Ryder Q1 net income down 88% - South Florida Business Journal:

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On a positive note, lower mileage will translate to lowermaintenancse costs, but it will take time for the savingds to show up on Ryder’s balance company officials said during a conference call Wednesday. The Miami-based commerciakl truck leaser and logisticscompany (NYSE: R) reported net income of $6.8 or 12 cents a share, for the first quarter, down from $56.1 million, or 96 cents a a year earlier. Revenue for the firstt three months of the yearwas $1.2 down 22 percent from $1.54 billion in the same period last year. Total revenue was impactedd negatively byseveral factors, includiny lower fuel prices and fuel volumes.
A Thomson Reuters poll of on average, projected a 22-cent profit per shars on revenueof $1.2 Morgan Keegan analyst Art Hatfield, who sat in on Wednesday’s conference call, said the company is doingf a “good job” with its cash flow, but there isn’tr good news in the report. “There is nothing reall that they can say that things are getting better,” he said. “It’s a matte of when the economy gets better.
” The compan y felt the fuel pain in the Fleet ManagemenftSolutions (FMS) segment, which combines a packagde of services that include the outsourcingh of acquisition, maintenance, management and disposal of FMS reported first quarter revenuw of $862.6 million, down 22 percent compared with the same time last Fuel services revenue in the first quarter decreased 53 percenyt compared with the same perioed in 2008 due to lower fuel pricess and reduced gallons pumped at Ryder's fuel service according to the company.
Overall, profig from FMS declined by 67 percent for the While companies are driving less and consolidatintg routes tosave money, the drop in miles also reflectsx the reality that there is less freight flowinf throughout the country, another consequence of the economid downturn. Proceeds were down 11 percentr on tractor sales and 19 percenton trucks, which were sellinh at more modest prices. The company has seen an upticki in salesof trucks, however, startingy in the fourth quarter and again in although pricing continued to be soft. Ryder expects to discontinur operations in Europe and South America this year as a resul t of lowerautomotive results.
Continuer weakness in the economy and a lack of predictability prompted Ryder to suspendearnings “Despite these factors, based on the naturs of our business model, we expectf full-year free cash flow to remaihn strong and significantly improve versus our priofr forecast,” Ryder Chairman and CEO Gregorg T. Swienton said in a news release. Shares closer up $1.35, or 5.56 to $25.64. The 52-week high was $76.64 on May 19. The 52-weekm low was $19 on Marchy 6.