JACKSONVILLE, Fla., July 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) reported diluted earnings per share of $0.89 on record second quarter revenue of $870 million in the 2017 second quarter. Landstar reported diluted earnings per share of $0.76 on revenue of $775 million in the 2016 second quarter. Gross profit (defined as revenue less the cost of purchased transportation and commissions to agents) was a second quarter record of $132.6 million in the 2017 second quarter compared to $121.0 million in the 2016 second quarter. Operating margin, representing operating income divided by gross profit, was 46.0 percent in the 2017 second quarter.
Truck transportation revenue hauled by independent business capacity owners (“BCOs”) and truck brokerage carriers in the 2017 second quarter was $815.6 million, or 94 percent of revenue, compared to $718.5 million, or 93 percent of revenue, in the 2016 second quarter. Truckload transportation revenue hauled via van equipment in the 2017 second quarter was $509.1 million compared to $458.0 million in the 2016 second quarter. Truckload transportation revenue hauled via unsided/platform equipment in the 2017 second quarter was $283.5 million compared to $242.0 million in the 2016 second quarter. Revenue hauled by rail, air and ocean cargo carriers was $43.1 million, or 5 percent of revenue, in the 2017 second quarter compared to $45.1 million, or 6 percent of revenue, in the 2016 second quarter.
Trailing twelve-month return on average shareholders’ equity was 27 percent and trailing twelve-month return on invested capital, net income divided by the sum of average equity plus average debt, was 22 percent. Currently, there are approximately 1,036,000 shares of the Company’s common stock available for purchase under Landstar’s authorized share purchase program. As of July 1, 2017, the Company had $273 million in cash and short term investments and $214 million available for borrowings under the Company’s senior credit facility.
In addition, Landstar announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share payable on September 1, 2017, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 14, 2017. This quarterly dividend includes an 11 percent increase to the amount of the Company’s quarterly dividend declared following each of the prior four quarters. It is currently the intention of the Board to pay dividends on a quarterly basis going forward.
Commenting on Landstar’s 2017 second quarter, Landstar’s President and CEO Jim Gattoni said, “I am very pleased with Landstar’s performance in the 2017 second quarter. On April 26th, we provided second quarter revenue guidance of $820 million to $870 million and second quarter diluted earnings per share guidance of $0.84 to $0.89. Revenue and diluted earnings per share for the 2017 second quarter both came in at the top end of guidance. Revenue of $870 million was a second quarter record and represented growth of 12 percent over the 2016 second quarter. Diluted earnings per share of $0.89 grew 17 percent over the 2016 second quarter.”
Gattoni continued, “The number of loads hauled via truck in the 2017 second quarter increased 10 percent over the 2016 second quarter, driven by a 10 percent increase in the number of loads hauled via van equipment, an 8 percent increase in the number of loads hauled via unsided/platform equipment and a 20 percent increase in less-than-truckload volume. The number of loads hauled via truck in the second quarter of 2017 was a second quarter record. The number of loads hauled via railroads, ocean cargo carriers and air cargo carriers was 5 percent lower in the 2017 second quarter compared to the 2016 second quarter, due to continued softness in rail intermodal volume.”
Gattoni further commented, “As expected, the pricing environment for our truckload services continued to show slow improvement in the 2017 second quarter, as industry-wide truck capacity is firming in certain regions, especially with respect to flatbed loads. As a result, revenue per load on loads hauled via truck was 3 percent higher in the 2017 second quarter compared to the 2016 second quarter. The percentage change in year-over-year revenue per load on loads hauled via truck was consistent each month during the quarter. 2017 second quarter operating margin was 46.0 percent, in line with our historical second quarter operating margin.”
