MONDOVI, Wisc., April 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) today reported a 31.3% improvement in net income to $18.0 million, or 22 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021, from $13.7 million, or 17 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2020.


Operating Results Comparison

	Percentage		Percentage		Percentage
	Increase		Increase		Increase
	Three Months		Year		Year
	Ended		Ended		Ended
	March 31,		December 31,		December 31,
	2021 vs. 2020		2020 vs. 2019		2019 vs. 2018

Operating revenue	2.0	%	3.7	%	7.1	%

Operating revenue, net of fuel surcharges	2.5	%	6.8	%	8.6	%

Operating income	33.1	%	21.9	%	8.7	%

Net income	31.3	%	13.8	%	11.0	%

Operating revenue improved 2.0% to $223.0 million for the first quarter of 2021 from $218.6 million for the first quarter of 2020. Excluding fuel surcharges, operating revenue improved 2.5% to $198.2 million for the 2021 quarter from $193.4 million for the 2020 quarter. Fuel surcharge revenue decreased slightly to $24.9 million for the 2021 quarter from $25.2 million for the 2020 quarter.

Operating income improved 33.1% to $24.0 million for the first quarter of 2021 from $18.0 million for the first quarter of 2020.

Operating expenses as a percentage of operating revenue improved to 89.2% for the first quarter of 2021 from 91.8% for the first quarter of 2020. Operating expenses as a percentage of operating revenue, with both amounts net of fuel surcharges, improved to 87.9% from 90.7%.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Randolph L. Marten said, "Our talented and determined people followed up the impact of the severe winter weather in February with an extremely strong finish to our first quarter, earning 10 cents per diluted share in the month of March. The 33.1% operating income improvement in our 2021 first quarter continues the consistent solid growth we achieved in 2020 of 21.9% and in 2019 of 8.7%, demonstrating our earnings leverage across some challenging operating environments."

"We have been increasing and will continue to increase the compensation from our customers for our premium services within the tightening freight market, which is the result of both accelerating demand and constraining capacity driven by the intensifying national driver shortage. We expect to continue to build on our momentum in expanding the capacity we provide within our unique multifaceted business model across our diverse customer base with our continued improvements to our aggressive levels of driver compensation and benefits, safety and technology."

"We embrace our responsibility to keep our valued drivers, maintenance personnel and employees across all functions and regions safe and healthy as they each contribute to our transporting and distributing the food, beverages and other consumer goods essential to millions of people in North America. We paid our drivers $876,000 this February for their available hours not driven due to the persistent unsafe weather conditions, compared with $46,000 in February of 2020."

Marten Transport, with headquarters in Mondovi, Wis., is a multifaceted business offering a network of refrigerated and dry truck-based transportation capabilities across the Company's five distinct business platforms - Truckload, Dedicated, Intermodal, Brokerage and MRTN de Mexico. Marten is one of the leading temperature-sensitive truckload carriers in the United States, specializing in transporting and distributing food, beverages and other consumer packaged goods that require a temperature-controlled or insulated environment. The Company offers service in the United States, Canada and Mexico, concentrating on expedited movements for high-volume customers. Marten's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol MRTN.

This press release contains certain statements that may be considered 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 include a discussion of Marten's prospects for future growth and by their nature involve substantial risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Important factors known to the Company that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements are discussed in Part I, Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. The Company undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACTS: Tim Kohl, President, and Jim Hinnendael, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, of Marten Transport, Ltd., 715-926-4216.

MARTEN TRANSPORT, LTD.

CONSOLIDATED CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS

	March 31,			December 31,
(In thousands, except share information)	2021			2020
	(Unaudited)
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	88,583		$	66,127
Receivables:
Trade, net		89,552			83,426
Other		3,489			4,202
Prepaid expenses and other		19,434			21,903
Total current assets		201,058			175,658

Property and equipment:
Revenue equipment, buildings and land, office equipment and other		934,405			930,123
Accumulated depreciation		(281,812	)		(275,950	)
Net property and equipment		652,593			654,173
Other noncurrent assets		1,698			1,805
Total assets	$	855,349		$	831,636

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	32,060		$	25,702
Insurance and claims accruals		41,712			39,595
Accrued and other current liabilities		24,079			24,497
Total current liabilities		97,851			89,794
Deferred income taxes		122,183			121,098
Noncurrent operating lease liabilities		337			411
Total liabilities		220,371			211,303

Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock, $.01 par value per share; 2,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding		-			-
Common stock, $.01 par value per share; 192,000,000 shares authorized; 82,774,936 shares at March 31, 2021, and 82,705,005 shares at December 31, 2020, issued and outstanding		828			827
Additional paid-in capital		85,019			85,070
Retained earnings		549,131			534,436
Total stockholders' equity		634,978			620,333
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$	855,349		$	831,636

MARTEN TRANSPORT, LTD.

