Marten Transport Posts Higher Q1 Profit

Marten Transport Ltd. MRTN reported a rise in its earnings for the first quarter on Tuesday. The Mondovi, Wisconsin-based company posted a quarterly profit of $10.2 million, or $0.30 per share, compared to $5.3 million, or $0.16 per share, in the year-ago quarter. The latest quarter results included a gain on the disposition of a facility of $0.06 per share. Its operating revenue gained 1.2 percent to $161.3 million from $159.4 million. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.22 per share on revenue of $163.55 million. Fuel surcharge revenue slipped to $20.6 million for the first quarter, compared to $31.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating expenses as a percentage of operating revenue widened to 87.7 percent from 93.2 percent. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Randolph L. Marten said, "We are pleased with our strong performance in the first quarter and believe we can leverage the solid foundation provided by our truckload, dedicated, intermodal and brokerage operations to take advantage of the current and expected tightening capacity for continued profitable growth." The average estimate among 5 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.23 per share and revenue of $160.66 million. Marten Transport shares rose 0.79 percent to $24.14 in the after-hours trading session.