Daseke Inc (DSKE) ニュース

TFI International Agrees to Acquire Daseke for $8.30 in Cash per Common Share (12/22/23)

TFI International Inc. (NYSE and TSX: TFII), a North American leader in the transportation and logistics industry, today announced it has agreed to acquire Daseke, Inc. (“Daseke”, NASDAQ: DSKE), one of the leading flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics companies in North America, for $8.30 in cash per common share. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close during the second quarter of 2024. Management expects the transaction to be EPS-neutral to TFI International in 2024, and accretive by at least $0.50 per share in 2025 based on current market conditions.
Daseke’s operations include approximately 4,900 tractors, 11,000 flatbed and specialized trailers, and one million square feet of industrial warehousing space, offering comprehensive transportation and logistics solutions for major shippers. After the merger, Daseke will continue to operate its portfolio of brands as part of TFI’s Truckload segment. On a pro forma basis, the Truckload segment is expected to generate approximately US $3.6 billion in annual total revenue, operate one of the largest comprehensive truckload businesses in Canada, and be one of the largest participants in the less-commoditized specialized equipment truckload marketplace in the United States. Over the medium term, TFI expects to evaluate the potential benefits of separating into two distinct public companies – one comprising the Truckload segment, and one comprising the LTL, P&C, and Logistics segments.

“This attractive acquisition is highly complementary to our existing operations and scales our Truckload segment into a leading North American truckload transportation and logistics business. Daseke’s deep expertise in servicing a broad portfolio of specialized and industrial end markets such as high-security cargo, agriculture, manufacturing, and construction, is critical given the relative strength of specialized market dynamics today. We extend a warm welcome to the Daseke team,” stated Alain Bédard, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of TFI International. “This acquisition also advances our strategic consideration of creating a unique opportunity for shareholders to separately invest in a specialized truckload business and in an LTL, P&C and Logistics business. Our immediate focus will be on improving Daseke’s financial results, with the strategic consideration to follow and be ongoing.”

ABOUT THE TRANSACTION
The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of TFI International and Daseke. The transaction is subject to approval of holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Daseke common stock and other customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. The closing is not conditioned on financing.

The total enterprise value of the transaction is approximately $1.1 billion, including the merger consideration for the common stock, retirement of Daseke’s outstanding preferred stock, payoff or assumption of outstanding debt, net of cash, and estimated transaction fees and expenses. TFI International expects to fund the transaction using cash balances and available financing sources and expects to seek to retain in place certain of Daseke’s existing equipment financing arrangements.

ADVISOR
Scudder Law Firm, P.C., L.L.O., Lincoln, Nebraska, served as TFI International’s legal advisor in connection with the transaction.

ABOUT TFI INTERNATIONAL
TFI International Inc. is a North American leader in the transportation and logistics industry, operating across the United States and Canada through its subsidiaries. TFI International creates value for shareholders by identifying strategic acquisitions and managing a growing network of wholly owned operating subsidiaries. Under the TFI International umbrella, companies benefit from financial and operational resources to build their businesses and increase their efficiency. TFI International companies service the following segments:

Package and Courier
Less-Than-Truckload
Truckload
Logistics
TFI International Inc. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TFII. For more information, visit www.tfiintl.com.

For further information:
Alain Bédard
Chairman, President and CEO
TFI International Inc.
647-729-4079
abedard@tfiintl.com

Daseke Reports Results for First Quarter 2022
May 03 2022 - 07:50AM


Daseke, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE) (“Daseke” or the “Company”), the premier North American transportation solutions specialist dedicated to servicing challenging industrial end-markets, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022.

First Quarter 2022 Highlights:

Revenue of $421.0 million, up 26.1% year-over-year
Net Income of $13.0 million, or $0.18 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, compared to a net loss of $7.3 million, or $(0.13), in the first quarter of 2021
Adjusted Net Income of $17.1 million, or $0.24 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, compared to $4.1 million, or $0.04, in the first quarter of 2021
Adjusted EBITDA of $49.6 million, up 38.5% year-over-year
Cash flows from operating activities of $29.2 million and Free Cash Flow of $31.9 million
Operating ratio of 95.7% and Adjusted Operating Ratio of 93.0%, compared to 97.6% and 95.5% in the first quarter of 2021

