TransForce's 4Q Income Falls on Goodwill Charge

Canadian transportation firm TransForce Income Fund said Thursday it lost C$30.8 million, or 36 cents a share, in the fourth-quarter as a result of a C$56 million write-off of goodwill associated with the Fund’s Oilfield Services division.

Alain Bédard, chief executive officer of TransForce, also noted that “High fuel costs and the strong Canadian dollar in the fourth quarter of 2007 continued to be challenging for our industry and for some of the TransForce companies.”

The company’s revenue rose to C$447 million from C$419 million a year earlier, TransForce said in a statement.

For the full year, the company said it earned C$44.8 million, or 53 cents a share, down from C$151 million, or C$1.55 a share, in 2006.

Yearly revenue was C$1.9 billion, up from C$1.8 billion in 2006.

TransForce also announced that, as a result of its acquisition of parcel carrier ICS Courier last year, it will separate its parcel businesses, Canpar and ICS, from its less-than-truckload operations. The parcel unit will begin reporting its operations in the first quarter of 2008.

TransForce is ranked No. 19 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.