J.B. Hunt Reports Record Fourth Quarter, Annual Earnings

ruckload carrier J.B. Hunt Transport Services said Monday its fourth-quarter revenue and earnings reached records, reporting a profit of $65.3 million or 41 cents a share, compared with $19.8 million or 12 cents in the previous fourth quarter.

img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/jbhunt.gif" width=120 align=right>The 2004 fourth-quarter earnings had been reduced by $33.6 million or 20 cents a share, J.B. Hunt said.

Fourth-quarter operating revenue rose to $742.2 million, from $707.7 million in the previous fourth quarter. Operating income rose 12.4% to $106.6 million.

Intermodal revenue rose to $359.4 million from $326.2 million, while operating income rose to $37.4 million from $37.2 million.

For the full year, the company earned $207 million or $1.28 a share, both records, compared with $146 million or 88 cents a share in the previous year.

Full-year revenue rose to $3.1 billion from $2.8 billion in 2004.

J.B. Hunt is ranked No. 11 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.