Frozen Food Express Industries Inc (FFEX) announced its financial and operating results for the quarter ended September 30, 2009. For the current quarter, revenue excluding fuel surcharges decreased 16.8% to $82.0 million from $98.6 million in the third quarter of 2008. Total revenue for the quarter declined 28.7% to $94.5 million from $132.5 million in 2008.
For the nine-month period ended Sept 30, 2009, revenue excluding fuel surcharges fell 13.4% to $249.5 million from $288.1 million in 2008, while total year-to-date revenue decreased 25.5% to $281.6 million from $378.2 million in 2008.
For the quarter, the Dallas TX-based carrier incurred an after-tax loss of $2.6 million, compared with net income of $1.4 million in the third quarter of 2008. For the nine-month period ended Sept 30, 2009, FFEX reported an after-tax loss of $13.8 million, versus net income of $806,000 in 2008.
Stoney M “Mit” Stubbs, president and chief executive officer, said, “2009 has undoubtedly been the toughest operating conditions our industry has seen in quite some time. We continue to experience significant revenue and profit challenges that we believe are the result of the weak economy, increased unemployment, and changes in consumer buying habits. While our results reflect the negative impact of the current economic recession, we continue to place an emphasis on cost controls while focusing on customer initiatives to incrementally increase revenue and profits, which has allowed our results to improve every quarter during 2009.”
Operating expenses as a percentage of operating revenue (operating ratio) were 105.1% for the third quarter of 2009 compared with 97.3% in 2008 and 106.8% for the second quarter of 2009.
FFEX continues to be in a strong cash position with no borrowings outstanding under its revolving credit agreement as of the end of the quarter. For the nine months ending Sept 30, 2009, the company generated cash flows from operations of $6.5 million and maintains a strong working capital position. At September 30, 2009 the firm had $2.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, $92.3 million in shareholders’ equity, and no outstanding debt.
