ArcBest Announces Record-Setting Fourth Quarter 2021 and Full Year 2021 Results

FORT SMITH, Ark., Feb. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ArcBest^® (Nasdaq: ARCB), a leader in supply chain logistics, today reported fourth quarter 2021 revenue of $1.2 billion, reflecting an increase of $368.8 million compared to fourth quarter 2020. Each of ArcBest's operating segments achieved double-digit percentage revenue growth over the prior year period. Fourth quarter 2021 results include the impact of the MoLo Solutions, LLC ("MoLo") acquisition, which closed on November 1, 2021.

ArcBest's fourth quarter 2021 operating income was $86.9 million and net income was $65.5 million, or $2.47 per diluted share, compared to fourth quarter 2020 operating income of $30.3 million and net income of $23.9 million, or $0.89 per diluted share. 

Excluding certain items in both periods as identified in the attached reconciliation tables, fourth quarter non-GAAP operating income was $102.2 million, compared to $39.5 million in the prior-year period. On a non-GAAP basis, net income was $73.9 million, or $2.79 per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2021 compared to $27.5 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2020.

ArcBest's full year 2021 revenue totaled $4.0 billion compared to $2.9 billion in 2020. Net income was $213.5 million, or $7.98 per diluted share, compared to net income of $71.1 million, or $2.69 per diluted share in 2020. On a non-GAAP basis, ArcBest's 2021 net income was $228.0 million, or $8.52 per diluted share, compared to net income of $90.5 million, or $3.42 per diluted share, in 2020.

"I am extremely proud of the talented people of ArcBest, whose dedication and hard work have driven our record-breaking fourth quarter and full year results," said Judy R. McReynolds, ArcBest chairman, president and CEO. "2021 was a year of immense challenges – from the ongoing pandemic to extreme supply chain pressures – but our team stayed focused on our strategic initiatives and consistently exceeded expectations. We are making smart investments across our business to advance our strategic vision and adapt to the rapidly evolving market environment, all while being true advisors to our customers. Our recent announcement of an investment we made in Phantom Auto, the leading provider of human-centered remote operation software, is an example of our commitment in these areas. Investments in our people, our integrated logistics solutions, and our innovations and technology have provided ArcBest with a solid foundation and will continue to drive our company's growth, success and value-creation in 2022 and beyond."

Fourth Quarter Results of Operations Comparisons

Asset-Based

Fourth Quarter 2021 Versus Fourth Quarter 2020

• Revenue of $683.5 million compared to $554.4 million, a per-day increase of 23.3 percent.
• Total tonnage per day increase of 5.1 percent, including an increase of 1.1 percent in LTL-rated weight per shipment.
• Total shipments per day increase of 1.5 percent.
• Total billed revenue per hundredweight increased 17.3 percent and was positively impacted by higher fuel surcharges. Revenue per hundredweight on LTL-rated business, excluding fuel surcharge, improved by a percentage in the double digits.
• Operating income of $83.1 million compared to $27.9 million. On a non-GAAP basis, operating income of $89.5 million compared to $34.9 million.

Continued customer demand for ArcBest's Asset-Based services and a solid pricing environment are reflected in the segment's record-setting fourth quarter and full year revenue and profit. As transportation capacity challenges continued in the marketplace, ArcBest's customers benefited from integrated supply chain solutions enhanced by trusted relationships and utilization of ArcBest's Asset-Based network. Hiring events and initiatives have been successful and are expected to produce further benefits for customers. An emphasis on network resource allocation to serve core LTL customers continued to result in tonnage and shipment growth as well as increased profitability.

As a result of the operating ratio achieved in 2021, ABF Freight will pay a 3% profit-sharing bonus to qualifying union-represented employees – the maximum amount provided in the collective bargaining agreement.

"The ABF Freight team is an integral part of ArcBest's differentiated offering of integrated logistics solutions. It's because of that team's continued dedication and efforts that we're able to provide this bonus for the third year in a row and at a higher level compared to the previous two years," added McReynolds.

