HUBG - Hub Group Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2023 Results | Benzinga

Highlights:

• Diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.97 and revenue of $1.0 billion for the quarter
• Quarterly operating income of $43 million (4.2% of revenue) driven by performance of our Logistics Segment
• Exceptionally strong balance sheet, ending the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of over $400 million
• Announced capital allocation plan, including a stock split effectuated by stock dividend, regular quarterly cash dividend, new share repurchase authorization and long-term leverage target

OAK BROOK, Ill., Oct. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) announced third quarter 2023 net income of $30 million, and diluted earnings per share of $0.97. Net income for third quarter 2022 was $87 million, or $2.61 per diluted share. Third quarter results were impacted by lower gain on sale of assets of $7.8 million (pre-tax) as compared to the prior year ($0.18 per share), increased repair and maintenance expense of $3.0 million (pre-tax) as compared to the prior year ($0.07 per share), higher medical claims expense of $1.7 million (pre-tax) as compared to the prior year ($0.04 per share) and an increase in allowance for customer receivables of $1.1 million (pre-tax) as compared to the prior year ($0.03 per share), as well as consulting and office closure costs of $1.1 million (pre-tax, or $0.03 per share).

Capital Allocation Plan

Hub Group also announced today a comprehensive growth-focused capital allocation plan designed to drive long-term value creation and shareholder returns. Key elements of the plan include:

• Continued capital expenditure investments focused on growing the Company's intermodal business, as well as technology investments to drive efficiency and support our customer value proposition
• Acquisition strategy focused on non-asset logistics businesses that provide an extension of our comprehensive service offering and build scale within our businesses
• 2:1 Stock split effectuated through a stock dividend in January 2024 designed to improve market liquidity and trading performance
• Initiation of a quarterly cash dividend program, initially set at $0.50 per share per year, which Hub Group's Board of Directors intends to begin in first quarter 2024
• New $250 million share repurchase plan, replacing the remaining availability under the current authorization
• Long-term leverage target of 0.75-1.25x net debt/EBITDA supporting this capital allocation plan, including discretionary share repurchase activity scaled by the outlook for capital expenditures and acquisitions

"Despite a very soft freight environment we are seeing the benefits of our strategy to diversify and expand into less cyclical and non-asset based services, with our Logistics Segment contributing nearly 70% of our operating income in the quarter. While profitability at our ITS Segment has been challenged, we have focused on reducing our costs and driving efficiency. We are very pleased to announce our capital allocation plan, which will allow for strong organic growth and service line diversification through acquisitions while returning capital to our shareholders. We remain focused on managing our costs and capital structure and supporting our customers with great service while investing in our core business and technology to drive success in a variety of market conditions," said Phil Yeager, Hub Group's President and Chief Executive Officer.

Third Quarter 2023 Results

Consolidated revenue for the third quarter of 2023 was $1.0 billion as compared to $1.4 billion in third quarter 2022. The decline in revenue was driven by changes in customer rates and volumes in our ITS and Logistics Segments. Purchased transportation and warehousing costs declined as compared to prior year due to lower volumes, reductions in third-party carrier costs and a higher percentage of insourced drayage. Salaries and benefits costs increased slightly relative to prior year due to $19 million of incremental expense for our drivers and warehouse employees, partially offset by an $18 million reduction in office employee compensation due to lower headcount and lower incentive compensation expense. Company driver count increased 12% as compared to the prior year, and the acquisition of TAGG added $4 million of compensation expense for the quarter. General and administrative expense decreased $10 million as compared to prior year due to lower legal and use tax expenses, and the impairment of a leased asset in the prior year. Depreciation and amortization expense increased as compared to prior year due to investments in our container and tractor fleets, as well as amortization of intangible assets related to the acquisition of TAGG. Operating income for the quarter was $43 million (4.2% of revenue) as compared to $118 million (8.7% of revenue) in the prior year. EBITDA (non-GAAP)¹ for the quarter was $88 million.

Third quarter Intermodal and Transportation Solutions ("ITS") Segment revenue was $595 million. Intermodal volume for the quarter decreased 16% as compared to prior year due to low transportation demand and an oversupply of truckload carrier capacity. Intermodal revenue declined due to volume, lower customer rates and lower accessorial revenue, and was offset by resilience of our dedicated service line. ITS operating income decreased to $13 million (2.3% of revenue) due to lower customer rates, volume and accessorials. These headwinds were partially offset by lower drayage costs, rail expenses and equipment costs. In third quarter 2023 we increased the portion of drayage handled on our own fleet to 78% as compared to 62% in the prior year.

Third quarter Logistics Segment revenue was $460 million, as compared to $525 million in the prior year. The decline in revenue was driven by lower revenue per load in our brokerage service line, partially offset by performance of our managed transportation, consolidation and final mile service lines, as well as contribution from our fulfillment business. Brokerage volumes were up 5% as compared to the prior year. Third quarter operating income was 6.3% of revenue as compared to 5.9% last year. Operating income was $29 million as compared to $31 million last year, as lower revenue was partially offset by lower purchased transportation costs and our yield management initiatives.

Capital expenditures for the third quarter of 2023 totaled $40 million. As of September 30, 2023, we had cash and cash equivalents of $401 million.

2023 Outlook

We expect our 2023 diluted earnings per share will range from $5.30 to $5.40. We estimate revenue will be approximately $4.2 billion. We project our effective tax rate for the year will be approximately 20%. We expect capital expenditures for containers, tractors, warehousing equipment and technology will range from $140 to $150 million.

Non-GAAP Financial Measure

In this press release, we present EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure of profitability defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. As required by the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), we have provided herein a reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure to Net Income, the most directly comparable measure under GAAP. Management believes that EBITDA provides relevant and useful information, which is used by our management as well as by many analysts, investors and competitors in our industry. By providing this non-GAAP measure, management intends to provide investors with a meaningful, consistent comparison of the Company's profitability for the periods presented. EBITDA should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative to or substitute for, measures determined in accordance with GAAP, and is not necessarily comparable to non-GAAP measures that may be presented by other companies.

CONFERENCE CALL

Hub Group, Inc. will hold a conference call at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 26, 2023 to discuss our third quarter 2023 results.

Hosting the conference call will be Phil Yeager, President and CEO. Also participating on the call will be Brian Alexander, Chief Operating Officer, and Geoff DeMartino, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer.

This call is being webcast and can be accessed through the Investors link on Hub Group's web site at www.hubgroup.com. The webcast is listen-only. Those interested in participating in the question and answer session should follow the telephone dial-in instructions below.

To participate in the conference call by telephone, please pre-register at

https://register.vevent.com/register/BI5bbce1927fe04ba4bb0a27bed6a406e1

to receive the dial-in number and unique PIN. On the day of the call, dial in approximately ten minutes prior to the scheduled call time and enter the unique participant PIN received during registration. The call will be limited to 60 minutes, including questions and answers. An audio replay will be available through the Investors link on the Company's web site at www.hubgroup.com. This replay will be available for 30 days.

CERTAIN FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, provided pursuant to the safe harbor established under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that might cause the actual performance of Hub Group to differ materially from those expressed or implied by this discussion and, therefore, should be viewed with caution. Further information on the risks that may affect Hub Group's business is included in filings it makes with the SEC from time to time, including those discussed under the "Risk Factors" section in Hub Group's most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and subsequent filings. Hub Group assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.

SOURCE:  Hub Group, Inc.

CONTACT: Geoff DeMartino of Hub Group, Inc., +1-630-271-3623

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