First-quarter income improves for P.A.M.

Firm defies trucking-industry dip

P.A.M. Transportation Services Inc. reported firstquarter income of $1.35 million, an improvement from the same period last year that came despite a drop in total revenue.

The company reported a loss of $456,267 for the first three months of 2013. This year’s revenue of $97.8 million was a 2 percent decline from 2013. P.A.M. reported earnings per share of $0.17, up from a loss of $0.05 per share in 2013.

“The first quarter was very challenging due to the severe winter weather conditions which made it extremely difficult to maintain positive momentum,” Chief Executive Officer Daniel Cushman said in a news release. “The ability to post positive results, despite the significant weather-related delays and added costs was satisfying and is an indicator of the success of the profit model we continue to develop.”

P.A.M. was able to buck an industry-wide trend of dips in first-quarter revenues because of winter weather. A difficult winter created problems for companies throughout the trucking and transportation industry.

Growth in four of P.A.M.’s divisions helped the company improve its financial standing from last year. Cushman pointed to four divisions - Mexico, expedited, dedicated and automotive - as keys to P.A.M.’s growth.

P.A.M., which ranks No. 65 among Transport Topics’ largest for-hire carriers in the U.S. and Canada, specializes in hauling dry truckload commodities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada and has been traditionally active in the automotive industry.

Improved first-quarter results continued momentum for P.A.M., which ended 2013 by reversing a loss for the final three months of 2012. The company reported net income of $1.295 million for the fourth quarter of 2013, up from a $311,010 loss the year before. P.A.M. improved its yearly profit from $2.1 million to $5.1 million in 2013.

Operating costs are improving for the company because it is investing in new equipment, Cushman said. The average age per truck in the P.A.M. fleet is 1.5 years, down from 3.5 years when the replacement program began in 2011.

“This quarter also marks the three year anniversary date of moving forward with our goal of converting our truck fleet from one of the oldest in the industry to one of the newest,” Cushman said in the release. “… We continue to experience increased performance and lower operating costs and plan to continue our three year replacement cycle going forward.”

Company stock ended the day trading at $23.19 per share, up 19 cents.

P.A.M. has scheduled its annual shareholders meeting for 9 a.m. May 29 in Warren, Mich., at the headquarters of Central Transport Inc., a privately held trucking company owned by the Moroun family. Matthew T. Moroun and Manuel J. Moroun are on the P.A.M. board of directors.

Business, Pages 29 on 04/25/2014

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