P.A.M. Transportation Services on Wednesday reported a drop in third quarter revenue and a 75% drop in profit as the company and the industry face what many are calling a trucking recession.
"The third quarter presented very challenging comparisons to the same quarter last year," Joe Vitiritto, P.A.M.'s president said in a statement."The third quarter of 2022 was one of the best in our company's history while the third quarter this year was faced with an unprecedented unfavorable truckload market. Despite market challenges, we did see improvement in factors that we believe will position the company favorably when truckload market conditions improve."
The Tontitown based transportation company reported its earnings after market close on Wednesday and didn't hold a conference call to discuss its results.
P.A.M. reported net income of $6.1 million or 28 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with net income of $24.56 million or $1.09 per share for the year ago period. A single analyst had predicted earnings per share of 35 cents for the third quarter, according to Yahoo Finance.
Revenue for the period was $201.5 million, down 20% from $252.6 million for the third quarter last year. The single analyst had expected revenue of $204.9 million.
P.A.M.'s shares closed at $20.86, down $1.06 or nearly 5% in trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq before its third quarter earnings were released. Shares have traded as low as $20.04 and as high as $32.27 over the past year.
The operating ratio for the company's truckload operations for the period was 93.3%, up from 85.7% for the quarter a year ago. A lower operating ratio is considered favorable as it shows expenses are eating up a smaller percentage of sales.
Truckloads for the quarter were 105,342, down 4% from 110,192 a year ago. Revenue per truck, per week was $3,891, down nearly 15% from $4,562 a year ago. Revenue per total mile, before fuel surcharge was $2.26, down 12% from $2.56 last year.
P.A.M.'s logistics operations posted revenue of $62.1 million, down from $71.5 million a year ago. Its operating ratio for the third quarter was 93.3%, down from 85.7% last year.
"Looking ahead, we will continue to stay focused on investing in the areas of our business that will help us to consistently grow, increase efficiencies and deliver value to our customers, shareholders and employees," Vitiritto said.