Con-way Inc. on Wednesday, July 23, reported net income from continuing operations for the second quarter of 2008 of $47.1 million after preferred stock dividends. The results compared to second-quarter 2007 net income from continuing operations, after preferred stock dividends, of $47.7 million.
Revenue was $1.34 billion, an increase of 24.8 percent from last year’s revenue of $1.07 billion, complemented by acquisitions completed in 2007 and reflecting organic growth. Operating income was $94.9 million, an increase of 22.2 percent compared to $77.6 million a year ago.
“Our enterprise turned in commendable results despite a challenging business environment and the inflationary effect of unprecedented fuel prices,” said Douglas Stotlar, president and chief executive officer of San Mateo, Calif.-based Con-way.
Con-way Freight, the company’s less-than-truckload unit, posted solid revenue and yield gains, benefiting from improved market responsiveness and increasing customer recognition of its transit time performance advantage. “Targeted growth initiatives, implemented late last year at our LTL unit, continued to produce market share gains,” Stotlar said. “We also began to see indications of a more stable pricing environment in the quarter.”
In the truckload sector, the weak economy drove a reduction in capacity as carriers continued to exit the market throughout the first half of 2008. “The trend of capacity leaving the market is improving the supply/demand balance, which is benefiting Con-way Truckload,” Stotlar said. “Our Truckload unit did an excellent job in managing costs and taking advantage of synergy opportunities with its sister companies to reduce empty miles and improve asset utilization.”
Menlo Worldwide Logistics recorded a double-digit increase in net revenue for the quarter, reflecting a combination of revenues from 2007 acquisitions, organic growth and a consistent win rate for new projects. While overall Menlo managed its core business operations well, profits were affected by higher-than-expected costs related to China activities, and two customer-specific issues which were resolved in the quarter. “Integration of our acquisition in China is proceeding at a slower pace than planned, so our expectations for profit from this operation will take a longer time horizon to realize,” Stotlar said. “Our expansion strategy in Asia is playing out from a growth perspective. We expect to see operating results improve through the remainder of the year.”
For the 2008 second quarter, Con-way Freight reported:
The 2008 second quarter had rebranding expense of $1.3 million compared to $2.9 million in 2007. The company completed Con-way Freight’s rebranding in the second quarter.
For the second quarter of 2008, Menlo Worldwide Logistics reported:
Results for the Truckload segment reflect the combined operations of Con-way’s former truckload division and Contract Freighters Inc., which Con-way acquired in August 2007 and renamed Con-way Truckload in January 2008. For the second quarter of 2008, Con-way Truckload reported:
