Mullen Group Profit Falls 10 Percent

Canadian trucking and oilfield services company the Mullen Group earned a profit of $17.8 million on revenue of $202.7 million in the second quarter.

Profit came in 10.6 percent lower than in the comparable quarter a year ago as business fell off in the oilfield services segment as well as the trucking and logistics segment.

Revenue was down 18.6 percent from last year as a result of the continuing recession and its impact on demand for freight services especially in western Canada, as well as less fuel surcharge revenue being generated due to the reduction in the average cost of diesel fuel on a year over year basis, the company said.

The oilfield services segment brought in lower revenue, too, due to a significant year-over-year reduction in oil and natural gas drilling activity in western Canada. Lower activity in the Alberta oilsands led to postponement of new infrastructure projects while lower commodity prices and restricted credit markets delayed the build out of ongoing projects.

"The flexibility and strength of our business model provided us with the opportunity to adapt our cost structure within such a challenging operating environment to the point where we were able to maintain our operating margin on a year over year basis,” said Stephen Lockwood, president and co-chief executive officer. “However, we continue to be diligent and aggressive in pursuing opportunities to reduce costs and improve processes and productivity."

Contact Thomas L. Gallagher at tgallagher@joc.com.