Gattoni continued, “Historically, revenue in the Company’s third fiscal quarter has been relatively consistent with revenue generated in the Company’s second fiscal quarter. We typically have experienced revenue per load on loads hauled via truck in the Company’s third quarter as slightly ahead of the second quarter while the number of loads hauled via truck in the third quarter as slightly below the second quarter. Through the first few weeks of July, we have experienced the normal seasonal uptick in revenue per load on loads hauled via truck. Also, the number of loads hauled via truck during the first few weeks of July is trending with the historical second quarter to third quarter pattern. As such, I expect 2017 third quarter revenue to be similar to the Company’s 2017 second quarter revenue. Assuming insurance and claims costs in the 2017 third quarter are approximately 3.3 percent of BCO revenue, representing average insurance and claims costs as a percent of BCO revenue over the past 5 years, I would expect diluted earnings per share to be in a range of $0.88 to $0.93 in the 2017 third quarter.”
Landstar will provide a live webcast of its quarterly earnings conference call tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. ET. To access the webcast, visit the Company’s website at www.landstar.com; click on “Investor Relations” and “Webcasts,” then click on “Landstar’s Second Quarter 2017 Earnings Release Conference Call.”
This earnings announcement, as well as an accompanying slide presentation, is available through the Company’s website at http://investor.landstar.com under “Presentations” and on a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The following is a “safe harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements contained in this press release that are not based on historical facts are “forward-looking statements”. This press release contains forward-looking statements, such as statements which relate to Landstar’s business objectives, plans, strategies and expectations. Terms such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “intention,” “expects,” “plans,” “predicts,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “will,” the negative thereof and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are by nature subject to uncertainties and risks, including but not limited to: an increase in the frequency or severity of accidents or other claims; unfavorable development of existing accident claims; dependence on third party insurance companies; dependence on independent commission sales agents; dependence on third party capacity providers; decreased demand for transportation services; U.S. foreign trade relationships; substantial industry competition; disruptions or failures in the Company’s computer systems; cyber and other information security incidents; dependence on key vendors; changes in fuel taxes; status of independent contractors; regulatory and legislative changes; regulations focused on diesel emissions and other air quality matters; catastrophic loss of a Company facility; intellectual property; unclaimed property; and other operational, financial or legal risks or uncertainties detailed in Landstar’s Form 10K for the 2016 fiscal year, described in Item 1A Risk Factors, and in other SEC filings from time to time. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results or events to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated. Investors should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
About Landstar:
Landstar System, Inc. is a worldwide, asset-light provider of integrated transportation management solutions delivering safe, specialized transportation logistics services to a broad range of customers utilizing a network of agents, third-party capacity providers and employees. All Landstar transportation services companies are certified to ISO 9001:2008 quality management system standards and RC14001:2013 environmental, health, safety and security management system standards. Landstar System, Inc. is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. Its common stock trades on The NASDAQ Stock Market® under the symbol LSTR.
(Tables follow)
| Landstar System, Inc. and Subsidiary | ||||||||||||
| Consolidated Statements of Income | ||||||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) | ||||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Twenty Six Weeks Ended | Thirteen Weeks Ended | |||||||||||
| July 1, | June 25, | July 1, | June 25, | |||||||||
| 2017 | 2016 | 2017 | 2016 | |||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 1,651,342 | $ | 1,486,867 | $ | 870,434 | $ | 775,223 | ||||
