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J.B.
Hunt Transport Services, Inc
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Nasdaq:JBHT
J.B.
Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT), together with its wholly owned subsidiaries,
is a diversified transportation services company. Through its subsidiaries
and associated companies, JBHT provides a wide range of logistics and transportation
services to a diverse group of customers
J. B. HUNT TRANSPORT
SERVICES, INC. REPORTS REVENUES AND EARNINGS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2007
First Quarter 2007
Revenue: $797 million; up 2%
First Quarter 2007
Operating Income: $80 million; down 1%
First Quarter 2007
EPS: 30 cents vs. 31 cents
LOWELL, ARKANSAS, April
16, 2007 - J. B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., (NASDAQ:JBHT) announced
first quarter 2007 net earnings of $44.2 million, or diluted earnings per
share of 30 cents vs. 2006 first quarter earnings of $49.0 million, or
31 cents per diluted share.
Total operating revenue
for the current quarter was $797 million, a 2% increase from the $780 million
for the first quarter of 2006. The increase in operating revenue was primarily
attributable to growth in our Intermodal, Dedicated Contract Services (DCS)
and Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) segments. The combined tractor
fleet grew from 11,925 in the first quarter of 2006 to 11,971 in the first
quarter of 2007.
Containers and trailers
grew from 50,215 to 54,814 over the same period. The growth in the fleet
was to support additional intermodal and dedicated business.
Operating income for
the current quarter declined slightly to $80.4 million vs. $81.4 million
for the first quarter of 2006. Net interest expense increased significantly
from $0.5 million in the first quarter of 2006 to $7.4 million in the first
quarter of this year, primarily due to higher levels of debt. These increased
borrowings were related to our purchases of revenue equipment and treasury
stock. Our effective income tax rate increased to 39.1% in 2007, from 37.9%
for the calendar year 2006, partially attributed to the adoption of a new
accounting principle, FIN 48.
“During the first quarter
of 2007, we experienced softer freight volumes in our Truck and Integrated
Capacity Solutions segments, harsh winter weather that negatively impacted
all our segments in February, the adoption of FIN 48 that resulted in a
higher effective income tax rate and additional interest
expense, and the write-off
of unamortized fees from re-negotiation of previous credit facilities.
Despite those significant obstacles, we still produced an operating ratio
under 90% and diluted EPS of 30 cents, which represents the second best
EPS performance for a first quarter in our history,” said Kirk Thompson,
JBHT President and CEO.
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