XPO produces net profit for first quarter

XPO Logistics made a net profit of $21.3 million in the first quarter of 2017 compared to a loss of $22.5m the year before.

Sales, at $3.5 billion, were up by $123m, excluding the first quarter 2016 revenue for the North American truckload unit that was divested last year. Operating profit was up from $62m to $114m.

The logistics segment generated total revenue of $1.3bn for the quarter, compared with $1.26 billion for the same period in 2016. The year-on-year increase was primarily due to growth in contract logistics in Europe, notably e-commerce and cold chain contracts in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy.

However, the company said this was partially offset by the unfavourable impact of currency fluctuations, particularly with the British pound sterling.

Operating income for the logistics segment increased to $47.2m, compared with $31.9m a year ago.

The company’s transport segment generated revenue of $2.28bn for the quarter, compared with $2.3bn for the same period in 2016, reflecting the divestiture of the North American truckload unit on October 27, 2016.

Operating income for the transport segment increased to $100.8m, compared with operating income of $75.4m a year ago.

Chairman and chief executive Bradley Jacobs said: “We started the year on a strong note by solidly beating our expectations for earnings, and continuing to expand margins in both transport and logistics.

“The $716 million of sales we closed through March was a first quarter record for our company, up significantly from $429 million a year ago.”

The company reaffirmed its full year targets for adjusted EBITDA of at least $1.35 billion for 2017 and at least $1.575 billion for 2018.