Pacer reduces loss in first quarter

Pacer reduces loss in first quarter    Pacer International on Wednesday reported a $500,000 first quarter loss, nearing the breakeven point after a $177.4 million loss during the same period in 2009.
   Excluding last year's goodwill impairment and severance charges, the company's net profit was $400,000 versus an adjusted loss of $12.5 million a year ago.
   Pacer said revenue increased 1.4 percent, or $5.1 million, to $363.7 million on the strength of a 13.9 percent jump in logistics revenue to $99.8 million. Intermodal revenue dropped 7.1 percent to $264.2 million.
   The operating loss for the company's logistics segment decreased $2.5 million to $300,000, not accounting for last year's charge for goodwill. Adjusted operating income for the intermodal segment increased $19.8 million to $5.9 million from an adjusted loss of $13.9 million in the first quarter of 2009.
   Last year Pacer began to change its business model to provide more retail intermodal service instead of purely wholesale service.