Arkansas Best’s Fourth-Quarter Profit Jumps

January 26, 2006 11:40 AM, EST

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rkansas Best Corp., the parent of less-than-truckload carrier ABF Freight System, earned $30.2 million or $1.18 a share in the fourth quarter, up from $24.4 million or 95 cents a year earlier.

Revenue rose to $496.4 million, a per-day increase of 11% over the previous fourth quarter, the company said Thursday.

ABF Freight System, the company’s largest subsidiary, saw its revenue rise to $455.5 million from $420.3 million, a per-day increase of 10.2% over the previous fourth quarter. Its tonnage-per-day rose 1.4%.

Tonnage was flat in October, rose 1.4% in November and increased 2.9% in December, said Robert Young, Arkansas Best’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

The Clipper intermodal and freight forwarding unit’s revenue rose 19.8% on a per-day basis to $29.5 million for the quarter.

Arkansas Best is ranked No. 17 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies.