EX-99.1 2 ex991earningsreleaseq10331.htm EX-99.1 Document

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C.H. Robinson
14701 Charlson Rd.
Eden Prairie, MN 55347
www.chrobinson.com

FOR INQUIRIES, CONTACT:
Chuck Ives, Director of Investor Relations
Email: chuck.ives@chrobinson.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

C.H. Robinson Reports 2022 First Quarter Results
Eden Prairie, MN, April 27, 2022 - C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (“C.H. Robinson”) (Nasdaq: CHRW) today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022.
First Quarter Key Metrics:
Gross profits increased 29.1% to $900.5 million
Adjusted gross profits(1) increased 29.0% to $906.2 million
Income from operations increased 54.7% to $345.5 million
Adjusted operating margin(1) increased 630 basis points to 38.1%
Diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased 60.2% to $2.05
Cash used by operations improved by $42.8 million to $13.9 million
(1) Adjusted gross profits and adjusted operating margin are Non-GAAP financial measures. The same factors described in this release that impacted these Non-GAAP measures also impacted the comparable GAAP measures. Refer to page 8 for further discussion and a GAAP to Non-GAAP reconciliation.

"In our first quarter, we delivered record quarterly profits," said Bob Biesterfeld, President and Chief Executive Officer of C.H. Robinson. "Sequential improvement was driven by significant operating margin expansion in our North American Surface Transportation business, as we improved the health of our contractual truckload business, continued to grow our truckload volume, and improved the profitability of our LTL business. Our Global Forwarding team continued delivering excellent service to our customers and collaborating with our carriers, driving more business to our platform. And finally, our Robinson Fresh, Managed Services and Europe Surface Transportation businesses all improved their top line growth and operating income on a year-over-year basis."

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Summary of First Quarter Results Compared to the First Quarter of 2021
Total revenues increased 41.9% to $6.8 billion, driven primarily by both higher pricing and higher volume across most of our services.
Gross profits increased 29.1% to $900.5 million. Adjusted gross profits increased 29.0% to $906.2 million, primarily driven by higher adjusted gross profit per transaction and higher volume across most of our services.
Operating expenses increased 17.0% to $560.7 million. Personnel expenses increased 14.6% to $413.4 million, primarily due to higher headcount, which increased 15.1%. Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses of $147.4 million increased 24.7%, primarily due to higher purchased and contracted services, a non-recurring legal expense, and increased travel expenses.
Income from operations totaled $345.5 million, up 54.7% due to the increase in adjusted gross profits, partially offset by the increase in operating expenses. Adjusted operating margin of 38.1% increased 630 basis points.
Interest and other income/expense totaled $14.2 million, consisting primarily of $14.5 million of interest expense, which increased $2.3 million versus last year due to a higher average debt balance.
The effective tax rate in the quarter was 18.4% compared to 18.3% in the first quarter last year.
Net income totaled $270.3 million, up 56.0% from a year ago. Diluted EPS of $2.05 increased 60.2%.



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North American Surface Transportation Results
Summarized financial results of our NAST segment are as follows (dollars in thousands):
Three Months Ended March 31,
20222021% change
Total revenues$4,114,889 $3,211,423 28.1 %
Adjusted gross profits(1)
506,100 421,108 20.2 %
Income from operations182,354 136,784 33.3 %
____________________________________________
(1) Adjusted gross profits is a non-GAAP financial measure explained later in this release. The difference between adjusted gross profits and gross profits is not material.

First quarter total revenues for C.H. Robinson's NAST segment totaled $4.1 billion, an increase of 28.1% over the prior year, primarily driven by higher truckload and less-than truckload ("LTL") pricing and an increase in truckload shipments. NAST adjusted gross profits increased 20.2% in the quarter to $506.1 million. Adjusted gross profits in truckload increased 19.5% due to a 15.0% increase in adjusted gross profit per load and a 4.0% increase in shipments. Our average truckload linehaul rate per mile charged to our customers, which excludes fuel surcharges, increased approximately 20.5% in the quarter, while truckload linehaul cost per mile, excluding fuel surcharges, increased approximately 21.0%, resulting in a 17.0% increase in truckload adjusted gross profit per mile. LTL adjusted gross profits increased 25.5% versus the year-ago period, as adjusted gross profit per order increased 27.0% and LTL volumes declined 1.0%, mainly driven by a normalization of business levels as our LTL volumes in the first quarter of 2021 continued to be bolstered by a few large customers that benefitted from the stay-at-home trend during COVID. NAST overall volume growth was up 1.0% for the quarter. Operating expenses increased 13.9% primarily due to increased salaries, incentive compensation, and technology expenses. Income from operations increased 33.3% to $182.4 million, and adjusted operating margin expanded 350 basis points to 36.0%. NAST average headcount was up 12.4% in the quarter.

