Daseke reports Q4 adjusted EPS 25c, consensus 6c

Reports Q4 revenue $408.2M, consensus $397.07M. Jonathan Shepko, CEO, commented, "We are proud to report our fourth quarter results, capping off a successful full-year 2022, a year in which we generated top-line and bottom-line growth, and strong cash flow. In fact, 2022 marked our third consecutive year of record Adjusted EBITDA, highlighting our consistent performance across the last twelve quarters. On the heels of this strength, we were well-positioned to opportunistically repurchase nearly 30% of our then issued and outstanding shares, providing significant and immediate accretion to our common shareholders. We will now shift our capital allocation priorities in favor of enhancing our balance sheet strength via gross leverage reduction, and select tuck-in M&A. We remain diligent in our commitments to drive operational excellence and shareholder value, and I’d like to thank our entire team for their focus and dedication in support of our many tremendous accomplishments this year. Looking ahead to 2023, we anticipate improved demand for our freight-haul services during the mid-year, which is consistent with our historic business trends. Further, we expect improvements in operational productivity, along with driver availability facilitating the incremental seating of higher-margin Company trucks. Through our unique operating model, we exclusively serve numerous industrial-facing end markets and sub-verticals, many that have only limited correlation to consumer spending or the prevailing macro backdrop. Our outlook does acknowledge the slowing freight rate environment, ongoing inflationary pressures, and a still-recovering supply chain. Taking these factors into collective consideration, we anticipate delivering 2023 Adjusted EBITDA approximately equal to our 2022 record result. That said, we continue to have conviction in the ability of our ongoing Transformation initiatives to largely offset near-term headwinds, and with the industry expecting a near-term inflection in the freight rate environment, we would expect additional upside to our earnings profile during the expansionary leg of the next impending cycle."