C.H. Robinson Reports 2024 Third Quarter Results

Business Wire 30-Oct-2024 4:05 PM

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. ("C.H. Robinson") (NASDAQ:CHRW) today reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024.

Third Quarter Highlights:

• Significant year-over-year increase in profitability, driven by strong execution, disciplined volume growth and improvement in gross profit, productivity and operating leverage
• Gross profits increased 15.5% to $723.8 million
• Income from operations increased 58.7% to $180.1 million
• Adjusted operating margin⁽¹⁾ increased 660 basis points to 24.5%
• Adjusted operating margin, excluding restructuring and loss on divestiture⁽¹⁾, increased 1,120 basis points to 32.9%
• Diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased 17.6% to $0.80
• Adjusted EPS⁽¹⁾ increased 45.5% to $1.28
• Cash generated by operations decreased by $97.2 million to $108.1 million provided by operations, due to an increase in net operating working capital related to higher ocean rates

"I'm pleased with our third quarter results that reflect continued improvement in our execution, as we continue to deploy our new operating model. We are raising the bar, even in a historically prolonged freight recession, with strong execution and disciplined volume growth across divisions while delivering exceptional service for our customers and carriers," said C.H. Robinson's President and Chief Executive Officer, Dave Bozeman. "I want to thank our people, one of our greatest competitive advantages, for their relentless efforts to embrace our new operating model and execute in a fit, fast and focused way so we can keep pushing that bar higher."

"Due to a focus on constantly testing market conditions and optimizing yield, we improved the quality of our volume in the third quarter and continued to expand our NAST gross profit margin. We also continued to push our efficiency to higher levels in both NAST and Global Forwarding, and we remain on track to deliver greater than 30% compound growth in productivity over the two-year period from the end of 2022 to end of 2024."

"Our new operating model has changed how we discover and inspect root cause issues and quickly implement countermeasures to improve the level of our operational execution. The reliability of our operating reviews continues to increase, as we leverage our data rich environment to inform our decision making and enhance our competitive differentiation," said Bozeman. "At an organizational level, we continue to cascade the operating model deeper into the organization and build operational muscle at various levels of the enterprise to deliver on our strategic roadmap. As part of this effort, an evolving toolkit is being used by our employees in the form of problem resolution, balanced scorecard reviews, daily management, and value stream mapping, to name a few."

"Empowering our people with the Robinson operating model is creating a flywheel of performance, talent development and accountability that is evolving our culture to be driven by progress, execution and proactive problem identification and resolution. This is showing up in improvements such as more disciplined pricing and better decisions on the volume that we're seeking. We are still early in our journey, but the operating model is helping us execute a solid strategy even better, and we expect further improvement as our team continues to embrace this new way of operating. As I've said before, I know from my past experiences of implementing Lean operating models that improvement isn't always linear. But I'm confident in the team's willingness and ability to drive a higher and more consistent level of discipline in our operational execution," Bozeman concluded.

Summary of Third Quarter of 2024 Results Compared to the Third Quarter of 2023

• Total revenues increased 7.0% to $4.6 billion, primarily driven by higher pricing and volume in our ocean services, partially offset by lower pricing and volume in truckload services.
• Gross profits increased 15.5% to $723.8 million. Adjusted gross profits increased 15.8% to $735.3 million, primarily driven by higher adjusted gross profit per transaction in our ocean and truckload services.
• Operating expenses increased 6.5% to $555.1 million. Personnel expenses increased 5.2% to $361.6 million, primarily due to higher variable compensation, partially offset by cost optimization efforts. Average employee headcount declined 9.6%. Other selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses increased 8.9% to $193.6 million, primarily due to a $57.0 million loss on the planned divestiture of our Europe Surface Transportation business. The prior year included $21.4 million of restructuring expenses, primarily related to the divestiture of our operations in Argentina. In addition, other SG&A expenses decreased across several expense categories in the current year.
• Income from operations totaled $180.1 million, up 58.7% due to the increase in adjusted gross profits, partially offset by the increase in operating expenses. Adjusted operating margin⁽¹⁾ of 24.5% increased 660 basis points.
• Interest and other income/expense, net totaled $36.3 million of expense, consisting primarily of $22.1 million of interest expense, which increased $0.2 million versus last year, and a $15.1 million net loss from foreign currency revaluation and realized foreign currency gains and losses.
• The effective tax rate in the quarter was 32.4%, compared to 11.7% in the third quarter last year. The higher rate in the third quarter of this year was driven by the impact of higher pre-tax income and non-recurring discrete items in the quarter, partially offset by increased tax benefit related to stock-based compensation and higher U.S. tax credits.
• Net income totaled $97.2 million, up 18.6% from a year ago. Diluted EPS of $0.80 increased 17.6%. Adjusted EPS⁽¹⁾ of $1.28 increased 45.5%.

