Old Dominion reports Q3 EPS $3.09, consensus $2.92

Reports Q3 revenue $1.52B, consensus $1.52B. Marty Freeman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Old Dominion, commented, “Old Dominion’s third quarter financial results reflect continued softness in the domestic economy but also a number of encouraging trends. Our LTL shipments per day averaged 49,670 during the third quarter after averaging 47,077 per day through the first six months of the year. Our team responded both efficiently and effectively to this positive inflection in volumes by continuing to offer superior service that included 99% on-time service performance and a 0.1% cargo claims ratio. The consistency of our best-in-class service has continued to differentiate Old Dominion in the marketplace, which we believe supports our ongoing yield-management initiatives and ability to win market share over the long term. “Revenue for the third quarter decreased 5.5%, due primarily to the 6.9% decrease in LTL tons per day that was partially offset by a 3.1% increase in LTL revenue per hundredweight. We also had one less operating day as compared to the third quarter of 2022. LTL tons per day decreased 6.9%, which was attributable to a 2.9% decrease in LTL shipments per day and a 4.1% decrease in LTL weight per shipment. While this change in the mix of our freight contributed to an increase in our reported yields during the quarter, our LTL revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharges, increased 8.9% due primarily to our ongoing efforts to obtain yield increases that offset cost inflation and support our ongoing investments in capacity. “Our operating ratio increased 150 basis points to 70.6% for the third quarter of 2023. This change was driven by the increase in overhead costs as a percent of revenue between the periods compared, as our direct operating costs improved as a percent of revenue due to an increase in operating efficiencies. The increase in our overhead cost categories resulted from an increase in the cost for employee benefits as well as increased depreciation associated with the ongoing execution of our capital expenditure plan.”