This story appears in the Nov. 12 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today. Trimble Navigation Ltd., the parent company of PeopleNet Communications Corp. and TMW Systems Inc., said its third-quarter profit nearly doubled from last year.
Trimble, which provides GPS and other technologies to a variety of industries, said its net income jumped 91% to $53.4 million, or 42 cents per share, from $28 million, or 22 cents per share, a year ago.
Revenue climbed 21% to $504.8 million, the company said.
Trimble, Sunnyvale, Calif., completed its acquisition of TMW, the trucking industry’s largest transportation management software provider, on Oct. 2 for about $334 million. Trimble acquired onboard communications provider PeopleNet in August 2011.
Operating income for the company’s Mobile Solutions segment, which includes PeopleNet and TMW, jumped to $8.2 million in the third quarter, up from $2.5 million a year ago. The segment’s revenue grew 44% from a year ago to $83.8 million on higher subscription revenue and the results of acquisitions, Trimble said.
“The Mobile Solutions segment continues to make a major contribution to the year-to-year improvement in Trimble quarterly results,” Steven Berglund, Trimble’s CEO, said in a conference call.
He said the segment’s gain in year-over-year profitability “continues to be dominated by the PeopleNet acquisition.”
“The recent TMW acquisition is expected to continue to trend towards a richer financial model, once the initial purchase accounting effects dissipate in early 2013,” Berglund added.
In a separate announcement, Trimble said it has signed a distribution agreement with Advantage PressurePro, Harrisonville, Mo., to provide tire-pressure monitoring for the construction market.
Under the agreement, Trimble will combine PressurePro’s tire- pressure monitoring technology with its VisionLink asset and site productivity management software for construction contractors, along with other Trimble commercial fleet management products.
