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Feb 10,2021

Werner Reports Net Income Increased 25% to $60.6M for Q4

The Omaha, Neb.-based freight carrier and logistics company posted net income of $60.6 million, or 88 cents a diluted share, for the three months ending Dec. 31. That represents a 25% increase from $48.5 million, 70 cents, during the same time the previous year. Revenue slipped to $620.3 million from $621.8 million. The results surpassed expectations by investment analysts on Wall Street, which had been looking for 78 cents per share and revenue of $611.80 million, according to Zacks Consensus Estimate “Werner produced strong results in the fourth quarter by safely delivering superior on-time service to our customers,” CEO Derek Leathers said in a statement. “I have never been more proud of our Werner team. Their resilience, tenacity and perseverance in 2020 enabled us to overcome significant obstacles and challenges.” For the full year, Werner Enterprises reported net income of $169.1 million, $2.44, on revenue of $2.37 billion compared with net income of $166.9 million, $2.38, on revenue of $2.46 billion in 2019. Leathers added that he is confident that his company is well positioned to be successful in 2021. He noted having a newer fleet and the high performance delivered by associates has differentiated service levels while efficiently managing controllable costs. “The driver market remains challenging, which should limit growth in truckload industry capacity at a time when we expect demand to be strong due to our customers’ low inventory levels,” Leathers said. “Werner is poised to achieve sustainable performance improvement going forward.” What if you could prevent accidents and driver turnover before they happen? In this episode, host Seth Clevenger speaks with two technology CEOs to discuss how machine learning can enable better business decisions and a more proactive stance on safety. Hear a snippet, above, and get the full program by going to RoadSigns.TTNews.com. The truckload transportation services segment reported quarterly revenue decreased 2% to $475 million from $486.6 million during the same time last year. Operating income for the segment increased 33% to $78.6 million from $59.2 million during the prior-year quarter. Werner said that the dedicated fleet portion of its truckload segment saw freight demand remain strong during the quarter. The company added 230 trucks to the dedicated fleet. The one-way truckload freight demand was also strong. The company credited the strong demand in part to the peak holiday shopping season starting earlier than normal and continuing through December. Logistics segment revenue increased 8% to $130.1 million for the quarter from $120.1 million during the same period in 2019. Operating income for the segment decreased 22% to $2.6 million from $3.4 million during the prior-year quarter. The gross margin percentage for the logistics segment decreased due to a large rise in spot truckload rates in the second half of 2020. That significantly increased the cost of capacity for contractual brokerage shipments in fourth quarter. Improving customer rates for contractual brokerage shipments, the gross margin percentage and operating margin percentage both improved sequentially from third and fourth quarters. Werner Enterprises has more than 7,800 tractors, 24,000 trailers and about 13,000 employees and independent contractors. The company provides service throughout North America, Asia, Europe, South America, Africa and Australia.