Transportation company Vitran Corporation, Inc. (VTNC,VTN.TO) on Tuesday reported a sharp decline in third-quarter net income, as sales decreased across segments. Earnings, however, topped Wall Street consensus by a penny.
The company's net income plunged to US$ 281 thousand, or US$ 0.02 per share, from US$ 2.07 million, or US$ 0.15 per share, reported last year. On average, seven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected third-quarter earnings of US$ 0.01 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Revenue for the quarter dropped to US$ 165.92 million from US$ 198.61 million in the prior year. Analysts expected quarterly revenues of US$ 170.23 million.
Vitran noted that fluctuation in fuel surcharge and foreign exchange on its Canadian operations accounted for US$ 19.4 million of the revenue decline for the just concluded quarter, compared to last year. Adjusting for the change in fuel surcharge and foreign exchange rates on Canadian dollar denominated revenue, consolidated revenue declined 6.7%.
Segment-wise, less-than-truckload, or LTL, revenues dropped to US$ 137.48 million from US$ 166.23 million reported last year. Income from operations was US$ 1.5 million, down from the previous year's US$ 3.0 million. In the comparable third quarters, shipments and tonnage declined 4.9% and 8.7%, respectively, in the LTL segment.
Logistics revenues were US$ 19.81 million, lower than US$ 23.38 million reported last year. Income from Operations rose to US$ 1.70 million from US$ 1.45 million.
Truck load revenues for the quarter slipped to US$ 8.63 million from US$ 9.00 million in the prior year. Income from Operations declined to US$ 175 thousand from US$ 308 thousand in the last year.
The company recently completed a private placement of about 2.7 million shares of common stock at the price of US$ 8.50 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of about US$ 23.0 million. The company said today that the net proceeds of the offering were used to reduce outstanding debt, bolstering the balance sheet, increasing the unused debt capacity and giving the company added flexibility to execute its operating and capital initiatives.
For the second quarter, net income was $0.44 million or US$ 0.03 per share, lower than US$ 4.58 million or US$ 0.34 per share last year. Quarterly revenue decreased to US$ 158.7 million from US$ 196.0 million last year.
For the first three quarters of the year, the company reported a net loss of US$ 1.64 million, or US$ 0.12 per share, compared to net income of US$ 7.78 million or US$ 0.57 per share in the previous year. Revenue declined to US$ 464.23 million from US$ 572.10 million reported last year.
Commenting on the third-quarter results, Vitran President and Chief Executive Officer, Rick Gaetz, said, "Our third quarter accomplishments are meaningful in a very challenging environment, particularly from a pricing and financial perspective, allowing Vitran to continue to take positive steps forward. Our daily U.S. LTL shipment count for the third quarter exceeded the second quarter, our logistics business set a quarterly record for profitability and most importantly we garnered the support of new and existing shareholders with our equity offering."
''In the short-term we posted our second successive quarter of consolidated net income but more importantly positioned the Company to financially weather the economic downturn over the long-run. Our retail focused supply chain business executed very well in the quarter, in fact, posted its all-time best profitability despite continued downward pressures on the North American retail economy. I look forward to continued commercial success in our supply chain business going forward,"Gaetz added.
VTNC closed Monday's regular trade at $8.38, down from the previous close of $8.48, on 51,400 shares.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.