Marten Transport posts lower 1Q profit, higher revenue

user-gravatar Headshot

Marten Transport announced Monday, April 21, its financial and operating results for the quarter ended March 31. Operating revenue, consisting of revenue from truckload and logistics operations, increased 9.1 percent to $143.4 million in the first quarter of 2008 from $131.4 million in the 2007 quarter. Truckload revenue increased 2.5 percent to $121.1 million from $118.1 million in the 2007 quarter. Logistics revenue, which consists of revenue from brokerage and intermodal operations, increased 67.6 percent to $22.2 million from $13.3 million in the 2007 quarter.

Operating revenue included fuel surcharges of $28.0 million for the first quarter of 2008, compared with $17.4 million in the 2007 quarter. Operating revenue, net of fuel surcharges, increased 1.2 percent to $115.4 million in the 2008 quarter from $114.0 million in the 2007 quarter. Net income was $2.7 million for the quarter, compared with $4.6 million for the same quarter of 2007.

“The first quarter reflected the toughest operating conditions our industry has seen in recent memory,” said Randolph L. Marten, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the Mondovi, Wis.-based company. “Our continued focus on fleet management and providing excellent service to our well-established customer base, and on growing our logistics business, contributed to results that, although not satisfying, are encouraging, considering the operating conditions. With our strong capital base and continued support from our customers, we expect to weather the conditions better than most of our competitors and be well positioned when trucking demand and capacity are better aligned.”