Celadon Group Inc. reported a drop in profit in its latest quarter despite a 29-percent rise in revenue.
The Indianapolis-based trucking company said Tuesday that profit dropped 20.5 percent, to $3.5 million, or 15 cents per share, in the fiscal third quarter ended March 31. That's down from $4.4 million, or 19 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The profit met analyst expectations.
Revenue jumped to $193.2 million, up from $149.6 a year ago as freight revenue exploded 31 percent, to $155.6 million.
"Severe weather conditions negatively impacted our results for the March 2014 quarter," Celadon CEO Paul Will said in a prepared statement. "The winter storms encountered were widespread and significantly affected both fleet utilization and operating costs. Operations, maintenance and fuel expenses increased primarily due to the weather and to older equipment associated with our most recent acquisitions, which will be somewhat alleviated in future periods when those assets are refreshed in a similar fashion to the remaining Celadon fleet."
Celadon shares rose 2.5 percent Tuesday before the earnings release, to $23.48 each.
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