ArcBest Announces Third Quarter 2024 Results

Business Wire 1-Nov-2024 6:00 AM

• Continued focus on cost control initiatives to mitigate headwinds from challenging freight environment
• Productivity gains from technology, training, and network design
• Service improvements, including Mastio recognizing ABF for exceeding the industry benchmark on service

ArcBest^® (NASDAQ:ARCB), a leader in supply chain logistics, today reported third quarter 2024 revenue of $1.06 billion, compared to $1.13 billion in third quarter 2023. Net income was $100.3 million, or $4.23 per diluted share, including a $69.1 million after-tax benefit from the reduction in the fair value of contingent consideration related to a 2021 acquisition, compared to $34.9 million, or $1.42 per diluted share in the prior year. On a non-GAAP basis, third quarter 2024 net income was $38.8 million, or $1.64 per diluted share, compared to $56.7 million, or $2.31 per diluted share in the prior year.

"Over the past year, we have made substantial strides in controlling costs, improving productivity, and enhancing our service quality. These efforts contributed to ABF once again being recognized by Mastio for exceeding the industry benchmark for service," said Judy R. McReynolds, ArcBest Chairman and CEO. "This achievement is a testament to our unwavering commitment to excellence and our strategic investments in technology, training, and network design. Thank you to our customers for this recognition and to our team for their hard work and dedication."

A 2021 truckload brokerage acquisition included a potential additional payout based on an earnout provision contingent on meeting specific targets through 2025. Due to the prolonged soft truckload market, no payments were made in 2023, and none are expected in 2024. With industry forecasts now suggesting a market recovery later in 2025, the likelihood of an earnout payment has been reduced. Consequently, in the third quarter, the estimated contingent consideration liability was reduced by $91.9 million pre-tax, or $69.1 million after-tax. This benefit is recorded as a reduction to expense in the Company's GAAP results but has been excluded from non-GAAP results to better represent normal operations.

Results of Operations Comparisons

Asset-Based

Third Quarter 2024 Versus Third Quarter 2023

• Revenue of $709.7 million compared to $741.2 million, a per-day decrease of 5.8 percent
• Total tonnage per day decrease of 11.3 percent
• Total shipments per day decrease of 0.7 percent
• Total billed revenue per hundredweight increase of 7.4 percent
• Operating income of $64.0 million and an operating ratio of 91.0 percent, compared to $74.8 million and an operating ratio of 89.9 percent
• On a non-GAAP basis, operating income of $64.0 million and an operating ratio of 91.0 percent, compared to $82.8 million and an operating ratio of 88.8 percent

On a non-GAAP basis, the Asset-Based segment generated $18.8 million less operating income than third quarter 2023. Third quarter tonnage declines were driven by a 10.7 percent decrease in weight per shipment, while daily shipments were down only slightly. Prolonged manufacturing sector weakness continues to negatively impact weight per shipment metrics. Productivity improvements of 5.7 percent and other cost initiatives helped mitigate the impact of the softer market environment, higher insurance costs, and higher labor cost increases related to an annual union contract rate increase, which went into effect during the third quarter of 2024.

Pricing momentum continued in the quarter, driven by a 5.9 percent general rate increase put in place on September 9, 2024, and contract renewal increases of 4.6 percent. Overall, LTL industry pricing remains rational.

Compared sequentially to the second quarter of 2024, third quarter 2024 revenue per day was flat, shipments per day improved by 1.4 percent, and billed revenue per hundredweight was 1.3 percent higher. However, weight per shipment deteriorated 3.2 percent and tonnage per day decreased 1.8 percent. Lower tonnage combined with higher labor and insurance costs resulted in the operating ratio deterioration of 120 basis points sequentially, which was below the average sequential quarterly changes achieved in recent years.

Asset-Light

Third Quarter 2024 Versus Third Quarter 2023

• Revenue of $385.3 million compared to $419.3 million, a per-day decrease of 9.6 percent
• Operating income of $84.8 million, including the $91.9 million pre-tax reduction in the fair value of contingent consideration related to an earnout, compared to operating loss of $3.7 million
• On a non-GAAP basis, operating loss of $3.9 million in both periods
• Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA"), as defined in the attached non-GAAP reconciliation tables, of negative $2.1 million compared to negative $2.0 million

Compared to the third quarter of 2023, Asset-Light revenues were impacted by lower revenue per shipment associated with the soft rate environment and a higher mix of managed transportation business, which has smaller shipment sizes and lower revenue per shipment metrics. Shipments per day were slightly lower by 0.7 percent. Non-GAAP operating results were comparable to the third quarter prior year. The segment continues to benefit from productivity initiatives, as shipments per employee per day improved 19.5 percent, on a year-over-year basis, but the soft freight environment and excess truckload capacity continues to impact results.

