P.A.M. Transportation Turns Profitable Third Quarter

P.A.M. Transportation Services, Inc. posted third quarter net income of $880,907 compared to a net loss of $1.7 million one year ago. The Tontitown-based trucking firm reported quarterly income of $94.55 million, up 6.3% from the previous year.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2012, P.A.M. showed a profit of $2.49 million on revenue of $284.86 million.

“P.A.M. extended the trend of year over year earnings growth during the third quarter 2012, despite significant hurdles faced during the quarter. This quarter completes four consecutive quarters of positive earnings, with each month of 2012 contributing both operating and net income,” said P.A.M. President Daniel Cushman.

He added that July — normally a slower month due to auto factory shutdowns — was better than expected due to the continuing diversification of its customer base. P.A.M. was once heavily reliant on customers in the automotive industry, but it has been adding new business in non-automotive sectors.

“We continue to find new growth opportunities with customers that we did little or no business with prior to my arrival in July 2010, and to refine our freight network to attain a favorable mix of rate optimization and cost minimization,” Cushman said.

The new business has been paying off. Cushman said in the past year, P.A.M. has added to its driver workforce by 10%.

P.A.M. Transportation shares closed trading on Wednesday (Oct. 24) at $9.47. The lightly traded stock has traded between $9.20 and $9.51 per share in the last year.