YRC to Release Fourth-Quarter Results Feb. 5

YRC Worldwide will release fourth-quarter financial results Feb. 5, giving the trucking industry and investors a clearer view of the progress it has made toward profitability since the quarter ending Sept. 30 and its debt-for equity swap Dec. 31.

Chairman and CEO William D. Zollars will host a conference call with investment analysts and shareholders at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 5. The call will be available to listeners via the company's Web site, www.yrcw.com.

The fourth-quarter results will be a milestone for the company, the largest U.S. trucking operator, which is battling to rebuild its business and return to profitability after losing more than $2.3 billion over the previous three years.

Employees, shareholders, analysts and competitors are eager to see whether the company improved on its third-quarter performance, which saw YRC reduce its losses from quarter-to-quarter and year-over-year, though revenue was still down from 2008.

YRC Worldwide cuts its loss by nearly half in the third quarter, paring it back to $158.7 million compared with a $309 million loss in the second quarter.

The company -- which operates national LTL carrier YRC and three regional LTL subsidiaries -- posted $741.5 million in losses for the first nine months of 2009. It lost $974.4 million in 2008 and $634.8 million in 2007.

YRC Worldwide completed a debt-for-equity swap with bondholders Dec. 31 that wiped $470 million in unsecured debt from its books -- almost a third of about $1.6 billion in total debt -- and secured long-term lending and liquidity agreements.

Shareholders will vote on the debt swap -- which transfers 94 percent of the company's stock to bondholders who surrendered notes -- at a special meeting Feb.17.

Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com.