Old Dominion Reports Record 2Q
Less-than-truckload carrier Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. saw its second-quarter net income increase by 66%, jumping to $163.4 million compared with $98.4 million in the same period a year ago. On a per-share basis, net profit was $1.99, compared with $1.20 last spring.
Old Dominion’s total revenue grew 23% to $1.03 billion from $839.9 million in second-quarter 2017. Operating income was $220.4 million, a 37% increase from last year’s $160.4 million.
The company is attributing much of the growth to a 14.6% increase in LTL tonnage and a 7.4% increase in LTL revenue per hundredweight.
“Old Dominion’s results for the second quarter are a case study for the power of our business model,” newly minted CEO Greg Gantt told reporters and analysts on a July 26 conference call. Gantt was promoted to the top position two months ago. “The basic formula of increasing freight density and yield once again helped drive significant operating leverage for the quarter. We believe the market share gains, inherent in these growth gains, reflect an acceleration in demand among existing and new customers for our superior service.” Old Dominion said it has added nearly 3,000 employees in the past year.
The carrier said its second-quarter operating ratio was a record-setting 78.7, the first time ever it has been below 80. Operating ratio is a company’s operating expenses as a percentage of its revenue. It often is used to determine efficiency. The smaller the ratio, the greater the company’s ability to generate profit.
Old Dominion ranks No. 11 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America. It has about 8,000 tractors and 32,525 trailers.
