Universal Truckload Services (UACL) Sets Q1 Earnings Release Date; Prelim. Q1 Results Miss Expectations

Universal Truckload Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: UACL), announced today the planned release of first quarter 2015 financial results on Wednesday, April 29, 2015, immediately prior to the beginning of our annual shareholders' meeting at 10:00 a.m. EDT.

The next day, Thursday, April 30, 2015, we invite investors and analysts to also participate in our quarterly earnings conference call. During the call, Jeff Rogers, CEO, and David Crittenden, CFO, will discuss Universal's first quarter 2015 financial performance, the demand outlook in our key markets, and trends impacting our business.

Quarterly Earnings Conference Call Dial-in Details:

A replay of the conference will be available beginning two hours after the call through May 27, 2015, by calling (855) 859-2056 (toll free) or +1 (404) 537-3406 (toll) and using conference ID 15331186. The call will also be available on investors.goutsi.com.

Based on information available as of April 1, 2015, we expect to report earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.26 to $0.29 for the first quarter of 2015, compared to $0.27 per share in first quarter 2014, based on total operating revenues anticipated to range from $260.0 million to $266.0 million. Earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation, or "EBITDA," should exceed $23.7 million in first quarter 2015 compared to $22.3 million in first quarter 2014. We expect income from operations in the range of $14.6 million to $15.4 million, which compares to $14.6 million in the first quarter of 2014.

*** The Street sees Q1 EPS of $0.34 and revenue of $300 million.

Our estimated first quarter financial performance reflects lower than expected demand in February and March for our truckload transportation services, particularly in our steel, energy and other heavy haul businesses, coupled with lower fuel surcharges. Revenues from continuing logistics operations are also expected to be modestly lower than anticipated in early February, while results from our intermodal services have continued recent trends. Our first quarter 2015 income from operations will reflect the impact of capital investments in 2014 totaling $59.8 million, which were somewhat higher than prior years. Additionally, net income will include moderately higher interest expense due to higher effective rates on our outstanding debt.

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