J.B. Hunt Earnings Up; AMCA Ranks Legislators

Things continue to improve for J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. of Lowell.

The company reported a 767 percent increase in earnings for the second quarter of this year, which ended June 30. Earnings per share jumped from 5 cents per share in the second quarter of last year to 42 cents per share for the same quarter this year.

The results exceeded the estimates of analysts who expected the company to earn about 35 cents per share for the quarter. Analysts have responded to the company’s performance by increasing their expectations.

Tim Quillin, an analyst with Stephens Inc. of Little Rock, has raised his estimate of the company’s earnings from $1.35 to $1.60 per share for this year and from $1.85 to $2.15 per share for 1999. Quillin recommends that investors buy the company’s stock.

Hunt’s stock value should reach $44 by the end of the year, about 28 percent above its current price of about $34 per share. Quillin predicts the company will increase its annual revenue by 18 percent to more than $1.8 billion this year.

The company’s truckload division is making money this year. The division was losing money until Hunt implemented its 33 percent driver pay increase last year. The increased pay has attracted enough drivers to allow the company to keep all of its equipment operating.

The intermodal division continues to be profitable but is plagued by lingering problems with the nation’s rail service. Hunt’s primary intermodal partner, Burlington Northern Sante Fe, has had problems delivering Hunt’s shipments on schedule. Quillin predicts the intermodal division will grow slower than other areas of the company until the railroad companies resolve their service problems, including a shortage of equipment.

The dedicated service/logistics division is one of the more profitable areas of the company. Hunt has a $100 million contract with Weyerhauser Co. and a similar arrangement with J.C. Penney.

Currently, Hunt is involved in a test project with Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis to provide local and long-haul service to the brewery. The present contract provides about $10 million in annual revenue but has the potential of generating as much as $50 million if expanded to other breweries.

ACMA ranks legislators

The Arkansas Motor Carrier Association, an organization that represents the state’s trucking industry, has graded the state’s legislators based on their voting records on seven bills that will affect the industry.

In the House of Representatives, the AMCA gave seven legislators the top grade. Five of the legislators are Democrats and two are Republican. Receiving the top grade were: Evelyn Ammons, D-Waldron, Ann Bush, R-Blytheville, Tom Courtway, D-Conway, Jim Hendren, R-Sulphur Springs, Douglas Kidd, D-Benton, James Luker, D-Wynne, and Becky Lynn, D-Heber Springs.

Only one representative received a failing grade — Randy Laverty, D-Jasper. Laverty supported former Gov. Jim Guy Tucker’s road programs in 1995, which the AMCA opposed. The governor’s proposal was defeated in a general election the following year.

Seven state senators also received a top grade, all of them Democrats. They are: Mike Beebe of Searcy, Bill Gwatney of Jacksonville, Morrill Harriman of Van Buren, Kevin Smith of Stuttgart, Bill Walker of Little Rock, Bill Lewellen of Marianna, and David Malone of Fayetteville.

None of the state’s senators received a failing grade. However, four received “D” ratings from the AMCA. They are: Jodie Mahoney, D-El Dorado, Doyle Webb, D-Benton, Mike Everett, D-Marked Tree, and Allen Gordon, D-Morrilton.

The AMCA’s political action included a fund-raiser for Gov. Mike Huckabee in June. The reception at Cafe St. Moritz in Little Rock netted 78 checks totaling $42,000. The AMCA claims the event was the most successful of any single industry fund-raiser for the governor this year.

“Many people in the trucking industry believe the governor’s policies are creating a pro-business environment that will expand our state’s economy and create more jobs,” says Lane Kidd, president of AMCA.

Huckabee also was the keynote speaker at the AMCA’s annual convention in Springdale in May.