Covenant Transportation (CVTI) Guides Q4 Sharply Above the Street

Covenant Transportation (NASDAQ: CVTI) Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, David R. Parker, offered the following comments: "The Company has experienced improvements in its operating results for the two months ended November 30, 2014, and these improvements have continued into December."

As a result of the trends, the company expect to report consolidated earnings for the fourth quarter of 2014 in a range of $0.70 to $0.78 per diluted share, versus the consensus of $0.47.

For the fourth quarter to date, the Company has experienced the following:

• Demand has trended solidly above demand in the fourth quarter of 2013. For the two months ended November 30, 2014, total revenue increased 11.1%, average freight revenue per total mile increased 10.9%, average miles per tractor per week increased 6.8%, and average freight revenue per tractor per week increased 18.4%, in each case compared with the two months ended November 30, 2013. For the first nine days of December, year-over-year average freight revenue per tractor per week increased more than 20.0% on a preliminary basis and before month-end adjustments.
• Average seated truck count has increased sequentially by approximately 35 trucks for the two months ended November 30, 2014, compared with our average seated truck count for third quarter of 2014. The average number of tractors in the fleet was 2,620 for the two months ended November 30, 2014 versus 2,731 for the two months ended November 30, 2013.
• Fuel prices have been declining during the quarter. However, approximately 27% of the Company's expected fuel usage for the fourth quarter is hedged at prices higher than the average fuel prices paid by the Company for the fourth quarter to date. Accordingly, lower fuel prices are expected to have a limited impact on the Company

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