EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (“C.H. Robinson”) (Nasdaq: CHRW) today reported financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2021.

Fourth Quarter Key Metrics:

• Total revenues increased 42.9% to $6.5 billion
• Gross profits increased 33.7% to $850.7 million
• Adjusted gross profits(1) increased 33.7% to $856.3 million
• Income from operations increased 39.0% to $287.4 million
• Adjusted operating margin(1) increased 130 basis points to 33.6%
• Diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased 61.1% to $1.74
• Cash generated by operations decreased by $86.3 million to $75.9 million

Full-Year Key Metrics:

• Total revenues increased 42.5% to $23.1 billion
• Gross profits increased 30.7% to $3.1 billion
• Adjusted gross profits(1) increased 30.7% to $3.2 billion
• Income from operations increased 60.7% to $1.1 billion
• Adjusted operating margin(1) increased 640 basis points to 34.3 percent
• Diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased 69.6% to $6.31
• Cash flow from operations decreased 81.0% to $95.0 million

(1) Adjusted gross profits and adjusted operating margin are Non-GAAP financial measures. The same factors described in this release that impacted these Non-GAAP measures also impacted the comparable GAAP measures. Refer to page 11 for further discussion and a GAAP to Non-GAAP reconciliation.

"In the face of some of the greatest disruption and tightest capacity the logistics industry has ever seen, C.H. Robinson demonstrated strength, resilience and commitment to our global customers in 2021," said Bob Biesterfeld, President and Chief Executive Officer of C.H. Robinson. As a result of strategic planning and investments, as well as outstanding operational performance, we delivered record financial results for the year and strong results for the fourth quarter. Our tech-plus strategy continued to be a key differentiator for our company, enabling us to help our customers and carriers navigate the unprecedented level of supply chain disruption, while maintaining the superior service that our global customers have come to expect from C.H. Robinson. Looking ahead, we will continue capitalizing on opportunities to integrate our advanced innovation and technology to deliver best-in-class, comprehensive solutions across our combination of modes, services and geographies. The positive momentum of our business remains strong as demand for our global suite of services and for our digital freight platform continues to grow. We believe our strategies and competitive advantages will enable us to create more value for customers and in turn, win more business and increase our market share, while delivering higher profitability and return on invested capital."

Summary of Fourth Quarter Results Compared to the Fourth Quarter of 2020

• Total revenues increased 42.9% to $6.5 billion, driven primarily by higher pricing and higher volume across most of our services.
• Gross profits increased 33.7% to $850.7 million. Adjusted gross profits increased 33.7% to $856.3 million, primarily driven by higher adjusted gross profit per transaction and higher volume across most of our services.
• Operating expenses increased 31.2% to $568.9 million. Personnel expenses increased 35.8% to $420.0 million, primarily due to higher incentive compensation costs and higher headcount, and also due to the benefit realized in the fourth quarter of 2020 from our short-term, pandemic-related cost reductions. Average headcount increased 11.9%. Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses of $148.9 million increased 19.6%, primarily due to higher purchased services and travel expenses, both of which were reduced in the fourth quarter of 2020 by short-term, pandemic-related cost reductions.
• Income from operations totaled $287.4 million, up 39.0% due to the increase in adjusted gross profits, partially offset by the increase in operating expenses. Adjusted operating margin of 33.6% increased 130 basis points.
• Interest and other expenses totaled $18.4 million, consisting primarily of $14.1 million of interest expense, which increased $1.8 million versus last year due to a higher average debt balance. The fourth quarter also included a $6.5 million unfavorable impact from foreign currency revaluation and realized foreign currency gains and losses.
• The effective tax rate in the quarter was 14.5% compared to 24.1% in the fourth quarter last year. The rate decrease was due primarily to a favorable mix of foreign earnings and an increased benefit related to U.S. tax credits and incentives.
• Net income totaled $230.1 million, up 55.7% from a year ago. Diluted EPS of $1.74 increased 61.1%.

