Trucker YRC Worldwide posts big 3Q loss

YRC Worldwide posts 3rd-qtr loss; says lenders still working to help company avoid Chap. 11

• By Samantha Bomkamp, AP Transportation Writer
• On 4:49 pm EDT, Friday October 30, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) -- YRC Worldwide said Friday it lost money in the third quarter, but the financially fragile trucking company is still working with lenders to stay out of bankruptcy.

Despite a weak economy and competitors nipping at its heels, YRC CEO Bill Zollars said in a conference call with analysts that he's confident the company will be able to rightsize itself next year. But he expects the economy to remain weak through the first half of 2010.

"I don't think there's anything that would make us think we can't be back there at some point," Zollars said. "The economy recovering is obviously a key, but longer term I think there's no reason we can't get back there."

YRC said it is in discussions with some bondholders that would allow the company to access more cash. YRC -- which operates trucks under New Penn, Yellow and Roadway names -- has already been given numerous reprieves by its creditors on certain financial benchmarks.

A Chapter 11 filing for YRC has been rumored for months as it struggles to integrate two of its units and suffers through a dramatic falloff in freight demand.

Zollars said the company is still hearing "financial noise that we hope to put to rest."

YRC is cutting about 900 more workers in its effort to stay afloat. The company has trimmed thousands of employees from its payroll over the past year, sold real estate and asked workers to take massive pay and benefit cuts.

The company believes it will be able to cut more costs and improve the business even before the economy improves.

"Our actions have been doubted by some every step of the way, and yet we continue to prove the naysayers wrong," Chief Financial Officer Sheila Taylor added.

YRC, based in Overland Park, Kan., lost $158.7 million, or $2.67 per share compared with a loss of $720.9 million, or $12.58 per share, a year ago. The year-ago period included sizable one-time costs related to the falling value of the company's assets.

Revenue sank 45 percent to $1.31 billion as shipments remained much lower than a year ago. At the company's national transportation unit, shipments were down about 40 percent per day in the third-quarter.

As of Sept. 30, the company had about $1.69 billion in liabilities, but only about $1 billion in assets.

YRC shares fell more than 10 percent in Friday trading to $3.65. The stock has traded as high as $6.26 in the past year and as low as 89 cents.

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