Old Dominion Freight (NASDAQ:ODFL) Line’s ODFL fourth-quarter 2021 earnings per share of $2.41 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 17 cents. The bottom line surged 49.7% year over year. The upside was driven by an improvement in the operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) on the back of higher revenues.
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. Quote
Revenues of $1410.4 million also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,372.5 million and increased 31.4% year over year. The uptick was backed by a 14.3% increase in LTL (Less-Than-Truckload) tons per day and a 16.1% rise in LTL revenue per hundredweight.
Other Details
In the quarter under review, LTL weight per shipment fell 2.7%, while LTL revenue per shipment rose 12.9%. LTL shipments and LTL shipments per day were up 15.6% and 17.5% year over year, respectively.
Old Dominion’s major revenue-generating segment LTL services logged a total of $1,389.8 million, up 31.4% year over year. Revenues from other services rallied 33% to $20.6 million.
Total operating expenses moved up 26.7% to $1,037.9 million, mainly due to a 21.6% rise in costs pertaining to salaries, wages & benefits, a 59.3% increase in operating supplies and expenses as well as a 68.2% surge in purchased transportation costs. Operating ratio improved 270 basis points to 73.6%. Lower the value of this metric, the better.
Old Dominion exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents worth $462.56 million compared with $401.43 million at the end of 2020. Capital expenditures incurred in the reported quarter were $165.4 million. Old Dominion expects a capex of $825 million for 2022. Of the total, $300 million is anticipated to be invested in real estate and service-center expansion. ODFL expects to spend $485 million and $40 million on tractors/trailers and information technology and other assets, respectively.
During the fourth quarter, Old Dominion — currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) — paid out dividends worth $23 million to its shareholders. The trucking company did not utilize cash for share buybacks during the final quarter of 2021, although the $250-million accelerated share repurchase program inked in August, 2021, remains active. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Dividend Increase
Apart from releasing earnings results, Old Dominion’s board cleared a quarterly dividend of 30 cents per share, representing an increase of 50%. The hiked dividend will be paid out on Mar 16, 2022, to its shareholders of record at the close of business on Mar 2.
Sectorial Snapshots
Let’s take a look at some of the other earnings releases from companies within the Zacks Transportation sector.
CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX)’s CSX fourth-quarter 2021 earnings of 42 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The bottom line improved in double digits year over year owing to higher revenues.
Total revenues of $3,427 million outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3296 million. The top line jumped 21.3% year over year owing to growth across all its businesses, and revenues from Quality Carriers, which the company acquired in July 2021. Fourth-quarter operating income climbed 12% to $1,366 million.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services JBHT reported fourth-quarter 2021 earnings of $2.28 per share. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.99. The bottom line surged 58.3% year over year on the back of higher revenues across all segments.
J.B. Hunt’s operating revenues of $3,497 million also outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,287.8 million. The top line increased 27.7% year over year. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharges, rose 21.7% year over year.
United Airlines UAL incurred a loss (excluding 39 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.60 per share in fourth-quarter 2021, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $2.23. The amount of loss narrowed 77.1% year over year.
United Airlines’ operating revenues of $8,192 million also outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7,930.9 million. The top line surged more than 100% year over year, with passenger revenues contributing 84% to the top line and surging 185.4% to $6,878 million.
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