Universal Logistics Holdings Reports First Quarter 2024 Financial Results; Declares Dividend
- Operating revenues for Universal Logistics Holdings in the first quarter of 2024 reached $491.9 million, marking a 12.5% increase from the same period in the previous year.
- The company's operating income for the first quarter of 2024 was $75.1 million, a significant rise of $36.9 million compared to the first quarter of 2023.
- Earnings per share for the first quarter of 2024 stood at $1.99 per share, showing a substantial increase of $1.04 per share from the previous year.
- Universal Logistics Holdings declared a quarterly dividend of $0.105 per share for the first quarter of 2024.
- EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, increased to $96.9 million in the first quarter of 2024, up $40.2 million from the same period in 2023.
- Universal Logistics Holdings' CEO, Tim Phillips, expressed satisfaction with the company's performance in the first quarter of 2024, emphasizing the strength of the contract logistics segment and plans to address challenges in other segments.
- None.
Insights
The substantial increase in operating revenues by
The earnings per share (EPS) hike to
Furthermore, the declaration of a quarterly dividend of
It is essential to underscore the strategic growth in Universal's contract logistics segment, which appears to be a significant driver for this quarter's financial success. The segment's contribution is increasingly becoming a competitive differentiator, enhancing the company's value proposition to its customers. This is particularly important as diversification within logistics services can reduce dependency on more volatile segments like intermodal and brokerage, which currently face margin pressures.
Regarding the macroeconomic environment, the optimism exhibited by the CEO about the company's prospects, despite the 'prolonged freight recession', deserves attention. An investor should consider the resilience and adaptability of Universal in the context of economic headwinds. The company's focus on managing controllable costs and improving productivity is critical when external conditions are challenging.
The EBITDA margin improvement to
- First Quarter 2024 Operating Revenues:
$491.9 million 12.5% - First Quarter 2024 Operating Income:
$75.1 million $36.9 million - First Quarter 2024 Earnings Per Share:
$1.99 $1.04 - Declares Quarterly Dividend:
$0.10 5
In the first quarter 2024, Universal's operating income increased
"I am extremely pleased with Universal's overall results in the first quarter of 2024," stated Universal's CEO Tim Phillips. "Bolstered by a recently awarded program, our contract logistics segment continues to deliver significant value to our customers while serving as a meaningful differentiator in our business model. Our agent-based trucking business also generated solid returns, although our intermodal and company-managed brokerage segments experienced significant margin pressure during this prolonged freight recession. We continue to remain highly-focused on managing our controllable costs, increasing our productivity, and returning these under-performing operations back to profitability. Overall, I remain bullish on Universal's outlook and, with our best-in-class contract logistics franchise leading the way, I am excited about our prospects for a strong 2024."
Segment Information:
Contract Logistics
- First Quarter 2024 Operating Revenues:
$313.5 million 48.4% increase - First Quarter 2024 Operating Income:
$81.5 million 26.0% operating margin
In the contract logistics segment, which includes our value-added and dedicated services, first quarter 2024 operating revenues increased
Intermodal
- First Quarter 2024 Operating Revenues:
$76.7 million 30.9% decrease - First Quarter 2024 Operating (Loss):
$(8.0) million
Operating revenues in the intermodal segment decreased
Trucking
- First Quarter 2024 Operating Revenues:
$69.7 million 12.6% decrease - First Quarter 2024 Operating Income:
$3.7 million 5.3% operating margin
In the trucking segment, first quarter 2024 operating revenues decreased
Company-managed Brokerage
- First Quarter 2024 Operating Revenues:
$31.0 million 8.7% decrease - First Quarter 2024 Operating (Loss):
$(2.5) million
First quarter 2024 operating revenues in the company-managed brokerage segment decreased
Cash Dividend
Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. also announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of
Other Matters
As of March 30, 2024, Universal held cash and cash equivalents totaling
Universal calculates and reports selected financial metrics not only for purposes of our lending arrangements but also in an effort to isolate and exclude the impact of non-operating expenses related to our corporate development activities. These statistics are described in more detail below in the section captioned "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
Conference call:
We invite investors and analysts to our quarterly earnings conference call.
