ArcBest Corp. of Fort Smith reported fourth-quarter income of $4.9 million, down 66 percent from the $14.5 million it reported in the same quarter of 2014.
The company reported earnings per share of 19 cents, down from 53 cents of the previous year’s quarter. ArcBest said quarterly revenue was $648.1 million, down more than 2 percent from $664.8 million in the same quarter of 2014.
For the year, ArcBest reported revenue of $2.66 billion, up about 2 percent from $2.61 billion in 2014. Income was $44.8 million, down about 3 percent from $46.1 million last year, and earnings per share decreased slightly to $1.67 from $1.69.
ArcBest said the ABF Freight struggled with a stagnant industry economy and lower fuel surcharges.
"While weakness in the industrial and manufacturing segments of the economy accelerated toward the end of 2015, we made significant progress throughout the year to improve operations at ABF Freight and also provide the full suite of complementary asset-light logistics services our customers seek from us," CEO Judy McReynolds said in a news release. "The 2015 investments we have made in our enterprise services are allowing us greater penetration of these accounts through the single point of contact they desire from ArcBest as a trusted logistics provider."
Revenue for ABF Freight, the company’s trucking division, was $461.5 million, down 5 percent from $485.9 million in the same quarter last year. ArcBest’s asset-light divisions gained revenue, though, at $198.3 million, up 6 percent from $187.1 million in the same quarter last year.
ArcBest’s asset-light divisions made up 30 percent of the company’s total revenue, up from 28 percent in the previous year’s quarter. ArcBest is one of many transportation companies that has focused on developing logistics and brokerage divisions.
Three of ArcBest’s asset-light divisions increased quarterly and annual revenue: ABF Logistics, FleetNet and ABF Moving. Panther Premium Logistics, ArcBest’s largest asset-light division, saw an 11 percent decrease, from $80.2 million to $71.2 million in the same quarter last year. For the full year, revenue fell 5 percent from $316.7 million to $300.3 million in the previous year.