⁽¹⁾ Adjusted operating margin and adjusted EPS are non-GAAP financial measures. The same factors described in this release that impacted these non-GAAP measures also impacted the comparable GAAP measures. Refer to pages 11 through 13 for further discussion and GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations.

Summary of 2024 Year-to-Date Results Compared to 2023

• Total revenues increased 1.2% to $13.5 billion, primarily driven by higher pricing and volume in our ocean services, partially offset by lower pricing in our truckload services.
• Gross profits increased 4.4% to $2.0 billion. Adjusted gross profits increased 4.8% to $2.1 billion, primarily driven by higher adjusted gross profit per transaction in our ocean and truckload services.
• Operating expenses increased 1.0% to $1.6 billion. Personnel expenses decreased 0.2% to $1.1 billion, primarily due to cost optimization efforts partially offset by higher variable compensation. Average employee headcount declined 10.5%. Other SG&A expenses increased 3.9% to $493.2 million primarily due to the $57.0 million loss on the planned divestiture of our Europe Surface Transportation business. The prior year included $22.6 million of restructuring expenses, primarily related to the divestiture of our operations in Argentina. In addition, other SG&A expenses decreased across several expense categories in the current year.
• Income from operations totaled $485.3 million, up 19.2% from last year, due to the increase in adjusted gross profits, partially offset by an increase in operating expenses. Adjusted operating margin⁽¹⁾ of 23.3% increased 280 basis points.
• Interest and other income/expense, net totaled $74.6 million of expense, primarily consisting of $67.1 million of interest expense, which decreased $1.5 million versus last year, due to a lower average debt balance. The year-to-date results also include a $10.7 million net loss from foreign currency revaluation and realized foreign currency gains and losses.
• The effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 was 23.0% compared to 13.5% in the year-ago period. The higher rate in the current period was driven by the impact of higher pre-tax income and non-recurring discrete items in the quarter, partially offset by higher U.S. tax credits.
• Net income totaled $316.4 million, up 7.6% from a year ago. Diluted EPS of $2.63 increased 6.9%. Adjusted EPS⁽¹⁾ of $3.30 increased 17.9%.

North American Surface Transportation ("NAST") Results

Summarized financial results of our NAST segment are as follows (dollars in thousands):

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Third quarter total revenues for the NAST segment totaled $2.9 billion, a decrease of 4.9% over the prior year, primarily driven by lower truckload pricing, reflecting an oversupply of truckload capacity compared to freight demand. NAST adjusted gross profits increased 8.8% in the quarter to $420.7 million. Adjusted gross profits in truckload increased 16.6% due to a 21.0% increase in adjusted gross profit per shipment, partially offset by a 3.5% decrease in truckload shipments. Our average truckload linehaul rate per mile charged to our customers, which excludes fuel surcharges, increased approximately 2.5% in the quarter compared to the prior year, while truckload linehaul cost per mile, excluding fuel surcharges, also decreased 0.5%, resulting in a 21.5% increase in truckload adjusted gross profit per mile. LTL adjusted gross profits increased 3.7% versus the year-ago period, driven by a 2.5% increase in LTL volume and a 1.0% increase in adjusted gross profit per order. NAST overall volume increased modestly for the quarter. Operating expenses decreased 0.9%, primarily due to cost optimization efforts and lower credit losses, which were partially offset by higher variable compensation. NAST average employee headcount was down 10.9% in the quarter. Income from operations increased 32.7% to $148.8 million, and adjusted operating margin expanded 640 basis points to 35.4%.

