Wabash Notches Records in Q3

Wabash

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Wabash reported record quarterly revenue and earnings per share as net income in the third quarter more than tripled and its backlog rose to an all-time Q3 high of $2.3 billion.

Net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 jumped to $36 million, or 73 cents per diluted share, compared with $11 million, 22 cents, a year earlier.

Revenue soared to $655 million, up 35.8% compared with $483 million in the 2021 period.

The company’s results were “a meaningful step forward in our financial performance, and what makes the quarter even more exciting is the progress made against our strategic plan as we added new dealers in the Northeast, announced a new product line [Acutherm thermal solutions], and added additional strategically aligned expertise to our board of directors that will support Wabash for years into the future,” CEO Brent Yeagy said in a release.

“Demand conditions remain strong as evidenced by our order book, which set a third-quarter record at $2.3 billion and implies $1.7 billion of orders in 2023,” said Yeagy. “Our process of booking orders has shifted from transactional to strategic as we engage with customers to plan for how Wabash can serve their needs from across our first- to final-mile portfolio for the next several years as opposed to the usual one-year-out conversation and we expect to have updates on that front in the weeks and months to come.”

Wabash reported it shipped 13,365 trailers in the quarter compared with 12,455 a year earlier.

Wabash reported it amended its asset-backed lending facility, increasing the total credit facility to $350 million and creating additional liquidity of up to $125 million depending on its asset base.

The increased liquidity would help as it eyes a trailers-as-a-service offering for 2024 to support trailer pools and power-only offerings, along with other investments to move its strategy forward, Yeagy said during the earnings call.

It shipped 4,115 truck bodies compared with 3,780 in the 2021 period.

Also during the call, Yeagy noted the company’s supply base was “overwhelmingly” centered in North America, helping to insulate the company from issues seen elsewhere.

Its Q3 transportation solutions revenue was $612 million, an increase of 38.2% compared with $443 million in the prior-year quarter, as operations continued to scale up. Operating income was $63.3 million or 10.3% of sales during the quarter.

Revenue for Q3 at its parts & services unit was $47 million, an increase of 11.5% compared with $42 million a year earlier as the company noted the segment continued to achieve milestones along its path of strategic growth. Operating income was $7.7 million, or 16.5% of sales during the quarter.

Wabash reported in the quarter it had $81 million of cash and cash equivalents compared with $72 million a year earlier.

Accounts receivable increased to $248 million compared with $177 million a year earlier.

Accounts payable increased to $239 million compared with $174 million a year earlier.

Inventories increased to $310 million compared with $238 million.

Long-term debt rose to $444 million compared with $428 million in the 2021 period.

For the full year ending Dec. 31, the Lafayette, Ind.-based company maintained its outlook for revenue of $2.5 billion and increased its EPS guidance to $2.15 from its earlier guidance of $1.78.

Wabash designs, manufactures and services a range of products, including: dry freight and refrigerated trailers, flatbed trailers, tank trailers, dry and refrigerated truck bodies, structural composite panels and products, trailer aerodynamic solutions, and specialty food grade processing equipment.