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Global Forwarding Results
Summarized financial results of our Global Forwarding segment are as follows (dollars in thousands):
Three Months Ended March 31,
20222021% change
Total revenues$2,194,397 $1,156,039 89.8 %
Adjusted gross profits(1)
321,848 214,300 50.2 %
Income from operations167,638 90,589 85.1 %
____________________________________________
(1) Adjusted gross profits is a non-GAAP financial measure explained later in this release. The difference between adjusted gross profits and gross profits is not material.

First quarter total revenues for the Global Forwarding segment increased 89.8% to $2.2 billion, primarily driven by higher pricing and higher volume in both our ocean and air services, reflecting the strong demand environment, market share gains, and strained capacity. Adjusted gross profits increased 50.2% in the quarter to $321.8 million. Ocean adjusted gross profits increased 63.5%, driven by a 52.5% increase in adjusted gross profit per shipment and a 7.0% increase in volumes. Adjusted gross profits in air increased 33.9% driven by a 10.0% increase in metric tons shipped and a 21.5% increase in adjusted gross profit per metric ton. Customs adjusted gross profits increased 13.5%, driven by a higher mix of value-added services and a 5.0% increase in transaction volume. Operating expenses increased 24.7%, primarily driven by increased salaries, incentive compensation and technology expenses. First quarter average headcount increased 18.5%. Income from operations increased 85.1% to $167.6 million, and adjusted operating margin expanded 980 basis points to 52.1% in the quarter.


4


All Other and Corporate Results

Total revenues and adjusted gross profits for Robinson Fresh, Managed Services and Other Surface Transportation are summarized as follows (dollars in thousands):
Three Months Ended March 31,
20222021% change
Total revenues$506,667 $436,407 16.1 %
Adjusted gross profits(1):
Robinson Fresh$30,505 $24,948 22.3 %
Managed Services28,082 25,556 9.9 %
Other Surface Transportation19,661 16,468 19.4 %
____________________________________________
(1) Adjusted gross profits is a non-GAAP financial measure explained later in this release. The difference between adjusted gross profits and gross profits is not material.

First quarter Robinson Fresh adjusted gross profits increased 22.3% to $30.5 million, due to a 7.5% increase in case volume and an increase in integrated supply chain and technology services. Managed Services adjusted gross profits increased 9.9% in the quarter, due to growth in business with both new and existing customers. Other Surface Transportation adjusted gross profits increased 19.4% to $19.7 million, primarily due to a 21.7% increase in Europe truckload adjusted gross profits.

Other Income Statement Items
The first quarter effective tax rate was 18.4%, up from 18.3% last year. We expect our 2022 full-year effective tax rate to be 19 to 21 percent. The first quarter rate is typically lower than our full-year rate due to the tax benefits related to delivery of annual stock-based compensation in the quarter.
Interest and other income/expense totaled $14.2 million, consisting primarily of $14.5 million of interest expense, which increased $2.3 million versus last year due to a higher average debt balance.
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding in the quarter were down 2.6% due primarily to share repurchases over the past twelve months.


5


Cash Flow Generation and Capital Distribution
Cash used by operations totaled $13.9 million in the first quarter, compared to $56.7 million in the first quarter of 2021. The $42.8 million improvement was primarily due to a $97.0 million increase in net income, partially offset by a $288.5 million sequential increase in net operating working capital in the first quarter of 2022, compared to a $251.8 million sequential increase in the first quarter of 2021. The increase in net operating working capital in the first quarter of 2022 resulted primarily from a $479.0 million sequential increase in accounts receivable and contract assets, compared to a $190.4 million sequential increase in total accounts payable and accrued transportation expense.
In the first quarter of 2022, $250.6 million of cash was returned to shareholders, with $177.7 million in total repurchases of common stock and $72.9 million in cash dividends.
Capital expenditures totaled $26.2 million in the quarter. Capital expenditures for 2022 are expected to be $90 million to $100 million, primarily driven by technology investments in our digital platform.


