CAI International (CAI) Tops Q4 EPS by 63c

CAI International (NYSE: CAI) reported Q4 EPS of $1.76, $0.63 better than the analyst estimate of $1.13. Revenue for the quarter came in at $81.57 million versus the consensus estimate of $82.14 million.

Timothy Page, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of CAI, commented, “We are very pleased with our results during the fourth quarter. Adjusted net income from continuing operations attributable to CAI common stockholders was a record $31.6 million, an increase of 69% compared to the third quarter of 2020. Container lease revenue was $82 million, also a record, and a 10% increase from the third quarter.

“During the quarter we delivered on all of our stated initiatives to maximize shareholder value:

• We invested aggressively, leasing out $154 million in new long-dated leases with attractive yields and an average tenure of 11 years. Since the end of June 2020, we have invested $300 million and grown our container revenue assets by 6%. This investment, with its long-term attractive yields, combined with our industry leading utilization and low, long-term funding costs, resulted in an ROE of 21.2% in the fourth quarter.
• We completed the divestiture of our non-container assets with the sale of our rail business, which closed on December 29, 2020. Combined with the sale of our logistics business in August, CAI is now 100% focused on its container leasing business.
• We are actively returning capital to shareholders, increasing our quarterly dividend 20% from $0.25 to $0.30 per share.
• We have repurchased 3.6% of our common shares since the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2020. In addition, the Board has expanded our share repurchase program by an additional two million shares.

“Our singular focus is to continue to prudently allocate capital to drive shareholder value.”

Mr. Page continued, “The global container market has been remarkable the past several quarters, demand has been unprecedented and container prices have risen to record levels. We expect container demand to remain strong throughout 2021. We have a robust forward order book and have commitments for the delivery of $340 million of new containers through early Q3 of 2021, and expect to secure additional commitments as we work with several customers to provide financing for their container production. We continue to focus on ultra-long life-cycle leases and because of the historically high container prices, are limiting our speculative production commitments.

“The Company continues to maintain its exceptional industry leading utilization. Average utilization in the fourth quarter was 99.3%. Utilization at the quarter end was 99.6%, and is currently 99.7%. Our continuing strong performance in utilization reflects the long-term nature of our contracts, our focus on tight contract redelivery terms and ongoing fleet management; all of which underscore the long-term committed nature of our cash flow.

“Our average cash interest rate at the end of the fourth quarter was 2.25%, and 83% of the Company’s debt is now fixed rate. CAI has a record level of liquidity which will allow us to take advantage of favorable container investment opportunities as well as continue to return capital to shareholders.

“We expect the record results we achieved in the fourth quarter to set the stage for a strong 2021. However, we anticipate that net income may be slightly lower in the first quarter as a result of two fewer billing days as compared to the fourth quarter and a probable reduction in container sales as result of a lack of available inventory due to our high utilization levels.”

Mr. Page concluded, “We are very optimistic about 2021. We enter the year with strong cash flows supported by long-term leases, virtually no off-lease equipment, and low, long-term fixed rate financing costs. As a result of these favorable factors, combined with our forward order book, we expect to continue to deliver exceptional ROE’s for our shareholders.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on CAI International (CAI) click here.

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