YRC loses nearly $900 million in 2009

Despite full-year losses, LTL giant reports sequential improvement in latter half of the year.

By Mark B. Solomon

YRC Worldwide Inc., the nation's largest less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier by sales, said Friday that it suffered a 2009 pre-tax loss of $899 million, compared to a 2008 pre-tax loss of $1.147 billion, which included so-called impairment charges of $1.02 billion.

For the fourth quarter of last year, YRC posted pre-tax income of $50 million, which included what the company called a "net gain" on certain financial transactions. In the 2008 fourth quarter, YRC posted a pre-tax loss of $353 million, which included $200 million of "impairment charges.

The company did not disclose after-tax results, saying it needs more time to complete a valuation analysis due to accounting complexities stemming from the debt-for-equity swap it engineered at the end of 2009.

YRC posted a $95 million operating loss in the fourth quarter, an improvement over the $118 million loss in the prior quarter and the $335 million loss it posted in the fourth quarter of 2008. The 2008 results included $200 million in "impairment charges."

YRC continued to see significant declines in fourth-quarter shipment volumes due to shipper uncertainty over the company's financial stability and decisions by the carrier to shed unprofitable business. YRC National, the company's national LTL unit, reported a 39-percent year-over-year decline in total daily shipments. Its regional unit reported a nearly 20 percent decline in total daily shipments.

In a statement, Tim Wicks, YRC's president and COO, said the company's improved performance is "now becoming apparent in our operating results, and we expect favorable year-over-year comparisons will accelerate during 2010."

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