Universal Truckload profit rises on fuel charges

Fuel surcharges raised $32.2 million for UTSI, double the $16 million they brought in a year ago.

The Associated Press

10/24/2008

WARREN, Mich. — Universal Truckload Services Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter profit rose 5 percent as it doubled the amount it collected in fuel surcharges.

The trucker reported net income of $5.4 million, or 34 cents per share, compared with net income of $5.1 million, or 32 cents a share. The earnings matched the forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters

Revenue rose 24 percent to $213 million from $171.8 million, topping analysts’ expectation of $195.4 million.

Fuel surcharges raised $32.2 million, double the $16 million they brought in a year ago.

Truckload revenue rose 20 percent to $122.1 million, or more than half the company’s total. That included $9.7 million in revenue from acquisitions made since the fourth quarter of last year.

Universal Truckload shares fell 82 cents, or 5.8 percent, to close the regular session at $13.27 before the release of the financial results.