A bigger network and strong demand helped fuel profits for Thomasville, NC-based LTL carrier Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) in the first quarter, with net income increasing 39.4% to $13 million on 23.2% higher revenues $291.6 million compared to the same period last year.
“These results are primarily due to the continued expansion of market share within our existing service center network, even as we continued the steady expansion of our geographic footprint,” said Earl Congdon, ODFL chairman & CEO.
“We expanded our … network by 16 service centers, raising our total to 170 in operation in 46 states at the end of the quarter,” he noted. “We also added 13 service centers through the acquisition of certain assets of UW Freight Line, enabling us to initiate operations in two new states and expand full-state coverage to 37 states.”
Congdon added that revenue growth in the first quarter this year mainly resulted from a 20.6% growth in LTL tons shipped in a relatively stable pricing environment. “Our tonnage growth consisted of an 11.5% increase in LTL shipments and an 8.1% increase in LTL weight per LTL shipment in the first quarter,” he said.
Based on those results, ODFL is making a bullish forecast for the rest of 2006, projecting earnings of $1.76 to $1.84 per share. “Our results … also support our ability to achieve our objective of at least 20% revenue growth for 2006 and over $2 billion in revenue for 201,” Congdon added.