Global Forwarding Results

Summarized financial results of our Global Forwarding segment are as follows (dollars in thousands):

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Third quarter total revenues for the Global Forwarding segment increased 58.7% to $1.1 billion, primarily driven by higher pricing and volume in our ocean services. Adjusted gross profits increased 38.1% in the quarter to $234.6 million. Ocean adjusted gross profits increased 57.4%, driven by a 47.0% increase in adjusted gross profit per shipment and a 7.0% increase in shipments. Air adjusted gross profits increased 11.4%, driven by a 20.0% increase in metric tons shipped, partially offset by a 7.0% decrease in adjusted gross profit per metric ton shipped. Customs adjusted gross profits increased 13.5%, driven by both a 7.0% increase in adjusted gross profit per transaction and a 6.5% increase in transaction volume. Operating expenses decreased 11.9%, primarily due to a $23.6 million of restructuring expenses in the prior year, primarily related to the divestiture of our operations in Argentina, and due to cost optimization efforts in the current year. Third quarter average employee headcount decreased 10.4%. Income from operations increased to $88.1 million, and adjusted operating margin expanded 3,550 basis points to 37.6% in the quarter.

All Other and Corporate Results

Total revenues and adjusted gross profits for Robinson Fresh, Managed Services and Other Surface Transportation are summarized as follows (dollars in thousands):

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Third quarter Robinson Fresh adjusted gross profits increased 18.1% to $36.7 million due to an increase in integrated supply chain solutions for retail and foodservice customers. Managed Services adjusted gross profits decreased 5.0% due to lower transaction volume. Other Surface Transportation adjusted gross profits decreased 14.7% to $15.3 million, primarily due to a 17.0% decrease in Europe truckload adjusted gross profits.

Other Income Statement Items

Interest and other income/expense, net totaled $36.3 million of expense, consisting primarily of $22.1 million of interest expense, which increased $0.2 million versus the third quarter of 2023 and a $15.1 million net loss from foreign currency revaluation and realized foreign currency gains and losses.

The third quarter effective tax rate was 32.4%, up from 11.7% last year. The higher rate in the third quarter of this year was driven by the impact of higher pre-tax income and non-recurring discrete items in the quarter, partially offset by increased tax benefit related to stock-based compensation and higher U.S. tax credits. For 2024, we now expect our full-year effective tax rate to be 18% to 20%.

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding in the quarter were up 1.2%.

Cash Flow Generation and Capital Distribution

Cash generated from operations totaled $108.1 million in the third quarter, compared to $205.2 million of cash generated from operations in the third quarter of 2023. The $97.2 million decrease in cash flow from operations was primarily related to a $190.0 million decline in cash provided by changes in net operating working capital, due to a $165.5 million sequential increase in net operating working capital in the third quarter of 2024 compared to a $24.5 million sequential decrease in the third quarter of 2023.

In the third quarter of 2024, cash returned to shareholders totaled $77.1 million, with $73.0 million in cash dividends and $4.1 million in repurchases of common stock.

Capital expenditures totaled $17.3 million in the quarter. Capital expenditures for 2024 are now expected to be $75 million to $85 million.

About C.H. Robinson

C.H. Robinson delivers logistics like no one else™. Companies around the world look to us to reimagine supply chains, advance freight technology, and solve logistics challenges—from the simple to the most complex. Over 90,000 customers and 450,000 contract carriers in our network trust us to manage $22 billion in freight annually. Through our unmatched expertise, unrivaled scale, and tailored solutions, we ensure the seamless delivery of goods across industries and continents via truckload, less-than-truckload, ocean, air, and beyond. As a responsible global citizen, we make supply chains more sustainable and proudly contribute millions to the causes that matter most to our employees. For more information, visit us at chrobinson.com (NASDAQ:CHRW).

