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Con-way Posts $154 Million 1Q Loss

The Associated Press

SAN MATEO, Calif. (AP) — Trucking company Con-way Inc. said Thursday it lost almost $154 million, most of it on an accounting charge.

The company's loss of $3.35 per share for the quarter that ended March 31 compared with profit of $22.5 million, or 47 cents per share, during the same period last year. Revenue fell almost 20 percent to $962.9 million, from $1.2 billion a year ago.

Adjusting for the non-cash accounting charge to write down the value of what used to be Contract Freighters Inc., which the company purchased in 2007, along with other adjustments, Con-way said it would have lost $19.2 million, or 42 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 22 cents per share on revenue of $1.06 billion.

Operating results in the company's largest subsidiary, its less-than-truckload carrier Con-way Freight, fell to a loss of $23.4 million after making a $36.1 million profit a year ago. Revenue fell 24.7 percent to $559.7 million.

"The freight markets continued to suffer from excess capacity and intense price competition," said Douglas W. Stotlar, president and CEO.

However, the division's losses came in January and February, and it made a profit in March "as we saw the benefit of some seasonal upturn in business and modest market share gains," he said.

He said there are signs their freight volumes may be nearing a bottom, but "feedback from our customers as well as trend data for industrial output and inventory levels indicate that shipping volumes are likely to remain restrained, certainly for the short term," he said.

Con-way shares closed flat at $22.21 in the regular session, but fell $2.21, or 10 percent, to $20 in aftermarket trading.