Heartland Express Q3 Profit Rises, But Results Miss Estimates - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Heartland Express Inc. (HTLD) reported that its net income for the third quarter of 2014 was $22.7 million, compared to $15.9 million, a 43.3% increase. Earnings per share were $0.26 in the quarter compared to $0.19 earnings per share in the third quarter of 2013, a 36.8% increase.

Quarterly operating revenues were $217.1 million, a 66.2% increase from $130.6 million last year.

Operating revenues for the quarter included fuel surcharge revenues of $42.4 million compared to $26.7 million in the same period of 2013. Operating income for the three-month period was positively impacted by a $6.8 million increase in gains on disposal of property and equipment and a 37.5% decrease in net fuel expense per mile. However, third quarter earnings per share were negatively impacted by approximately $0.02 per share due to manufacturer's delays in the delivery of new tractors, resulting in lower than expected gain on sale of equipment.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.29 per share and revenues of $229.60 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.