Management Commentary

"We are pleased to report another strong quarter of operational and financial performance, as Daseke delivers another quarter of year-over-year earnings improvement," said Jonathan Shepko, Chief Executive Officer of Daseke. "During the quarter, we continued to leverage our 'Asset-Right' business model, deploying our Company assets against higher margin freight, while supplementing our capacity with asset light offerings to increase our overall freight capture. Strong end-market demand in each of our flatbed and specialized reporting segments continued to outweigh available capacity, with both of these operating segments realizing higher rates, which contributed to the meaningful year-over-year revenue growth we experienced this quarter. And, once again, Daseke’s realized rates outperformed those of our reference benchmarks, as we were able to achieve a premium within the marketplace because of our capabilities, differentiated scale and service. Even with the backdrop of what we believe will continue to be a healthy rate environment for the foreseeable future, particularly as we enter the seasonally strong quarters of the year for our Company, we remain diligently focused on evaluating opportunities to further improve the earnings and free cash flow profiles of our business, in support of creating long-term value for our shareholders."

First Quarter 2022 Financial Results

Total revenue in the first quarter of 2022 increased 26.1% to $421.0 million, compared to $333.9 million in the first quarter of 2021. This year-over-year increase in revenue was primarily attributed to our operational execution in healthy rate environments in both the Flatbed Solutions and Specialized Solutions segments and continued growth within our brokerage service offering.

Operating income in the first quarter of 2022 was $18.2 million, compared to $8.1 million in the year-ago quarter. The change in operating income was primarily driven by the strong rate environment, leveraging the “Asset Right” business model to capture elevated rates. Rate increases were partially offset by inflationary cost headwinds in driver pay, operations and maintenance.

Net income for the first quarter of 2022 was $13.0 million, or $0.18 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, compared to a net loss of $7.3 million, or $(0.13) per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, in the first quarter of 2021. The year-over-year change was primarily due to the increase in operating income discussed above, partially offset by an increase in income tax expense due to higher pre-tax income. Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2022 was $49.6 million, compared to $35.8 million in first quarter of 2021. Adjusted Net Income was $17.1 million in the first quarter of 2022, compared to $4.1 million in the first quarter of 2021.

Segment Results

Specialized Solutions – During the first quarter of 2022, the Specialized Solutions segment benefitted from sustained demand and improving freight rates primarily in the construction, high security cargo and commercial glass end markets. Freight rates increased 22% year-over-year, even as wind energy volumes remain muted. Revenue growth was driven by our diverse end market portfolio approach and deploying assets into the most advantageous markets, which more than offset the slight decrease in volumes.

Flatbed Solutions – The Flatbed Solutions segment benefitted from continued strength and year-over-year improvement in the freight rate environment, as rates increased 21% compared to last year’s first quarter and more than offset the impact of prior fleet downsizing and the mix shift towards asset-light, reflecting capacity constraints due to asset availability. The supply chain for new equipment remains challenged, contributing to a decrease in volumes year-over-year. The segment benefitted from the flexibility of the “asset-right” business model which positioned the Company to leverage our owner operator and brokerage network to further capitalize on the strong freight rate environment.

Capital Summary and Outlook

At March 31, 2022, Daseke had cash and cash equivalents of $153.5 million as well as $123.1 million available under its revolving credit facility, for total available liquidity of $276.6 million, before considering delayed Q1 2022 cash capital expenditures of approximately $18.8 million. Total debt was $586.8 million and net debt was $433.3 million. This compares to cash and cash equivalents of $147.5 million and $107.8 million available under the revolving credit facility, total available liquidity of $255.3 million, total debt of $594.5 million, and net debt of $447.0 million on December 31, 2021.

For the first quarter of 2022, net cash provided by operating activities was $29.2 million, cash capital expenditures were $8.8 million, and cash proceeds from the sale of property and equipment were $11.5 million, resulting in Free Cash Flow of $31.9 million. Additionally, capital expenditures financed with debt and finance leases were $7.3 million. This compares to net cash provided by operating activities of $29.5 million, cash capital expenditures of $5.2 million, and cash proceeds from the sale of property and equipment of $10.1 million, resulting in Free Cash Flow of $34.4 million in the first quarter of 2021. Capital expenditures financed with debt and finance leases were $14.4 million in the first quarter of 2021.