| Investment income | 1,022 | 743 | 608 | 363 | ||||||||
| Costs and expenses: | ||||||||||||
| Purchased transportation | 1,263,111 | 1,129,743 | 667,588 | 589,415 | ||||||||
| Commissions to agents | 134,080 | 123,931 | 70,282 | 64,839 | ||||||||
| Other operating costs, net of gains on asset sales/dispositions | 14,400 | 13,992 | 7,503 | 6,585 | ||||||||
| Insurance and claims | 28,406 | 30,307 | 13,893 | 16,094 | ||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 79,184 | 71,519 | 40,861 | 36,905 | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 19,831 | 17,093 | 9,897 | 8,655 | ||||||||
| Total costs and expenses | 1,539,012 | 1,386,585 | 810,024 | 722,493 | ||||||||
| Operating income | 113,352 | 101,025 | 61,018 | 53,093 | ||||||||
| Interest and debt expense | 1,902 | 1,777 | 819 | 888 | ||||||||
| Income before income taxes | 111,450 | 99,248 | 60,199 | 52,205 | ||||||||
| Income taxes | 41,557 | 37,750 | 22,689 | 19,891 | ||||||||
| Net income | $ | 69,893 | $ | 61,498 | $ | 37,510 | 32,314 | |||||
| Earnings per common share | $ | 1.67 | $ | 1.45 | $ | 0.89 | $ | 0.77 | ||||
| Diluted earnings per share | $ | 1.66 | $ | 1.45 | $ | 0.89 | $ | 0.76 | ||||
| Average number of shares outstanding: | ||||||||||||
| Earnings per common share | 41,907,000 | 42,315,000 | 41,935,000 | 42,235,000 | ||||||||
| Diluted earnings per share | 42,004,000 | 42,424,000 | 42,010,000 | 42,357,000 | ||||||||
| Dividends per common share | $ | 0.18 | $ | 0.16 | $ | 0.09 | $ | 0.08 | ||||
| Landstar System, Inc. and Subsidiary | |||||||||||||
| Consolidated Balance Sheets | |||||||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) | |||||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | |||||||||||||
| July 1, | December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2017 | 2016 | ||||||||||||
| ASSETS | |||||||||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 222,102 | $ | 178,897 | |||||||||
| Short-term investments | 51,167 | 66,560 | |||||||||||
| Trade accounts receivable, less allowance | |||||||||||||
| of $5,311 and $5,161 | 480,467 | 463,102 | |||||||||||
| Other receivables, including advances to independent | |||||||||||||
| contractors, less allowance of $6,049 and $5,523 | 20,518 | 18,567 | |||||||||||
| Other current assets | 19,291 | 10,281 | |||||||||||
| Total current assets | 793,545 | 737,407 | |||||||||||
| Operating property, less accumulated depreciation | |||||||||||||
| and amortization of $202,050 and $190,374 | 259,346 | 272,843 | |||||||||||
| Goodwill | 31,134 | 31,134 | |||||||||||
| Other assets | 75,249 | 55,207 | |||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | 1,159,274 | $ | 1,096,591 | |||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY | |||||||||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||||||||
| Cash overdraft | $ | 34,145 | $ | 36,251 | |||||||||
| Accounts payable | 224,928 | 219,409 | |||||||||||
| Current maturities of long-term debt | 41,356 | 45,047 | |||||||||||
| Insurance claims | 29,077 | 26,121 | |||||||||||
| Other current liabilities | 56,998 | 53,483 | |||||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 386,504 | 380,311 | |||||||||||
| Long-term debt, excluding current maturities | 77,639 | 93,257 | |||||||||||
| Insurance claims | 30,402 | 26,883 | |||||||||||
| Deferred income taxes and other non-current liabilities | 55,239 | 53,583 | |||||||||||
| Shareholders' equity: | |||||||||||||
| Common stock, $0.01 par value, authorized 160,000,000 | |||||||||||||
| shares, issued 67,696,487 and 67,585,675 shares | 677 | 676 | |||||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 203,410 | 199,414 | |||||||||||
| Retained earnings | 1,575,342 | 1,512,993 | |||||||||||
| Cost of 25,749,493 and 25,747,541 shares of common | |||||||||||||
| stock in treasury | (1,167,600 | ) | (1,167,437 | ) | |||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (2,339 | ) | (3,089 | ) | |||||||||
| Total shareholders' equity | 609,490 | 542,557 | |||||||||||
| Total liabilities and shareholders' equity | $ | 1,159,274 | $ | 1,096,591 | |||||||||
| Landstar System, Inc. and Subsidiary | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Supplemental Information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Twenty Six Weeks Ended | Thirteen Weeks Ended | |||||||||||||||||||
| July 1, | June 25, | July 1, | June 25, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 2016 | 2017 | 2016 | |||||||||||||||||
