J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. Reports U.S. GAAP Revenues, Net Earnings and Earnings Per Share for the First Quarter 2024
-
First Quarter 2024 Revenue:
$2.94 billion ; down 9% -
First Quarter 2024 Operating Income:
$194.4 million ; down 30% -
First Quarter 2024 EPS:
$1.22 vs.$1.89 ; down 35%
Total operating revenue for the current quarter was
Operating income for the current quarter decreased 30% to
Net interest expense for the current quarter increased approximately 6% from first quarter 2023 due to higher effective interest rates and consolidated debt balance, partially offset by higher interest income.
The effective income tax rate increased to 28.7% in the current quarter compared to 24.7% in the first quarter 2023, due to discrete tax items. We continue to expect our 2024 annual tax rate to be between 24.0% and 25.0%.
Segment Information:
Intermodal (JBI)
-
First Quarter 2024 Segment Revenue:
$1.40 billion ; down 9% -
First Quarter 2024 Operating Income:
$101.9 million ; down 40%
Intermodal volume was flat versus the same period in 2023. Transcontinental network loads increased 5%, while eastern network loads decreased 7% compared to the first quarter 2023. Overall demand for our domestic intermodal service offering in the quarter was weaker than expected, partially attributable to competition from over-the-road truck options in the eastern network, and our disciplined approach to the market for the value our services provide. Segment gross revenue decreased 9% from the prior year period, driven by a 9% decrease in segment gross revenue per load, resulting from changes in the mix of freight, customer rates, and fuel surcharge revenue. Revenue per load excluding fuel surcharge revenue was down 8% year-over-year.
Operating income decreased 40% in the first quarter primarily from lower yields. JBI segment operating income as a percentage of segment gross revenue declined versus the prior-year period as a result of increases in professional driver and non-driver wages and benefits, higher equipment and maintenance expenses, and insurance premium costs as a percentage of gross revenue. During the period we onboarded approximately 1,140 new units of container capacity. The current period ended with approximately 119,300 units of trailing capacity and approximately 6,300 power units in the dray fleet.
Dedicated Contract Services (DCS)
-
First Quarter 2024 Segment Revenue:
$860 million ; down 2% -
First Quarter 2024 Operating Income:
$93.6 million ; down 9%
DCS revenue decreased 2% during the current quarter over the same period 2023, driven by a 1% decline in average trucks combined with a 1% decline in productivity (gross revenue per truck per week). Productivity excluding fuel surcharge revenue increased 1% from a year ago driven by contracted indexed-based price escalators, partially offset by an increase in idled equipment. On a net basis, there were 71 fewer revenue producing trucks in the fleet by the end of the quarter compared to the prior-year period, and 2 more versus the end of the fourth quarter 2023. Customer retention rates are approximately 91%, largely reflecting the downsizing of fleets and to a lesser extent account losses.
Operating income decreased 9% from the prior year quarter. The decrease was primarily driven by lower revenue; increases in insurance premiums, equipment and bad debt expense; and higher new account start-up costs as compared to the prior year period. These items were partially offset by lower maintenance costs and the maturing of new business onboarded over the past trailing twelve months.
Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS)
-
First Quarter 2024 Segment Revenue:
$285 million ; down 26% -
First Quarter 2024 Operating Loss:
$(17.5) million ; vs.$(5.4) million in Q1’23
ICS revenue declined 26% during the current quarter versus the first quarter 2023. Overall segment volume decreased 22% versus the prior year period. Revenue per load decreased 5% compared to the first quarter 2023 due to lower contractual and transactional rates and changes in customer freight mix. Contractual volume represented approximately 57% of the total load volume and 59% of the total revenue in the current quarter compared to 63% and 64%, respectively, in first quarter 2023.
Operating loss was
Final Mile Services (FMS)
-
First Quarter 2024 Segment Revenue:
$229 million ; up 2% -
First Quarter 2024 Operating Income:
$15.1 million ; up 128%
FMS revenue increased 2% compared to the same period 2023. The increase was primarily driven by multiple new contracts implemented over the past year and efforts to improve the overall revenue quality of the business. These items were partially offset by general weakness in demand across many of the end markets served.
Operating income increased 128% to
Truckload (JBT)
-
First Quarter 2024 Segment Revenue:
$178 million ; down 13% -
First Quarter 2024 Operating Income:
$1.2 million ; down 75%
JBT revenue decreased 13% compared to the same period in the previous year. Revenue excluding fuel surcharge revenue decreased 13% due to a 9% decline in revenue per load excluding fuel surcharge revenue and a 5% decline in load volume. Total average effective trailer count decreased by approximately 200 units, or 2% versus the prior-year period. Trailer turns in the quarter were down 2% compared to the prior year period primarily due to changes in freight mix and weaker overall freight demand as compared to the first quarter 2023.
