October 26, 2016

Phoenix, Arizona

Knight Transportation Reports Third Quarter 2016 Revenue and Earnings

Knight Transportation, Inc. (NYSE: KNX), one of North America’s largest and most diversified truckload transportation companies, today reported revenue and net income for the third quarter ended September 30, 2016.

The following table reflects key financial highlights for the third quarter and first nine months of 2016 and 2015.

The company previously announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share to shareholders of record on September 2, 2016, which was paid on September 30, 2016.

Dave Jackson, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented on the quarter, “The freight environment remained moderate in the third quarter of 2016 when compared to the same quarter last year. We continued to see improvement in our asset utilization and experienced more favorable supply/demand dynamics as the third quarter progressed.  We are beginning to see more non-contract opportunities in the first few weeks of October. With significantly declining new truck orders, the weak used equipment market, and additional regulatory burdens expected to phase in during the next year, we expect continued improvement in the supply/demand relationship in the coming quarters.

“Our focus remains on improving the productivity of our assets in our trucking segment and expanding load volumes and margins in our logistics segment. During the third quarter, when compared to the same quarter last year, we improved our miles per tractor 1.6% and grew our brokerage load volumes 7.0%. In certain markets, capacity began to tighten during the quarter, which resulted in our brokerage gross margins contracting by 140 basis points.

“Our earnings per diluted share for the quarter were $0.29, compared to our earnings per diluted share of $0.37 in the same quarter last year. During the quarter, revenue per loaded mile, excluding fuel surcharge, decreased 2.1% while our non-paid empty mile percentage increased 30 basis points, which negatively impacted our results by approximately $0.04 per share when compared to the same period last year. Less gain on sale of revenue equipment, increased net fuel cost, and lower other income also negatively impacted our results by approximately $0.02 per share. Driver pay continues to be inflationary when compared to the same quarter last year, which resulted in a $0.01 per share impact during the quarter. The effective income tax rate for the quarter was 38.4% versus 37.2% for the third quarter of 2015, which negatively impacted our results by approximately $0.01 per share.”

The following table reflects our consolidated financial performance and that of our trucking and our logistics segments for the third quarter and first nine months of 2016 and 2015.

In the third quarter, the trucking segment achieved an adjusted operating ratio of 83.1% compared to 79.8% from the same quarter last year. Revenue per tractor, excluding fuel surcharge, decreased 0.8%, year over year, attributable to a 2.1% decrease in average revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, per loaded mile, a 1.6% increase in average miles per tractor, and a 30 basis point increase in non-paid empty mile percentage.  Increased driver related expenses, higher net fuel expense, less gain on sale of revenue equipment, and higher claims costs negatively impacted our operating results when compared to the same period last year.   We remain focused on improving the productivity of our assets, developing our freight network, and intensely controlling our costs.

During the third quarter of 2016, the logistics segment produced an operating ratio of 95.2% compared to 93.6% for the same quarter last year, with revenue declining 10.6%. Our logistics segment consists of brokerage, intermodal, and other logistics services. The year over year revenue decline in the third quarter was primarily a result of exiting our agriculture sourcing business in the first quarter of 2016.  Compared to the same quarter last year, our gross margin percentage in our brokerage business contracted 140 basis points while load volumes increased 7.0%. Brokerage revenue declined 4.5% when compared to the same quarter last year as increased load volume was offset by a 10.7% decline in revenue per load as a result of lower fuel surcharge, a shorter length of haul, and lower non-contract pricing. We plan to continue to invest in and grow our logistics service offerings, which require comparatively little capital investment, as we seek to continue to improve our return on capital.

Attracting and retaining safe, high-quality driving associates remains a priority. Our driver development and training programs remain a focus area for our management team, and we feel well positioned to continue to make progress around the development of our driving associates in the coming quarters.

The used equipment market remained soft during the quarter and resulted in gain on sale of revenue equipment in the third quarter of 2016 of $1.6 million, compared to $2.3 million in the third quarter of 2015. The average age of our tractor fleet is 2.0 years, which has increased from 1.8 years from the second quarter of 2016.  With rising new equipment prices and a weak used equipment market, we have extended the expected trade cycle of our tractors. We have been proactive in managing our preventative maintenance program with a goal of mitigating the additional maintenance cost associated with a slightly older fleet.

During the third quarter of 2016 we repurchased 117,044 shares of our common stock for $3.3 million. We currently have approximately 4.3 million shares available under our stock repurchase authorization. Over the last twelve months ended September 30, 2016, we have returned $59.5 million to our shareholders in the form of quarterly dividends and stock repurchases. We ended the quarter with $3.9 million of cash, $52.0 million of long-term debt, and $764.6 million of shareholders' equity. During the first three quarters of the year our net capital expenditures were $76.1 million, while our cash flow from operations was $189.2 million. We expect to continue to generate meaningful free cash flow (which we define as cash flow from operations minus net capital expenditures) as we do not plan to grow our tractor fleet until we see significant strength in customer demand combined with stronger non-contract and contract rate markets.

