Strong truck sales and increased lease and finance activity in the third quarter enabled Paccar to report yet another record profit. The Bellevue, Wash.-based truck maker, which sells Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks in North America, announced Tuesday, Oct. 25 that it posted a $304.8 million profit in the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 23.6 percent from the same period in 2004.
The commercial vehicles division of DaimlerChrysler, which includes Freightliner, also reported Tuesday third-quarter sales nearly 15 percent higher than the same quarter in 2004, and operating profit more than triple the corresponding figure a year ago.
Paccar’s total revenue rose 21.4 percent, to $3.5 billion from $2.9 billion. Earnings, which equated to $1.78 per share, beat Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $1.74 per share. Paccar, which has spent $345 million since December 2004 to buy back five million of its shares, said that it has authorized a new five million-share repurchase program.