"We are pleased with the continued operational execution and the financial results delivered by our team," said Jason Bates, Chief Financial Officer of Daseke. "As a reminder, Daseke is unique in that we don't have the same spot rate or dry van retail exposure of many of our public peers. We are a contractually-based, industrial-oriented business, focusing on niche, defensible end markets - which are all continuing to exhibit strength as well as an ongoing supply / demand imbalance. These factors have enabled us to capture strong rates, drive double-digit revenue growth and expand profitability. While we are facing inflationary cost pressures in various areas, including driver recruitment and retention, operations and maintenance and insurance expenses, we have been able to maintain our margins through a combination of rate strength and contributions from our ongoing transformation initiatives. As we look further ahead, we are re-affirming our full year 2022 financial outlook provided last quarter. Although we are mindful of the various macroeconomic events and factors facing our industry, we remain confident that through our transformation initiatives, our disproportionately high contract versus spot market exposure, combined with our unique end-market alignment, which carries higher barriers to entry, we are uniquely positioned to generate improved revenue and profitability performance in 2022."

Bates continued, "We have observed ongoing delays in receiving new equipment as the supply chain disruptions persisted throughout the first quarter of 2022. Given these challenges in sourcing new equipment from our OEM's we are reducing our full year net capital expenditures outlook, now anticipating a range of $145 to $155 million."

Daseke, Inc. to Release First Quarter 2022 Results on May 3, 2022
April 19 2022 - 04:00PM
GlobeNewswire Inc.


Daseke, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE) (or the “Company”), the largest flatbed, specialized transportation and logistics solutions company in North America, today announced that it plans to report results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2022 on Tuesday May 3rd. A conference call to discuss the financial and operational results is scheduled for May 3, 2022 at 11:00 AM ET.

Investors, analysts, and members of the media interested in listening to the live presentation are encouraged to join a webcast of the call with accompanying presentation slides, available on the Company’s website at www.daseke.com. Interested parties may also participate in the call by dialing (855) 242-9918 and entering the passcode 7492386. A replay of the conference call will be available a few hours after the event on the investor relations section of the Company’s website, under the events section.

be careful. trucking rates are coming down

DSKEW will expire March 2022

We are so close.

Looking pretty good.

Investor Presentation (1/25/22)

https://s21.q4cdn.com/578562955/files/doc_financials/2021/q4/2021-Q4-Earnings-Deck-Draft-FINAL.pdf

Daseke Reports Record Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 (1/25/22)

Freight network optimization and strategic deployment of 'Asset-Right' model into healthy freight rate environment drive solid fourth quarter and full-year results

ADDISON, Texas, Jan. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daseke, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE) (“Daseke” or the “Company”), the premier North American transportation solutions specialist dedicated to servicing challenging industrial end-markets, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021 and provided 2022 outlook.

Fourth Quarter 2021 Highlights:

- Revenue of $394.3 million, up 17.5% year-over-year
- Net Income of $7.1 million, or $0.09 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, compared to $6.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020
- Adjusted Net Income ex-Aveda of $13.0 million, or $0.18 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders
- Adjusted EBITDA ex-Aveda of $49.6 million, up 25.9% year-over-year
- Cash flows from operating activities of $29.0 million and Free Cash Flow of $20.2 million
- Record fourth quarter Operating ratio of 95.2% and Adjusted Operating Ratio ex-Aveda of 92.4%

Full Year 2021 Highlights:

- Revenue of $1.56 billion, up 7.1% year-over-year
- Record Net Income of $56.0 million, or $0.77 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, compared to $4.1 million in 2020
- Adjusted Net Income ex-Aveda of $77.8 million, or $1.09 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders
- Record Adjusted EBITDA ex-Aveda of $223.1 million, up 24.8% year-over-year
- Cash flows from operating activities of $144.7 million and Free Cash Flow of $149.6 million
- Record annual Operating ratio of 92.8% and Adjusted Operating Ratio ex-Aveda of 90.9%

Management Commentary

"We are pleased to report seasonally strong results for the fourth quarter, as a capstone to a record-breaking year, marked by decisive execution in the backdrop of a strong freight environment," said Jonathan Shepko, Chief Executive Officer of Daseke. "Our unique operating model, coupled with our unrivaled scale and differentiated capabilities, in support of the industrial end markets we service, have enabled our valued customers to more successfully navigate the global supply chain challenges amidst continued tightness within the transportation market. As we look ahead this year, we expect to extend our track record of performance, with a continued emphasis on best-in-class operational execution, while leveraging our 'asset-right' fleet model to drive value for our employees, customers and shareholders."

