20 billion, an increase of 20.2 percent from last year's fourth-quarter revenue of $1 billion. Operating income in the 2007 fourth quarter was $70 million, down 36.2 percent from $109.8 million earned in the fourth quarter a year ago.
For the full-year 2007, Con-way reported net income from continuing operations of $146.8 million, compared with $265.2 million in 2006. The before-tax effect of the restructuring charge at Con-way Freight on 2007 full-year results was $13.2 million. The 2006 full-year results included gains of $47.3 million from the sale of Vector and Con-way Expedite.
Including the effect of discontinued operations, net income to common shareholders for the full-year 2007 was $146 million, compared to net income to common shareholders in 2006 of $259 million.
Revenues for full-year 2007 rose to $4.39 billion from 2006's revenues of $4.22 billion, a 3.9 percent increase. Operating income was $264.5 million compared with $401.8 million in 2006.
Con-way President and CEO Douglas W. Stotlar said, "While a challenging economic environment clearly affected our full-year results, I was encouraged with the improvement in Con-way Freight's year-over-year operating performance for the quarter."
He noted that markets for the company's less-than-truckload (LTL) and full-truckload services are expected to remain highly competitive throughout 2008. "In a difficult economy where opportunities to improve margin are limited, operational execution becomes critically important," Stotlar said. "We took specific actions in 2007 to respond to the market and reposition our businesses. These will continue into 2008, as will our focus on providing customers with reliable, premium-value LTL and truckload transportation services."