Summary of Full Year Results Compared to 2020

• Total revenues increased 42.5% to $23.1 billion, driven primarily by higher pricing and higher volume across most of our services.
• Gross profits increased 30.7% to $3.1 billion. Adjusted gross profits increased 30.7% to $3.2 billion, primarily driven by higher adjusted gross profit per transaction and higher volume across most of our services.
• Operating expenses increased 19.0% to $2.1 billion. Personnel expenses increased 24.2% to $1.5 billion, primarily due to higher incentive compensation costs and higher headcount, and also due to the benefit realized in 2020 from our short-term, pandemic-related cost reduction initiatives. SG&A expenses increased 6.1% to $526.4 million, primarily due to increases in purchased services and warehouse expenses, partially offset by decreases in amortization and bad debt expenses and by an $11.5 million loss on the sale-leaseback of a company-owned data center in 2020.
• Income from operations totaled $1.1 billion, up 60.7% from last year, primarily due to the increase in adjusted gross profits, partially offset by the increase in operating expenses. Adjusted operating margin of 34.3% increased 640 basis points.
• Interest and other expenses totaled $59.8 million, which primarily consists of $52.1 million of interest expense, which increased $3.0 million versus last year due to a higher average debt balance. The full year also included a $15.1 million unfavorable impact from foreign currency revaluation and realized foreign currency gains and losses. These expenses were partially offset by a $2.9 million local government subsidy in Asia for achieving specified performance criteria that was almost entirely offset by a reduction in foreign tax credits within the provision for income taxes.
• The effective tax rate for the full year was 17.4% compared to 19.4% in the year-ago period. The rate decrease was due primarily to a favorable mix of foreign earnings and an increased benefit related to U.S. tax credits and incentives.
• Net income totaled $844.2 million, up 66.7% from a year ago. Diluted EPS of $6.31 increased 69.6%.

North American Surface Transportation Results

Summarized financial results of our NAST segment are as follows (dollars in thousands):

Fourth quarter total revenues for C.H. Robinson's NAST segment totaled $3.9 billion, an increase of 26.1% over the prior year, primarily driven by higher truckload and less-than truckload ("LTL") pricing and an increase in truckload shipments. NAST adjusted gross profits increased 19.7% in the quarter to $475.1 million. Adjusted gross profits in truckload increased 22.2% due to a 15.0% increase in adjusted gross profit per load and a 6.0% increase in shipments. Our average truckload linehaul rate per mile charged to our customers, which excludes fuel surcharges, increased approximately 18.5% in the quarter, while truckload linehaul cost per mile, excluding fuel surcharges, increased approximately 18.0%. LTL adjusted gross profits increased 18.3% versus the year-ago period, as adjusted gross profit per order increased 23.5% and LTL volumes declined 4.0%. NAST overall volume growth was flat for the quarter. The fourth quarter of 2021 had one less business day than the fourth quarter of 2020. Truckload volume per business day increased 7.5% in the quarter, and LTL volume per business day declined 2.5%, resulting in overall NAST volume growth per business day of 1.5%. Operating expenses increased 32.7% primarily due to higher incentive compensation and higher headcount, and also due to the benefit realized in 2020 from our short-term, pandemic-related cost reduction initiatives. Income from operations decreased 1.4% to $148.4 million, and adjusted operating margin declined 670 basis points to 31.2%. NAST average headcount was up 7.5% in the quarter.

Global Forwarding Results

Summarized financial results of our Global Forwarding segment are as follows (dollars in thousands):

Fourth quarter total revenues for the Global Forwarding segment increased 108.1% to $2.1 billion, primarily driven by higher pricing and higher volume in both our ocean and air services, reflecting the strong demand environment, market share gains, and strained capacity. Adjusted gross profits increased 71.9% in the quarter to $309.6 million. Ocean adjusted gross profits increased 86.5%, driven by a 78.0% increase in adjusted gross profit per shipment and a 5.0% increase in volumes. Adjusted gross profits in air increased 91.9% driven by a 37.5% increase in metric tons shipped and a 39.5% increase in adjusted gross profit per metric ton. Customs adjusted gross profits increased 5.7%, primarily driven by a 0.5% increase in transaction volume. Operating expenses increased 33.9%, primarily driven by increased salaries, incentive compensation and technology expenses. Fourth quarter average headcount increased 17.4%. Income from operations increased 151.0% to $146.8 million, and adjusted operating margin expanded 1,490 basis points to 47.4% in the quarter.

