Marten Transport: Announces third quarter results

MONDOVI, Wis., Oct. 14, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Marten Transport, Ltd.
(Nasdaq:MRTN) today reported net income of $7.7 million, or 23 cents
per diluted share, for the third quarter ended September 30, 2014,
compared with $8.0 million, or 24 cents per diluted share, for the
third quarter of 2013. For the nine-month period ended September 30,
2014, net income was $20.9 million, or 62 cents per diluted share,
compared with $22.8 million, or 68 cents per diluted share, for the
2013 nine-month period.

Operating revenue, consisting of revenue from truckload and logistics
operations, increased 2.7% to $171.6 million for the third quarter of
2014 from $167.1 million for the third quarter of 2013, and increased
to $499.4 million for the 2014 nine-month period from $493.0 million
for the 2013 nine-month period. Operating revenue, net of fuel
surcharges and MW Logistics, LLC (MWL) revenue, increased 4.0% to
$139.9 million for the 2014 quarter from $134.5 million for the 2013
quarter, and increased 3.3% to $403.2 million for the 2014 nine-month
period from $390.3 million for the 2013 nine-month period. Fuel
surcharge revenue decreased to $31.6 million for the third quarter of
2014 from $32.6 million for the 2013 quarter, and increased to $96.2
million for the 2014 nine-month period from $96.0 million for the 2013
nine-month period. With the March 2013 deconsolidation of MWL, no MWL
revenue was included in the first nine months of 2014 or in the third
quarter of 2013, compared with $6.7 million in the first nine months of
2013.

Operating expenses as a percentage of operating revenue, with both
amounts net of fuel surcharge revenue, was 90.7% for the third quarter
of 2014, compared with the 89.9% ratio achieved in the third quarter of
2013. The ratio was 91.4% for the 2014 nine-month period, compared with
90.1% for the 2013 nine-month period.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Randolph L. Marten said, “We
increased our average truckload tractors by 70 tractors in the third
quarter over this year’s second quarter despite challenging driver
recruiting and retention issues across our industry. This increase was
a direct result of our continuing efforts to increase our dedicated
services and to appropriately compensate our drivers for their
non-driving detention time. We also overcame the increase in driver pay
combined with higher tractor and trailer depreciation and adverse
development in insurance and claims to improve our truckload
profitability.”

“Costs associated with rail service interruption and delay issues
continue to constrain our intermodal operations, which had an operating
loss of $151,000 for this year’s third quarter compared with operating
income of $769,000 for the same period of 2013. We are increasing our
intermodal rates accordingly, and expect our intermodal operations to
benefit from the market’s continuing tight capacity once rail service
improves.”

Marten Transport, with headquarters in Mondovi, Wis., is one of the
leading temperature-sensitive truckload carriers in the United States.
Marten specializes in transporting and distributing food and other
consumer packaged goods that require a temperature-controlled or
insulated environment. Marten offers service in the United States,
Canada and Mexico, concentrating on expedited movements for high-volume
customers. Marten’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select
Market under the symbol MRTN.

Since 2004, Marten Transport’s results and consolidated financial
statements have included the accounts of MWL, a third-party provider of
logistics services to the transportation industry. On March 28, 2013, a
member of MWL made a capital contribution to MWL. As a result, it was
determined that MWL was no longer required to be consolidated.
Accordingly, Marten deconsolidated MWL and started accounting for its
ownership interest in MWL under the equity method of accounting,
effective as of that date.