YRC Worldwide Inc. on Thursday, April 23, reported a loss of $257.4 million for the three months ended March 31. By comparison, it lost $46.4 million during the same period a year ago.
“We made significant investments in our company during the first quarter to enhance our position in the market and improve our future operating performance,” said Bill Zollars, chairman, president and chief executive officer of YRC Worldwide, based in Overland Park, Kan. “Unfortunately, the economy progressively weakened throughout the quarter, making it more challenging to get ahead of the volume declines.” Zollars said, though, that the March 1 integration of the company’s Yellow and Roadway networks allowed it to remove substantial capacity and reset the volume needs of its network, while significantly enhancing its service offering to the customer.
YRC Worldwide reported cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $266 million. The company said it raised $176 million of cash through sale and financing leaseback transactions and sales of excess properties during the first quarter. The company said it entered into additional sale and financing leaseback agreements on Wednesday, April 22, with Estes Express Lines for $32 million; when combined with the company’s previously announced transactions with Estes, it results in an expected total of about $150 million during 2009.
“We remain pleased with the number of investors who are interested in our very attractive real estate and the long-term lease commitments that we are able to negotiate,” said Tim Wicks, executive vice president and chief financial officer. “We will continue to evaluate these opportunities and enter agreements as they make sense from a financial and operational perspective.”
