Ryder has reported profits from continuing operations of $30.6 million, up 13 per cent from $27.1 million a year earlier reflecting the impact of stronger results in the supply chain solutions and fleet management solutions business segments.
It said that improved SCS business segment results were driven by stronger automotive volumes. Improved FMS business segment results were driven primarily by better commercial rental performance and improved used vehicle sales results.
Sales for the second quarter were $1.29 billion, up 6 per cent on last year.
Chairman and chief executive Greg Swienton said: “Earnings growth was much stronger than we anticipated as we saw further improvement in the early indicators of recovery within our business that began to emerge in the first quarter.
“In Supply Chain Solutions, the continuing recovery of automotive activity drove increased revenue and significantly improved earnings.
“In Fleet Management Solutions, we experienced: a further increase in lease miles driven per unit; higher commercial rental demand, utilisation and pricing; and improved used vehicle pricing. This was somewhat offset, however, as the average size of our full service lease fleet continued to decline, reflecting the cumulative impact of ongoing customer fleet downsizing.”
Profit from continuing operations for the first half wad $43.5m, up from $38m a year earlier.
In the SCS business segment, second quarter 2010 total revenue was $310.1m, up 12 per cent from $275.9 million in 2009.
The SCS business segment’s NBT (net before tax) in the second quarter of 2010 doubled to $12.6 million from $6.2m the year before, driven by improved automotive volumes, the impact of prior-year contract rationalisations, and better operating performance in the high-tech and consumer industries.
Looking ahead, Swienton said: “In many cases, our customers still remain cautious, and our full service lease product, which typically lags our other product lines during a recovery, has not yet exhibited a return to growth. Nevertheless, full service lease should benefit from new business sold, and the potential stabilisation of existing customer lease fleet declines by year end. We expect commercial rental and used vehicle sales to continue to perform well.
“We also anticipate a continuing stable automotive environment and better high-tech and consumer industry performance for the balance of the year. Taking all of these factors into consideration, we are confident that we can deliver on our increased earnings growth objectives for 2010.
