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Swift Reports Lower 4Q Earnings; Full-Year Profit Rises
Company Cites ‘Soft Freight Environment’
Truckload carrier Swift Transportation Co. said late Wednesday its fourth-quarter profit fell from a year earlier due to a “soft freight environment.”
The company earned $23.4 million or 31 cents a share, down from $39.3 million or 53 cents a year earlier.Operating revenue fell 7.2% to $783 million from $844 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement.“The quarter reflects one of the most challenging freight environments in recent memory, and the normal holiday surge did not materialize for a variety of reasons,” Chief Executive Officer Robert Cunningham said in a statement.For the full year, Swift’s earnings rose to $141.1 million or $1.86 a share, from $101.1 million or $1.37 a share in 2005. Operating revenue fell 0.8% to $3.17 billion for the year.The publicly traded company agreed Friday to be acquired by company founder Jerry Moyes for $31.55 a share, or about $2.74 billion, and taken private. (Click here for previous coverage.)Swift is ranked No. 9 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers and is the largest U.S. truckload carrier.