| Revenue generated through (in thousands): | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Truck transportation | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Truckload: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Van equipment | $ | 978,918 | $ | 886,195 | $ | 509,135 | $ | 458,002 | ||||||||||||
| Unsided/platform equipment | 520,658 | 451,430 | 283,481 | 242,008 | ||||||||||||||||
| Less-than-truckload | 42,799 | 35,927 | 22,942 | 18,450 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total truck transportation | 1,542,375 | 1,373,552 | 815,558 | 718,460 | ||||||||||||||||
| Rail intermodal | 44,357 | 52,337 | 21,515 | 26,229 | ||||||||||||||||
| Ocean and air cargo carriers | 41,185 | 37,710 | 21,595 | 18,902 | ||||||||||||||||
| Other (1) | 23,425 | 23,268 | 11,766 | 11,632 | ||||||||||||||||
| $ | 1,651,342 | $ | 1,486,867 | $ | 870,434 | $ | 775,223 | |||||||||||||
| Revenue on loads hauled via BCO Independent Contractors (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| included in total truck transportation | $ | 776,085 | $ | 707,652 | $ | 411,177 | $ | 373,374 | ||||||||||||
| Number of loads: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Truck transportation | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Truckload: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Van equipment | 613,565 | 556,119 | 315,499 | 287,079 | ||||||||||||||||
| Unsided/platform equipment | 236,427 | 219,034 | 125,242 | 116,292 | ||||||||||||||||
| Less-than-truckload | 64,508 | 55,727 | 34,589 | 28,829 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total truck transportation | 914,500 | 830,880 | 475,330 | 432,200 | ||||||||||||||||
| Rail intermodal | 20,960 | 24,180 | 10,310 | 12,150 | ||||||||||||||||
| Ocean and air cargo carriers | 11,940 | 9,780 | 6,210 | 5,220 | ||||||||||||||||
| 947,400 | 864,840 | 491,850 | 449,570 | |||||||||||||||||
| Loads hauled via BCO Independent Contractors (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| included in total truck transportation | 453,860 | 414,660 | 235,630 | 216,990 | ||||||||||||||||
| Revenue per load: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Truck transportation | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Truckload: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Van equipment | $ | 1,595 | $ | 1,594 | $ | 1,614 | $ | 1,595 | ||||||||||||
| Unsided/platform equipment | 2,202 | 2,061 | 2,263 | 2,081 | ||||||||||||||||
| Less-than-truckload | 663 | 645 | 663 | 640 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total truck transportation | 1,687 | 1,653 | 1,716 | 1,662 | ||||||||||||||||
| Rail intermodal | 2,116 | 2,164 | 2,087 | 2,159 | ||||||||||||||||
| Ocean and air cargo carriers | 3,449 | 3,856 | 3,477 | 3,621 | ||||||||||||||||
| Revenue per load on loads hauled via BCO Independent Contractors (2) | $ | 1,710 | $ | 1,707 | $ | 1,745 | $ | 1,721 | ||||||||||||
| Revenue by capacity type (as a % of total revenue); | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Truck capacity providers: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| BCO Independent Contractors (2) | 47 | % | 48 | % | 47 | % | 48 | % | ||||||||||||
| Truck Brokerage Carriers | 46 | % | 45 | % | 46 | % | 45 | % | ||||||||||||
| Rail intermodal | 3 | % | 4 | % | 2 | % | 3 | % | ||||||||||||
| Ocean and air cargo carriers | 2 | % | 3 | % | 2 | % | 2 | % | ||||||||||||
| Other | 1 | % | 2 | % | 1 | % | 2 | % | ||||||||||||
| July 1, | June 25, | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Truck Capacity Providers | ||||||||||||||||||||
| BCO Independent Contractors (2) | 8,818 | 8,856 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Truck Brokerage Carriers: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Approved and active (3) | 31,636 | 30,137 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other approved | 15,381 | 15,594 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 47,017 | 45,731 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total available truck capacity providers | 55,835 | 54,587 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Trucks provided by BCO Independent Contractors (2) | 9,404 | 9,462 | ||||||||||||||||||
| (1) Includes primarily reinsurance premium revenue generated by the insurance segment. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (2) BCO Independent Contractors are independent contractors who provide truck capacity to the Company under exclusive lease arrangements. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (3) Active refers to Truck Brokerage Carriers who moved at least one load in the 180 days immediately preceding the fiscal quarter end. | ||||||||||||||||||||