USA Truck, Inc. Announces Operating Results
VAN BUREN, Ark.--April 17, 2002--USA Truck, Inc. today announced operating revenues, before fuel surcharge, of $61,645,445 for the quarter ended March 31, 2002, an increase of 5.8% from $58,287,471 for the same quarter of 2001. Net income increased to $73,853 for the first quarter of 2002, compared to net loss of $404,910 for the first quarter of 2001. Fully diluted net income per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2002 was $.01 compared to a net loss per share of $.04 for the same quarter in 2001.
The following table summarizes the earnings information of USA
Truck, Inc. ("the Company"):
Quarter Ended
March 31,
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2002 2001
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Revenue:
Revenue, before fuel surcharge $61,645,445 $58,287,471
Fuel surcharge 196,710 2,620,903
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Total revenue 61,842,155 60,908,374
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Operating expenses and costs:
Salaries, wages and employee benefits 26,675,988 26,307,339
Operations and maintenance 20,105,601 20,060,361
Operating taxes and licenses 1,020,109 1,011,831
Insurance and claims 3,683,117 3,070,015
Communications and utilities 696,923 684,539
Depreciation and amortization 6,622,782 6,726,050
Other 2,071,127 2,454,788
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Total operating expenses and costs 60,875,647 60,314,923
Operating income 966,508 593,451
Other expenses, net 844,601 1,256,001
Income (loss) before income taxes 121,907 (662,550)
Income tax expense (benefit) 48,054 (257,640)
Net income (loss) $73,853 $(404,910)
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Earnings (loss) per share (diluted) $0.01 ($0.04)
Average shares outstanding (diluted) 9,333,972 9,232,087
Key Operating Statistics:
Quarter Ended
March 31,
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2002 2001
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Total miles (Loaded & Empty) 53,089,197 51,320,139
Empty mile factor 10.20% 9.69%
Revenue per mile(1) $1.161 $1.136
Average number of tractors 1,795 1,763
Miles per tractor 29,576 29,110
Average miles per tractor per week 2,347 2,274
Miles per trip 817 842
Number of shipments 58,371 55,048
Operating ratio(2) 98.4% 99.0%
(1) Revenue per mile as reported above is based upon revenue,
before fuel surcharge.
(2) Operating ratio as reported above is based upon total
operating expenses, net of fuel surcharge, as a percentage of
revenue, before fuel surcharge.
In comparing the financial results of the quarter ended March 31, 2002 to the quarter ended March 31, 2001, Robert M. Powell, Chairman and CEO of the Company, made the following statement:
We continued to press forward with our margin improvement program
in the first quarter of this year, particularly with encouraging
results in the maintenance and recruiting areas. Our focus on
maintenance costs paid dividends in the first quarter of this year
with direct fleet repair costs running 9.4% less than the same
quarter of 2001. Driver recruiting and training costs were 28.8%
lower in the first quarter of 2002 compared to the same quarter
last year, primarily due to a 26.7% reduction in driver turnover
during same periods.
However, a few key factors adversely affected our operating margin
in the first quarter of this year. Insurance premiums for
liability, cargo and workers’ compensation coverage increased
184.7% in the first quarter of 2002 compared to the same quarter
of 2001 due to a tight insurance market industry-wide, coupled
with our January 1st renewal date which fell in the wake of the
September 11th terrorist attacks. The premium increases added
approximately 0.64% to our operating costs in the first quarter of
this year compared to the same quarter of 2001. Driver wages per
mile also increased 1.9% in the first quarter of 2002 over the
same period a year ago, adding approximately 0.58% to our
operating costs for this quarter.
Management is focused on driver pay and exploring all available
opportunities to reduce the cost. We are also focusing in 2002 on
our revenue formula, consisting of utilization, rates per mile and
empty mile ratio, and have developed aggressive internal goals for
returning all three of these factors to historically better
levels. We have also developed broad plans for making these goals
a reality. We have already realized some improvement, though we
are far from our goals. During the first quarter of 2002, we
improved tractor utilization per week by 3.2% and revenue per
mile, before fuel surcharge, by 2.2% compared to the first quarter
of 2001. Empty miles, however, rose 5.3% in the first quarter of
2002 compared to the first quarter of 2001.
This press release contains forward-looking statements and information that are based on management’s current beliefs and expectations and assumptions made by it based upon information currently available. Forward-looking statements include statements relating to the Company’s plans, strategies, objectives, expectations, intentions, and adequacy of resources, may be identified by words such as "will", "could", "should", "believe", "expect", "intend", "plan", "schedule", "estimate", "project" and similar expressions. These statements are based on current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and change. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will be realized. Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties underlying such expectations materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. Among the key factors that are not within the Company’s control and that may have a direct bearing on operating results are increases in diesel prices, adverse weather conditions and the impact of increased rate competition. The Company’s results may also be significantly affected by fluctuations in general economic conditions, as the Company’s utilization rates are directly related to business levels of shippers in a variety of industries. In addition, shortages of qualified drivers and intense or increased competition for drivers may adversely impact the Company’s operating results and its ability to grow. Results for any specific period could also be affected by various unforeseen events, such as unusual levels of equipment failure or vehicle accident claims.
USA Truck is a medium haul, common and contract carrier specializing in truckload quantities of general commodities. The Company operates in the 48 contiguous United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec and in Mexico through the gateway city of Laredo, Texas.