Vitran Corp. on Tuesday, Oct. 23, announced third-quarter net income of $3.1 million on revenue of $171.9 million. As previously announced, the company incurred a one-time, $0.3 million write-off of previously capitalized syndication costs, net of taxes, as a result of refinancing its debt with a new five-year bank syndication agreement that commenced Aug. 1. In the comparable 2006 quarter, Vitran recorded net income of $4.9 million on revenue of $121.5 million.
“We are clearly disappointed with Vitran’s third-quarter results, as we came up short of our expectations due to a continuation of the highly competitive operating environment that impacted revenue growth and has put pressure on industry operating margins in recent quarters,” said Rick Gaetz, president and chief executive officer of Toronto-based Vitran. “While we are pleased with our penetration into new markets, we must improve in our core regional markets.”
During the nine-month period ended Sept. 30, Vitran achieved net income of $12.0 million on revenue of $496.2 million. In the comparable nine months of 2006, the company had net income of $14.4 million on revenue of $360.3 million.
“Despite the near-term economic challenges, the entire Vitran organization is focused on building our North American freight network and the solid corporate infrastructure that will be our backbone for achieving long-term growth,” Gaetz said. “Our new hybrid operating system is now up and running successfully at PJAX, and the company’s operational integration is moving ahead, as planned.”