Asset-Light^‡

Fourth Quarter 2021 Versus Fourth Quarter 2020 (including the results of MoLo beginning November 1, 2021)

• Revenue of $541.2 million compared to $301.2 million, a per-day increase of 79.7 percent.
• For the months of November and December 2021, MoLo revenue of $120.3 million.
• Operating income of $13.9 million compared to $5.5 million. On a non-GAAP basis, operating income of $16.4 million compared to $6.4 million.
• Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA") of $18.6 million compared to $8.3 million, as detailed in the attached non-GAAP reconciliation tables.

Increased market rates associated with limited transport capacity, combined with continued strength in customer demand, resulted in another record-setting quarter for the ArcBest segment. For the months of November and December, the positive momentum in the ArcBest segment was enhanced by the addition of MoLo. With the addition of MoLo, ArcBest's truckload services produced a significant increase in truckload brokerage revenue and shipments over the prior year's fourth quarter. Revenue growth and enhanced profitability were driven by strong demand from customers seeking supply chain solutions requiring expedite, managed transportation and international services. ArcBest also continued to benefit from strong relationships with carrier partners, further improved by the addition of MoLo, and the ability to meet customers' needs through innovation in a tight freight market.

At FleetNet, an increase in roadside events and higher revenue per total service event contributed to record quarterly revenue and strong fourth quarter profitability for the segment.

Full Year Results of Operations Comparisons

Asset-Based

Full Year 2021 Versus Full Year 2020

• Revenue of $2.6 billion, compared to $2.1 billion, a per-day increase of 23.5 percent.
• Tonnage per day increase of 7.6 percent.
• Shipments per day increase of 4.3 percent.
• Total billed revenue per hundredweight increase of 14.7 percent, positively impacted by higher fuel surcharges.
• Operating income of $260.7 million compared to $98.9 million. On a non-GAAP basis, operating income of $288.3 million compared to $121.3 million.
• Profit-sharing bonus to union-represented ABF Freight employees of $15.1 million, an increase of approximately $10 million over those paid for both 2019 and 2020.

Asset-Light^‡

Full Year 2021 Versus Full Year 2020 (including the results of MoLo beginning November 1, 2021)

• Revenue of $1.6 billion compared to $984.2 million, a per-day increase of 58.6 percent.
• Operating income of $50.9 million compared to $13.0 million. On a non-GAAP basis, operating income of $49.3 million compared to $16.8 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $64.0 million compared to $24.4 million.

Capital Expenditures

In 2021, total net capital expenditures, including equipment financed, equaled $104 million. Net capital expenditures in 2021 included $79 million of revenue equipment, the majority of which was for ArcBest's Asset-Based operation. Revenue equipment purchases in 2021 were lower than the original estimate because of pandemic-related manufacturing delays, primarily on new road tractors. Depreciation and amortization costs on property, plant and equipment were $119 million in 2021.

Quarterly Dividend and Share Repurchase Programs

ArcBest generated solid cash from operations in 2021 and continued to return capital to shareholders through its dividend and share repurchase programs, including the $100 million accelerated share repurchase agreement that was entered into in early November 2021 and completed in January 2022. Currently, $41.9 million remains available under an authorized program for future common stock purchases.

NOTE

 ‡ - The ArcBest and FleetNet reportable segments, combined, represent Asset-Light operations.

Conference Call

ArcBest will host a conference call with company executives to discuss the 2021 fourth quarter and full year 2021 results. The call will be today, Tuesday, February 1, at 9:30 a.m. EST (8:30 a.m. CST). Interested parties are invited to listen by calling (800) 954-0652 or by joining the webcast which can be found on ArcBest's website at arcb.com. Slides to accompany this call are included in Exhibit 99.3 of the Form 8-K filed on February 1, 2022, will be posted and available to download on the company's website prior to the scheduled conference time, and will be included in the webcast. Following the call, a recorded playback will be available through the end of the day on March 15, 2022. To listen to the playback, dial (800) 633–8284 or (402) 977–9140 (for international callers). The conference call ID for the playback is 22014422. The conference call and playback can also be accessed, through March 15, 2022, on ArcBest's website at arcb.com.

