INDIANAPOLIS – August 4, 2008 - Celadon Group Inc. (Nasdaq: CLDN) today reported its financial and operating results for the three months and fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, the fourth fiscal quarter of the company’s fiscal year ending June 30, 2008.
For the quarter, revenue increased 17.4% to $154.6 million in the 2008 quarter from $131.7 million in the 2007 quarter. Freight revenue, which excludes fuel surcharges, was up 3.5% to $116.7 million in the 2008 quarter from $112.7 million in the 2007 quarter. Pre-tax income decreased to $4.4 million in the 2008 quarter from $8.3 million for the same quarter last year. Earnings per diluted share decreased to $0.10 in the 2008 quarter from $0.22 for the same quarter last year.
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, revenue increased 12.6% to $565.9 million in 2008 from $502.7 million for the same period last year. Freight revenue was up 5.7% to $457.5 million in 2008 from $433.0 million for the same period last year. Net income decreased 70.4% to $6.6 million in 2008 from $22.3 million for the same period last year. Earnings per diluted share decreased to $0.29 from $0.94 the same period last year.
Chairman and CEO Steve Russell commented, "The June quarter results showed marked improvement in operating metrics. Average miles per week per tractor was the best since December 2006, and up about two percent from June 2007. Deadhead miles, at 9.7 percent of total miles, compared to 10.5 percent in the June 2007 quarter, and was the lowest since the September 2006 quarter. Although down by 2.1 cents from the comparable quarter last year, the average rate per loaded mile increased from the March 2007 quarter by close to one cent per mile. Revenue per tractor per week was the highest since the December 2006 quarter.
"We are clearly seeing the results of a meaningful reduction in capacity in the truckload industry. The shrinking of capacity is the result of a substantial number of fleet failures, reductions in the number of trucks run by many larger fleets, and the export of relatively young Class 8 tractors to eastern Europe and elsewhere, and fewer new tractors being built. Although overall freight demand is perhaps up slightly, the impact of the reduction in supply has led to a firming of rates and volumes per available truck. Unless there is a meaningful decline in freight demand, we expect rate increase opportunities will continue.
“Our balance sheet remains solid and we retain significant liquidity to support the growth of our business. At June 30, 2008, we had $143.9 million of stockholders' equity and $102.5 million of total borrowing. Since June 30, 2007, borrowing increased only $7.8 million despite the purchase of 420 new tractors and repurchase of approximately two million shares of our stock.”
Conference Call Information
An investor conference call is scheduled for Tuesday, August 5, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Steve Russell and other members of management will discuss the results of the quarter. To listen and participate in a questions-and-answers exchange, simply dial 866-383-8008 (international calls 617-597-3341) pin number 59904049 a few minutes prior to the start time. A replay will be available through October 5 by dialing 888-286-8010 (international calls 617-801-6888) and entering call back code 37096380.
This call is being Web cast by Thomson/CCBN and can be accessed via Celadon's Web site at www.celadongroup.com.
Celadon Group Inc. (www.celadongroup.com), through its subsidiaries, primarily provides long-haul, full-truckload freight service across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The company also owns TruckersB2B Inc. (www.truckersb2b.com) which provides cost savings to member fleets; Celadon Dedicated Services, which provides supply chain management solutions, such as warehousing and dedicated fleet services; and Celadon Brokerage Services.
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