 | |
REMINDER: Vitran management will conduct a conference call and webcast tomorrow, April 20 at 1:00 p.m. (ET), to discuss the Company's 2006 first quarter results. | |
| CONTACT: | |
| Richard Gaetz, President/CEO | Robert Rinderman |
| Sean Washchuk, VP Finance/CFO | Steven Hecht |
| Vitran Corporation Inc. | Jaffoni & Collins Incorporated |
| 416/596-7664 | 212/835-8500 or VTNC@jcir.com |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VITRAN REPORTS RECORD FIRST QUARTER REVENUE AND NET INCOME
- Achieves 37 Percent Net Income Growth and Diluted EPS of $0.29 -
TORONTO, ONTARIO (April 19, 2006) – Vitran Corporation Inc. (NASDAQ: VTNC, TSX: VTN), a North American transportation and logistics firm, today announced record results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2006 at its Annual Meeting of Shareholders held at the Toronto Stock Exchange (all figures reported in $U.S.).
The Company achieved a 37 percent increase in net income to $3.8 million in the 2006 first quarter, or $0.29 per diluted share, which includes a $0.01 per share gain related to a change in accounting principle. Revenue increased 23 percent to $115.1 million, versus the year-ago period. Vitran's record 2006 first quarter revenue and net income results were achieved despite a $332,000 decline in income from operations at the Company's Truckload segment. In the 2005 first quarter, Vitran recorded net income of $2.8 million, or $0.22 per diluted share on revenue of $93.9 million. The Company's consolidated operating ratio (OR) improved to 95.7 in the first quarter of 2006, compared to 96.1 in the first quarter of 2005.
"Buoyed by solid revenue growth on both sides of the border and contributions from our two most recent acquisitions, Chris Truck Line and Sierra West Express, Vitran delivered strong net income improvement in the 2006 first quarter, extending our streak to 18 consecutive quarters of year-over-year net income growth," stated Vitran President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Gaetz.
"With a strong balance sheet including almost $15 million of cash on hand and $28.4 million of availability under our credit line, we continue to actively seek accretive North American LTL acquisitions that will further extend Vitran's operating footprint. In the interim, we are systematically rolling out cross-selling initiatives to the southwestern states and developing information technology and a cross-selling strategy for the newly acquired western U.S. region," Mr. Gaetz concluded.
First quarter diluted per share results are based on 12.9 million and 12.8 million diluted weighted average shares outstanding during the 2006 and 2005 three-month periods, respectively.
Segmented Results
Income from operations increased 55 percent at Vitran's LTL (less-than-truckload) segment to $5.1 million on 28 percent revenue growth in the 2006 first quarter, compared to the prior-year period. Revenue from Vitran's cross-border line of business grew 35 percent, compared to the 2005 first quarter. This strong performance resulted in a 90 basis point year-over-year improvement in the LTL segment's first quarter OR to 94.8.
The Logistics segment achieved a 41 percent increase in operating income on six percent higher revenue, resulting in a 140 basis point OR improvement to 94.5 during the 2006 first quarter, compared to the year-ago quarter. Vitran's Truckload segment reported income from operations of $410,000 during the current quarter, with an OR of 95.1.
About Vitran Corporation Inc.
Vitran Corporation Inc. is a North American group of transportation companies offering less-than-truckload, logistics, truckload, and freight brokerage services. To find out more about Vitran Corporation Inc. (NASDAQ: VTNC, TSX: VTN), visit the website at www.vitran.com.
Statements in the press release regarding management's future expectation, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. For this purpose, any statements that are contained herein that are not statements or historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes", "anticipates", "plans" "intends", "will", "should", "expects", "projects", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual result, future circumstances or events to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, economic factors, demand for the Company's services, fuel price fluctuations, the availability of employee drivers and independent contractors, risks associated with geographic expansion, capital requirements, claims exposure and insurance costs, competition, government regulation changes, environmental hazards and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's public disclosure documents or other filing with the Canadian and United States securities commissions or other securities regulatory bodies. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
(tables follow)
| Vitran Corporation Inc. | ||||
| Consolidated Balance Sheets | ||||
| (Unaudited) | ||||
| (in thousands of United States dollars, US GAAP) | ||||
| March 31, 2006 | Dec. 31, 2005 | |||
| Assets | ||||
| Current assets: | ||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 14,970 | $ | 14,592 |
Accounts receivable | 50,337 | 46,587 | ||
Inventory, deposits and prepaid expenses | 8,586 | 8,396 | ||
Future income taxes | 2,115 | 1,442 | ||
| 76,008 | 71,017 | |||
