Werner’s 1Q Income Jumps
Werner Enterprises said its first-quarter profit rose more than 50% to $10.8 million, or 15 cents per share, from $6.9 million, or 10 cents, a year ago.
Revenue rose 8% to $425.1 million, despite a 1% decline in trucking revenue excluding fuel surcharges, the company said in a statement.
The company pegged the recent improvement in the freight market more to decreasing supply than rising demand, and said it has “observed an increase in the size and quantity of carrier failures in recent months.”
It added that demand is rising gradually and that it anticipates steady improvement throughout 2010.
Werner said it was continuing to diversify its business model with one-way truckload (including regional, medium-to-long-haul van and expedited fleets), dedicated and logistics units.
Its specialized services division, primarily dedicated, grew by 150 trucks in the quarter to 3,450 trucks as a result of new business.
Werner is ranked No. 14 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