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this release are forward-looking statements that represent our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies concerning future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience or our present expectations, including, but not limited to, factors such as changes in economic conditions, including uncertain consumer demand; changes in market demand and pressures on the pricing for our services; fuel price increases or decreases, or fuel shortages; competition and growth rates within the global logistics industry that could adversely impact our profitability; freight levels and increasing costs and availability of truck capacity or alternative means of transporting freight; risks associated with seasonal changes or significant disruptions in the transportation industry; risks associated with identifying and completing suitable acquisitions; our dependence on and changes in relationships with existing contracted truck, rail, ocean, and air carriers; risks associated with the loss of significant customers; risks associated with reliance on technology to operate our business; cyber-security related risks; our ability to staff and retain employees; risks associated with operations outside of the U.S.; our ability to successfully integrate the operations of acquired companies with our historic operations; climate change related risks; risks associated with our indebtedness; risks associated with interest rates; risks associated with litigation, including contingent auto liability and insurance coverage; risks associated with the potential impact of changes in government regulations including environmental-related regulations; risks associated with the changes to income tax regulations; risks associated with the produce industry, including food safety and contamination issues; the impact of changes in political and governmental conditions; changes to our capital structure; changes due to catastrophic events; risks associated with the usage of artificial intelligence technologies; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in our Annual and Quarterly Reports.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to update such statement to reflect events or circumstances arising after such date. All remarks made during our financial results conference call will be current at the time of the call, and we undertake no obligation to update the replay.

Conference Call Information:

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call Wednesday, October 30, 2024; 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Presentation slides and a simultaneous live audio webcast of the conference call may be accessed through the Investor Relations link on C.H. Robinson's website at chrobinson.com. To participate in the conference call by telephone, please call ten minutes early by dialing: 877-269-7756

Adjusted Gross Profit by Service Line (in thousands)

This table of summary results presents our service line adjusted gross profits on an enterprise basis. The service line adjusted gross profits in the table differ from the service line adjusted gross profits discussed within the segments as our segments may have revenues from multiple service lines.

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GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation (unaudited, in thousands)

Our adjusted gross profit is a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted gross profit is calculated as gross profit excluding amortization of internally developed software utilized to directly serve our customers and contracted carriers. We believe adjusted gross profit is a useful measure of our ability to source, add value, and sell services and products that are provided by third parties, and we consider adjusted gross profit to be a primary performance measurement. Accordingly, the discussion of our results of operations often focuses on the changes in our adjusted gross profit. The reconciliation of gross profit to adjusted gross profit is presented below (in thousands):

Our adjusted operating margin is a non-GAAP financial measure calculated as operating income divided by adjusted gross profit. Our adjusted operating margin - excluding restructuring and loss on divestiture is a similar non-GAAP financial measure as adjusted operating margin, but also excludes the impact of restructuring and loss on divestiture. We believe adjusted operating margin and adjusted operating margin - excluding restructuring and loss on divestiture are useful measures of our profitability in comparison to our adjusted gross profit, which we consider a primary performance metric as discussed above. The comparisons of operating margin to adjusted operating margin and adjusted operating margin - excluding restructuring and loss on divestiture are presented below:

GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation (unaudited, in thousands)

Our adjusted income (loss) from operations, adjusted operating margin - excluding restructuring and loss on divestiture, adjusted net income and adjusted net income per share (diluted) are non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP measures are calculated excluding the impact of restructuring, losses from divestitures, and foreign currency losses from our Argentina operations. We believe that these measures provide useful information to investors and include them within our internal reporting to our chief operating decision maker. Accordingly, the discussion of our results of operations includes discussion on the changes in our adjusted income (loss) from operations, adjusted operating margin - excluding restructuring and loss on divestiture, adjusted net income and adjusted net income per share (diluted). The reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures are presented below (in thousands except per share data):

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Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited, in thousands, except per share data)

Business Segment Information (unaudited, in thousands, except average employee headcount)

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Business Segment Information (unaudited, in thousands, except average employee headcount)

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Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (unaudited, in thousands)

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow (unaudited, in thousands, except operational data)

Source: C.H. Robinson

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