Marten Transport Ltd. said that four the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2005, net income increased 36.6 percent to $7.1 million, or 32 cents per diluted share, from $5.2 million, or 24 cents per diluted share,
for the same quarter of 2004.
Earnings per share amounts give retroactive effect in all periods to the company's three-for-two stock split in Dec. 2005. Operating revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2005, increased 18.6 percent to $125.4 million from $105.7 million for the same quarter of 2004.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 2005, net income increased 42.9 percent to $25.1 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, from $17.5 million, or 81 cents per diluted share, for 2004. Operating revenue for 2005 increased 21.1 percent to $460.2 million from $380.0 million for 2004. Operating revenue included fuel surcharges of $19.1 million and $57.1 million for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2005, compared with $10.5 million and $26.9 million for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2004. Operating revenue also included non-freight revenue principally from Marten's logistics operations. Non-freight revenue was $5.2 million and $16.9 million for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2005, compared with $2.3 million and $7.0 million for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2004.
Chairman and President Randolph L. Marten said, "Despite the challenges of high fuel prices and fierce competition for drivers, 2005 was a year of significant accomplishments. During 2005, we expanded our fleet of company tractors by 469 units, or 27 percent, which contributed to nearly 15 percent fleet growth and helped us overcome the attrition of owner-operators from our industry. This highlights the importance of our annualized driver turnover rate that has remained near 70 percent in comparison to an industry average that is estimated at 135 percent by the American Trucking Associations.”