Textainer performs well in 1Q

   Textainer turned in revenues of $128.8 million in the first quarter, a 9.6-percent, year-over-year bump, and saw its income from operations rise by 11.9 percent to $76.1 million.
   Adjusted before-tax earnings for the quarter came in at $108.5 million, a 20.1-percent rise.
   Even with these strong results, utilization declined by 1.1 percent in the first three months of the year, year over year, but that trend seems to be reversing itself, according to Textainer President Philip Brewer. Overall, he called the first quarter results “a good start to 2013,” but noted that the intermodal container lessor had a robust 2012.
   Low demand, he said, prevented the first-quarter results from being even better.
   “Demand was softer than expected during the first quarter and we saw several shipping lines purchasing containers,” Brewer said in a statement. “Due in part to the abundance of liquidity in the marketplace, we have seen aggressive pricing for new business, which has served to compress yields. Nevertheless, we are well positioned as we move through 2013 given our strong investments over the past six months at very attractive prices.”
   During the quarter, Textainer spent $232 million on containers, which represents a $35 million rise in investment over the fourth quarter of 2012. The company has purchased more than 140,000 TEUs since October 2012 to lease out this year. Brewer said of this number, half have already been hired or will be picked up by June. Total fleet size by the end of the quarter rose by 12.9 percent, year over year. – Jon Ross