ODFL - Old Dominion Freight Line gains as improved operating ratio helps earnings beat

• Old Dominion Freight Line ( NASDAQ: ODFL ) reported mixed results for third quarter on Wednesday.
• The North-Carolina based trucking company's revenue rose 14.3% to $1.6B primarily driven by 17.4% increase in less-than-truckload (LTL) revenue per hundredweight, which more than offset the 2.6% decrease in volumes. However, the top-line figure missed consensus estimate by $20M .
• LTL revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharges, increased 7.2% despite freight mix changes that generally had the effect of reducing this metric, report.
• Operating income rose 29.4% year-over-year to $496.08M.
• Operating ratio for the quarter improved to 69.1% from 72.6% in prior-year quarter.
• The company told these results include one-time reduction in salaries, wages and benefit expense of $15.8M related to employment termination with the executive chairman. It helped ODFL offset the increase in the cost of diesel fuel and other petroleum-based products during the quarter.
• "Our salaries, wages and benefit costs as a percent of revenue improved to 42.1% from 46.4% in the third quarter of 2021, and our purchased transportation costs improved 160 basis points to 2.1% of revenue.......The improvement in yield reflects our long-term strategy of obtaining consistent increases to offset our cost inflation while also supporting our ongoing investments in capacity....." the company said.
• GAAP EPS of $3.36 beat by $0.28.
• Net cash provided by operating activities was $514.2M and Capex was $181.7M.
• Guidance: The company expects its aggregate capital expenditures for 2022 to total approximately $720 million, including planned expenditures of $300 million for real estate and service center expansion projects; $350 million for tractors and trailers; and $70 million for information technology and other assets.
• ODFL shares are up 1.5% on Wednesday to trade at $277.39 vs. 52-week trading range of $231.31-$373.58 .

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