The company will hold a conference call on October 26, 2016, at 4:30 PM EDT, to further discuss its results of operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2016. The dial in number for this conference call is 1-855-733-9163. Slides to accompany this call will be posted on the company’s website and will be available to download prior to the scheduled conference time. To view the presentation, please visit http://investor.knighttrans.com/events, “Third Quarter 2016 Conference Call Presentation.”

Adjusted operating income, adjusted operating ratio, adjusted net income attributable to Knight, adjusted earnings per diluted share (EPS), and free cash flow are non-GAAP financial measures and are not intended to replace financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures supplement our GAAP results in evaluating certain parts of our business. We believe that using these measures affords a more consistent basis for comparing our results of operations from period to period. The information required by Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Regulation G under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including a reconciliation to their most directly comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, is included in the tables at the end of this press release.

Knight Transportation, Inc. is a provider of multiple truckload transportation and logistics services using a nationwide network of business units and service centers in the U.S. to serve customers throughout North America.  In addition to operating one of the country’s largest tractor fleets, Knight also contracts with third-party equipment providers to provide a broad range of truckload services to its customers while creating quality driving jobs for our driving associates and successful business opportunities for independent contractors.

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Non-GAAP reconciliation
Adjusted operating income, operating ratio, and adjusted operating ratio reconciliation (a)
		Three Months Ended September 30,								Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2016				2015				2016				2015
		(Unaudited, in thousands)
Total revenue		$	280,530			$	300,122			$	828,936			$	892,225
Less: Trucking fuel surcharge			24,287				30,192				65,252				96,458
Revenue, excluding trucking fuel surcharge		$	256,243			$	269,930			$	763,684			$	795,767
Operating expense			243,596				253,696				715,194				757,877
Adjusted for:
Trucking fuel surcharge			(24,287	)			(30,192	)			(65,252	)			(96,458	)
Accrual for class action lawsuits (b)			-				-				-				(7,163	)
Adjusted operating expenses			219,309				223,504				649,942				654,256
Adjusted operating income		$	36,934			$	46,426			$	113,742			$	141,511
Operating ratio			86.8	%			84.5	%			86.3	%			84.9	%
Adjusted operating ratio (a)			85.6	%			82.8	%			85.1	%			82.2	%

Non-GAAP reconciliation
Adjusted net income attributable to Knight and adjusted earnings per diluted share reconciliation:
		Three Months Ended September 30,								Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2016				2015				2016				2015
		(Unaudited, in thousands, except per share amounts)
Net Income attributable to Knight		$	23,350			$	30,283			$	70,595			$	87,484
Adjusted for:
Accrual for class action lawsuits (net of tax)(b)			-				-				-				4,395
Adjusted net income attributable to Knight		$	23,350			$	30,283			$	70,595			$	91,879
Weighted Average Shares Outstanding - Diluted			80,792				82,005				80,985				82,714
Earnings per diluted share		$	0.29			$	0.37			$	0.87			$	1.06
Adjusted for:
Accrual for class action lawsuits (b)			-				-				-				0.05
Adjusted earnings per diluted  share		$	0.29			$	0.37			$	0.87			$	1.11

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Non-GAAP reconciliation
Operating ratio and adjusted operating ratio for trucking segment (a)
		Three Months Ended September 30,								Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2016				2015				2016				2015
		(Unaudited, in thousands)
Trucking
Total revenue		$	228,556			$	242,008			$	672,863			$	722,847
Less: Trucking fuel surcharge			24,287				30,192				65,252				96,458
Revenue, excluding trucking fuel surcharge		$	204,269			$	211,816			$	607,611			$	626,389
Operating expense			194,117				199,298				567,216				600,047
Adjusted for:
Trucking fuel surcharge			(24,287	)			(30,192	)			(65,252	)			(96,458	)
Accrual for class action lawsuits (b)			-				-				-				(7,163	)
Adjusted operating expenses			169,830				169,106				501,964				496,426
Adjusted operating income		$	34,439			$	42,710			$	105,647			$	129,963
Operating ratio			84.9	%			82.4	%			84.3	%			83.0	%
Adjusted operating ratio			83.1	%			79.8	%			82.6	%			79.3	%

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements generally may be identified by their use of terms or phrases such as "expects," "estimates," "anticipates," "projects," "believes," "plans," "intends," "may," "will," "should," "could," "potential," "continue," "future," and terms or phrases of similar substance.  Forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our management and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, which could cause future events and actual results to differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements.  Accordingly, actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.  Readers should review and consider the factors that may affect future results and other disclosures by the Company in its press releases, stockholder reports, Annual Report on Form 10-K, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or changes in the factors affecting the forward-looking information.

 

 

Contact:  David A. Jackson, President and CEO, or Adam W. Miller, CFO at (602) 606-6315