More Q2 Fleet Financials: Mostly Positive
More fleets announced financial results for the second quarter of 2011 this week. On the whole, the numbers are good, but not everyone is doing well

More fleets announced financial results for the second quarter of 2011 this week. On the whole, the numbers are good, but not everyone is doing well.
On the upside, Landstar, Celadon, Knight and UPS all reported increases in both revenue and earnings.
Landstar brought in $29.6 million, or 62 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $24.4 million, or 49 cents per diluted share, for the 2010 second quarter: a 17.5% increase. The company's earnings per diluted share set a new record for the second quarter. Total revenues rose from $641.7 million in the 2010 second quarter to $675.6 million. The operating margin also increasing to 43.6% from 38.2% a year ago.
Celadon's revenue for the quarter increased 6.3% to $147.7 million in the 2011 quarter from $139.0 million in the 2010 quarter. Freight revenue, which excludes fuel surcharges, decreased 1.2% to $115.3 million in the 2011 quarter from $116.7 million in the 2010 quarter. Net income increased to $5.5 million in the 2011 quarter from $2.7 million over Q2 2010. Earnings per diluted share doubled to $0.24 in the 2011 quarter over the same quarter last year. According to chairman and CEO Steve Russell, it was Celadon's best June quarter since 2006. The operating margin increased from 4.8% to 8.1%.
Knight Transportation's total revenue increased 23.2% to $228.5 million from $185.4 million for the same quarter of 2010. Revenue before trucking fuel surcharge increased 17.4% to $182.4 million compared to $155.3 million in the second quarter of 2010. Net income increased to $16.4 million in the second quarter from $15.8 million for the same quarter of 2010, a 3.3% increase. Net income per diluted share increased 4.7% to $0.20 compared to $0.19 for the same quarter of 2010.
UPS posted great numbers for the quarter, with earnings per diluted share increasing 25% from Q2 2010 to $1.05, and total revenue increasing 8.1% to $13.2 billion. On an adjusted basis, U.S. Domestic operating profit increased 31%, while Supply Chain and Freight generated record operating profit of $187 million. Like Landstar, UPS delivered it's highest ever Q2 earnings per share.
Swift is also doing well, experiencing a healthy turnaround from losses this time last year. Swift's second-quarter net income was $19.6 million, or 14 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $23.1 million, or 38 cents a share, a year ago. Operating revenue rose 16% to $850.5 million, and excluding some items, profit was 18 cents a share. But while numbers were good, the results fell short of Wall Street expectations. Analysts on average had expected earnings of 19 cents a share on revenue of $849.1 million, according to Thomson Reuters.
Not all trucking operations are doing well across the board.
USA Truck posted a big increase in revenue, but also a significant drop in earnings. The company reported a base revenue of $108.5 million for the quarter, an increase of 14.3% from $94.9 million for the same quarter of 2010. However, net income was $0.6 million, six cents per share, for the quarter, compared to $0.9 million, nine cents per share, for the same quarter of 2010.
Covenant Transportation Group lost both earnings and revenue in Q2 2011 compared with Q2 2010. The company's freight revenue was $133.6 million, a decrease of 5.5% compared with the second quarter of 2010. The operating income of $7.2 million and the operating ratio of 94.6% was down compared with operating income of $10.0 million and an operating ratio of 92.9% in the second quarter of 2010. Covenant's net income of $1.7 million, or 11 cents per share, was down from $2.9 million, or 20 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2010.
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