USA Truck, Inc. Q2 results beat estimates
Shares of USA Truck, Inc. (Nasdaq: USAK) traded up today after the dry van truckload carrier said second quarter results decreased from a year ago, but beat analysts’ expectations.
For the three months ended June 30, the Van Buren, Ark.-based company said net income decreased 62.8% to $1.6 million, or $0.15 per share, from $4.4 million, or $0.38 per share in the same quarter last year. Five analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of $0.12 per share for the second quarter.
“Freight demand for the quarter was certainly softer than a year ago, but freight volumes remained relatively consistent during May and June,” said USA Truck president and CEO Jerry D. Orler.
Orler said USA Truck grew its base revenue by 2.1%. The small-cap booked base revenue of $101.7 million for the second quarter compared with $99.6 million for the same quarter of 2006. Two analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected revenue of $115.9 million for the second quarter.
USA Truck reported that its regional freight business led its trucking divisions with a 44.5% growth rate in base revenue. However, the truckload carrier’s regional freight’s revenue yield declined, while its dedicated freight and general freight both showed year-over-year improvements in revenue yield.
USA Truck said it will ratchet down growth in its regional freight division for the remainder of the year until its revenue yield is more in line with its other trucking divisions.
The small-cap also said that empty miles remained a challenge for the company during the quarter on account of a continuing soft freight environment. Empty miles refers to the mileage covered on the trip to a customer location to pick-up a load.
Shares of the truckload carrier climbed 4.34%, or $0.74, to $17.80 Thursday afternoon.
