USA Truck 3Q earnings soar, beat Wall St. views

USA Truck Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter earnings skyrocketed and surpassed Wall Street's expectations, on a jump in fuel surcharge revenue and a comparison to a year-ago period weighed down by a hefty legal expense.

The trucking company earned $2.4 million, or 23 cents per share, compared with $16,000, or nil per share, in the year-ago quarter. The 2007 third quarter included a nearly $3 million verdict regarding a breach of contract.

Revenue rose 19 percent to $146.1 million from $122.7 million in the year-ago quarter, mostly due to higher fuel surcharges.

Analysts were expecting a more modest profit of 20 cents per share on revenue of $140.7 million, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Like many other truckers during the quarter, USA Truck benefited from moderating diesel prices. This benefit was especially visible because of the lag between the price the company pays for fuel and what it charges shippers. Fuel surcharge revenue leaped 81 percent to $42.4 million, while fuel prices stood 36 percent higher than the same quarter in 2007.

"While we are pleased with our progress toward our goals, we are keeping an eye on the global economic situation. These past few weeks have been quite fluid and our ability to predict the near-term future is murky at best," the company said in a statement. "We believe freight demand is likely to deteriorate further over the next few quarters, and that less freight, inflated equipment prices and tightening credit will further shrink industry capacity."

Shares added 47 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $15.64 in morning trading.