Saia, Inc. (SAIA) Misses Q1 EPS by 4c, Revenues Miss

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA) reported Q1 EPS of $0.85, $0.04 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.89. Revenue for the quarter came in at $410.6 million versus the consensus estimate of $412.94 million.

First Quarter 2019 Compared to First Quarter 2018 Results

• Revenues were $410.6 million, a 4.5% increase
• Operating income was $28.6 million, a 3.8% increase
• Operating ratio was flat at 93.0
• LTL shipments per workday decreased 0.1%
• LTL tonnage per workday decreased 3.5%
• LTL revenue per hundredweight increased 10.6%
• LTL revenue per shipment rose 6.8% to $230.43

“In the first quarter we saw continued success with selling our value proposition to customers and we were able to increase LTL revenue per hundred weight by 10.6% including average contractual renewal rates that rose 9.8% in the quarter. This increase in LTL yield marked the 35th consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement, reflecting our improving service reach and record low cargo claims ratio”, said Saia Chief Executive Officer, Rick O’Dell.

“While first quarter 2019 diluted earnings per share were a first quarter record, we are disappointed that we were not able to bring more of our strong yield improvements to the bottom line. The first quarter is typically the seasonally softest period of the year and we simply incurred too many weather-related volume and cost impacts to reach our profitability goals in the period. Winter weather throughout the quarter caused parts of our network to be interrupted on an almost weekly basis”, O’Dell continued.

“We opened one additional terminal in the Northeast in the first quarter and have plans to open an additional four or five in that region over the remainder of the year. Broadening our direct service coverage area is resonating with customers and nearly 70% of our business in and out of the Northeast is coming from customers who were already using Saia in other parts of the country”, concluded O’Dell.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Saia, Inc. (SAIA) click here.

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