Yellow Roadway 3Q Profit Jumps 53 Percent

Trucking and logistics company Yellow Roadway Corp. on Thursday reported third-quarter profit jumped 53 percent, driven by revenue growth at the company's core businesses. Net income grew to $85.3 million, or $1.42 per share, from $55.9 million, or $1.15 per share, in the prior-year quarter. Excluding one-time charges, the company said it earned $1.53 in the quarter versus $1.38 in the comparable period last year. Revenue rose 41 percent to $2.49 billion. The results for the latest quarter included sales for regional trucker USF Corp., which Yellow Roadway acquired for $1.5 billion in May. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings excluding items of $1.43 per share and sales of $2.42 billion. In September, the company lowered its earnings guidance for the quarter to between $1.40 and $1.45 from its earlier prediction of $1.60 to $1.65. Yellow officials blamed disruptions caused by Hurricane Katrina and operational troubles in the two-year-old combination of Yellow Corp. and Roadway Corp. Revenue at the company's Yellow Transportation business increased 8 percent to $892.5 million, while sales at Roadway Express edged up 6 percent to $858.4 million. Although a smaller segment, Yellow's Meridian IQ unit saw revenue more than double to $142 million. The company said it took $11 million worth of charges to cover executive severance, disposing property and acquisition costs. Yellow Roadway forecast fourth-quarter earnings of $1.30 to $1.35 per share, compared with the consensus estimate of $1.34 per share. The company predicts full-year income in a range of $5.18 to $5.23 on $8.7 billion in sales. Analysts project 2005 earnings of $5.12 per share on $8.58 billion in sales. Shares of Yellow Roadway fell $1.21, or 2.8 percent, to close at $42.25 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock was down an additional 10 cents at $42.15 in after-hours trading. The stock has traded between $38.81 and $64.47 over the past 52 weeks.