Outlook
"As questions linger about the impact on global economic growth from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, higher energy prices and inflationary pressures, among other impacts, we believe that our global suite of multimodal services, our growing digital platform, and our resilient and flexible non-asset-based business model will continue to deliver strong financial results through the cycle," Biesterfeld stated. "We will continue to benefit from our product and technology investments while delivering on opportunities to integrate our services to help our customers solve their complex global supply chain issues. We are uniquely positioned to orchestrate end-to-end supply chain success for our customers and to help them not only navigate uncertain market conditions, but to succeed in doing so. One of the core values we live by is to evolve constantly. To advance our industry leadership in a more digital environment, we are evolving to a product-led organization by reorienting the intersection of our growth strategy and our engineering and technology teams with the needs of our customers and carriers, and we'll continue to differentiate ourselves in the market by having great people that our customers can rely on. I’m excited by the initial results from the enhancements that were rolled out in February for our Navisphere Carrier product. We’ll continue to build on our customer-centric commitment by continuing to invest in smart, customer and carrier-focused products, and we’ll launch several new products that we believe will benefit our customers and carriers as we continue to build out the most powerful supply chain platform."

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About C.H. Robinson
C.H. Robinson solves logistics problems for companies across the globe and across industries, from the simple to the most complex. With $28 billion in freight under management and 20 million shipments annually, we are one of the world’s largest logistics platforms. Our global suite of services accelerates trade to seamlessly deliver the products and goods that drive the world’s economy. With the combination of our multimodal transportation management system and expertise, we use our information advantage to deliver smarter solutions for our 100,000 customers and 85,000 contract carriers. Our technology is built by and for supply chain experts to bring faster, more meaningful improvements to our customers’ businesses. As a responsible global citizen, we are also proud to contribute millions of dollars to support causes that matter to our company, our Foundation and our employees. For more information, visit us at www.chrobinson.com (Nasdaq: CHRW).

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this release are forward-looking statements that represent our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies concerning future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience or our present expectations, including, but not limited to, such factors as changes in economic conditions, including uncertain consumer demand; changes in market demand and pressures on the pricing for our services; fuel price increases or decreases, or fuel shortages; competition and growth rates within the global logistics industry; freight levels and increasing costs and availability of truck capacity or alternative means of transporting freight; risks associated with significant disruptions in the transportation industry; changes in relationships with existing contracted truck, rail, ocean, and air carriers; changes in our customer base due to possible consolidation among our customers; risks with reliance on technology to operate our business; cyber-security related risks; risks associated with operations outside of the United States; our ability to identify or complete suitable acquisitions; our ability to successfully integrate the operations of acquired companies with our historic operations; risks associated with litigation, including contingent auto liability and insurance coverage; risks associated with the potential impact of changes in government regulations; our ability to hire and retain a sufficient number of qualified personnel; risks associated with the changes to income tax regulations; risks associated with the produce industry, including food safety and contamination issues; the impact of war on the economy; changes to our capital structure; changes due to catastrophic events including pandemics such as COVID-19; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in our Annual and Quarterly Reports.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to update such statement to reflect events or circumstances arising after such date. All remarks made during our financial results conference call will be current at the time of the call, and we undertake no obligation to update the replay.

Conference Call Information:
C.H. Robinson Worldwide First Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call
Wednesday, April 27, 2022; 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Presentation slides and a simultaneous live audio webcast of the conference call may be accessed through the Investor Relations link on C.H. Robinson’s website at www.chrobinson.com.
To participate in the conference call by telephone, please call ten minutes early by dialing: 877-269-7756
International callers dial +1-201-689-7817

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Adjusted Gross Profit by Service Line
(in thousands)