Quarterly Earnings Conference Call Dial-in Details:
Time: | 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time |
Date: | Friday, April 26, 2024 |
Call Toll Free: | (800) 836-8184 |
International Dial-in: | +1 (646) 357-8785 |
A replay of the conference call will be available through May 3, 2024, by calling (888) 660-6345 (toll free) or +1 (646) 517-4150 (toll) and using encore replay code 80736. The call will also be available on investors.universallogistics.com.
About Universal:
Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. ("Universal") is a holding company whose subsidiaries provide a variety of customized transportation and logistics solutions throughout
Forward Looking Statements
Some of the statements contained in this press release might be considered forward-looking statements. These statements identify prospective information. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "prospect," "seek," "believe," "targets," "project," "estimate," "future," "likely," "may," "should" and similar references to future periods. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time and/or management's good faith belief with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations described. Additional information about the factors that may adversely affect these forward-looking statements is contained in Universal's reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Universal assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information except to the extent required by applicable securities laws.
UNIVERSAL LOGISTICS HOLDINGS, INC. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (In thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||
Thirteen Weeks Ended | ||||||||
March 30, | April 1, | |||||||
2024 | 2023 | |||||||
Operating revenues: | ||||||||
Truckload services | $ | 42,030 | $ | 46,401 | ||||
Brokerage services | 59,614 | 68,673 | ||||||
Intermodal services | 76,715 | 111,026 | ||||||
Dedicated services | 88,316 | 85,232 | ||||||
Value-added services | 225,232 | 126,064 | ||||||
Total operating revenues | 491,907 | 437,396 | ||||||
Operating expenses: | ||||||||
Purchased transportation and equipment rent | 124,633 | 156,085 | ||||||
Direct personnel and related benefits | 140,805 | 139,092 | ||||||
Operating supplies and expenses | 92,824 | 46,189 | ||||||
Commission expense | 6,610 | 8,172 | ||||||
Occupancy expense | 10,568 | 11,152 | ||||||
General and administrative | 13,507 | 11,916 | ||||||
Insurance and claims | 7,167 | 8,079 | ||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 20,701 | 18,515 | ||||||
Total operating expenses | 416,815 | 399,200 | ||||||
Income from operations | 75,092 | 38,196 | ||||||
Interest expense, net | (6,079) | (4,975) | ||||||
Other non-operating income | 1,104 | 15 | ||||||
Income before income taxes | 70,117 | 33,236 | ||||||
Provision for income taxes | 17,660 | 8,360 | ||||||
Net income | $ | 52,457 | $ | 24,876 | ||||
Earnings per common share: | ||||||||
Basic | $ | 1.99 | $ | 0.95 | ||||
Diluted | $ | 1.99 | $ | 0.95 | ||||
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding: | ||||||||
Basic | 26,307 | 26,281 | ||||||
Diluted | 26,328 | 26,314 | ||||||
Dividends declared per common share: | $ | 0.105 | $ | 0.105 | ||||
UNIVERSAL LOGISTICS HOLDINGS, INC. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (In thousands) | ||||||||
March 30, | December 31, | |||||||
Assets | ||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 11,124 | $ | 12,511 | ||||
Marketable securities | 11,762 | 10,772 | ||||||
Accounts receivable - net | 280,604 | 287,947 | ||||||
Other current assets | 63,635 | 54,243 | ||||||
Total current assets | 367,125 | 365,473 | ||||||
Property and equipment - net | 613,642 | 561,088 | ||||||
Other long-term assets - net | 403,834 | 326,962 | ||||||
Total assets | $ | 1,384,601 | $ | 1,253,523 | ||||
Liabilities and shareholders' equity | ||||||||
Current liabilities, excluding current maturities of debt | $ | 227,140 | $ | 189,727 | ||||
Debt - net | 414,108 | 381,924 | ||||||
Other long-term liabilities | 159,408 | 149,674 | ||||||
Total liabilities | 800,656 | 721,325 | ||||||
Total shareholders' equity | 583,945 | 532,198 | ||||||
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity | $ | 1,384,601 | $ | 1,253,523 | ||||
UNIVERSAL LOGISTICS HOLDINGS, INC. Unaudited Summary of Operating Data | ||||||||