About ArcBest

ArcBest^® (Nasdaq: ARCB) is a multibillion-dollar integrated logistics company that helps keep the global supply chain moving. Founded in 1923 and now with over 14,000 employees across more than 250 campuses and service centers, the company is a logistics powerhouse, fueled by the simple notion of finding a way to get the job done. Through innovative thinking, agility and trust, ArcBest leverages their full suite of shipping and logistics solutions to meet customers' critical needs, each and every day. For more information, visit arcb.com.

The following is a "safe harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements and information in this press release concerning results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2021 may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, among others, statements regarding (i) our expectations about our intrinsic value or our prospects for growth and value creation and (ii) our financial outlook, position, strategies, goals, and expectations. Terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "foresee," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "scheduled," "should," "would," and similar expressions and the negatives of such terms are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's beliefs, assumptions, and expectations based on currently available information, are not guarantees of future performance, and involve certain risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control). Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, we cannot provide assurance that our expectations will prove to be correct. Actual outcomes and results could materially differ from what is expressed, implied, or forecasted in these statements due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to: market fluctuations and interruptions affecting the price of our stock or the price or timing of our share repurchase programs; widespread outbreak of an illness or disease, including the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects, or any other public health crisis, as well as regulatory measures implemented in response to such events; external events which may adversely affect us or the third parties who provide services for us, for which our business continuity plans may not adequately prepare us; a failure of our information systems, including disruptions or failures of services essential to our operations or upon which our information technology platforms rely, data breach, and/or cybersecurity incidents; interruption or failure of third-party software or information technology systems or licenses; untimely or ineffective development and implementation of, or failure to realize potential benefits associated with, new or enhanced technology or processes, including the pilot test program at ABF Freight; the loss or reduction of business from large customers; the ability to manage our cost structure, and the timing and performance of growth initiatives; the cost, integration, and performance of any recent or future acquisitions, including the MoLo acquisition, and the inability to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisition within the expected time period or at all; the timing or amount of the earnout payments for the MoLo acquisition, if any; maintaining our corporate reputation and intellectual property rights; competitive initiatives and pricing pressures; increased prices for and decreased availability of new revenue equipment, decreases in value of used revenue equipment, and higher costs of equipment-related operating expenses such as maintenance, fuel, and related taxes; availability of fuel, the effect of volatility in fuel prices and the associated changes in fuel surcharges on securing increases in base freight rates, and the inability to collect fuel surcharges; relationships with employees, including unions, and our ability to attract, retain, and develop employees; unfavorable terms of, or the inability to reach agreement on, future collective bargaining agreements or a workforce stoppage by our employees covered under ABF Freight's collective bargaining agreement; union employee wages and benefits, including changes in required contributions to multiemployer plans; availability and cost of reliable third-party services; our ability to secure independent owner operators and/or operational or regulatory issues related to our use of their services; litigation or claims asserted against us; governmental regulations; environmental laws and regulations, including emissions-control regulations; default on covenants of financing arrangements and the availability and terms of future financing arrangements; self-insurance claims and insurance premium costs; potential impairment of goodwill and intangible assets; general economic conditions and related shifts in market demand that impact the performance and needs of industries we serve and/or limit our customers' access to adequate financial resources; seasonal fluctuations and adverse weather conditions; and other financial, operational, and legal risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in ArcBest Corporation's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

For additional information regarding known material factors that could cause our actual results to differ from our projected results, please see our filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date they are made, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Financial Data and Operating Statistics

The following tables show financial data and operating statistics on ArcBest^® and its reportable segments.