Titanium Transportation Group (TSX-V:TTR) reported record fourth-quarter revenue and a lower razor-thin profit on Tuesday as the Canadian company’s fledgling U.S. brokerage arm helped offset weakness in its core cross-border trucking business.
Titanium had net income of C$300,000, or 1 cent per share, on C$43.3 million of revenue in the fourth quarter. Revenue increased by 1.4% while profits fell by nearly 77% compared to the fourth quarter of 2018.
The results came in slightly above analysts’ expectations of a break-even quarter.
Revenue for Titanium’s trucking segment fell by nearly 10% to C$26.2 million, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, EBITDA, fell by 12.9% to C$4.1 million.
The company blamed the weakness on “lower freight demand due to soft market conditions.”
Titanium’s less-than-a-year-old U.S. brokerage business stole the show. The single office in Charlotte, North Carolina, brought in the lion’s share of the 22.4% increase in logistics revenue to C$18.1 million.
“My Charlotte office has about eight people, and it’s already exceeding expectations,” Titanium Chief Operating Officer Marilyn Daniel told FreightWaves.
It also helps explain why the Toronto-area company is moving ahead with a second U.S. brokerage office, in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Each state has more freight moving through it than Canada,” Daniel said.
Titanium also made significant strides in reducing its debt. The company reported a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64 in the fourth quarter compared to 2.03 a year earlier.
Titanium CEO Ted Daniel will discuss the results with analysts on Wednesday.
Freight Fraud Symposium
Double brokering. AI deepfakes. Identity theft. Freight fraud is an existential threat to the industry. Get ahead of it.
Supply Chain AI Symposium
Past the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain.
Future of Rail Symposium
Reshoring is rewriting freight demand. Join shippers, rail executives, and government officials to shape the next decade.
Double brokering. AI deepfakes. Identity theft. Freight fraud is an existential threat to the industry. Get ahead of it.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame • Cleveland, OH Register NowPast the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain.
The Old Post Office • Chicago, IL Register NowReshoring is rewriting freight demand. Join shippers, rail executives, and government officials to shape the next decade.
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now
Stephen Webster
At these rates most trucking companies are making little or no money running trucks. There are more trucks than freight at this point in time. The solution is all trucking companies refusing to run for less than $45.00 per hour plus fuel. At this time drivers supply equals freight volumes.