Old Dominion: Q4/full-year 2023 results out – 30% dividend hike

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PRESS RELEASE 

JANUARY 31, 2024 7:00AM EST

Quarterly Cash Dividend to Increase 30% to $0.52 Per Share

THOMASVILLE, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (Nasdaq: ODFL) today announced financial results for the three-month and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2023.

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Marty Freeman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Old Dominion, commented, “Old Dominion’s financial results for the fourth quarter reflect continued softness in the domestic economy, although our quarterly revenue and earnings per diluted share both increased on a year-over-year basis for the first time this year. We believe underlying demand for LTL service remained relatively consistent in the quarter, which corresponds with the consistency in our volume trends. The stability of our volumes also reflects our ongoing ability to deliver a best-in-class value proposition, which included on-time service performance of 99% and a cargo claims ratio of 0.1% during the quarter.

“The slight increase in our fourth quarter revenue is primarily due to a 3.0% increase in LTL revenue per hundredweight, which more than offset the 2.0% decrease in LTL tons per day. While our LTL tons per day decreased in the fourth quarter, our LTL shipments per day and overall market share improved. In addition, our superior service continued to support the ongoing execution of our yield-improvement initiatives. Our long-term pricing philosophy focuses on continuously improving the profitability of each customer account through yield increases that are designed to offset our cost inflation and support further investments in capacity and technology.

“The Company’s operating ratio increased 60 basis points to 71.8% for the fourth quarter of 2023. We managed our discretionary spending during the quarter and continued to operate efficiently, although our direct operating costs and overhead costs both increased as a percent of revenue. Within our direct costs, insurance and claims expense as a percent of revenue increased 140 basis points due primarily to changes in the annual adjustment we record in our fourth quarter each year that are related to a third-party actuarial review of our accident claims. The increase in our overhead costs is primarily attributable to the increases in our depreciation and our general supplies and expenses as a percent of revenue. These increases were partially offset by a 90-basis point improvement in our miscellaneous expenses as a percent of revenue, which included $15.1 million of gains on the disposal of property and equipment.”

The full release can be read here.