Echo grows FY2017 earnings

Chicago-based freight broker and third-party provider Echo Global Logistics posted a net income of $13.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to a $3 million loss the previous year, according to the company’s most recent financial statements.    Echo Global Logistics got back into the black in the fourth quarter of 2017, reporting a net income of $13.3 million compared to a $3 million loss in the same 2016 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 (EPS) of $0.48 per share for the quarter, compared with a $0.10 per share loss the previous year, as revenues soared 34.6 percent to $547.7 million.
   Echo’s fourth quarter results were largely helped by an income tax benefit of $8.9 million, resulting from the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which effectively cut the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.
   The sharp turnaround in the fourth quarter helped boost full-year earnings a staggering 694.1 percent, from just $1.6 million ($0.05 per diluted share) in 2016 to $12.6 million ($0.45 per share) in 2017, as revenues increased 13.2 percent to $1.9 billion.
   Echo said revenues in the company’s full truckload (TL) division grew 38.2 percent year-over-year during Q4 and 13.9 percent for the full year, while less-than-truckload (LTL) revenues climbed 29.7 for the quarter and 15.1 percent for the year compared with 2016.
   “This was an exciting quarter for Echo, as it marked our fastest organic revenue growth since 2010, while at the same time, sequentially improving our gross margins,” Doug Waggoner, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of Echo, said of the results. “We make significant investments in our technology and people, and I am proud to see them pay off in this dynamic freight environment.”
   Looking ahead to this year, Echo Chief Financial Officer Kyle Sauers said the company expects revenues in the range of $510 million to $550 million for the first quarter of 2018 and $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion for the full year.