Vitran Reports Fourth-Quarter Loss

Vitran Corp. on Wednesday reported a loss for the fourth quarter and full year, and the company said it would focus on its less-than-truckload operations following its recently announced plan to sell its supply chain business.

The Toronto-based carrier lost $18 million, or $1.09 per share, in the quarter, compared with a loss of $10 million, or 61 cents, a year earlier. Revenue slipped to $164.3 million from $172.5 million.

Its full-year loss was $42.6 million, or $2.60 per share, compared with a loss of $20.8 million, or $1.27, in 2011. Revenue rose 2.4% to $702.9 million.

Vitran announced last week that it would sell its supply chain unit for $97 million.

“This marks a new beginning for Vitran as a pure LTL company.” CEO Rick Gaetz, adding that the company plans to complete the supply-chain unit sale by March 1.

Vitran is ranked No. 34 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.