CONTACT: | ||
Richard Gaetz, President/CEO Sean Washchuk, VP Finance/CFO Vitran Corporation Inc. 416/596-7664 | Robert Rinderman Jaffoni & Collins Incorporated 212/835-8500 or VTNC@jcir.com |
VITRAN REPORTS RECORD DILUTED EPS OF $0.42 IN 2005 Q3
ON 20 PERCENT INCREASE IN REVENUE
- Earnings Increase Streak Continues at 16 Straight Quarters -
TORONTO, ONTARIO (October 20, 2005) – Vitran Corporation Inc. (NASDAQ: VTNC, TSX: VTN), a North American transportation and logistics firm, today announced record quarterly financial results for the 2005 third quarter ended September 30, 2005 (all figures reported in $U.S.).
For the quarter, Vitran posted all-time records for net income of $5.4 million, earnings per diluted share of $0.42 and revenue of $116.2 million. In the comparable three-month period in the prior year, Vitran recorded net income of $4.5 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, on revenue of $97.0 million.
Vitran President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Gaetz, stated, “With the first full quarter following the closing of our Chris Truck Line (CTL) acquisition, we are delighted to report another period of record operating results, our 16th consecutive quarter with year-over-year earnings improvement. Importantly, CTL met our expectations and contributed to our improved LTL segment operating ratio.
“Although Vitran’s 2005 Q3 results were an all-time record, our reported results for the quarter would have been even better had it not been for the negative impact of both a prolonged strike at the Port of Vancouver, that was eventually resolved in mid-August, and two third quarter accidents that took place at our Truckload Segment.”
At September 30, 2005, the Company had $10.9 million in cash on hand and an additional $24.6 million of available credit as it continues to seek additional accretive acquisitions in the U.S. that will further expand Vitran’s growing North American presence.
For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2005, Vitran achieved net income of $12.9 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, on revenue of $315.2 million. In the year earlier period, the Company reported net income of $10.6 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, on revenue of $278.1 million.
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Segmented Results
Income from operations at Vitran’s LTL (less-than-truckload) segment rose 31 percent during the 2005 third quarter to $7.7 million, led by a 27 percent revenue increase at the U.S. LTL business unit – buoyed by the CTL acquisition – and eight percent higher revenue from the Canadian business unit. The LTL segment’s consolidated OR (operating ratio) improved 50 basis points to 92.0, compared to 92.5 in the year-ago quarter. During the period, yields continued to show improvement at both the U.S. and Canadian LTL units. Vitran’s U.S. LTL business unit achieved an eight percent increase in revenue per shipment, and a 10 percent quarter over prior year quarter improvement in revenue per hundredweight. Its Canadian LTL business unit posted a 15 percent increase in revenue per shipment and revenue per hundredweight rose approximately 10 percent.
Vitran’s Logistics segment recorded 49 percent higher income from operations and an OR improvement to 94.8 in the 2005 third quarter, versus 95.9 in the prior year quarter. The Truckload segment had operating income of $0.4 million on revenue of $8.9 million during the three-month period.
Guidance Update
Vitran management maintained its 2005 diluted earnings per share guidance of $1.35 to $1.47.
