LITTLE ROCK — J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. of Lowell on Monday reported second-quarter 2012 earnings of $80.5 million, or 67 cents per diluted share, up 22.5 percent from $65.7 million, or 53 cents a share, for the same period a year ago.
The per-share figure matched the forecast of 22 analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research.
Total operating revenue grew to $1.26 billion from $1.15 billion a year ago.
Hunt cited load growth of 13 percent in its intermodal division and 16 percent in its integrated capacity solutions division, which boosted revenue for those divisions by 13 percent and 23 percent, respectively. Intermodal operations ship materials in containers using more than one mode of transport - such as truck and rail car.
Operating income for the quarter totaled $137 million, up from $113 million. Operating revenue, excluding fuel surcharges, rose 9 percent from a year ago.
Hunt said the increase was partially offset by increases in truck purchase costs, driver wages, toll road charges, maintenance costs and safety costs, compared with the same year-ago period.
Overall volume was up 13 percent from a year ago.
In the dedicated contract services segment, revenue was $267 million, up 1 percent.
The company said new accounts resulted in an additional 235 revenue-producing trucks during the quarter.
In a research note, analysts Nate Brochmann and Diana Rashkow of William Blair & Co. LLC said many investors view J.B. Hunt as overvalued.
“However, we believe there is upside earnings power to drive greater stock price appreciation from increased intermodal activity, pricing and growth from new dedicated services,” the analysts said.
“As a market leader with a large Fortune 500 customer base, we believe J.B. Hunt is well-positioned to weather most of the near-term volatility and capitalize on the substantial long-term intermodal theme and additional growth from its dedicated businesses,” the report said.
The Zacks report noted that “J.B. Hunt is continuously investing in equipment such as tractors, trailers, containers, trucks, etc., in order to gain market share and produce higher returns on invested capital.”
J.B. Hunt said in a separate release Monday that it is hiring for 20 positions in the Yorktown, Ind., area as a result of a recent account acquisition.
J.B. Hunt’s stock price closed Monday at $58.33, down 76 cents, or 1.29 percent, on the Nasdaq exchange. The stock has traded between $34.42 and $61.18 in the past year.
Business, Pages 19 on 07/17/2012