Rush’s Profit Grows in 4Q
Truck dealer chain Rush Enterprises Inc. said its net income increased slightly in the fourth quarter, but its sales of Class 8 trucks declined in 2013.
Profit grew to $14.9 million, or 38 cents a share, from $14.2 million, or 37 cents, a year earlier, Rush said in a Feb. 11 statement. Revenue increased to $925.2 million, from $732.3 million in the prior year’s quarter.
Rush’s profit fell in the full year to $49.2 million, $1.25 a share, from $62.5 million, or $1.62 a share, in 2012. That included a pre-tax charge related to the retirement of CEO Marvin Rush, which resulted in a $6.6 million reduction in income. The year’s revenue was $3.4 billion, a 9.5% increase over 2012 and a record for the company, Rush said.
“2013 was a year of continued investment, growth and solid financial performance for our company,” W.M. Rush, chairman and CEO of Rush Enterprises, said in a statement. “We achieved record annual revenues, increased medium-duty, light-duty and used-truck sales, and expanded our leasing business and revenues.”
Rush sold 9,545 Class 8 trucks in 2013, down from 9,925, as the overall Class 8 truck market declined 6%. Medium- and light-duty commercial vehicle sales increased, the company said.
Its leasing operations also grew, increasing revenue by 29% in the year.
Rush also said its board of directors had approved a $40 million stock repurchase plan. It will allow the company throughout the year, after Feb. 11, to purchase Class A and Class B common stock, replacing an earlier $40 million repurchase plan that expired that day.
Rush sells Peterbilt Motors Co. and Navistar International Corp. brand heavy trucks in addition to medium-duty trucks from Hino, Isuzu and Ford.
