Dan Cushman, president and CEO of PAM Transport, at his office in Tontitown: “I have to focus on what we do and do it well.”
PAM Transportation Services Inc. on Wednesday reported first-quarter net income up nearly 300 percent from the same quarter last year.
The publicly traded trucking company (Nasdaq: PTSI) reported quarterly net income of about $5.4 million, up from about $1.4 million in the same quarter last year. Diluted earnings per share was 72 cents, up from 17 cents in the same quarter last year.
In a news release, President and CEO Dan Cushman said executives were “thrilled” with first-quarter results, which he attributed to good weather and a diverse mix of customers. He also cited record first-quarter operating income of $9.1 million, up more than 200 percent from $2.1 million in the same quarter last year.
“The month of January is normally one of our less profitable months, but in this January, that was not that case. We had great miles, and weather was not as much of an issue as it was during last year’s January,” Cushman said. “Due to the nature of our customer mix, we will continue to be impacted by scheduled plant shutdowns, but the diversification achieved over recent years has given us better freight substitution capability.”
Total operating revenue was $99.5 million, up about 2 percent from $97.8 million in the same quarter last year. That includes fuel surcharge revenue of $16.8 million, down from $22.9 million in the same quarter last year amid a decline in fuel prices.
Cushman said growth in the company’s logistics business is meeting expectations. Total logistics revenue was $10.1 million, up from $5.4 million in the same quarter last year.
“This portion of our business helps accomplish our goal of providing our customers with additional solutions beyond our assets and broadens our customer base, which also provides us with additional opportunity to use our assets when presented with dedicated opportunities or softer market conditions,” Cushman said.
PAM, a truckload dry van carrier, operates throughout the continental United States, the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and in Mexico under agreements with Mexican carriers.
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