Compared sequentially to second quarter 2024, third quarter 2024 shipments per day were flat, yet daily revenue was down by 1.9 percent as revenue per shipment decreased 2.3 percent. Shipments per employee per day, improved by 3.3 percent, and total operating costs were managed lower. The $1.5 million sequential increase in non-GAAP operating loss was due primarily to the current truckload brokerage pricing environment.

Conference Call

ArcBest will host a conference call with company executives to discuss the quarterly results. The call will be today, Friday, November 1, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. EDT (8:30 a.m. CDT). Interested parties are invited to listen by calling (800) 715-9871 or by joining the webcast which can be found on ArcBest's website at arcb.com. Slides to accompany this call are included in Exhibit 99.3 of the Form 8-K filed on November 1, 2024, will be posted and available to download on the company's website prior to the scheduled conference time, and will be included in the webcast. Following the call, a recorded playback will be available through the end of the day on November 15, 2024. To listen to the playback, dial (800) 770-2030. The conference call ID for the live conference call and the playback is 2815802. The conference call and playback can also be accessed through November 15, 2024 on ArcBest's website at arcb.com.

About ArcBest

ArcBest^® (NASDAQ:ARCB) is a multibillion-dollar integrated logistics company that helps keep the global supply chain moving. Founded in 1923 and now with 15,000 employees across 250 campuses and service centers, the company is a logistics powerhouse, using its technology, expertise and scale to connect shippers with the solutions they need — from ground, air and ocean transportation to fully managed supply chains. ArcBest has a long history of innovation that is enriched by deep customer relationships. With a commitment to helping customers navigate supply chain challenges now and in the future, the company is developing ground-breaking technology like Vaux™, one of the TIME Best Inventions of 2023. For more information, visit arcb.com.

The following is a "safe harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements and information in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, among others, statements regarding (i) our expectations about our intrinsic value or our prospects for growth and value creation and (ii) our financial outlook, position, strategies, goals, and expectations. Terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "foresee," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "scheduled," "should," "would," and similar expressions and the negatives of such terms are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's beliefs, assumptions, and expectations based on currently available information, are not guarantees of future performance, and involve certain risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control). Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, we cannot provide assurance that our expectations will prove to be correct. Actual outcomes and results could materially differ from what is expressed, implied, or forecasted in these statements due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to: the effects of a widespread outbreak of an illness or disease or any other public health crisis, as well as regulatory measures implemented in response to such events; external events which may adversely affect us or the third parties who provide services for us, for which our business continuity plans may not adequately prepare us, including, but not limited to, acts of war or terrorism, or military conflicts; data privacy breaches, cybersecurity incidents, and/or failures of our information systems, including disruptions or failures of services essential to our operations or upon which our information technology platforms rely; interruption or failure of third-party software or information technology systems or licenses; untimely or ineffective development and implementation of, or failure to realize the potential benefits associated with, new or enhanced technology or processes, including our customer pilot offering of Vaux; the loss or reduction of business from large customers or an overall reduction in our customer base; the timing and performance of growth initiatives and the ability to manage our cost structure; the cost, integration, and performance of any recent or future acquisitions and the inability to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisition within the expected time period or at all; unsolicited takeover proposals, proxy contests, and other proposals/actions by activist investors; maintaining our corporate reputation and intellectual property rights; nationwide or global disruption in the supply chain resulting in increased volatility in freight volumes; competitive initiatives and pricing pressures; increased prices for and decreased availability of equipment, including new revenue equipment, decreases in value of used revenue equipment, and higher costs of equipment-related operating expenses such as maintenance, fuel, and related taxes; availability of fuel, the effect of volatility in fuel prices and the associated changes in fuel surcharges on securing increases in base freight rates, and the inability to collect fuel surcharges; relationships with employees, including unions, and our ability to attract, retain, and upskill employees; unfavorable terms of, or the inability to reach agreement on, future collective bargaining agreements or a workforce stoppage by our employees covered under ABF Freight's collective bargaining agreement; union employee wages and benefits, including changes in required contributions to multiemployer plans; availability and cost of reliable third-party services; our ability to secure independent owner-operators and/or operational or regulatory issues related to our use of their services; litigation or claims asserted against us; governmental regulations; environmental laws and regulations, including emissions-control regulations; default on covenants of financing arrangements and the availability and terms of future financing arrangements; our ability to generate sufficient cash from operations to support significant ongoing capital expenditure requirements and other business initiatives; self-insurance claims, insurance premium costs, and loss of our ability to self-insure; potential impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill and intangible assets; general economic conditions and related shifts in market demand that impact the performance and needs of industries we serve and/or limit our customers' access to adequate financial resources; increasing costs due to inflation and higher interest rates; seasonal fluctuations, adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, and climate change; and other financial, operational, and legal risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in ArcBest Corporation's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

For additional information regarding known material factors that could cause our actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, please see our filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8K.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date they are made, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Financial Data and Operating Statistics

The following tables show financial data and operating statistics on ArcBest^® and its reportable segments.