The president of Canada’s largest trucking company, TFI International, says his business is virtually unaffected by the vaccination requirement for truckers crossing the Canada-US border.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
Because the vast majority of its thousands of drivers are vaccinated against COVID-19, “vaccination is not at all an issue at TFI,” Alain Bédard said during the analysts’ conference call on the end of quarter results. of year 2021.
Mr. Bédard made the comment as one of the most important cross-border trucking links between Canada and the United States – the “Ambassador” bridge which connects Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan – was partially blocked for the second day in a row by opponents of sanitary measures.
Also, downtown Ottawa has been paralyzed for ten days by demonstrations by opponents of health measures who joined truckers opposed to the vaccination requirement to cross the border.
According to Alain Bédard, managers at TFI had the necessary time to anticipate the entry into force, on January 15, of the vaccination requirement for cross-border truckers, and even try to convince recalcitrant employees.
“We told them: ‘You are free, it’s your choice, we respect that. But you know at some point it’s going to become impossible to cross the border if you’re not vaccinated,’” the TFI CEO said in response to an analyst’s question.
“We have a few truckers who still said no. What we do with them, we keep them in Canada and they don’t cross the border anymore. »
On the other hand, Alain Bédard pointed out, the absences of employees who had to isolate themselves because of the Omicron variant represented a particular challenge for the managers of TFI’s vast network of activities in Canada and the United States.
“A lot of people got sick. It was a challenge to provide services to customers, ”admitted the CEO of TFI.
Solid results
Despite these headwinds, TFI ended its 2021 fiscal year with strong operating results following the acquisition of UPS Freight in the United States, completed in April 2021 for US$800 million.
In addition, the start of 2022 at TFI promises to be “the best ever for the company”, underlined Mr. Bédard in his comments to analysts and investors. He said the trucking market remains strong as demand outstrips supply.
In the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, TFI’s total revenue reached US$2.14 billion, up 91% year-on-year, while operating profit grew 83% and net profit rose $67 %, to 144.1 million US.
For all of fiscal 2021, TFI achieved total revenue of $7.2 billion, up 91% year-on-year. Its operating profit and net profit more than doubled to 889 million and 664 million, respectively.
Better than expected, these results clearly pleased investors in TFI shares in Toronto and New York. They ended Tuesday’s session with a strong rebound of 8%, to $ 132.16, on the Toronto Stock Exchange, thus raising its market capitalization above 12 billion.
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What analysts say
The results set the stage for strong earnings per share growth in 2022, well above market expectations.
Walter Spracklin, RBC Capital Markets
TFI announced solid results in the fourth quarter with, among other things, a very good performance at UPS Freight. This performance bodes well and reinforces my optimism for 2022. I recommend that investors review the value of TFI shares on the stock market and buy some, given their unjustified devaluation since the beginning of the year.
Benoit Poirier, Desjardins Capital Markets
TFI International in numbers
(as of December 31, 2021, in US dollars)
At 4and trimester :
Total revenue: 2.14 billion (+91% over one year)
Operating profit: 214.9 million (+ 83%)
Net profit: 144.1 million (+ 67%)
Net earnings per share (diluted): US$1.52 (+67%)
Full year 2021:
Total revenue: 7.22 billion (+91%)
Operating profit: 889.2 million (+113%)
Net profit: 664.4 million (+ 141%)
Earnings per share (diluted): $6.97 (+130%)
Total assets: 5.75 billion (+49%)
Source: TFI International