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Earnings Watch: Landstar Reports Record Quarterly Revenue, ArcBest Profit Improves
More trucking companies on Wednesday reported surging fourth-quarter earnings and higher profits for the year, including Landstar and ArcBest, thanks tax changes and increased freight demand.
Landstar System Inc. reported net income of $64.8 million, or $1.54 per share, in the 2017 fourth quarter on record revenue of $1.05 billion. This compares to net income a year earlier of $39.6 million, or 94 cents per share, with revenue of $892.8 million.
Included in the net income are one-time tax benefits of approximately $19.5 million, related to the company's estimate of the change in future tax rates on net deferred tax liabilities as a result of Congressional tax reform signed into law late last year. Excluding this, net income was $45.2 million, or $1.08 earnings per share.
For the first time in the company's history, quarterly revenue surpassed $1 billion. Landstar also set new quarterly records for gross profit (defined as revenue less the cost of purchased transportation and commissions to agents) and operating income in the 2017 fourth quarter. Gross profit was $149.7 million and operating income was $70 million.
The number of loads hauled by truck in the fourth quarter was also an all-time Landstar quarterly record, up 3% over the 2016 fourth quarter. This was driven by a 2% increase in the number of loads hauled via van equipment, a 4% increase in the number of loads hauled by unsided/platform equipment, and a 9% increase in less-than-truckload volume.
For all of 2017, Landstar had net income of $177.1 million, with revenue of $3.6 billion, compared to 2016 net income of $137.4 million and revenue of $3.2 billion.
"The year-over-year earnings growth rates are particularly impressive given a significant increase in the provision for incentive compensation in 2017 and the fact that 2016 had one additional week of operations compared to 2017,” said Landstar President ...Read the rest of this story