USA Truck posts record net income in 2021; revenue up 28.9%

Van Buren-based USA Truck reported 2021 net income of $24.768 million, more than five times 2020 net income and a record for the trucking and logistics company. Full year revenue was $710.387 million, up 28.9% compared with 2020 revenue of $551.138 million.

Fourth quarter net income was $12.165 million, up 105% compared with the $5.933 million in the same period of 2020. Revenue in the quarter was $200.854 million, better than the $158.842 million in the same quarter of 2020. The company reported the earnings Thursday (Feb. 3) after the markets closed.

“The company transformation that we have discussed over the last several years has yielded our sixth straight quarter of record adjusted earnings per share. The fourth quarter and full year 2021 represent our highest total revenue and adjusted earnings per share in the Company’s history,” President and CEO James Reed noted in the earnings report. “During the fourth quarter, continued execution on our strategic initiatives, operational strategy and a strong freight and pricing market resulted in a Trucking segment adjusted operating ratio improvement of 440 basis points year over year to 88.7%. Our USAT Logistics segment provided a 23.4% increase in load volume with operating revenue up 44.9% year over year.”

The company’s trucking segment posted full-year revenue of $440.346 million, up 15.4% compared with the $381.589 in 2020. Operating income in the segment for the year was $22.609 million, significantly better than the $9.297 million in 2020.

The logistics segment, USAT Logistics, had full-year revenue of $270.041 million, up 59.3% compared with the $169.549 million in 2020. Full-year operating income was $14.7 million, also much higher than the $3.561 million in 2020.

Following are other details in the earnings report:
• Total debt at the end of 2021 was $143.846 million, down compared with $154.198 million at the end of 2020.
• Base revenue per available tractor per week increased $443, or 11.5%, and base revenue per loaded mile increased $0.502, or 19.8%, in the fourth quarter.
• Loaded miles per available tractor per week decreased 106 miles, or 7%, and the average number of seated tractors was 1,761, down 0.8%, in the fourth quarter.
• Gross margin dollars in the logistics segment increased 26.9% to $11.9 million in the fourth quarter.
• Revenue per load increased 17.4%, or $349 per load, and load count increased by 7,640 loads, or 23.4%, in the fourth quarter.

USA Truck shares (NASDAQ: USAK) closed Thursday at $19.80, up seven cents. The share price in the past 52 weeks has ranged between $10.91 and $23.56.