Celadon Group Inc. on Tuesday, April 24, announced that revenue for the third quarter ended March 31 increased 10.5 percent to $153.2 million from $138.7 million in the 2011 quarter. Freight revenue, which excludes fuel surcharges, increased 7.8 percent to $120.9 million from $112.2 million. Net income increased to $5.7 million from $2.3 million.
For the nine months ended March 31, revenue increased 5.9 percent to $441.2 million from $416.8 million for the same period last year. Freight revenue, which excludes fuel surcharges, increased 0.8 percent to $350.6 million from $347.9 million. Net income increased to $16.6 million from $9.8 million.
“We were able to increase both seated linehaul tractors and revenue,” said Steve Russell, chairman and chief executive officer of the Indianapolis-based company. “An increase in loaded miles and a 2.7 percent increase in rate per loaded mile were the principal factors attributing to the improved results.”
Paul Will, president and chief operating officer, said Celadon completed four asset-based acquisitions during the fiscal year to address the growing driver shortage. As a result, the company’s average seated count increased by 218 tractors, or 8.3 percent, from the December quarter, he said.
“There are a significant number of fleets that have experienced poor financial performance during the recent past, which has resulted in their inability to refresh their fleets, resulting in a significant increase in fleet age,” Will said. “This has allowed us the opportunity to make strategic acquisitions, which results in an increased driver fleet at a time when capacity is exiting the marketplace.”
Will said Celadon should be positioned to continue to grow its fleet and service offering in a capacity-constrained truckload market. “With our young fleet, which was 1.6 years old as of March 31, we are able to attract drivers and provide excellent service to our customers,” he said. “We are very proud of our team that contributed to the results.”