All Other and Corporate Results

Total revenues and adjusted gross profits for Robinson Fresh, Managed Services and Other Surface Transportation are summarized as follows (dollars in thousands):

Fourth quarter Robinson Fresh adjusted gross profits increased 10.2% to $26.0 million, due to an 11.5% increase in case volume. Managed Services adjusted gross profits increased 7.3% in the quarter, primarily due to a 2.5% increase in volume. Other Surface Transportation adjusted gross profits increased 24.2% to $19.1 million, primarily due to a 25.4% increase in Europe truckload adjusted gross profits, with the acquisition of Combinex Holding B.V. contributing 10.3 percentage points of growth to truckload adjusted gross profits.

Other Income Statement Items

The fourth quarter effective tax rate was 14.5%, down from 24.1% last year, and lower than our expectations, primarily due to a favorable mix of foreign earnings and an increased benefit from U.S. tax credits and incentives. We expect our 2022 full-year effective tax rate to be 19 to 21 percent.

Interest and other expenses totaled $18.4 million, consisting primarily of $14.1 million of interest expense, which increased $1.8 million versus last year due to a higher average debt balance. The fourth quarter also included a $6.5 million unfavorable impact from foreign currency revaluation and realized foreign currency gains and losses.

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding in the quarter were down 3.3% due primarily to share repurchases over the past twelve months.

Cash Flow Generation and Capital Distribution

Cash from operations totaled $75.9 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $162.1 million of cash from operations in the fourth quarter of 2020. The $86.3 million decrease in cash flow was primarily due to a $199.9 million sequential increase in net operating working capital in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to a $92.0 million sequential increase in the fourth quarter of 2020. The increase in net operating working capital in the fourth quarter of 2021 resulted primarily from a $278.6 million sequential increase in accounts receivable and contract assets, compared to a $78.7 million sequential increase in total accounts payable.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, $222.8 million of cash was returned to shareholders, with $154.4 million in total repurchases of common stock and $68.4 million in cash dividends.

Capital expenditures totaled $18.4 million in the quarter. Capital expenditures for 2022 are expected to be $90 million to $100 million, primarily driven by technology investments in our digital platform.

Subsequent to the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, the borrowing capacity on our accounts receivable securitization facility was expanded by an additional $200 million, bringing its total borrowing capacity to $500 million.

About C.H. Robinson

C.H. Robinson solves logistics problems for companies across the globe and across industries, from the simple to the most complex. With $28 billion in freight under management and 20 million shipments annually, we are one of the world’s largest logistics platforms. Our global suite of services accelerates trade to seamlessly deliver the products and goods that drive the world’s economy. With the combination of our multimodal transportation management system and expertise, we use our information advantage to deliver smarter solutions for our 100,000 customers and 85,000 contract carriers. Our technology is built by and for supply chain experts to bring faster, more meaningful improvements to our customers’ businesses. As a responsible global citizen, we are also proud to contribute millions of dollars to support causes that matter to our company, our Foundation and our employees. For more information, visit us at www.chrobinson.com (Nasdaq: CHRW).

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this release are forward-looking statements that represent our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies concerning future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience or our present expectations, including, but not limited to, such factors such as changes in economic conditions, including uncertain consumer demand; changes in market demand and pressures on the pricing for our services; competition and growth rates within the third party logistics industry; freight levels and increasing costs and availability of truck capacity or alternative means of transporting freight; changes in relationships with existing contracted truck, rail, ocean, and air carriers; changes in our customer base due to possible consolidation among our customers; our ability to successfully integrate the operations of acquired companies with our historic operations; risks associated with litigation, including contingent auto liability and insurance coverage; risks associated with operations outside of the United States; risks associated with the potential impact of changes in government regulations; risks associated with the produce industry, including food safety and contamination issues; fuel price increases or decreases, or fuel shortages; cyber-security related risks; the impact of war on the economy; changes to our capital structure; risks related to the elimination of LIBOR; changes due to catastrophic events including pandemics such as COVID-19; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in our Annual and Quarterly Reports.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to update such statement to reflect events or circumstances arising after such date. All remarks made during our financial results conference call will be current at the time of the call, and we undertake no obligation to update the replay.

Conference Call Information:
C.H. Robinson Worldwide Fourth Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call
Wednesday, February 2, 2022; 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time
Presentation slides and a simultaneous live audio webcast of the conference call may be accessed through the Investor Relations link on C.H. Robinson’s website at www.chrobinson.com.
To participate in the conference call by telephone, please call ten minutes early by dialing: 877-269-7756
International callers dial +1-201-689-7817

CHRW-IR

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220202005189/en/

Chuck Ives, Director of Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

Source: C.H. Robinson