EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (“C.H. Robinson”) (Nasdaq: CHRW) today reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2022.

Second Quarter Key Metrics:

• Gross profits and adjusted gross profits(1) increased 37.7% to $1.0 billion
• Income from operations increased 80.2% to $469.7 million
• Adjusted operating margin(1) increased 1,070 basis points to 45.5%
• Diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased 85.4% to $2.67
• Cash generated by operations improved by $116.0 million to $265.3 million

"Our second quarter was another quarter of record profits, as our business model performed as we would expect it to in this part of the cycle," said Bob Biesterfeld, President and Chief Executive Officer of C.H. Robinson. "Our investments in our customer relationships through the early part of the cycle, while the cost of purchased transportation was rapidly increasing, are paying dividends as we retain and gain share with these customers through the terms of our agreements. Our strong results were again driven by significant operating margin expansion in our North American Surface Transportation business, as we further improved the profitability of our truckload and less-than truckload businesses and grew our truckload volume in a declining market. Our Global Forwarding team continued to deliver strong financial results, while benefiting from the market share they’ve gained over the past couple of years."

Summary of Second Quarter Results Compared to the Second Quarter of 2021

• Total revenues increased 22.9% to $6.8 billion, driven primarily by higher pricing across most of our services and higher truckload and ocean volume.
• Gross profits and adjusted gross profits increased 37.7% to $1.0 billion, primarily driven by higher adjusted gross profit per transaction across most of our services and higher truckload and ocean volume.
• Operating expenses increased 15.0% to $561.9 million. Personnel expenses increased 22.6% to $444.8 million, primarily due to higher headcount, which increased 16.2%, and higher incentive compensation costs. Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses of $117.2 million decreased 6.8% and included a $25.3 million gain on the sale-leaseback of our Kansas City regional center. This was partially offset by higher purchased and contracted services and increased travel expenses.
• Income from operations totaled $469.7 million, up 80.2% due to the increase in adjusted gross profits, partially offset by the increase in operating expenses. Adjusted operating margin of 45.5% increased 1,070 basis points.
• Interest and other income/expense, net totaled $27.4 million of expense, consisting primarily of $17.0 million of interest expense, which increased $4.3 million versus last year due to a higher average debt balance, and $10.3 million of foreign currency revaluation and realized foreign currency gains and losses, which increased $8.4 million versus last year due to the strengthening of the U.S. Dollar, primarily versus the Euro and Yuan.
• The effective tax rate in the quarter was 21.3% compared to 21.6% in the second quarter last year.
• Net income totaled $348.2 million, up 79.7% from a year ago. Diluted EPS of $2.67 increased 85.4%.

Summary of Year-to-Date Results Compared to 2021

• Total revenues increased 31.7% to $13.6 billion, driven primarily by higher pricing and higher volume across most of our services.
• Gross profits and adjusted gross profits increased 33.5% to $1.9 billion, primarily driven by higher adjusted gross profit per transaction and higher volume across most of our services.
• Operating expenses increased 16.0% to $1.1 billion. Personnel expenses increased 18.6% to $858.1 million, primarily due to higher headcount, which increased 15.2%, and higher incentive compensation costs. SG&A expenses increased 8.5% to $264.5 million, primarily due to increases in purchased and contracted services, travel expenses and warehouse expenses, partially offset by a $25.3 million gain on the sale-leaseback of our Kansas City regional center.
• Income from operations totaled $815.1 million, up 68.4% from last year, primarily due to the increase in adjusted gross profits, partially offset by the increase in operating expenses. Adjusted operating margin of 42.1% increased 880 basis points.
• Interest and other income/expense, net totaled $41.6 million of expense, which primarily consists of $31.5 million of interest expense, which increased $6.6 million versus last year due to a higher average debt balance. The full year also included a $11.8 million unfavorable impact from foreign currency revaluation and realized foreign currency gains and losses, due to the strengthening of the U.S. Dollar, primarily versus the Euro and Yuan.
• The effective tax rate for the six months was 20.0% compared to 20.1% in the year-ago period.
• Net income totaled $618.5 million, up 68.5% from a year ago. Diluted EPS of $4.71 increased 73.8%.

North American Surface Transportation ("NAST") Results

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

Second quarter total revenues for the NAST segment totaled $4.1 billion, an increase of 15.7% 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 43.1% in the quarter to $624.6 million. Adjusted gross profits in truckload increased 50.8% due to a 48.0% increase in adjusted gross profit per shipment and a 2.0% increase in truckload volume. Our average truckload linehaul rate per mile charged to our customers, which excludes fuel surcharges, increased approximately 1.5% in the quarter compared to the prior year, while truckload linehaul cost per mile, excluding fuel surcharges, decreased approximately 5.0%, resulting in a 46.5% increase in truckload adjusted gross profit per mile. LTL adjusted gross profits increased 30.2% versus the year-ago period, as adjusted gross profit per order increased 37.0% and LTL volumes declined 5.0%. Operating expenses increased 21.9% primarily due to increased salaries, incentive compensation, and technology expenses. Income from operations increased 83.0% to $276.5 million, and adjusted operating margin expanded 970 basis points to 44.3%. NAST average headcount was up 14.8% in the quarter.