CONSOLIDATED CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

	Three Months
	Ended March 31,
(In thousands, except per share information)	2021			2020

Operating revenue	$	223,046		$	218,646

Operating expenses (income):
Salaries, wages and benefits		72,998			72,761
Purchased transportation		40,765			40,445
Fuel and fuel taxes		28,937			28,297
Supplies and maintenance		11,015			12,228
Depreciation		25,687			25,427
Operating taxes and licenses		2,712			2,639
Insurance and claims		11,446			12,284
Communications and utilities		2,083			1,985
Gain on disposition of revenue equipment		(1,984	)		(1,555	)
Other		5,389			6,103

Total operating expenses		199,048			200,614

Operating income		23,998			18,032

Other		(10	)		(97	)

Income before income taxes		24,008			18,129

Income taxes expense		6,002			4,411

Net income	$	18,006		$	13,718

Basic earnings per common share	$	0.22		$	0.17

Diluted earnings per common share	$	0.22		$	0.17

Dividends declared per common share	$	0.04		$	0.027

MARTEN TRANSPORT, LTD.

SEGMENT INFORMATION

(Unaudited)

								Dollar			Percentage
								Change			Change
	Three Months							Three Months			Three Months
	Ended							Ended			Ended
	March 31,							March 31,			March 31,
(Dollars in thousands)		2021			2020			2021 vs. 2020			2021 vs. 2020
Operating revenue:
Truckload revenue, net of fuel surcharge revenue		$	83,919		$	83,857		$	62			0.1	%
Truckload fuel surcharge revenue			10,996			11,275			(279	)		(2.5	)
Total Truckload revenue			94,915			95,132			(217	)		(0.2	)

Dedicated revenue, net of fuel surcharge revenue			66,902			64,159			2,743			4.3
Dedicated fuel surcharge revenue			11,335			10,878			457			4.2
Total Dedicated revenue			78,237			75,037			3,200			4.3

Intermodal revenue, net of fuel surcharge revenue			19,446			20,594			(1,148	)		(5.6	)
Intermodal fuel surcharge revenue			2,558			3,086			(528	)		(17.1	)
Total Intermodal revenue			22,004			23,680			(1,676	)		(7.1	)

Brokerage revenue			27,890			24,797			3,093			12.5

Total operating revenue		$	223,046		$	218,646		$	4,400			2.0	%

Operating income:
Truckload		$	11,415		$	6,785		$	4,630			68.2	%
Dedicated			8,936			8,533			403			4.7
Intermodal			1,461			1,306			155			11.9
Brokerage			2,186			1,408			778			55.3
Total operating income		$	23,998		$	18,032		$	5,966			33.1	%

Operating ratio:
Truckload			88.0	%		92.9	%
Dedicated			88.6			88.6
Intermodal			93.4			94.5
Brokerage			92.2			94.3
Consolidated operating ratio			89.2	%		91.8	%

MARTEN TRANSPORT, LTD.

OPERATING STATISTICS

(Unaudited)

	Three Months
	Ended March 31,
	2021			2020
Truckload Segment:
Revenue (in thousands)	$	94,915		$	95,132
Average revenue, net of fuel surcharges, per tractor per week⁽¹⁾	$	4,057		$	3,814
Average tractors⁽¹⁾		1,609			1,691
Average miles per trip		534			559
Non-revenue miles percentage⁽²⁾		10.3	%		11.2	%
Total miles (in thousands)		38,283			41,039

Dedicated Segment:
Revenue (in thousands)	$	78,237		$	75,037
Average revenue, net of fuel surcharges, per tractor per week⁽¹⁾	$	3,214		$	3,304
Average tractors⁽¹⁾		1,619			1,494
Average miles per trip		307			306
Non-revenue miles percentage⁽²⁾		0.8	%		0.7	%
Total miles (in thousands)		31,999			31,536

Intermodal Segment:
Revenue (in thousands)	$	22,004		$	23,680
Loads		7,982			9,737
Average tractors		134			100

Brokerage Segment:
Revenue (in thousands)	$	27,890		$	24,797
Loads		14,575			16,108

At March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020:
Total tractors⁽¹⁾		3,361			3,377
Average age of company tractors (in years)		1.6			1.8
Total trailers		5,344			5,420
Average age of company trailers (in years)		3.2			2.6
Ratio of trailers to tractors⁽¹⁾		1.6			1.6

	Three Months
	Ended March 31,
(In thousands)	2021			2020

Net cash provided by operating activities	$	43,570		$	43,480
Net cash used for investing activities		(17,417	)		(36,632	)
Net cash used for financing activities		(3,697	)		(2,173	)

Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic		82,758			82,214
Diluted		83,359			82,864

(1)		Includes tractors driven by both company-employed drivers and independent contractors. Independent contractors provided 133 and 106 tractors as of March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

(2)		Represents the percentage of miles for which the company is not compensated.