Yahoo Finance Werner Enterprises (WERN) Q4 Earnings, Revenues Top Estimates
Werner Enterprises, Inc. WERN reported solid fourth-quarter 2022 results, wherein earnings and revenues outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Quarterly earnings of 99 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 92 cents. However, the bottom line fell 13% on a year-over-year basis.
Total revenues of $861.5 million outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $843.7 million. The top line increased 13% on a year-over-year basis, primarily on higher revenues in the Truckload Transportation Services (TTS) and Logistics segments.
Werner Enterprises, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Werner Enterprises, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Werner Enterprises, Inc. Quote
Operating income (adjusted) came in at $89.91 million in the reported quarter, which fell 11% year over year. Adjusted operating margin fell 280 basis points (bps) to 10.4%. Operating expenses rose 15.9% to $773.11 million in the reported quarter.
Segmental Results
Revenues in the TTS segment increased 13% on a year-over-year basis to $634.78 million on the back of solid freight demand. Adjusted operating income decreased 8% to $83.10 million. Adjusted operating margin fell 290 bps to 13.1%. Adjusted operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) improved 290 bps to 86.9%.
The Logistics segment’s revenues totaled $213.48 million, up 15% year over year. The segment reported an adjusted operating income of $8.02 million, down 32% year over year. Adjusted operating margin fell 260 bps to 3.8%.
Liquidity
As of Dec 31, 2022, Werner had cash and cash equivalents of $107.24 million compared with $125.68 million at the end of September 2022. Long-term debt (net of current portion) totaled $687.50 million at the end of the reported quarter compared with $568.75 million at the end of September 2022.
The company generated $116 million of cash from operations in fourth-quarter 2022. Capital expenditures came in at $63.5 million.
During the reported quarter, Werner did not repurchase any share. As of Dec 31, 2022, WERN had 2.3 million shares available under its share repurchase authorization.
Outlook
Werner anticipates TTS truck growth of 1-4% for 2023. Net capital expenditures are estimated in the band of $350-$400 million. Under the TTS guidance, WERN estimates Dedicated revenues per truck per week to increase 0-3% in 2023. The effective income tax rate is expected to be 24-25%.
One-way Truckload revenues per total mile are predicted to decline in the range of 3%-6%. Werner expects the truck age to be 2.2 years for 2023, while the 2023 trailer age is forecast to be five years.
Currently, Werner carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performance of Other Transportation Companies
United Airlines’ UAL fourth-quarter 2022 earnings of $2.46 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.07. In the year-ago quarter, UAL incurred a loss of $1.60 per share when air-travel demand was not as buoyant as in the current scenario. The fourth quarter of 2022 was the third consecutive profitable quarter at UAL since the onset of the pandemic.
Operating revenues of $12,400 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12,230 million. UAL’s revenues increased 51.37% year over year owing to upbeat air-travel demand. The optimistic air-travel demand scenario is also evident from the fact that total operating revenues increased 13.9% from fourth-quarter 2019 (pre-coronavirus) levels.
Delta Air Lines’ DAL fourth-quarter 2022 earnings (excluding 19 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.48 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.29 per share. DAL reported earnings of 22 cents per share a year ago, dull in comparison to the current scenario, as air-travel demand was not so buoyant then.
DAL reported revenues of $13,435 million, which also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13,030.3 million. Driven by the high air-travel demand, total revenues increased more than 41.87% on a year-over-year basis.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.’s JBHT fourth-quarter 2022 earnings of $1.92 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.45 and declined 16% year over year.
JBHT’s total operating revenues of $3,649.62 million also lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,796.8 million. The top line jumped 4.4% year over year. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharges, fell 2.9% year over year.
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