USA Truck’s profit at $5.9M
Carrier cites strong pricing environment, winner’s mindset
USA Truck Inc. on Thursday reported a fourth-quarter profit of $5.9 million, or 66 cents per share.
The Van Buren trucking and logistics company experienced stronger demand and tighter capacity during the quarter, which created a strong pricing environment from which USA Truck profited.
Earnings surpassed Wall Street expectations as a result. Revenue was $158.8 million, a 28% increase.
James Reed, USA Truck’s president and chief executive, said Friday in a conference call that earnings per share was the best it’s ever been.
He said the differencemaker was how the company bought into a winner’s mindset during the quarter and introduced initiatives that improved collaboration.
“We see things getting easier,” Reed said.
The company outperformed the market with a record adjusted earnings of 70 cents per share, which handily beat analyst expectations of 36 cents per share, according to a Zacks Consensus Estimate.
USA Truck recorded three
of its four best revenue and profitability months in 2020 in the quarter, partially because of the holidays and a second wave of demand related to the coronavirus pandemic. Reed said the company had better bid execution that led to more truckloads.
“We believe the market will remain strong for several quarters because of structural industry capacity challenges that are not quickly resolved,” he said. Low inventory levels and a shortage of drivers, among other challenges, kept the market firm.
The company’s trucking segment had higher income and revenue in the three months that ended Dec. 31 compared with 2019.
Trucking income soared to $6.4 million, up from a loss of $2.6 million in the same quarter in 2019.
Trucking revenue was $12.1 million, a 13% increase. Base revenue per tractor per week increased $684, or 21.6%, from the previous year and $387, or 11% from the third quarter.
Base revenue per loaded mile increased 39 cents, or 18%, from the previous year and 24 cents, or 10.6%, sequentially.
The company’s logistics segment, or USAT Logistics, also logged higher income and revenue during the period.
Logistics income rose to $3.4 million, compared with a loss of $900,000, in 2019.
Gross margin dollars soared 142.5%, or 5.5 million, to $9.3 million in the quarter. Gross margin percentage was 14.3%, an improvement from 11.5% in the previous year and 11.3% in the third quarter.
Logistics revenue was $65.3 million, more than double what USA Truck generated in the previous year.
Revenue per load increased 53.8%, or $701 from 2019 and 23.6%, or $382 from the third quarter.
Logistics recorded 6,779 more loads, a 26% increase in the quarter from the previous year and 495 more loads, or 1.5%, sequentially.
For the full year, USA Truck reported a loss of $931,000, compared with a $2.6 million deficit in 2019.
Annual revenue was $551.1 million, up 5% from the previous year.
As of Dec. 31, the company had $56.2 million in liquidity. It paid off $24.4 million of its debt, resulting in $154.2 million outstanding at the end of the year.
USA Truck shares fell 2%, or 23 cents, to close Friday at $11.24 on the Nasdaq stock exchange.