Marten Transport reports best-ever operating revenue and income in second quarter of 2019

Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves

Marten Transport (NASDAQ: MRTN)  posted its best-ever second quarter operating revenue and income in the company’s 74-year history, the company said in its July 18 earnings release.

The Mondovi, Wisconsin-based truckload carrier earned $15.2  million, or 28 cents per share in the second quarter of 2019, compared with $13.7 million, or 25 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Operating revenue climbed 7.6 percent to a record $212.1 million in the second quarter, compared with $197 million for the second quarter of 2018.

Operating income improved 9.4 percent to a record $19.9 million for the second quarter of 2019, up from $18.2 million in the same period a year ago.

Marten beat analysts’ earnings per share expectations by $0.01 and revenues by $3.64 million. 

The company added 41 truckload and 138 dedicated tractors during the second quarter, the company said in its release.

“We expect to carry forward this success in recruiting and retaining the industry’s top, experienced drivers to continue to capitalize on the strong current and expected demand for our premium services with our diversified customer base,” said Randolph Marten, chief executive of Marten, in the company’s earnings release.

Marten’s operating ratio improved to 91.6 percent in the second quarter compared with 90.8 percent in the same period a year ago.

“We are confident in our ability to continue to deliver profitable organic growth,” Marten said.

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Clarissa Hawes

Clarissa has covered all aspects of the trucking industry for 18 years. She is an award-winning journalist known for her investigative and business reporting. Before joining FreightWaves, she wrote for Land Line Magazine and Trucks.com. If you have a news tip or story idea, send her an email to chawes@firecrown.com or @cage_writer on X, formerly Twitter.