Usa truck reports fourth quarter 2018 results
Van buren, ark.--(business wire)--usa truck, inc. (nasdaq: usak), a leading capacity solutions provider, today announced its financial results for the three and twelve months ended december 31, 2018. for the quarter ended december 31, 2018, consolidated operating revenue was $141.1 million compared to $123.3 million for the prior-year period. base revenue, which excludes fuel surcharge revenue, was $124.3 million compared to $110.1 million for the 2017 period. the company reported net income of $5.3 million, or $0.64 per diluted share for the fourth quarter 2018 and adjusted net income(a) of $5.7 million, or $0.68 per diluted share, compared to net income of $14.8 million, or $1.84 per diluted share, and adjusted net income(a) of $2.8 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, for the same quarter in 2017. included in earnings per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2017 was the impact of the tax cuts and jobs act of 2017, which resulted in a reduction of income tax expense by approximately $12.0 million, or $1.49 per diluted share. the company’s fourth quarter 2018 consolidated operating ratio was 93.8%, compared to 95.5% in the comparable 2017 quarter. president and ceo james reed commented, "i am pleased to report that our team successfully delivered a sixth consecutive quarter of consolidated profitability, and achieved several impressive milestones on our path to improved performance. the fourth quarter of 2018 generated the highest quarterly adjusted earnings per diluted share(a) in our company's history, at $0.68. the full year 2018 adjusted earnings per diluted share(a) of $1.56 was the third highest in company history. our trucking segment, for the fourth quarter of 2018, generated a 91.1% adjusted operating ratio(a), which represents the best operating ratio our company has produced in its trucking operations in more than twelve years. also, we completed our acquisition of davis transfer company during the quarter and have been pleased with the operational and financial results thus far. while we are proud of these results, management still believes significant opportunity exists to drive further improvements. "we remain focused on seating trucks, improving base revenue per available tractor per week and increasing volume in our usat logistics segment. we believe increased performance in these areas will help us deliver on our goals of continued improvement in our consolidated results and maximizing shareholder value." trucking: for the fourth quarter of 2018, trucking operating revenue increased $14.1 million, or 16.9%, to $97.9 million, compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. this increase was primarily due to a 12.1% increase in base revenue per loaded mile. trucking operating income was $7.4 million for the 2018 period, reflecting an operating ratio of 92.4%, compared to operating income of $3.5 million and an operating ratio of 95.8% for the comparable 2017 period. this represents an improvement of $3.9 million year-over-year in operating income and a 340 basis point improvement in operating ratio. trucking adjusted operating income(a) was $7.6 million for the 2018 period, reflecting an adjusted operating ratio(a) of 91.1%, compared to adjusted operating income(a) of $3.5 million and an adjusted operating ratio(a) of 95.2% for the comparable 2017 period. this represents an improvement of $4.1 million year-over-year in adjusted operating income(a) and a 410 basis point improvement in adjusted operating ratio(a). trucking operations reported the following during the fourth quarter 2018: base revenue per available tractor per week increased $30 per week, or 0.9%, when compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, primarily due to the increase in base revenue per loaded mile. base revenue per loaded mile increased 12.1% to $2.361 for fourth quarter 2018 from $2.106 in fourth quarter 2017. this change was driven by the continuation of rate and network improvement initiatives. loaded miles per available tractor per week decreased 162 miles per tractor, or 10.0%, when compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. deadhead percentage for fourth quarter 2018 increased 170 basis points year-over-year. these changes were driven by the consolidation of davis transfer, growth in our dedicated operations, and participation in seasonal surge business. average available unseated tractor percentage for fourth quarter 2018 was 6.3% compared to 2.6% for the fourth quarter of 2017, as the driver markets continue to be challenging. the average available tractor count for the fourth quarter of 2018 was 1,883, a 15.6% increase over the fourth quarter 2017 average of 1,629. this change was largely a function of the davis acquisition. usat logistics: operating revenue increased 9.3%, or $3.7 million year-over-year to $43.