JOHNS CREEK, Ga., Oct. 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Saia, Inc. (Nasdaq: SAIA), a leading transportation provider offering national less-than-truckload (LTL), non-asset truckload, expedited and logistics services, today reported third quarter 2022 financial results. Diluted earnings per share in the quarter were $3.67 compared to $2.98 in the third quarter of 2021. Third quarter 2021 adjusted diluted earnings per share¹ were $2.86.

Highlights from the third quarter operating results were as follows:

Third Quarter 2022 Compared to Third Quarter 2021 Results

• Revenue was $729.6 million, a 18.4% increase
• Operating income was $128.4 million, a 21.0% increase
• Operating ratio of 82.4 compared to 82.8 (adjusted operating ratio¹ of 83.5 in 2021)
• LTL shipments per workday decreased 2.5%
• LTL tonnage per workday decreased 0.4%
• LTL revenue per hundredweight increased 17.5%
• LTL revenue per shipment rose 20.1% to $359.04

“Saia’s third quarter operating ratio of 82.4% was 110 basis points better than last year’s adjusted operating ratio and operating income increased by 26% compared to last year’s adjusted operating income, despite a somewhat softer demand environment experienced over the last several weeks of the quarter,” stated Saia President and CEO, Fritz Holzgrefe. “Revenue and LTL revenue per shipment, both excluding fuel surcharge, increased by 9.3% and 10.2% respectively, reflecting a continuation of the constructive LTL pricing environment. Including fuel surcharge, our yield rose 17.5% and LTL revenue per shipment grew by 20.1% in the quarter.”

“We opened five new terminals in the quarter and opened one more in October, bringing our year-to-date total of new openings to 11. We have no other openings planned for this year, but will resume our expansion efforts in the first quarter of 2023 and anticipate another 10-15 openings next year. Customer response to our expanded service capabilities continues to be positive and we believe that the terminal expansion strategy is enabling us to provide differentiated service levels,” concluded Mr. Holzgrefe.

Saia Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Douglas Col added, “I am pleased with the year-over-year operating ratio improvement and that we were able to achieve that while still being able to provide our employees with a wage increase in July. On the cost side, we have seen a step-up in depreciation expense as new equipment has been delivered into the fleet, but we expect to see a benefit in maintenance expense and also potentially in reduced purchased transportation expense in the coming months as we run more miles with Company equipment and drivers.”

Financial Position and Capital Expenditures

We ended the third quarter of 2022 with $149.8 million of cash on hand and total debt of $34.9 million, which compares to $121.7 million of cash on hand and total debt of $55.2 million at September 30, 2021.

Net capital expenditures were $278.0 million during the first nine months of 2022, compared to $148.4 million in net capital expenditures during the first nine months of 2021. In 2022, we anticipate that net capital expenditures will be approximately $500 million.

Conference Call

Management will hold a conference call to discuss quarterly results today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To participate in the call, please dial 888-394-8218 or 323-794-2591 referencing conference ID #6820944. Callers should dial in five to ten minutes in advance of the conference call. This call will be webcast live via the Company website at www.saia.com/about-us/investor-relations/financial-releases. A replay of the call will be offered two hours after the completion of the call through November 28, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The replay will be available by dialing 888-203-1112.