Global Forwarding Results

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

Second quarter total revenues for the Global Forwarding segment increased 44.3% to $2.1 billion, primarily driven by higher pricing and higher volume in our ocean service, reflecting the strong demand environment and market share gains. Adjusted gross profits increased 35.9% in the quarter to $324.4 million. Ocean adjusted gross profits increased 51.1%, driven by a 47.5% increase in adjusted gross profit per shipment and a 2.5% increase in shipments. Adjusted gross profits in air increased 7.5% driven by a 14.0% increase in adjusted gross profit per metric ton shipped, partially offset by a 6.0% decrease in metric tons shipped. Customs adjusted gross profits increased 9.0%, driven by a 10.5% increase in transaction volume. Operating expenses increased 20.2%, primarily driven by increased salaries, incentive compensation, technology and travel expenses. Second quarter average headcount increased 17.3%. Income from operations increased 54.8% to $167.6 million, and adjusted operating margin expanded 630 basis points to 51.6% 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):

Second quarter Robinson Fresh adjusted gross profits increased 16.8% to $35.0 million, due to an 8.5% increase in case volume and an increase in integrated supply chain and technology services. Managed Services adjusted gross profits increased 5.3% in the quarter, due to growth in business with both new and existing customers. Other Surface Transportation adjusted gross profits increased 13.4% to $20.0 million, primarily due to a 16.7% increase in Europe truckload adjusted gross profits.

Other Income Statement Items

The second quarter effective tax rate was 21.3%, down from 21.6% last year. We expect our 2022 full-year effective tax rate to be 19% to 21%.

Interest and other income/expense, net totaled $27.4 million of expense, consisting primarily of $17.0 million of interest expense, which increased $4.3 million versus the second quarter of 2021 due to a higher average debt balance, and $10.3 million of foreign currency revaluation and realized foreign currency gains and losses, which increased $8.4 million versus the second quarter of 2021 due to the strengthening of the U.S. Dollar, primarily versus the Euro and Yuan.

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding in the quarter were down 3.4% due primarily to share repurchases over the past twelve months.

Cash Flow Generation and Capital Distribution

Cash from operations totaled $265.3 million in the second quarter, compared to $149.3 million in the second quarter of 2021. The $116.0 million improvement was primarily due to a $154.4 million increase in net income.

In the second quarter of 2022, cash returned to shareholders increased 100% versus last year to $409.2 million, with $336.7 million in repurchases of common stock and $72.4 million in cash dividends.

Capital expenditures totaled $43.2 million in the quarter. Capital expenditures for 2022 are now expected to be $110 million to $120 million, up from our prior guidance of $90 million to $100 million, primarily due to a higher level of internally developed software.

Outlook

"As questions linger about global economic growth, inflationary pressures, and consumer discretionary spending, our global suite of multimodal services, our growing digital platform, our responsive team of logistics experts, and our resilient and flexible non-asset-based business model put us in a position to continue delivering strong financial results," Biesterfeld stated. "While we are pleased with our performance this quarter and the fact that both NAST and Global Forwarding delivered operating margins above our publicly stated targets, we know that we have work to do to consistently deliver at our targeted level. The work that the team is executing related to scaling our model, eliminating internal legacy processes and improving quality, while working backwards from the needs of our customers and carriers, will drive continued improvement in operating profits long-term. As we look to the second half of the year, we are watching economic conditions closely, and the management team and board continue to consider all strategies to grow operating profits and maximize long-term shareholder returns through all phases of the business cycle and various economic scenarios."

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 as changes in economic conditions, including uncertain consumer demand; changes in market demand and pressures on the pricing for our services; fuel price increases or decreases, or fuel shortages; competition and growth rates within the global logistics industry; freight levels and increasing costs and availability of truck capacity or alternative means of transporting freight; risks associated with significant disruptions in the transportation industry; changes in relationships with existing contracted truck, rail, ocean, and air carriers; changes in our customer base due to possible consolidation among our customers; risks with reliance on technology to operate our business; cyber-security related risks; risks associated with operations outside of the United States; our ability to identify or complete suitable acquisitions; 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 the potential impact of changes in government regulations; our ability to hire and retain a sufficient number of qualified personnel; risks associated with the changes to income tax regulations; risks associated with the produce industry, including food safety and contamination issues; the impact of war on the economy; changes to our capital structure; 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 Second Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call
Wednesday, July 27, 2022; 5:00 p.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/20220727005753/en/

Chuck Ives, Director of Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

Source: C.H. Robinson