Gregory T. Swienton
Analyst · BB&T Capital Markets
Thanks, Bob, and good morning, everyone. This morning, we'll recap our second quarter 2012 results, review the asset management area and discuss our current outlook for the business. And after our initial remarks, we'll open up the call for questions, so let me ride into an overview of our second quarter results. I'll begin on Page 4, for those of you following on the web, in the PowerPoint presentation. Net earnings per diluted share from continuing operations were $0.91 for the second quarter 2012, up from $0.79 in the prior-year period. The second quarter results included a $0.09 restructuring charge for recent workforce reduction initiatives. The prior year second quarter included a $0.10 charge from a tax law change and a $0.03 charge from acquisition-related transaction costs. Excluding these items, in each period for both years, comparable EPS was $1 in the second quarter 2012, up from $0.92 in quarter 2 2011. This is an improvement of $0.08 or 9% over the prior year period. Second quarter comparable EPS was above the high end of our most recent forecast range of $0.90 to $0.95. The outperformance was due primarily to higher used vehicle pricing in both retail and wholesale sales, lower-than-expected maintenance costs resulting from ongoing operational initiatives and a modest decline in the lease fleet age as well as lower discretionary overhead spending. Total revenue grew 3% from the prior year. Operating revenue, which excludes FMS fuel and all subcontracted transportation revenue, increased 6%. Increase in revenue reflects both the benefit of organic growth and the Hill Hire acquisition, which was completed in early June last year. Page 5 includes some additional financial statistics for the second quarter. The average number of diluted shares outstanding for the quarter declined to $50.7 million. During the second quarter, we purchased approximately 234,000 shares at an average price of $46.87 under our 2-million-share anti-dilutive program, which expires in December 2013. As of June 30, there were 51.1 million shares outstanding, of which 50.7 million are included in the diluted share calculation. The second quarter 2012 tax rate was 36.6%. The prior year's tax rate of 45.5% was negatively impacted by a tax law change in Michigan. Excluding this item from 2011, the comparable tax rate would have been 37.7% last year. Page 6 highlights key financial statistics for the year-to-date period. Operating revenue was up by 8%. Comparable EPS from continuing operations were $1.59, up by 11% from $1.43 in the prior year. Adjusted return on capital was 5.6% versus 5.3% in the prior year as growth in earnings outpaced growth in capital. The spread between adjusted return on capital and cost of capital is 50 basis points for the trailing 12-month period and is now forecast to be 80 basis points for the full year. I'd like to turn now to Page 7 to discuss some of the key trends we saw during the second quarter in the business segments. In Fleet Management, total revenue grew 3% versus the prior year. Total FMS revenue includes a 5% decrease in fuel services revenue, reflecting lower fuel cost pass-throughs and fewer gallons sold. FMS operating revenue, which excludes fuel, grew 7%. This mainly reflects organic growth of both Full Service Lease and Commercial Rental as well as the Hill Hire acquisition. Contractual revenue, which includes both Full Service Lease and contract maintenance, was up by 5%. Full Service Lease revenue grew 5% versus the prior year due to higher rates on replacement vehicles, organic fleet growth and the Hill Hire acquisition. At quarter end, the lease fleet size increased organically by almost 2% or 2,000 units versus the prior year. On a sequential basis, the organic lease fleet was unchanged from the end of the first quarter 2012, which was in line with our original plan expectations due to the timing of sales activity. The lease fleet age started to decline late in the quarter, which was earlier than initially planned, due to greater use of new vehicles for lease replacements. Miles driven per day per vehicle on U.S. lease power units increased 2% compared to the prior year. Commercial Rental revenue increased 10%, reflecting acquisitions and higher pricing. The average rental fleet increased 17% and was up by 5% excluding acquisitions. Global pricing on power units was up 6%, which was in line with our original plan for the quarter. Rental demand in North America was slightly down compared to the prior year and was below our initial expectations coming into the quarter. As a result of lower-than-expected demand and a larger fleet, rental utilization on power units declined to 75% from 78.7% in the prior year. As discussed in our pre-release, we've taken timely action to adjust the size of our rental fleet to current demand conditions, and the fleet is already at our new target level. Based on this action, the year-over-year decline in utilization has already narrowed in July, and this trend is expected to continue and further improve in the second half of the year. In the used vehicle area, we saw a continued strong pricing and demand environment. Robert Sanchez will discuss those results separately in a few moments. Overall, improved FMS results were positively impacted by lower incentive compensation, the Hill Hire acquisition and organic lease fleet growth. These benefits were partially offset by lower Commercial Rental results. Earnings before tax and fleet management were up 7%. And FMS earnings as a percent of operating revenue was 9.2%, unchanged from the prior year. Turning to Page 8. In the Supply Chain Solutions segment, which includes all Dedicated Contract Carriage activity, both total and operating revenues were up 6%. Revenue increased due to higher automotive volumes and new business. The improvement in auto volumes included, but was not limited to, a year-over-year benefit due to production cuts in 2011 from the natural disasters in Japan. We also saw very nice growth of 14% in our Dedicated Contract Carriage services this quarter. Improved earnings in the segment were driven by higher revenue and were partially offset by unusually high medical benefit costs. In total, supply chain earnings before tax were up 9% from the prior year, and supply chains earnings before tax as a percent of operating revenue were 6.3%, up 20 basis points compared to the prior period. Page 9 covers the business segment view of our income statement, which I just discussed and is included here for your later reference. Page 10 highlights our year-to-date results by business segment. And in the interest of time, I won't review these results in detail, but will just highlight the bottom line results. Comparable year-to-date earnings from continuing operations were $81.8 million, up by 10% from $74.2 million in the prior-year period. And at this point, I'll turn the call over to our Chief Financial Officer, Art Garcia, to cover several items, beginning with capital expenditures.