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
(in thousands of United States dollars)
Sept. 30, 2005 | Dec. 31, 2004 | |||||||
Assets | (Unaudited) | |||||||
Current assets: | ||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 10,809 | $ | 7,375 | ||||
Marketable securities | — | 33,087 | ||||||
Accounts receivable | 52,885 | 40,124 | ||||||
Inventory, deposits and prepaid expenses | 7,354 | 5,924 | ||||||
Future income tax assets | 1,675 | 3,667 | ||||||
72,723 | 90,177 | |||||||
Capital assets | 63,683 | 37,563 | ||||||
Goodwill | 63,990 | 45,304 | ||||||
$ | 200,396 | $ | 173,044 | |||||
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity | ||||||||
Current liabilities: | ||||||||
Accounts payable & accrued liabilities | $ | 42,333 | $ | 33,377 | ||||
Income and other taxes payable | 750 | 2,399 | ||||||
Current portion of long-term debt | 5,283 | 3,030 | ||||||
48,366 | 38,806 | |||||||
Long-term debt | 12,622 | 11,507 | ||||||
Future income tax liabilities | 4,847 | 3,546 | ||||||
Shareholders’ equity: | ||||||||
Common shares | 63,361 | 60,798 | ||||||
Contributed surplus | 797 | 323 | ||||||
Retained earnings | 67,298 | 54,972 | ||||||
Cumulative translation adjustment | 3,105 | 3,092 | ||||||
134,561 | 119,185 | |||||||
$ | 200,396 | $ | 173,044 | |||||
(Statements of Income follows)
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VITRAN CORPORATION INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(unaudited)
(in thousands of $U.S., except share and per share amounts)
Three Months | Three Months | Nine Months | Nine Months | |||||||||||||
Ended September 30, | Ended September 30, | Ended September 30, | Ended September 30, | |||||||||||||
2005 | 2004 | 2005 | 2004 | |||||||||||||
Revenues | $ | 116,226 | $ | 96,995 | $ | 315,217 | $ | 278,072 | ||||||||
Operating expenses | 96,061 | 82,269 | 262,947 | 236,508 | ||||||||||||
Selling, general and administrative | ||||||||||||||||
expenses | 10,399 | 7,267 | 29,011 | 23,631 | ||||||||||||
Other income | -6 | -29 | -33 | -142 | ||||||||||||
106,454 | 89,507 | 291,925 | 259,997 | |||||||||||||
Income from operations before | ||||||||||||||||
depreciation | 9,772 | 7,488 | 23,292 | 18,075 | ||||||||||||
Depreciation expense | 1,954 | 1,295 | 4,802 | 3,835 | ||||||||||||
Income from operations before undernoted | 7,818 | 6,193 | 18,490 | 14,240 | ||||||||||||
Interest expense, net | 171 | 7 | 209 | 87 | ||||||||||||
Income from operations before income taxes | 7,647 | 6,186 | 18,281 | 14,153 | ||||||||||||
Income taxes | 2,271 | 1,644 | 5,355 | 3,575 | ||||||||||||
Net income | $ | 5,376 | $ | 4,542 | $ | 12,926 | $ | 10,578 | ||||||||
Earnings per share: | ||||||||||||||||
Basic | $ | 0.43 | $ | 0.37 | $ | 1.04 | $ | 0.86 | ||||||||
Diluted | $ | 0.42 | $ | 0.36 | $ | 1.01 | $ | 0.83 | ||||||||
Weighted average number of shares | ||||||||||||||||
Basic | 12,584,358 | 12,339,956 | 12,481,840 | 12,241,013 | ||||||||||||
Diluted | 12,921,695 | 12,774,744 | 12,819,872 | 12,730,065 | ||||||||||||
(Statement of Cash Flows follows)
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VITRAN CORPORATION INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(unaudited)
(In thousands of United States dollars)
Three months | Three months | Nine months | Nine months | |||||||||||||
Ended | Ended | Ended | Ended | |||||||||||||
Sept. 30, 2005 | Sept. 30, 2004 | Sept. 30, 2005 | Sept. 30, 2004 | |||||||||||||
Cash provided by (used in): | ||||||||||||||||
Operations: | ||||||||||||||||
Net income | $ | 5,376 | $ | 4,542 | $ | 12,926 | $ | 10,578 | ||||||||
Items not involving cash from operations: | ||||||||||||||||
Depreciation expense | 1,954 | 1,295 | 4,802 | 3,835 | ||||||||||||
Future income taxes | 2,030 | 1,726 | 2,677 | 1,557 | ||||||||||||
Stock based compensation expense | 181 | 119 | 474 | 177 | ||||||||||||
Gain on sale of capital assets | (6 | ) | (29 | ) | (33 | ) | (142 | ) | ||||||||
9,535 | 7,653 | 20,846 | 16,005 | |||||||||||||
Change in non-cash working capital components | (3,961 | ) | (480 | ) | (6,658 | ) | (7,221 | ) | ||||||||
5,574 | 7,173 | 14,188 | 8,784 | |||||||||||||
Investing: | ||||||||||||||||
Purchase of capital assets | (10,806 | ) | (915 | ) | (17,651 | ) | (3,993 | ) | ||||||||
Proceeds on sale of capital assets | 50 | 28 | 88 | 242 | ||||||||||||
(28,192 | ) | |||||||||||||||
Acquisition of subsidiary | (1,693 | ) | — | — | — | |||||||||||
Marketable securities | 3,193 | (148 | ) | 31,974 | (439 | ) | ||||||||||
(9,256 | ) | (1,035 | ) | (13,781 | ) | (4,190 | ) | |||||||||
Financing: | ||||||||||||||||