This table of summary results presents our service line adjusted gross profits on an enterprise basis. The service line adjusted gross profits in the table differ from the service line adjusted gross profits discussed within the segments as our segments have revenues from multiple service lines.
Three Months Ended March 31,
20222021% change
Adjusted gross profits(1):
  Transportation
     Truckload$359,787 $300,023 19.9 %
     LTL152,312 121,553 25.3 %
     Ocean221,463 135,510 63.4 %
     Air61,434 45,894 33.9 %
     Customs27,495 24,222 13.5 %
     Other logistics services55,636 51,740 7.5 %
     Total transportation878,127 678,942 29.3 %
  Sourcing28,069 23,438 19.8 %
Total adjusted gross profits$906,196 $702,380 29.0 %
____________________________________________
(1) Adjusted gross profits is a non-GAAP financial measure explained later in this release. The difference between adjusted gross profits and gross profits is not material.
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GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation
(unaudited, in thousands)

Our adjusted gross profit is a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted gross profit is calculated as gross profit excluding amortization of internally developed software utilized to directly serve our customers and contracted carriers. We believe adjusted gross profit is a useful measure of our ability to source, add value, and sell services and products that are provided by third parties, and we consider adjusted gross profit to be a primary performance measurement. Accordingly, the discussion of our results of operations often focuses on the changes in our adjusted gross profit. The reconciliation of gross profit to adjusted gross profit is presented below (in thousands):
 Three Months Ended March 31,
20222021% change
Revenues:
Transportation$6,528,351 $4,560,227 43.2 %
Sourcing287,602 243,642 18.0 %
Total revenues6,815,953 4,803,869 41.9 %
Costs and expenses:
Purchased transportation and related services5,650,224 3,881,285 45.6 %
Purchased products sourced for resale259,533 220,204 17.9 %
Direct internally developed software amortization5,734 4,647 23.4 %
Total direct expenses5,915,491 4,106,136 44.1 %
Gross profit$900,462 $697,733 29.1 %
Plus: Direct internally developed software amortization5,734 4,647 23.4 %
Adjusted gross profit$906,196 $702,380 29.0 %

Our adjusted operating margin is a non-GAAP financial measure calculated as operating income divided by adjusted gross profit. We believe adjusted operating margin is a useful measure of our profitability in comparison to our adjusted gross profit which we consider a primary performance metric as discussed above. The comparison of operating margin to adjusted operating margin is presented below:
Three Months Ended March 31,
20222021% change
Total revenues$6,815,953 $4,803,869 41.9 %
Operating income345,474 223,329 54.7 %
Operating margin5.1 %4.6 %50 bps
Adjusted gross profit$906,196 $702,380 29.0 %
Operating income345,474 223,329 54.7 %
Adjusted operating margin38.1 %31.8 %630 bps

9


Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
(unaudited, in thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended March 31,
20222021% change
Revenues:
 Transportation$6,528,351 $4,560,227 43.2 %
 Sourcing287,602 243,642 18.0 %
   Total revenues6,815,953 4,803,869 41.9 %
Costs and expenses:
 Purchased transportation and related services5,650,224 3,881,285 45.6 %
 Purchased products sourced for resale259,533 220,204 17.9 %
 Personnel expenses413,361 360,835 14.6 %
Other selling, general, and administrative expenses147,361 118,216 24.7 %
   Total costs and expenses6,470,479 4,580,540 41.3 %
Income from operations345,474 223,329 54.7 %
Interest and other income/expense, net(14,174)(11,260)25.9 %
Income before provision for income taxes331,300 212,069 56.2 %
Provision for income taxes60,952 38,764 57.2 %
Net income$270,348 $173,305 56.0 %
Net income per share (basic)$2.07 $1.29 60.5 %
Net income per share (diluted)$2.05 $1.28 60.2 %
Weighted average shares outstanding (basic)130,499 134,508 (3.0)%
Weighted average shares outstanding (diluted)132,155 135,745 (2.6)%

