Fort Smith-based ArcBest Corp. on Thursday reported second-quarter profit of $17.2 million, or 63 cents per share, a 251 percent increase from $4.9 million, or 18 cents per share, the year before.
The freight-transportation services company cited strong performances at its two largest operating companies, ABF Freight and Panther Premium Logistics, for the improvement, saying the results represented ArcBest's most profitable quarter in six years on a per-share basis.
Revenue for the quarter came to $658.6 million, up 14 percent from the firm’s second-quarter 2013 revenue of $576.9 million, the company said.
At ABF Freight, revenue rose to $492.9 million from $446.8 million the year before, and cost as a percentage of revenue improved after the implementation of a new labor deal last November, the company said. The company cited an percent improvement in daily freight tonnage at the freight unit.
Panther, meanwhile, posted revenue of $81.4 million, a 35 percent increase from $60.4 million the year before, the company said.
"Our second quarter results improved significantly from both the first quarter of 2014 and the year-ago quarter, which was welcome news as we emerged from the harsh winter weather earlier this year," ArcBest President and Chief Executive Officer Judy R. McReynolds said in the statement. "As the economy picked up in the second quarter, ABF Freight experienced better pricing conditions and also saw the positive impact from the new labor agreement, while Panther reported one of the strongest quarters in its history. "
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.