Thirteen Weeks Ended | ||||||||
March 30, | April 1, | |||||||
2024 | 2023 | |||||||
Contract Logistics Segment: | ||||||||
Average number of value-added direct employees | 5,480 | 5,494 | ||||||
Average number of value-added full-time equivalents | 199 | 812 | ||||||
Number of active value-added programs | 71 | 65 | ||||||
Intermodal Segment: | ||||||||
Number of loads | 105,037 | 122,299 | ||||||
Average operating revenue per load, excluding fuel surcharges | $ | 566 | $ | 567 | ||||
Average number of tractors | 1,758 | 2,123 | ||||||
Number of depots | 8 | 9 | ||||||
Trucking Segment: | ||||||||
Number of loads | 41,691 | 44,855 | ||||||
Average operating revenue per load, excluding fuel surcharges | $ | 1,508 | $ | 1,607 | ||||
Average length of haul | 401 | 399 | ||||||
Average number of tractors | 830 | 894 | ||||||
Company-Managed Brokerage Segment: | ||||||||
Number of loads (a) | 21,556 | 19,956 | ||||||
Average operating revenue per load (a) | $ | 1,381 | $ | 1,572 | ||||
Average length of haul (a) | 570 | 619 | ||||||
(a) | Excludes operating data from freight forwarding division in order to improve the relevance of the statistical data related to our brokerage services and improve the comparability to our peer companies. |
UNIVERSAL LOGISTICS HOLDINGS, INC. Unaudited Summary of Operating Data - Continued (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||
Thirteen Weeks Ended | ||||||||
March 30, | April 1, | |||||||
2024 | 2023 | |||||||
Operating Revenues by Segment: | ||||||||
Contract logistics | $ | 313,548 | $ | 211,296 | ||||
Intermodal | 76,715 | 111,026 | ||||||
Trucking | 69,655 | 79,715 | ||||||
Company-managed brokerage | 31,000 | 33,956 | ||||||
Other | 989 | 1,403 | ||||||
Total | $ | 491,907 | $ | 437,396 | ||||
Income from Operations by Segment: | ||||||||
Contract logistics | $ | 81,466 | $ | 27,781 | ||||
Intermodal | (8,046) | 6,812 | ||||||
Trucking | 3,669 | 3,789 | ||||||
Company-managed brokerage | (2,488) | (375) | ||||||
Other | 491 | 189 | ||||||
Total | $ | 75,092 | $ | 38,196 | ||||
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to providing consolidated financial statements based on generally accepted accounting principles in
In accordance with the requirements of Regulation G issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, we are presenting the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure and reconciling the non-GAAP financial measure to the comparable GAAP measure. Set forth below is a reconciliation of net income, the most comparable GAAP measure, to EBITDA for each of the periods indicated:
Thirteen Weeks Ended | ||||||||
March 30, | April 1, | |||||||
2024 | 2023 | |||||||
( in thousands) | ||||||||
EBITDA | ||||||||
Net income | $ | 52,457 | $ | 24,876 | ||||
Income tax expense | 17,660 | 8,360 | ||||||
Interest expense, net | 6,079 | 4,975 | ||||||
Depreciation | 15,902 | 15,330 | ||||||
Amortization | 4,799 | 3,185 | ||||||
EBITDA | $ | 96,897 | $ | 56,726 | ||||
EBITDA margin (a) | 19.7 | % | 13.0 | % | ||||
(a) | EBITDA margin is computed by dividing EBITDA by total operating revenues for each of the periods indicated. |
We present EBITDA and EBITDA margin because we believe they assist investors and analysts in comparing our performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that we do not believe are indicative of our core operating performance.
EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool. Some of these limitations are:
- EBITDA does not reflect our cash expenditures, or future requirements, for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;
- EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;
- EBITDA does not reflect the significant interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on our debts;
- Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, and EBITDA does not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements; and
- Other companies in our industry may calculate EBITDA differently than we do, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.
Because of these limitations, EBITDA and EBITDA margin should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and only supplementally on EBITDA and EBITDA margin.
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SOURCE Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc.
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