JBT operating income decreased 75% to
Cash Flow and Capitalization:
At
Our net capital expenditures for the first quarter 2024 approximated
In the first quarter 2024, we purchased approximately 126,000 shares of our common stock for approximately
Conference Call Information:
The company will hold a conference call today from
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which are based on information currently available. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, those discussed in Item 1A of our Annual Report filed on Form 10-K for the year ended
About J.B. Hunt
J.B. Hunt’s vision is to create the most efficient transportation network in
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||||||||||
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings | ||||||||||
(in thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
|||||||||
|
2024 |
2023 |
||||||||
|
% Of | % Of | ||||||||
|
Amount | Revenue | Amount | Revenue | ||||||
|
||||||||||
Operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenues |
$ |
2,552,486 |
|
$ |
2,731,453 |
|
||||
Fuel surcharge revenues |
|
391,515 |
|
|
498,135 |
|
||||
Total operating revenues |
|
2,944,001 |
|
100.0% |
|
3,229,588 |
|
100.0% |
||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Operating expenses |
|
|
|
|
||||||
Rents and purchased transportation |
|
1,280,987 |
|
43.5% |
|
1,467,798 |
|
45.4% |
||
Salaries, wages and employee benefits |
|
807,884 |
|
27.4% |
|
824,999 |
|
25.5% |
||
Depreciation and amortization |
|
182,996 |
|
6.2% |
|
175,812 |
|
5.4% |
||
Fuel and fuel taxes |
|
173,527 |
|
5.9% |
|
195,834 |
|
6.1% |
||
Operating supplies and expenses |
|
122,991 |
|
4.2% |
|
128,360 |
|
4.0% |
||
General and administrative expenses, net of asset dispositions |
|
76,784 |
|
2.6% |
|
60,404 |
|
1.9% |
||
Insurance and claims |
|
75,686 |
|
2.6% |
|
70,328 |
|
2.2% |
||
Operating taxes and licenses |
|
17,535 |
|
0.6% |
|
18,108 |
|
0.6% |
||
Communication and utilities |
|
11,242 |
|
0.4% |
|
10,456 |
|
0.3% |
||
Total operating expenses |
|
2,749,632 |
|
93.4% |
|
2,952,099 |
|
91.4% |
||
Operating income |
|
194,369 |
|
6.6% |
|
277,489 |
|
8.6% |
||
Net interest expense |
|
15,649 |
|
0.5% |
|
14,789 |
|
0.5% |
||
Earnings before income taxes |
|
178,720 |
|
6.1% |
|
262,700 |
|
8.1% |
||
Income taxes |
|
51,227 |
|
1.8% |
|
64,932 |
|
2.0% |
||
Net earnings |
$ |
127,493 |
|
4.3% |
$ |
197,768 |
|
6.1% |
||
Average diluted shares outstanding |
|
104,107 |
|
|
104,729 |
|
||||
Diluted earnings per share |
$ |
1.22 |
|
$ |
1.89 |
|
||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Financial Information By Segment | ||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||
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||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
|||||||||
|
2024 |
2023 |
||||||||
|
% Of | % Of | ||||||||
|
Amount | Total | Amount | Total | ||||||
|
|
|||||||||
Revenue |
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
Intermodal |
$ |
1,395,351 |
|
47% |
$ |
1,539,560 |
|
48% |
||
Dedicated |
|
860,016 |
|
29% |
|
879,143 |
|
27% |
||
Integrated Capacity Solutions |
|
285,287 |
|
10% |
|
384,774 |
|
12% |
||
Final Mile Services |
|
229,280 |
|
8% |
|
225,077 |
|
7% |
||
Truckload |
|
178,312 |
|
6% |
|
205,862 |
|
6% |
||
Subtotal |
|
2,948,246 |
|
100% |
|
3,234,416 |
|
100% |
||
Intersegment eliminations |
|
(4,245 |
) |
(0%) |
|
(4,828 |
) |
(0%) |
||
Consolidated revenue |
$ |
2,944,001 |
|
100% |
$ |
3,229,588 |
|
100% |
||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Operating income |
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Intermodal |
$ |
101,889 |
|
52% |
$ |
168,658 |
|
61% |
||
Dedicated |
|
93,649 |
|
48% |
|
102,560 |
|
37% |
||
Integrated Capacity Solutions |
|
(17,541 |
) |
(9%) |
|
(5,372 |
) |
(2%) |
||
Final Mile Services |
|
15,086 |
|
8% |
|
6,619 |
|
2% |
||
Truckload |
|
1,229 |
|
1% |
|
4,990 |
|
2% |
||
Other (1) |
|
57 |
|
0% |
|
34 |
|
0% |
||
Operating income |
$ |
194,369 |
|
100% |
$ |
277,489 |
|
100% |
||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
(1) Includes corporate support activity |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Operating Statistics by Segment | ||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
|||||||||
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||||
Intermodal |
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
Loads |
|
485,166 |
|
|
486,091 |
|
||||
Average length of haul |
|
1,689 |
|
|
1,651 |
|
||||
Revenue per load |
$ |
2,876 |
|
$ |
3,167 |
|
||||
Average tractors during the period * |
|
6,345 |
|
|
6,599 |
|
||||
Tractors (end of period) * |
|
6,312 |
