P.A.M. Transportation Services Inc. on Wednesday narrowed a third-quarter net loss compared with the same quarter last year and said a softer freight market, along with increased costs, slowed the truck holding company’s earnings momentum.
The Tontitown-based business, after reporting 10 consecutive quarters of net losses, posted its first profit in the second quarter.
The trucking company returned to negative territory this week when it reported a net loss of $490,727, or 5 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared with a net loss of $1.23 million, or 13 cents per share, for the same period a year ago.
P.A.M., which operates a truckload and logistics division, missed the average earnings estimate of 9 cents per share from two analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
“When I came here and saw the level of losses we were incurring and saw the work that had to be done, Ithought ‘Oh boy, that’s going to take a long time to turn around,’” said Daniel Cushman, P.A.M.’s president, in an interview Wednesday. Cushman took over the top spot in July 2009.
“We were happy but also surprised” when we reported a second-quarter profit and, we were optimistic about the third quarter until July happened,” he added.
Hurricane Alex, which hit northeastern Mexico that month, affected the carrier’s entire system, Cushman said.
The company posted revenue of $86.71 million, compared with $76.74 million for the quarter last year.
The sale of East Coast Transport & Logistics, which is based in Paulsboro, N.J., represented a $460,000 gain in revenue, while fewer trucks in operation and weather difficulties resulted in a $3.2 million loss in revenue.
The carrier reported hauling 70,303 loads, a 10 percent drop in the third quarter, and driving 47.12 million miles, which represented a less than 1 percent increase.
P.A.M. said its third-quarter fleet averaged 1,745 company-owned and owner-operator trucks.
The company reported a50 percent increase in rent and purchased transportation and said the reinstitution of normal pay levels after a 5 percent cut added to its salaries, wages and benefits line. Both increases helped push total operating expenses up 12 percent in the year-overyear comparison.
Shares of P.A.M. Transportation Services Inc. fell 42 cents, or 3.38 percent, to $12.01 per share Wednesday on the Nasdaq. The carrier’s shares have traded as high as $18.60 and as low as $7.51 over the past year.
Business, Pages 27 on 10/28/2010