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2018; however, operating income was $1.3 million, a decrease of $0.7 million, or 35.0% year-over-year. operating ratio for the fourth quarter of 2018 was 97.0% compared to 94.9% for the comparable 2017 quarter, representing a 205 basis point decline in operating ratio. adjusted operating income(a) was $1.3 million for the 2018 period, reflecting an adjusted operating ratio(a) of 96.7%, compared to adjusted operating income(a) of $2.0 million and an adjusted operating ratio(a) of 94.6% for the comparable 2017 period. this represents decreases of $0.7 million year-over-year in adjusted operating income(a) and 208 basis points in adjusted operating ratio(a). both revenue and costs continue to rise, resulting in margin compression in our logistics business. we remain focused on providing quality service, while continuing to manage costs. gross margin dollars decreased 8.0%, or $0.6 million year-over-year, to $6.5 million for the fourth quarter 2018. this was a byproduct of compression on gross margin percent, slightly offset by increased volumes. gross margin percentage for the fourth quarter of 2018 decreased to 15.0% from 17.9% when compared to the same quarter in 2017, due to excess capacity in the market driving down average revenue per load. revenue per load decreased 2.9%, or $47 per load, year-over-year. segment results the following table includes key operating results and statistics by reportable segment: adjusted operating income (loss) (in thousands) adjusted operating income (in thousands) (2) balance sheet and liquidity as of december 31, 2018, total debt and capital lease obligations was $160.5 million, total debt and capital lease obligations, net of cash (“net debt”)(a), was $159.5 million and total stockholders’ equity was $80.5 million. net debt to proforma adjusted ebitda(a) for the trailing twelve months ended december 31, 2018 was 2.7x using actual and proforma davis transfer acquisition information. the company had approximately $50.8 million available to borrow under its credit facility as of december 31, 2018. also, as previously announced, on january 31, 2019 the company completed an amended and restated $225 million senior secured revolving credit facility that reduces our future borrowing costs and provides us approximately $55.0 million of additional borrowing capacity at closing. fourth quarter 2018 conference call information usa truck will hold a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter 2018 results on tuesday, february 5, 2019 at 8:00 am ct / 9:00 am et. to participate in the call, please dial 1-844-824-3828 (u.s./canada) or 1-412-317-5138 (international). a live webcast of the conference call will be broadcast in the investor relations section of the company’s website www.usa-truck.com, under the “events & presentations” tab of the “investor relations” menu. for those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, the presentation materials and an audio replay of the call will be available at our website, www.usa-truck.com, under the “events & presentations” tab of the “investor relations” menu, or may be accessed using the following link: https://services.choruscall.com/links/usak181026.html. a telephone replay of the call will also be available through february 12, 2019, and may be accessed by calling 1-877-344-7529 (u.s.), 1-855-669-9658 (canada), or 1-412-317-0088 (international) and by referencing conference id #10125014. (a) about non-gaap financial information in addition to our gaap results, this press release also includes certain non-gaap financial measures, as defined by the sec. the terms "base revenue", “net debt”, “ebitda”, “adjusted ebitda”, “adjusted operating ratio”, “adjusted operating income (loss)”, “adjusted net income (loss)”, and “adjusted earnings (loss) per diluted share”, as we define them, are not presented in accordance with gaap. the company defines net debt as total debt, including insurance premium financing and capital lease obligations, net of cash. the company defines ebitda as net income (loss), plus interest expense net of interest income, provision for income tax expense (benefit) and depreciation and amortization. the company defines adjusted ebitda as ebitda plus non-cash equity compensation, restructuring, impairment and other costs, severance costs included in salaries, wages and employee benefits, and transaction costs related to acquisition. adjusted operating ratio is calculated as operating expenses less restructuring, impairment and other costs, severance costs included in salaries, wages and employee benefits and transaction costs related to acquisition, net of fuel surcharge revenue, as a percentage of operating revenue excluding fuel surcharge revenue. adjusted operating income (loss) is defined as operating income (loss) less restructuring, impairment and other costs, severance costs included in salaries, wages and employee benefits, amortization of acquisition related intangibles, and transaction costs related to acquisition. adjusted net income (loss) is defined as net income (loss) excluding restructuring, impairment and other costs, severance costs included in salaries, wages and employee benefits, amortization of acquisition related intangibles, transaction costs related to acquisition, and the impact of the tax cuts and jobs act of 2017. adjusted earnings (loss) per diluted share is defined as earnings (loss) per share plus the per-share impact of restructuring, impairment and other costs, severance costs included in salaries, wages and employee benefits, amortization of acquisition related intangibles, and transaction costs related to acquisition, plus or minus the per share tax impact of those adjustments using a statutory income tax rate. the per-share impact of each item is determined by dividing it by the weighted average diluted shares outstanding. these financial measures supplement our gaap results in evaluating certain aspects of our business. we believe that