| Capital assets | 68,285 | 66,807 | ||
| Intangible assets | 2,372 | 2,456 | ||
| Goodwill | 63,155 | 61,448 | ||
| $ | 209,820 | $ | 201,728 | |
| Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity | ||||
| Current liabilities: | ||||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | $ | 49,287 | $ | 41,362 |
Income and other taxes payable | 712 | 1,124 | ||
Current portion of long-term debt | 6,408 | 5,845 | ||
| 56,407 | 48,331 | |||
| Long-term debt | 3,781 | 8,588 | ||
| Future income taxes | 6,057 | 5,007 | ||
| Shareholders' equity: | ||||
Common shares | 63,925 | 63,604 | ||
Additional paid-in capital | 1,005 | 956 | ||
Retained earnings | 75,317 | 71,553 | ||
Accumulated other comprehensive income | 3,328 | 3,689 | ||
| 143,575 | 139,802 | |||
| $ | 209,820 | $ | 201,728 | |
(Statements of Income follows) | ||||
| Vitran Corporation Inc. | ||||
| Consolidated Statements Of Income | ||||
| (Unaudited) | ||||
| (in thousands of United States dollars except per share amounts, US GAAP) | ||||
| Three months | Three months | |||
| Ended | ended | |||
| Mar. 31, 2006 | Mar. 31, 2005 | |||
| Revenue | $ | 115,127 | $ | 93,941 |
| Operating expenses | 97,121 | 80,144 | ||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | 10,743 | 8,817 | ||
| Other income | (116) | (10) | ||
| Depreciation and amortization expense | 2,407 | 1,331 | ||
| 110,155 | 90,282 | |||
| Income from operations before undernoted | 4,972 | 3,659 | ||
| Interest expense (income), net | 176 | (48) | ||
| Income from operations before income taxes | 4,796 | 3,707 | ||
| Income taxes | 1,173 | 953 | ||
| Net income before cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle | $ | 3,623 | $ | 2,754 |
| Cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle | $ | 141 | $ | -- |
| Net income | $ | 3,764 | $ | 2,754 |
| Earnings per share | ||||
Basic: | ||||
Net income before cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle | $ | 0.29 | $ | 0.22 |
Cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle | $ | 0.01 | $ | -- |
Net income | $ | 0.30 | $ | 0.22 |
Diluted: | ||||
Net income before cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle | $ | 0.28 | $ | 0.22 |
Cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle | $ | 0.01 | $ | -- |
Net income | $ | 0.29 | $ | 0.22 |
| Weighted average number of shares: | ||||
Basic | 12,652,075 | 12,411,968 | ||
Diluted | 12,934,751 | 12,754,930 | ||
(Statements of Cash Flows follows) | ||||
| Vitran Corporation Inc. | ||||
| Consolidated Statements Of Cash Flows | ||||
| (Unaudited) | ||||
| (in thousands of United States dollars, US GAAP) | ||||
| Three months | Three months | |||
| ended | ended | |||
| Mar. 31, 2006 | Mar. 31, 2005 | |||
| Cash provided by (used in): | ||||
| Operations: | ||||
Net income | $ | 3,764 | $ | 2,754 |
Items not involving cash from operations: | ||||
Depreciation and amortization expense | 2,407 | 1,331 | ||
Future income taxes | 377 | 565 | ||
Stock based compensation expense | 190 | 129 | ||
Gain on sale of fixed assets | (116) | (10) | ||
Cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle | (141) | -- | ||
Change in non-cash working capital components | 2,201 | (2,249) | ||
| 8,682 | 2,520 | |||
| Investments: | ||||
Purchase of capital assets | (1,878) | (6,222) | ||
Proceeds on sale of capital assets | 170 | 14 | ||
Acquisition of subsidiary | (2,497) | -- | ||
Marketable securities | -- | 1,369 | ||
| (4,205) | (4,839) | |||
| Financing: | ||||
Revolving credit facility | (2,985) | -- | ||
Repayment of long-term debt | (1,321) | (570) | ||
Issue of Common Shares upon exercise of stock options | 321 | 17 | ||
Repurchase of Common Shares | -- | (692) | ||
| (3,985) | (1,245) | |||
| Effect of translation adjustment on cash | (114) | (46) | ||
| Increase (decrease) in cash position | 378 | (3,610) | ||
| Cash position, beginning of period | 14,592 | 7,375 | ||
| Cash position, end of period | $ | 14,970 | $ | 3,765 |
| Change in non-cash working capital components: | ||||
Accounts receivable | $ | (2,346) | $ | (3,361) |
Inventory, deposits and prepaid expenses | 188 | 324 | ||
Income and other taxes recoverable/payable | (412) | (761) | ||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 4,771 | 1,549 | ||
| $ | 2,201 | $ | (2,249) | |
(additional financial information follows) | ||||
LTL Statistical Information - U.S. and CDN Divisions
For the quarter ended
March 31, 2006
($U.S.) | U.S. LTL | Q. over Q. | ($CDN) | CDN LTL | Q. over Q. | ||
| Division | % Change |
| Division | % Change | ||
Revenue (000's) | $ | 57,321 | 34.5 | Revenue (000's) | $ | 46,072 | 12.1 |
No. of Shipments |
| 460,515 | 25.7 | No. of Shipments |
| 204,548 | 4.4 |
Weight (000's lbs) |
| 653,242 | 29.4 | Weight (000's lbs) |
| 391,134 | 2.8 |
Revenue per shipment | $ | 124.47 | 7.0 | Revenue per shipment | $ | 225.24 | 7.4 |
Revenue per CWT | $ | 8.77 | 3.8 | Revenue per CWT | $ | 11.78 | 9.1 |
Supplementary Segmented Financial Information
(000's of $U.S.)
For the quarter ended |
|
|
| For the quarter ended |
|
|
|
March 31, 2006 |
|
|
| March 31, 2005 |
|
|
|
| Revenue | Inc. from | OR% |
| Revenue | Inc. from | OR% |
|
| Operations |
|
|
| Operations |
|
LTL | 97,423 | 5,068 | 94.8 | LTL | 76,105 | 3,263 | 95.7 |
LOG | 9,412 | 514 | 94.5 | LOG | 8,876 | 364 | 95.9 |
TL | 8,292 | 410 | 95.1 | TL | 8,960 | 742 | 91.7 |
# # #