ODFL’s Q1 net income rises 9.1%

The Thomasville, N.C.-based less-than-truckload carrier surpassed analyst expectations, posting earnings per share of $0.80 for the quarter.    Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) posted a net income of $65.8 million for the first quarter of 2017, a 9.1 percent increase from the corresponding 2016 period.
   The Thomasville, N.C.-based less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier’s earnings per share (EPS) totaled $0.80 for the quarter, up from $0.72 for the first quarter of 2016, and surpassing the Stifel estimate of $0.78.
   Revenues for the quarter totaled $754.1 million, up 6.6 percent year-over-year. ODFL Vice Chairman and CEO David S. Congdon attributed the revenues increase to a 4.9 percent rise in LTL revenue per hundredweight and a 2.4 percent jump in LTL tons per day for the quarter.
   ODFL said earlier this month it was chosen to be the “Official Freight Carrier for Major League Baseball.” Under the deal, ODFL is introducing a fleet of nearly 30,000 trailers with MLB branding and baseball imagery. In addition, the carrier is running advertising and promotions across the MLB Network, MLB Advanced Media’s digital properties, and across MLB’s official accounts on various social media platforms.   
   Looking ahead, Stifel increased its ODFL EPS estimate for 2017 from $3.80 to $3.86, and for 2018 from $4.08 to $4.14 due to better tonnage growth and yields, the industry analyst said.
   In addition to its core LTL services, ODFL offers its customers ground and air expedited transportation, supply chain consulting, transportation management, truckload brokerage, container delivery, warehousing and a consumer product for household moving, dubbed OD Household Services, the carrier said.