using these measures improves comparability in analyzing our performance because they remove the impact of items from our operating results that, in our opinion, do not reflect our core operating performance. management and the board of directors focus on net debt, ebitda, adjusted ebitda, adjusted operating ratio, adjusted operating income (loss), adjusted net income (loss), and adjusted earnings (loss) per diluted share as key measures of our performance, all of which are reconciled to the most comparable gaap financial measures and further discussed below. we believe our presentation of these non-gaap financial measures is useful to investors and other users because it provides them the same information that we use internally for purposes of assessing our core operating performance. net debt, ebitda, adjusted ebitda, adjusted operating ratio, adjusted operating income (loss), adjusted net income (loss), and adjusted earnings (loss) per diluted share are not substitutes for their comparable gaap financial measures, such as net income, cash flows from operating activities, operating margin ratio, diluted earnings per share, or other measures prescribed by gaap. there are limitations to using non-gaap financial measures. although we believe that they improve comparability in analyzing our period to period performance, they could limit comparability to other companies in our industry if those companies define these measures differently. because of these limitations, our non-gaap financial measures should not be considered measures of income generated by our business or discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. management compensates for these limitations by primarily relying on gaap results and using non-gaap financial measures on a supplemental basis. pursuant to the requirements of regulation g and regulation s-k, we have provided reconciliations of ebitda, adjusted ebitda, adjusted operating ratio, adjusted operating income (loss), adjusted net income (loss), and adjusted earnings (loss) per diluted share to the most comparable gaap financial measures at the end of this press release. cautionary statement concerning forward-looking statements financial information in this press release is preliminary and based upon information available to the company as of the date of this press release. as such, this information remains subject to the completion of our annual audit procedures, and the filing of the related annual report on form 10-k, which could result in changes, some of which could be material, to the preliminary information provided in this press release. this press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27a of the securities act of 1933, as amended and section 21e of the securities exchange act of 1934, as amended. such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the provisions of the private securities litigation reform act of 1995. these statements generally may be identified by their use of terms or phrases such as “seek,” “expects,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “believes,” “hopes,” “plans,” “goals,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “likely,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “potential,” “predict,” “continue,” “strategy,” “future” and terms or phrases of similar substance. forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our management and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, which could cause future events and actual results to differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements. accordingly, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. readers should review and consider the factors that may affect future results and other disclosures by the company in its press releases, annual report on form 10-k, quarterly reports on form 10-q, and other filings with the securities and exchange commission. any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. we disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or changes in the factors affecting the forward-looking information, except as required by law. in light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release might not occur. all forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. references to the “company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and words of similar import refer to usa truck, inc. and its subsidiary. about usa truck usa truck provides comprehensive capacity solutions to a broad and diverse customer base throughout north america. our trucking and usat logistics divisions blend an extensive portfolio of asset and asset-light services, offering a balanced approach to supply chain management including customized truckload, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal and third-party logistics freight management services. for more information, visit usa-truck.com or usatlogistics.com. this press release and related information will be available to interested parties at our investor relations website, http://investor.usa-truck.com. (in thousands, except per share data) 4,490 16,721 132,370 8,713 339 1,526 (dollar amounts in thousands, except per share amounts) adjusted net income (loss) reconciliation (214 12,829 adjusted earnings (loss) per diluted share reconciliation 0.02 0.03 adjusted operating ratio and adjusted operating income (loss) reconciliations (in thousands, except share data) december 31,2018 december 31,2017