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA) offers customers a wide range of less-than-truckload, non-asset truckload, expedited and logistics services.  With headquarters in Georgia, Saia LTL Freight operates 187 terminals with service across 45 states.  For more information on Saia, Inc. visit the Investor Relations section at www.saia.com/about-us/investor-relations.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The Securities and Exchange Commission encourages companies to disclose forward-looking information so that investors can better understand the future prospects of a company and make informed investment decisions. This news release may contain these types of statements, which are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “believe,” “should” and similar words or expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. All forward-looking statements reflect the present expectation of future events of our management as of the date of this news release and are subject to a number of important factors, risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statements. These factors, risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, (1) general economic conditions including downturns or inflationary periods in the business cycle; (2) operation within a highly competitive industry and the adverse impact from downward pricing pressures, including in connection with fuel surcharges, and other factors; (3) industry-wide external factors largely out of our control; (4) cost and availability of qualified drivers, dock workers and other employees, purchased transportation and fuel; (5) claims expenses and other expense volatility, including for personal injury, cargo loss and damage, workers’ compensation, employment and group health plan claims; (6) cost and availability of insurance coverage, including the possibility the Company may be required to pay additional premiums, assume additional liability under its auto liability policies or be unable to obtain insurance coverage; (7) failure to successfully execute the strategy to expand our service geography; (8) costs and liabilities from the disruption in or failure of our technology or equipment essential to our operations, including as a result of cyber incidents, security breaches, malware or ransomware attacks; (9) failure to keep pace with technological developments; (10) labor relations, including the adverse impact should a portion of our workforce become unionized; (11) cost and availability of real property and revenue equipment; (12) supply chain disruption and delays on new equipment delivery; (13) capacity and highway infrastructure constraints; (14) risks arising from international business operations and relationships; (15) seasonal factors, harsh weather and disasters caused by climate change; (16) economic declines in the geographic regions or industries in which our customers operate; (17) the creditworthiness of our customers and their ability to pay for services; (18) our need for capital and uncertainty of the credit markets; (19) the possibility of defaults under our debt agreements (including violation of financial covenants); (20) failure to operate and grow acquired businesses in a manner that support the value allocated to acquired businesses; (21) dependence on key employees; (22) employee turnover from changes to compensation and benefits or market factors; (23) increased costs of healthcare benefits; (24) damage to our reputation from adverse publicity, including from the use of or impact from social media; (25) failure to make future acquisitions or to achieve acquisition synergies; (26) the effect of litigation and class action lawsuits arising from the operation of our business, including the possibility of claims or judgments in excess of our insurance coverages or that result in increases in the cost of insurance coverage or that preclude us from obtaining adequate insurance coverage in the future; (27) the potential of higher corporate taxes and new regulations, including with respect to climate change, employment and labor law, healthcare and securities regulation; (28) the effect of governmental regulations, including hours of service and licensing compliance for drivers, engine emissions, the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) initiative, regulations of the Food and Drug Administration and Homeland Security, and healthcare and environmental regulations; (29) unforeseen costs from new and existing data privacy laws; (30) changes in accounting and financial standards or practices; (31) widespread outbreak of an illness or any other communicable disease, including the COVID-19 pandemic, or any other health crisis or business disruptions and higher costs that may arise from the COVID-19 pandemic in the future, including governmental regulations requiring that employees be vaccinated or be tested regularly for COVID-19 before reporting to work; (32) increasing investor and customer sensitivity to social and sustainability issues, including climate change; (33) anti-terrorism measures and terrorist events; (34)  provisions in our governing documents and Delaware law that may have anti-takeover effects; (35) issuances of equity that would dilute stock ownership; and (36) other financial, operational and legal risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company’s SEC filings.

As a result of these and other factors, no assurance can be given as to our future results and achievements. Accordingly, a forward-looking statement is neither a prediction nor a guarantee of future events or circumstances and those future events or circumstances may not occur. You should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. We are under no obligation, and we expressly disclaim any obligation, to update or alter any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

FOOTNOTE

1 Non-GAAP Financial Disclosure and Reconciliation:

From time to time we supplement the reporting of our financial information determined under generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") with certain non-GAAP financial measures. These include "adjusted" operating income and "adjusted" diluted earnings per share. The Company's management believes that certain non-GAAP financial measures provide a greater understanding of ongoing operations and enhance compatibility of results with prior periods. The Company's management believes that investors may use these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate the Company's financial performance without the impact of items that may obscure trends in the Company's underlying performance. These disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies.

A gain of $4.3 million from the sale of a terminal was recorded during the third quarter of 2021. This gain resulted in an increase in operating income of $4.3 million, an increase in diluted earnings per share of $0.12 and an improvement of 70 basis points in the operating ratio for the third quarter of 2021. This transaction occurred as the result of management's efforts towards expanding door count by replacing a smaller facility with a larger facility better positioned to successfully support the Company's overall strategy.

CONTACT:   Saia, Inc.
Douglas Col
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Investors@saia.com