SCS Transportation Inc. says earnings for the quarter ending March 31, 2003, are expected to be below the $.10 to $.14 per share guidance previously announced on Jan. 24,
due primarily to effects of unusually harsh winter weather in February.
Actual results for the quarter will be dependent on the strength of March performance. Assuming more normalized experience with weather and other risk factors, first-quarter earnings are now expected to be in the range of $.05 to $.08 per share. Due to seasonality, the first quarter is typically the company's weakest quarter of the year.
"Our January results were trending toward the higher end of the original guidance and our core operating fundamentals remain intact," said Bert Trucksess, chairman, president and chief executive officer of SCS Transportation. "However, the severity of storms during the weeks of Feb. 17 and Feb. 24 significantly hurt performance in our Northeast, Southeast and South Central markets. Additionally, two unusually large cargo claims totaling $0.4 million further impacted quarterly results to date."
The company plans to update its annual guidance for 2003 in its first-quarter earnings release scheduled for the week of April 21.
SCS Transportation Inc. is a leading transportation company providing regional and interregional less-than-truckload (LTL) and selected truckload (TL) service solutions to more than 71,000 customers across the United States. With 2002 revenue of $775 million, its operating subsidiaries are Saia, based in Duluth, Ga.; and Jevic, based in Delanco, N.J.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., SCS Transportation has about 7,500 employees nationwide.