Revolving credit facility | 5,074 | — | 5,074 | — | ||||||||||||
Repayment of long-term debt | (570 | ) | (2,169 | ) | (1,710 | ) | (6,146 | ) | ||||||||
Issue of Common Shares upon exercise of stock options | 18 | 503 | 60 | 1,402 | ||||||||||||
Repurchase of Common Shares | (65 | ) | — | (921 | ) | — | ||||||||||
4,457 | (1,666 | ) | 2,503 | (4,744 | ) | |||||||||||
Effect of translation adjustment on cash | 498 | 63 | 524 | 229 | ||||||||||||
Increase (decrease) in cash position | 1,273 | 4,535 | 3,434 | 79 | ||||||||||||
Cash position, beginning of period | 9,536 | 7,961 | 7,375 | 12,417 | ||||||||||||
Cash position, end of period | $ | 10,809 | $ | 12,496 | $ | 10,809 | $ | 12,496 | ||||||||
Change in non-cash working capital components: | ||||||||||||||||
Accounts receivable | $ | (5,886 | ) | $ | (2,343 | ) | $ | (9,717 | ) | $ | (9,179 | ) | ||||
Inventory, deposits and prepaid expenses | 534 | (1,077 | ) | (921 | ) | (393 | ) | |||||||||
Income and other taxes recoverable/payable | (1,565 | ) | (1,019 | ) | (1,649 | ) | (1,078 | ) | ||||||||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 2,956 | 3,959 | 5,629 | 3,429 | ||||||||||||
$ | (3,961 | ) | $ | (480 | ) | $ | (6,658 | ) | $ | (7,221 | ) | |||||
(additional financial information follows)
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LTL Statistical Information — U.S. and CDN Divisions
For the quarter ended September 30, 2005 |
U.S. LTL | Q. over Q. | CDN LTL | Q. over Q. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
($U.S.) Division | % Change ($CDN) | Division | % Change | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Revenue (000’s) | $ | 56,824 | 26.7 | Revenue (000's) | $ | 47,350 | 7.6 | ||||||||||||||||||
No. of Shipments | 459,192 | 17.3 | No. of Shipments | 221,415 | (6.4 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Weight (000’s lbs) | 640,602 | 14.9 | Weight (000's lbs) | 434,082 | (1.9 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Revenue per shipment | $ | 123.76 | 8.0 | Revenue per shipment | $ | 213.85 | 15.0 | ||||||||||||||||||
Revenue per CWT | $ | 8.87 | 10.2 | Revenue per CWT | $ | 10.91 | 9.6 | ||||||||||||||||||
For the nine months ended | ||||||||||||||||||||
September 30,2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. LTL | Yr. over Yr. | CDN LTL | Yr. over Yr. | |||||||||||||||||
($U.S.) | Division | % Change | ($CDN) | Division | % Change | |||||||||||||||
Revenue (000’s) | $ | 149,460 | 15.1 | Revenue (000's) | $ | 133,808 | 6.1 | |||||||||||||
No. of Shipments | 1,250,312 | 9.6 | No. of Shipments | 645,642 | (6.4 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Weight (000’s lbs) | 1,743,199 | 5.8 | Weight (000's lbs) | 1,260,687 | (4.5 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Revenue per shipment | $ | 119.54 | 5.1 | Revenue per shipment | $ | 207.25 | 13.4 | |||||||||||||
Revenue per CWT | $ | 8.62 | 8.8 | Revenue per CWT | $ | 10.61 | 11.1 | |||||||||||||
Supplementary Segmented Financial Information
(000’s of $U.S.)
For the quarter | For the quarter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ended September 30, | ended September 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005 | 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Revenue | Inc. from | OR% | Revenue | Inc. from | OR% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
— | Operations | — | — | Operations | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
LTL | 96,658 | 7,734 | 92.0 | LTL | 78,727 | 5,895 | 92.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
LOG | 10,652 | 551 | 94.8 | LOG | 8,936 | 370 | 95.9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
TL | 8,916 | 441 | 95.1 | TL | 9,332 | 565 | 93.9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
For the nine | For the nine months | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
months ended Sept. | ended Sept. 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
30, 2005 | 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Revenue | Inc. from | OR% | Revenue | Inc. from | OR% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
— | Operations | — | — | Operations | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
LTL | 259,191 | 17,620 | 93.2 | LTL | 224,943 | 13,459 | 94.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
LOG | 29,144 | 1,531 | 94.7 | LOG | 25,872 | 1,142 | 95.6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
TL | 26,882 | 1,901 | 92.9 | TL | 27,527 | 1,500 | 94.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
# # #
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