After Jack Cooper exit, Proficient picks up millions in new auto-hauling business
Leaders of Proficient Auto Logistics say their team has scored new business worth $60 million annually so far this year in an auto-hauling market disrupted by the sudden closure in February of No. 2 player Jack Cooper Transport Co.
On a yearly basis, the new contracts equate to roughly a quarter of Proficient’s 2024 total sales and will add about 15% to the company’s top line based on the last two quarters of results. (That 15% figure is roughly what Jack Cooper’s market share was before it closed its doors.)
Speaking to analysts on May 7 after reporting first-quarter results, CEO Rick O’Dell said there’s potential for more share gains if a weak automotive market persists and shakes out financially less stable haulers.
“Our national footprint proved its value during the onboarding of these new commitments, flexing the breadth of our sub-haul channel and enabling the transfer of surplus revenue-generating equipment and drivers to new volume without impacting existing business elsewhere in our network,” O’Dell said on a conference call.
Jacksonville-based Proficient posted a net loss of $3.2 million on total revenues of $95.2 million during the first three months of this year. Compared to last year's fourth quarter— the first full quarter with contributions from Utah-based Auto Transport Group—revenues rose less than 1% while the total number of units delivered slipped 5% to about 494,500.
CFO Brad Wright said that, should Proficient win more contracts on which it is bidding, it is possible the company’s $15 million capital spending target for the year would need to grow. In the meantime, the company’s leaders are taking a step back from acquisitions to, in Wright’s words, “gauge our operating performance in this volatile environment.”
Wright did add that the Proficient team is seeing some distressed carriers up for sale and that they will “be smart about the opportunities that we pursue.”
Analysts at Stifel, led by Bruce Chan, say the company is well-positioned to grow its bottom line in the coming 18 months, thanks to some M&A as well as improved efficiency and auto sales that “necessarily improve, at least to some degree.” Should some carriers have to bail out before volumes rebound, all the better for Proficient.
“We think the more pain there is in this business near term, the more chaff gets shaken out of the industry,” the analysts wrote about Proficient’s Q1 report.
Shares of Proficient (Ticker: PAL) fell nearly 5% to $7.72 on May 8. Over the past six months, they have given up about 20% of their value, which has cut the company’s market capitalization to about $210 million.
