For the first nine months of 2003, operating revenues rose 4% to $101,068,819 from $97,144,652 in the same period last year. Net income for the first nine months of 2003 was $228,241 or $0.08 per diluted share versus $814,493 or $0.29 per diluted share in the first nine months of 2002.
The company's third quarter loss and lower year-to-date profits primarily reflected higher insurance and claims expense related to the establishment of preliminary reserves for two accidents during the quarter, involving Boyd division company-owned trucks, which resulted in third-party fatalities. The company is largely self-insured for such accident claims.
Boyd Bros. WTI division, which is primarily structured using owner-operators, accounted for all of Boyd Bros.' revenue growth in the third quarter as the Boyd division, in which about three-fourths of the equipment is company-owned, experienced a slight decline in operating revenues for the quarter.
Gail B. Cooper, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "During the third quarter, we witnessed several encouraging trends that reinforce our view that the economy - and our markets - continue to strengthen. Revenues from our WTI division advanced 22% for the quarter versus the same period last year while logistics revenues increased 15%. On the cost side, we were pleased to see the price of diesel fuel continue to decline from peak levels earlier this year, resulting in overall lower fuel costs for the quarter."
Boyd Bros. Transportation Inc. is one of the largest flatbed trucking companies in the United States. It provides transportation services to high-volume, time-sensitive customers, primarily in the steel and building materials industries, and operates throughout most of the continental United States.
