Old Dominion posts strong Q2 earnings growth

The Thomasville, N.C.-based less-than-truckload carrier reported a net income of $98.4 million for the second quarter of 2017, a 20.9 percent increase from the same three-month period a year ago.    Less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) posted a net income of 98.4 million for the first quarter of 2017, a 20.9 percent increase over the same period last year, according to the company’s most recent financial statements.
   ODFL’s trucking line saw revenues of $839.9 million, an 11.2 percent increase, with a 21.4 percent increase in earnings per diluted share for the second quarter. Revenues for the first half of the year stood at $1.5 billion.
   “Old Dominion produced strong financial results for the second quarter of 2017, which included a double-digit increase in revenue and an increase of more than 20 percent in earnings per diluted share,” said David S. Congdon, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Old Dominion. “These were the best growth rates in revenue and earnings per share since our first quarter of 2015. The 11.2 percent increase in revenue for the second quarter was driven by a 6.1 percent increase in LTL tonnage per day and a 5.1 percent increase in LTL revenue per hundredweight,” said Congdon.
   The freight line attributes growth in LTL tonnage “to the continued improvement in the domestic economy and the consistent execution of our long-term strategic plan of delivering superior service at a fair price,” said Congdon.
   Capital expenditures were $131.3 million for the second quarter of 2017 and $188.3 million for the first half of the year. By the end of 2017, Old Dominion expects its capital expenditures to total approximately $400 million due to planned expenditures of $185 million for real estate and service center expansion projects, $170 million for tractors and trailers, and $45 million for technology and other assets, said the company.
   “We continued to deliver best-in-class service to our customers in the second quarter of 2017, with on-time deliveries in excess of 99 percent and a cargo claims ratio that improved to a new Company record of less than 0.2 percent. With revenue growth continuing into the third quarter, we intend to hire additional employees so that we can continue to deliver superior service and position ourselves to win additional market share,” said Congdon.