Acxiom up in third quarter; P.A.M. Transport down

Moving freight and moving information produced different results for two Arkansas-based companies during the third quarter of 2010.

One quarter after turning the corner to profitability, P.A.M. Transportation returned to a net loss. The Tontitown-based trucking firm reported Wednesday (Oct. 27) a net quarterly loss of $490,727, still a huge improvement over last year’s third quarter loss of $1.22 million. Revenues increased to $74.79 million from $67.66 million for the comparable period last year.

P.A.M. had posted its first profitable quarter in the second quarter of this year, and it is still operating in the black for the nine months of the 2010 fiscal year. P.A.M. reported $455,403 in net income for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2010. One year ago, the trucking firm was bleeding $6.9 million in losses for the nine-month period.

"Third quarter results did not meet our expectations. After making money in the second quarter, following several quarters of losses, we had hoped we had turned the corner to consistent profitability," said P.A.M. President Daniel Cushman.

He blamed a softer freight market, increased costs related to driver turnover, and weather conditions in its Mexican operations for the setback.

P.A.M. sold its New Jersey-based brokerage operation at the end of the third quarter. While the sale will decrease revenue, it is not expected to have a material effect on net income, the company noted. The sale did result in a pre-tax gain of approximately $460,000 reported in the third quarter 2010.

Company shares (NASDAQ: PTSI) were down more than 30 cents in midday trading. During the past 52 weeks, the share price has ranged from an $18.60 high to a $7.51 low.

ACXIOM
Acxiom Corp.’s second quarter profits were nearly 30% better than the previous year as the Little Rock data marketer continues to see strong revenue growth.

For the period ended Sept. 30, Acxiom reported second quarter earnings of $27.3 million, or 16 cents per share, up 28.5 percent from income of $21.2 million, or 12 cents, a year ago.

Acxiom’s revenue increased by 7.6% to $291.7 million in the second quarter of 2010, compared to $271.1 million a year ago. Wall Street analysts, on average, expected the Little Rock data marketer to report second quarter earnings of 16 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

"I am pleased that we have delivered another quarter of solid financial performance. We continue to see revenue growth as evidenced by the year-over-year revenue increase of almost eight percent," John Meyer, Acxiom’s CEO and president. "This translated into an impressive 29 percent increase in operating income over the second quarter of last year. In addition to executing in the near term, we invested in several projects that should provide for continued future growth."

Overall, Acxiom’s operating cash flow fell 29 percent to $43 million, compared to $60.7 million in the second quarter a year ago.

Acxiom shares were trading at $17.99 ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell. The data marketing firm touched a 52-week high of $19.99 on April 26. During the past 52 weeks, the share price has ranged from an $19.99 high to a $9.58 low.