Celadon’s Third-Quarter Earnings Plunge

Truckload carrier Celadon Group’s fiscal third-quarter net income fell to $149,000, or 1 cent per share, compared with $3.9 million, or 17 cents, a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter ended March 31 rose 15.4% to $138.9 million, the company said late Wednesday. Freight revenue excluding fuel surcharges rose 6.8% to $112.4 million.

“Record diesel fuel prices, which soared late in the quarter, adversely affected earnings per share by 10 cents compared with the prior year’s quarter,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Russell said.

The lower U.S. dollar compared with the Canadian dollar hurt earnings by 3 cents a share, and a higher tax rate represented a 1-cent on earnings per share, he said in a statement.

Celadon Group is ranked No. 56 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.