Covenant Reports Fourth-Quarter Profit

Covenant Transportation Group reported a fourth-quarter profit of  $700,000, or 5 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.7 million, or 19 cents, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 3.9% to $163.9 million, from $157.8 million. Freight revenue rose slightly to $136.6 million, the truckload carrier said in a statement.

Operating income was $600,000 compared with an operating loss of $800,000 a year earlier. The earnings were in line with a projection Covenant issued last week.

Covenant’s full-year net income was $3.3 million, or 23 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $25 million, or $1.77, in 2009. Excluding impairment charges, its net loss for 2009 would have been $13.5 million, or 96 cents per share.

Chairman and CEO David Parker said the company’s “performance marks the mid-point of a dramatic turnaround in Covenant's performance over the past several years.”

Covenant Transportation Group is ranked No. 37 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.