ArcBest’s 4Q profit nears $49 million
Judy R. McReynolds, ArcBest chairman, president and chief executive officer, said Tuesday that the company delivered despite a slower freight market.
“2023 was a milestone year for ArcBest as we celebrated our 100-year anniversary and again delivered solid financial results,” she said.
The Fort-Smith based company announced its fourth quarter and year end earnings before a conference call with investors on Tuesday. The yearly revenue was second only to 2022, which saw $5 billion in revenue.
The shipping company’s fourth quarter revenue came in at $1.09 billion compared with $1.16 billion in the same quarter of 2022. Revenue surpassed Zacks Equity Research consensus estimate by 0.80%, which expected the company to post revenues of $1.08 billion.
ArcBest posted a fourthquarter profit of $48.8 million, or $2.01 per share, up from $37.3 million, or $1.53, a year ago.
ArcBest shares rose $10.51, or 8.2%, to close Tuesday at $138.58. The shares have traded as high as $144.00 and as low as $82.18 over the past 52 weeks.
On a non-GAAP basis, net income was $60 million, or $2.47 per diluted share, compared to $60.8 million, or $2.42 million per diluted share, in 2022. Financial estimates before the earnings were released estimated that ArcBest would post earnings of $2.19 per share. GAAP stands for generally accepted accounting principles.
ArcBest’s fourth quarter operating income from continuing operations was $64.3 million, compared with $50.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Excluding certain items in both periods, operating income was reported at $81.7 million, compared with $81.6 million in the same period of 2022.
The company touted its resilience and effective strategies for maintaining its daily revenue during the current freight recession.
For the entire year the company saw net income from continuing operations of $142.2 million, or $5.77 per diluted share, compared with the net income of $294.6 million or $11.5 per diluted share in 2022.
On a non-GAAP basis, Ar
cBest’s 2023 net income from continuing operations was $194.1 million, or $7.88 per diluted share, compared with net income of $344.7 million, or $13.52 per diluted share, in 2022.
The tonnage and shipments per day decreased in the fourth quarter, with tonnage per day decreasing by 7.2% including a decrease of 6.5% in less-than-truckload rated weight per shipment, and total shipments per day decreased by 0.8%. The company saw an increase in its total billed revenue per hundredweight by 6.8%.
The shipping company has also returned $103 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchasing.
McReynolds announced during the conference call the company board has now increased the share repurchase program authorization to $125 million.
The company’s asset-based segment saw a revenue of $710 million in 2023, compared with $711 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. The segment reported an operating income of $87 million, which was an increase of the reported operating income of $75 million in 2022.
The asset-light segment posted a revenue of $413 million, compared with the $479 million in the same period of 2022. This segment also saw an operating loss for the quarter of $1.3 million.
ArcBest management explained during the conference call that limited carrier capacity and the recent winter storms affected the results for the quarter.
Weather-related closures were especially an issue, as it has resulted in 130 service center closures, compared with the company’s January average of 57.
Also announced during the call was that the company has a projected 2024 net capital expenditures of $325 to $375 million, consisting of equipment, real estate, innovation and technology.