10


Business Segment Information
(unaudited, in thousands, except average headcount)
NASTGlobal Forwarding
All
Other and Corporate
Consolidated
Three Months Ended March 31, 2022
Total revenues$4,114,889 $2,194,397 $506,667 $6,815,953 
Adjusted gross profits(1)
506,100 321,848 78,248 906,196 
Income (loss) from operations182,354 167,638 (4,518)345,474 
Depreciation and amortization6,239 5,555 10,692 22,486 
Total assets (2)
3,701,164 2,940,486 879,688 7,521,338 
Average headcount7,348 5,610 4,300 17,258 
NASTGlobal Forwarding
All
Other and Corporate
Consolidated
Three Months Ended March 31, 2021
Total revenues$3,211,423 $1,156,039 $436,407 $4,803,869 
Adjusted gross profits(1)
421,108 214,300 66,972 702,380 
Income (loss) from operations136,784 90,589 (4,044)223,329 
Depreciation and amortization6,625 5,649 11,004 23,278 
Total assets (2)
3,218,084 1,582,967 795,572 5,596,623 
Average headcount6,537 4,735 3,725 14,997 
____________________________________________
(1) Adjusted gross profits is a non-GAAP financial measure explained above. The difference between adjusted gross profits and gross profits is not material.
(2) All cash and cash equivalents are included in All Other and Corporate.


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Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(unaudited, in thousands)
March 31, 2022December 31, 2021
Assets
   Current assets:
     Cash and cash equivalents$242,809 $257,413 
     Receivables, net of allowance for credit loss4,391,512 3,963,487 
     Contract assets, net of allowance for credit loss504,604 453,660 
     Prepaid expenses and other140,306 129,593 
        Total current assets5,279,231 4,804,153 
 
  Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization139,926 139,831 
  Right-of-use lease assets297,425 292,559 
  Intangible and other assets, net of accumulated amortization1,804,756 1,791,569 
Total assets$7,521,338 $7,028,112 
Liabilities and stockholders’ investment
  Current liabilities:
     Accounts payable and outstanding checks$2,066,915 $1,919,301 
     Accrued expenses:
        Compensation121,768 201,421 
        Transportation expense385,603 342,778 
        Income taxes143,656 100,265 
        Other accrued liabilities182,754 171,266 
Current lease liabilities68,507 66,311 
Current portion of debt572,000 525,000 
        Total current liabilities3,541,203 3,326,342 
Long-term debt1,593,756 1,393,649 
Noncurrent lease liabilities244,302 241,369 
Noncurrent income taxes payable28,617 28,390 
Deferred tax liabilities17,244 16,113 
  Other long-term liabilities714 315 
Total liabilities5,425,836 5,006,178 
Total stockholders’ investment2,095,502 2,021,934 
Total liabilities and stockholders’ investment$7,521,338 $7,028,112 

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Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow
(unaudited, in thousands, except operational data)
Three Months Ended March 31,
20222021
Operating activities:
Net income$270,348 $173,305 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used for) operating activities:
 Depreciation and amortization22,486 23,278 
 Provision for credit losses1,672 (1,250)
 Stock-based compensation24,606 23,989 
 Deferred income taxes(2,916)3,869 
 Excess tax benefit on stock-based compensation(4,965)(7,853)
Other operating activities42 488 
Changes in operating elements, net of acquisitions:
Receivables(424,025)(437,862)
Contract assets (51,439)(43,495)
Prepaid expenses and other(11,924)(26,692)
Accounts payable and outstanding checks143,980 206,237 
Accrued compensation(79,885)(27,977)
Accrued transportation expenses42,825 24,044 
Accrued income taxes48,502 34,087 
Other accrued liabilities8,099 (1,959)
Other assets and liabilities(1,334)1,099 
Net cash used in operating activities(13,928)(56,692)
Investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment(10,046)(5,435)
Purchases and development of software(16,183)(8,071)
Other investing activities2,250 — 
Net cash used for investing activities(23,979)(13,506)
Financing activities:
Proceeds from stock issued for employee benefit plans25,366 17,709 
Total repurchases of common stock(177,741)(150,916)
Cash dividends(72,855)(70,030)
Proceeds from long-term borrowings200,000 — 
Proceeds from short-term borrowings1,062,000 816,000 
Payments on short-term borrowings(1,015,000)(566,000)
Net cash provided by (used for) financing activities21,770 46,763 
Effect of exchange rates on cash1,533 (2,750)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents(14,604)(26,185)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period257,413 243,796 
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period$242,809 $217,611 
As of March 31,
Operational Data:20222021
Employees 17,640 15,105 


Source: C.H. Robinson
CHRW-IR
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