Truckload Carrier Heartland Express posted a sixth consecutive net quarterly loss (excluding punctual gains), but has noted an improvement in fundamentals so far during the new year.
Heartland based in North Liberty, based at Iowa (Nasdaq: HTLD) said a net loss of $ 1.9 million, or 2 cents per share, for the fourth quarter of 2024 (just a loss of 1 cents when excluding depreciation expenses linked to the agreement). The result was better than the consensual expectation of a loss of 4 hundred for the period.
The carrier declared the benefit of the securities per share of 6 cents during the period of the previous year. However, this quarter included non -recurring gains of $ 25.6 million from the sale of three terminals.
In a press release on Tuesday, CEO Mike Gerdin practiced favorable trends so far in the first quarter with the waiting of the momentum throughout the year.
“Although it is at the beginning of the quarter and that the extreme winter weather conditions so far in 2025 make the comparison difficult, we note a positive change in the client and volume level negotiations that we plan to strengthen over of the year, “said Gerdin.
The fourth quarter included 6 million dollars of gains on the sale of used equipment, which are consulted by analysts within the framework of normal operations and recurring compensation for operating expenses. However, Heartland’s earnings on equipment sales in 2024 were strongly weighted in the fourth quarter (80% of the annual total) and benefited from the period of approximately 6 cents when using a rate of standardized taxation.
Fourth quarter turnover of $ 242.6 million was 11.9% of a drop from year to year and 8.9% lower when excluding the impact of supplements of supplements fuel. The income to the exclusion of fuel was 5.5% lower than that of the third quarter.
Heartland does not provide operational measures for use and prices.
The carrier reserved an adjusted operating ratio of 98.9% (operating expenses expressed as a percentage of income), which was 400 basic points worse than the fourth quarter of 2023 (including real estate gains) but one Improvement compared to 105.8% or which excluded the gains.
Wages, wages and benefits (in percentage of income) fell from 60 basis points in GB, and rents and the purchase of transport costs fell by 220 base points. Operating and maintenance costs were 190 BPS higher, the average age of tractors increased to 2.5 years during the quarter, passing by 2.2 years in the period of the previous year.
The age of the company’s average tractor for the current cycle culminated at 2.7 years in the third quarter.
Sonar: outgoing tender rejection index for 2025 (blue shaded area), 2024 (green line) and 2023 (pink line). An indirect indicator of the ability of the truck, the outgoing tender rejection index shows the number of charges rejected by the carriers. Current tenders refusals outdoor the depressed levels observed in January 2024 and January 2023, and approach the market balance. To find out more about Sonar, Click here.
Heartland experienced an extended extent of difficult results in part because of the severity of the freight of freight but also as it acquired two fleets (Smith Transport and Contract Freighters) in the summer of 2022 – The first days of the slowdown.
