Landstar System, Jacksonville, Fla., reported 2002 record third quarter net income of $13.9 million, or $.83 per diluted share, compared to net income of $11.9 million, or $.70 per diluted share, in the 2001 third quarter.
The 2001 period included $302,000 of goodwill amortization; excluding this charge net income would have been $12.2 million, or $.72 per diluted share. Revenue was a record $385.7 million for the 13-week period ended Sept. 28, 2002, compared with $355.7 million for the 13-week period ended Sept. 29, 2001. Landstar's carrier group of companies generated $298.9 million of revenue in the 2002 third quarter compared with $276.5 million in the 2001 third quarter. Landstar's multimodal services group of companies generated revenue of $80 million in the 2002 third quarter compared with $73.2 million in the 2001 third quarter. Operating margin was 6.1% in the 2002 third quarter compared with 5.9%, 6% exclusive of goodwill amortization, in the 2001 third quarter.
Net income for the 39-week period ended Sept. 28, 2002 was $34.7 million, or $2.06 per diluted share, compared to net income of $31.2 million, or $1.81 per diluted share, for the 39-week period ended Sept. 29, 2001. The 2001 period included $911,000 of goodwill amortization; excluding this charge net income would have been $32.1 million, or $1.86 per diluted share. Revenue was $1,113 million in the 2002 39-week period, compared to revenue of $1.045 million in the comparable 2001 period. Landstar's carrier group of companies generated $878.8 million of revenue in the 39-week period ended Sept. 28, 2002 compared with $820.1 million in the 39-week period ended Sept. 29, 2001.
Landstar's multimodal services group of companies generated $213.0 million of revenue in the 2002 39-week period compared with $207.2 million in the comparable 2001 period.
"I am pleased with Landstar's 2002 third quarter performance," said Landstar Chairman and CEO Jeff Crowe. "Consolidated revenue increased by more than 8% to the highest third-quarter revenue in Landstar history. Brokerage revenue at the Carrier Group increased almost 15% as we continued to expand our utilization of broker carrier capacity. Truck capacity provided by business capacity owners on the other hand decreased to 8,380, which reflected a difficult recruiting environment. We will continue to use a combination of capacity to service our customers.
"Trailing 12-month return on average equity remained high at 36% and return on invested capital, net income divided by the sum of average equity plus average debt, was above 21%. We have reduced debt by more than $29 million since year-end 2001 and ended the quarter with more than $67 million in cash and short-term investments. Shareholder's equity represented 68% of capitalization, up from 54% at year-end," Crowe said. "Landstar's financial condition and strong cash flow continue to provide us with competitive advantages. "During the third quarter, Landstar purchased 112,879 shares, adjusted for the two-for-one stock split, of its common stock at a total cost of $5,435,000," Crowe said. "We continue to use the company's strong cash flow to enhance shareholder value. The company has the ability to purchase anadditional 887,121 shares of its common stock under its authorized share repurchase program.
"As reported by First Call, the range of analysts' earnings estimates for the 2002 fourth quarter is $.77 to $.92 per diluted share," said Crowe. "Based upon the level of business activity experienced throughout the third quarter, I expect revenue in the 2002 fourth quarter to be approximately 10% to 12% higher than the revenue in the fourth quarter of 2001, and anticipate earnings for the fourth quarter of 2002 to be in the middle of the current range of analysts' estimates."
Landstar System Inc. is headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla. The Landstar carrier group comprised of Landstar Gemini Inc., Landstar Inway Inc., Landstar Ligon Inc. and Landstar Ranger Inc. delivers complete over-the-road transportation services. The Landstar multimodal group comprised of Landstar Express America Inc. and Landstar Logistics Inc.