Higher shipments help Old Dominion report upbeat quarterly results
24/07/2024 13:11
July 24 (Reuters) - Old Dominion Freight Line ODFL.O
reported second-quarter profit above Wall Street estimates on
Wednesday as the company transported more shipments in the
quarter, sending its shares up 2.2% in premarket trading.
The exit of less-than-truckload carrier Yellow in 2023 has
left the industry severely constrained for capacity, benefiting
other LTL carriers such as Old Dominion, XPO XPO.N and Saia
SAIA.O .
Above-inflation pricing has also helped these companies
squeeze out profits, despite depressed freight volumes.
Old Dominion hauled a total of 2.3 million tons of shipments
in the quarter, up 1.9% from 2.29 million tons a year earlier.
However, this was partially offset by lower weight per shipment.
The Thomasville, North Carolina-based company's operating
ratio, a key metric indicating operating expenses as a
percentage of revenue, fell to 71.9%, from 72.3% a year earlier.
A higher operating ratio reflects an increase in costs,
suggesting lower profitability.
Old Dominion's net income rose to $322 million, or $1.48 per
share, in the quarter ended June 30, from $292.4 million, or
$1.33 per share, a year earlier. Analysts were expecting $1.45
per share, according to LSEG data.
Its overall revenue rose 6.1%, to $1.498 billion, marginally
missing analysts' average estimate of $1.499 billion.
(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja
Desai)
((Abhinav.Parmar@thomsonreuters.com;))