PHOENIX — Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings has reported first quarter 2024 net loss of $2.6 million and an adjusted net income attributable to Knight-Swift of $19.8 million.
Generally accepted accounting principals (loss) earnings per diluted share for the first quarter of 2024 were $(0.02), compared to $0.64 for the first quarter of 2023, according to a news release.
The adjusted earnings per share (EPS) was $0.12 for the first quarter of 2024, compared to $0.73 for the first quarter of 2023. The current quarter results include an operating loss of $19.5 million for the company’s third-party insurance business, which ceased operations at the end of the quarter. The insurance loss negatively impacted the company’s adjusted EPS by $0.08 per share.
Excluding the loss on the insurance business, the company’s adjusted EPS would have been $0.20.
Key Financial Highlights
During the first quarter of 2024, consolidated total revenue was $1.8 billion, which is an 11.3% increase from the first quarter of 2023 largely due to the acquisition of U.S. Xpress Enterprises effective July 1. Consolidated operating income was $20.6 million, reflecting a decrease of 85.8%, as compared to the same quarter last year.
- Truckload — 97.3% Adjusted Operating Ratio, with a 26.3% year-over-year increase in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, as a result of the inclusion of the truckload business of U.S. Xpress. Adjusted Operating Ratio worsened by 1,070 basis points year-over-year primarily due to the 10.2% decline in revenue per loaded mile, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, and the 2.7% increase in cost per mile largely as a result of weather disruptions in the current quarter.
- Less-than-truckload (LTL) — 90.0% Adjusted Operating Ratio, with a 12.6% year-over-year increase in revenues, excluding fuel surcharge. While shipments per day increased 6.1% and revenue per hundredweight excluding fuel surcharge increased 13.3% year-over-year, the impact of the weather disruptions on volumes and operating costs, and incremental maintenance and labor costs as the company expands, contributed to Adjusted Operating Income declining by 20.6%. The company opened seven new locations during the quarter as the company continues to grow the company’s network.
- Logistics — 97.1% Adjusted Operating Ratio with a gross margin of 16.8% while revenue, excluding intersegment transactions, declined 7.3%, including the U.S. Xpress logistics business. Load count declined from the weather disruptions as well as the company’s decision to divert loads to the Truckload segment to offset the loss of contractual volumes in recent bids. The Adjusted Operating Ratio and gross margin percent of the U.S. Xpress logistics business performed in line with the legacy logistics business in the quarter.
- Intermodal — 105.6% operating ratio, as load count declined 1.6% and revenue per load declined 19.1% yearover-year, partly due to less project revenue in the current period.
- All Other Segments — Operating loss increased to $20.4 million in the current quarter including the $19.5 million operating loss of the company’s third-party insurance business. The insurance loss negatively impacted the company’s adjusted EPS by $0.08 per share. The third-party insurance business ceased all operations at the end of the first quarter. In addition, the operating loss includes $8.2 million of severance, legal accrual, and impairment charges which are excluded from the company’s adjusted EPS.
“The full truckload market remains extremely challenging as carriers navigate the oversupply of capacity, reduced load volumes, and continued rate pressure through the early part of the bid season, said Adam Miller, Knight-Swift’s CEO. “This has negatively impacted the results of our Truckload, Logistics and Intermodal segments. The LTL market continues to be healthy, and we remain encouraged with the growth of our LTL segment and plan to open 25 new facilities over the remainder of the year in addition to the seven locations we opened during the quarter. We expect this expansion will open new service territories and allow us to grow our relationships with current customers and open opportunities with new customers.”
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
