Echo turns a corner on record Q1 revenues

The Chicago-based freight broker and third-party logistics provider posted a net income of $4.7 million in the first quarter of 2018 compared to a $2.9 million loss in the same quarter a year ago.    Echo Global Logistics got itself back into the black in the first quarter of 2018, reporting a net income of $4.7 million compared to a $3 million net loss in the same 2017 period, according to the company’s most recent financial statements.
   The Chicago-based freight broker and third-party logistics provider posted fully diluted earnings per share of $0.17 for the quarter compared with a $0.10 EPS loss the previous year.
   On an adjusted basis (excluding changes in contingent consideration, amortization, non-cash interest expense, stock compensation expense and the tax effect of these adjustments) first-quarter EPS reached $0.40, beating consensus analyst expectations by $0.10 per share.
   Revenues soared 38.8 percent year-over-year to $577.1 million for the quarter, beating expectations by $41.7 million and setting a new quarterly record for the company.
   Echo said the company’s full truckload division saw revenues rise 38.8 percent compared with the first quarter of 2017, while less-than-truckload revenues climbed 29.3 percent.
   Revenues in Echo’s managed transportation segment jumped 49.8 percent to $124.0 million for the quarter.
   Doug Waggoner, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer at Echo, attributed the record results primarily to a tight trucking market and higher rates.
   Increased demand and a growing shortage of drivers has caused pricing for both TL and LTL services to skyrocket over the past year, with domestic U.S. TL rates rising for the 12th consecutive month on a year-over-year basis in March, according to analysts at Cass Information Systems.
   “While revenue growth rates accelerated for the fifth consecutive quarter, we were able to maintain margin and deliver record earnings by continuing to leverage our access to capacity, technology and our talented people across all segments of the market,” said Waggoner.
   Looking ahead to the remainder of 2018, Echo Chief Financial Officer Kyle Sauers said the company expects revenues in the range of $580 million to $620 million for the second quarter and raised full-year revenue expectations from between $2.1 billion and $2.3 billion to between $2.25 billion and $2.40 billion.
   Echo’s stock spiked briefly the morning after the first-quarter results were announced but has since slipped to $27.30 a share as of market close Monday, down 2.2 percent from the closing price on April 25.