XPO Announces Financial Results for First Quarter 2024

May 5, 2024  by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry   

Mario Harik, chief executive officer of XPO, said, “Our strong first quarter financial results exceeded expectations, giving us a solid start to 2024. Companywide, year-over-year, we grew revenue by 6%, adjusted EBITDA by 37% and adjusted diluted EPS by 45%.

“In North American LTL, every key operating and financial metric reflected the team’s strong execution of our LTL 2.0 plan. We reported a 50% increase in adjusted operating income, with a 390-basis-point improvement in adjusted operating ratio to 85.7%. This was underpinned by yield growth, ex-fuel, of 9.8% and an acceleration in revenue per shipment. Our tonnage per day was 2.6% higher than in the first quarter a year ago, with 4.7% more shipments per day.

“We also delivered one of the best damage claims ratios in the industry at 0.3%, continuing our record performance. We’re determined to become the leading LTL service provider by giving our customers the best possible service experience every time we move their freight.”

Harik continued, “While we’ve made significant progress in executing our LTL 2.0 plan, we’re still in the early stages of unlocking our full potential.”

First Quarter Highlights

For the first quarter 2024, the company generated revenue of $2.02 billion, compared to $1.91 billion for the same period in 2023. The year-over-year increase in revenue was due primarily to higher yield and tonnage per day in the North American LTL segment, partially offset by lower fuel surcharge revenue.

Operating income was $138 million for the first quarter, compared with $58 million for the same period in 2023. Net income from continuing operations was $67 million for the first quarter, compared to $17 million for the same period in 2023. Diluted earnings from continuing operations per share was $0.56 for the first quarter, compared with $0.15 for the same period in 2023.

Adjusted net income from continuing operations, a non-GAAP financial measure, was $97 million for the first quarter, compared with $65 million for the same period in 2023. Adjusted diluted EPS, a non-GAAP financial measure, was $0.81 for the first quarter, compared with $0.56 for the same period in 2023.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“adjusted EBITDA”), a non-GAAP financial measure, was $288 million for the first quarter, compared with $210 million for the same period in 2023.

The company generated $145 million of cash flow from operating activities in the first quarter, and ended the quarter with $229 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand, after $299 million of net capital expenditures.

Results by Business Segment

• North American Less-Than-Truckload (LTL): The segment generated revenue of $1.22 billion for the first quarter 2024, compared with $1.12 billion for the same period in 2023. On a year-over-year basis, shipments per day increased 4.7%, tonnage per day increased 2.6%, and yield, excluding fuel, increased 9.8%. Including fuel, yield increased 7.0%.

Operating income was $165 million for the first quarter 2024, compared with $103 million for the same period in 2023. Adjusted operating income, a non-GAAP financial measure, was $175 million for the first quarter, compared with $117 million for the same period in 2023. Adjusted operating ratio, a non-GAAP financial measure, was 85.7%, reflecting a year-over-year improvement of 390 basis points.

Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter 2024 was $255 million, compared with $182 million for the same period in 2023. The year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITDA was due primarily to higher yield, excluding fuel, and an increase in tonnage per day, partially offset by lower fuel surcharge revenue.

• European Transportation: The segment generated revenue of $797 million for the first quarter 2024, compared with $787 million for the same period in 2023. Operating income was a loss of $4 million for the first quarter, compared with a loss of $3 million for the same period in 2023.

Adjusted EBITDA was $38 million for the first quarter, compared with $37 million for the same period in 2023.

• Corporate: The segment generated an operating loss of $23 million for the first quarter 2024, compared with a loss of $42 million for the same period in 2023. The year-over-year improvement in operating loss was due primarily to an $8 million reduction in transaction and integration costs and an $11 million reduction in restructuring costs.

Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, was a loss of $5 million for the first quarter 2024, compared with a loss of $9 million for the same period in 2023, reflecting a year-over-year improvement from the company’s continued rationalization of corporate overhead costs.

Conference Call  

The company will hold a conference call on Friday, May 3, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Participants can call toll-free (from US/Canada) 1-877-269-7756; international callers dial +1-201-689-7817. A live webcast of the conference will be available on the investor relations area of the company’s website, xpo.com/investors. The conference will be archived until June 2, 2024. To access the replay by phone, call toll-free (from US/Canada) 1-877-660-6853; international callers dial +1-201-612-7415. Use participant passcode 13745666.