Trucking rental and leasing company Ryder System Inc. said Wednesday, April 21, that it earned $12.4 million in the first quarter or 2010 compared with $6.8 million in the first quarter of 2009, when the Miami-based company recorded restructuring charges of 10 cents per share. Revenue rose 4 percent to $1.2 billion from $1.15 billion.
“Directionally, our product lines performed as we had forecasted, and the earnings impact was even better than we anticipated,” said Greg Swienton, Ryder chairman and chief executive officer. “In the latter part of the first quarter, we saw several positive developments in our Fleet Management Solutions business, including an increase in lease miles driven, higher commercial rental demand and utilization, and improved used vehicle pricing. However, the average size of our full service lease fleet was down 5 percent, reflecting the cumulative impact of customer fleet downsizing.”
Swienton said the recovery of automotive activity resulted in improved revenue and earnings in the company’s Supply Chain Solutions business. “Additionally, we have maintained a very strong balance sheet, which enabled us to begin implementing a new $100 million stock buyback program that we announced in February,” he said.