|
|
6,574 |
|
||||
Trailing equipment (end of period) |
|
119,307 |
|
|
116,155 |
|
||||
Average effective trailing equipment usage |
|
96,112 |
|
|
96,306 |
|
||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
Dedicated |
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
Loads |
|
1,004,419 |
|
|
1,077,372 |
|
||||
Average length of haul |
|
180 |
|
|
171 |
|
||||
Revenue per truck per week** |
$ |
5,021 |
|
$ |
5,060 |
|
||||
Average trucks during the period*** |
|
13,298 |
|
|
13,469 |
|
||||
Trucks (end of period) *** |
|
13,254 |
|
|
13,325 |
|
||||
Trailing equipment (end of period) |
|
32,054 |
|
|
31,153 |
|
||||
Average effective trailing equipment usage |
|
32,996 |
|
|
31,378 |
|
||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
Integrated Capacity Solutions |
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
Loads |
|
158,247 |
|
|
202,531 |
|
||||
Revenue per load |
$ |
1,803 |
|
$ |
1,900 |
|
||||
Gross profit margin |
|
14.3 |
% |
|
13.4 |
% |
||||
Employee count (end of period) |
|
748 |
|
|
807 |
|
||||
Approximate number of third-party carriers (end of period) |
|
116,300 |
|
|
149,300 |
|
||||
Marketplace for J.B. Hunt 360 revenue (millions) |
$ |
105.5 |
|
$ |
250.6 |
|
||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
Final Mile Services |
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
Stops |
|
1,076,689 |
|
|
1,162,138 |
|
||||
Average trucks during the period*** |
|
1,408 |
|
|
1,651 |
|
||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
Truckload |
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
Loads |
|
93,685 |
|
|
98,784 |
|
||||
Revenue per load |
$ |
1,903 |
|
$ |
2,084 |
|
||||
Average length of haul |
|
677 |
|
640 |
|
|||||
|
||||||||||
Tractors (end of period) |
|
|||||||||
Company-owned |
|
25 |
|
104 |
|
|||||
Independent contractor |
|
1,908 |
|
2,058 |
|
|||||
Total tractors |
|
1,933 |
|
2,162 |
|
|||||
|
||||||||||
Trailers (end of period) |
|
13,306 |
|
13,433 |
|
|||||
Average effective trailing equipment usage |
|
12,891 |
|
13,127 |
|
|||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
* Includes company-owned and independent contractor tractors | ||||||||||
** Using weighted workdays | ||||||||||
*** Includes company-owned, independent contractor, and customer-owned trucks | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets | ||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
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ASSETS |
|
|||||||||
Current assets: |
|
|||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ |
64,185 |
|
$ |
53,344 |
|
||||
Accounts Receivable, net |
|
1,272,115 |
|
|
1,334,912 |
|
||||
Prepaid expenses and other |
|
613,260 |
|
|
696,656 |
|
||||
Total current assets |
|
1,949,560 |
|
|
2,084,912 |
|
||||
Property and equipment |
|
8,866,281 |
|
|
8,767,872 |
|
||||
Less accumulated depreciation |
|
3,071,485 |
|
|
2,993,959 |
|
||||
Net property and equipment |
|
5,794,796 |
|
|
5,773,913 |
|
||||
Other assets, net |
|
683,427 |
|
|
679,435 |
|
||||
$ |
8,427,783 |
|
$ |
8,538,260 |
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY |
|
|
||||||||
Current liabilities: |
|
|
||||||||
Current debt |
$ |
- |
|
$ |
249,961 |
|
||||
Trade accounts payable |
|
731,741 |
|
|
737,364 |
|
||||
Claims accruals |
|
576,082 |
|
|
547,277 |
|
||||
Accrued payroll |
|
93,579 |
|
|
94,563 |
|
||||
Other accrued expenses |
|
142,582 |
|
|
150,256 |
|
||||
Total current liabilities |
|
1,543,984 |
|
|
1,779,421 |
|
||||
|
|
|||||||||
Long-term debt |
|
1,366,506 |
|
|
1,326,107 |
|
||||
Other long-term liabilities |
|
397,866 |
|
|
392,766 |
|
||||
Deferred income taxes |
|
952,996 |
|
|
936,208 |
|
||||
Stockholders' equity |
|
4,166,431 |
|
|
4,103,758 |
|
||||
$ |
8,427,783 |
|
$ |
8,538,260 |
|
|||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Supplemental Data | ||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
||||||||||
Actual shares outstanding at end of period (000) |
|
103,197 |
|
103,220 |
|
|||||
|
||||||||||
Book value per actual share outstanding at end of period |
$ |
40.37 |
|
$ |
39.76 |
|
||||
|
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|
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|
||||||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
|||||||||
|
2024 |
2023 |
||||||||
|
||||||||||
Net cash provided by operating activities (000) |
$ |
466,467 |
|
$ |
487,621 |
|
||||
|
||||||||||
Net capital expenditures (000) |
$ |
166,182 |
|
$ |
379,831 |
|
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|
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240416599723/en/
Senior Vice President – Finance
(479) 820-2723
Source: