Landstar’s 4Q Income Declines
Truckload carrier Landstar System said late Wednesday its fourth-quarter net income fell to $18.6 million, or 37 cents a share, from $24.6 million, or 47 cents, a year ago.
Total quarterly revenue fell to $547.7 million, from $603.8 million the previous year, the company said in a statement.
Revenue hauled by third-party truck providers for the quarter ended Dec. 26 was $498.4 million, down from $547.4 million a year ago. Each comprised 91% of total revenue.
Revenue hauled by rail, air and ocean cargo carriers was $35 million, accounting for 6% of total revenue. That compared with $47 million, or 8% of total revenue for the same period a year earlier.
Fourth-quarter revenue was 9% higher than the third quarter and was a significantly better fourth-quarter-to-third-quarter experience than the prior three years, said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Henry Gerkens.
The revenue boost was primarily the result of a general increase in rate per load of about 4%, combined with increased loadings of about 6% over the third quarter, he said in a statement.
Gerkens said 2010 first-quarter revenue would increase over the previous year’s first quarter in a mid to upper single-digit range, and that first-quarter earnings would be 28 to 32 cents per share.
For the full year, Landstar earned $70.4 million, or $1.37 per share, down from $110.9 million, or $2.10, in 2008. Full-year revenue fell to $2 billion, from $2.6 billion.
Landstar System is ranked No. 13 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
