Wednesday, Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (ODFL), a less-than-truckload motor carrier, reported a fall in second quarter earnings from a year ago, hurt by a decline in tonnage and fuel surcharges. Earnings missed market estimate by a penny.
The Thomasville, North Carolina-based company's second-quarter net income decreased to $10.72 million or $0.29 per share from $23.88 million $0.64 per share in the prior-year quarter. On average, twelve analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.30 per share for the quarter.
Quarterly revenues dipped 24.3% to $316.18 million from $417.84 million a year ago, and came in below Street estimate of $329.72 million.
Earl Congdon, executive chairman of Old Dominion, said, "The decline in our second quarter revenue was attributable to a decline in our tonnage, consistent with the overall LTL industry, and a reduction in our fuel surcharges that resulted from the decrease in the price of diesel fuel."
Congdon added that tonnage decreased 14.6% for the quarter, compared to the same period a year ago, some of which may have resulted from pricing decisions.
For the first half, the company posted net income of $14.7 million or $0.39 per share, down from $34.3 million or $0.92 per share recorded for the first six months of 2008. Revenue slipped to $611.3 million from $786.0 million a year ago.
Looking ahead, Congdon said as the company enters the second half of the year, it intends to redouble its efforts, as there is little visibility to near-term improvement in industry conditions.
ODFL is trading at $32.84, down $0.36 or 1.08%, on a volume of about 74 thousand shares.
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