Fourth Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2021 increased 17.5% to $394.3 million, compared to $335.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. This year-over-year increase in revenue was primarily attributed to our ability to capture elevated freight rates combined with growth in our brokerage service offering. Operating income in the fourth quarter of 2021 was $18.8 million, compared to $3.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $7.1 million, or $0.09 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, compared to $6.1 million, or $0.07 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, in the fourth quarter of 2020. Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2021 was $46.2 million, compared to $39.5 million in fourth quarter of 2020.

The measures in this paragraph are presented ex-Aveda to reflect the exit of the Aveda Transportation and Energy Services ("Aveda") business in 2020. Adjusted Net Income was $13.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $9.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Adjusted EBITDA increased 25.9% to $49.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $39.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The changes in net income, Adjusted Net Income ex-Aveda and Adjusted EBITDA ex-Aveda were primarily driven by the sustained improvement in freight rates and our team's ability to redirect assets to the most profitable lanes, the ongoing benefits from fleet rationalization efforts, better than anticipated performance on insurance and claims, and incremental gain on sale of assets. The above improvements were partially offset by cost pressures related to employee compensation, recruiting costs and equipment costs.

Full Year 2021 Financial Results

Total revenue in 2021 increased 7.1% to $1.56 billion, compared to $1.45 billion in 2020. Operating income in 2021 was $112.8 million, compared to $35.4 million in 2020. Operating ratio was 92.8% in 2021 compared to 97.6% in 2020. Net income for 2021 was $56.0 million, or $0.79 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, compared to $4.1 million, or $0.01 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, in 2020. Adjusted EBITDA in 2021 was $219.2 million, compared to $175.8 million in 2020.

The measures in this paragraph are presented ex-Aveda to reflect the exit of that business in 2020. Total revenue in 2021 increased by 11.0%, to $1.56 billion, compared to $1.40 billion in 2020. This year-over-year increase in revenue was driven primarily by our team's ability to redeploy assets and capture elevated freight rates in both operating segments, and the improvement in our brokerage service offering year-over-year. Adjusted Net Income was $77.8 million, or $1.09 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, compared to $39.6 million, or $0.52 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, in 2020. Adjusted EBITDA in 2021 was $223.1 million, compared to $178.7 million in 2020. Adjusted operating ratio was 90.9% in 2021 compared to 93.6% in 2020.

The year-over-year increases in each of these critical profitability metrics were achieved by a combination of the previously disclosed revenue drivers, the cost-savings actions undertaken, including transformation initiatives and fleet downsizing efforts, as well as incremental gain on sale of equipment.

Segment Results

Specialized Solutions – During the fourth quarter of 2021, Specialized Solutions revenue increased 12.1% to $220.3 million, compared to $196.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Operating income in the fourth quarter of 2021 was $16.7 million, compared to $14.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Operating ratio improved by 40 basis points to 92.4% in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 92.8% in the fourth quarter of 2020. Net loss in the fourth quarter of 2021 was $6.0 million, compared to net income of $10.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 primarily due to the $13.7 million gain related to the Aveda earnout settlement that occurred in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The measures in this paragraph are presented ex-Aveda to reflect the exit of that business in 2020. Adjusted operating income in the fourth quarter of 2021 was $21.7 million, compared to $14.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Adjusted operating ratio in the fourth quarter of 2021 improved by 270 basis points to 90.1%, compared to 92.8% in the fourth quarter of 2020. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 11.4% to $33.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $29.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. During the fourth quarter of 2021, the segment experienced a 12.9% increase in average freight rate per mile and an increase of 13.0% in revenue per tractor versus the fourth quarter of 2020.

The Specialized Solutions segment benefitted from sustained strength in demand and improving freight rates, primarily serving construction, high security cargo and glass, which was partially offset by the normalization of high-margin wind energy revenues versus the fourth quarter of 2020. In addition to the above, the results were augmented by utilization of our asset-right fleet mix to capture additional brokerage opportunities combined with incremental gain on sale of assets.

For the full year 2021, Specialized Solutions revenue decreased 2.2% to $874.0 million, compared to $893.7 million in 2020. Operating income in 2021 was $85.8 million, compared to $53.3 million in 2020. Net income increased by $15.8 million in 2021 to $42.7 million from $26.9 million in 2020. Operating ratio improved by 380 basis points to 90.2% in 2021, compared to 94.0% in 2020.

The full-year measures in this paragraph are presented ex-Aveda to reflect the exit of that business in 2020. Total revenue increased by 3.8% to $874.0 million in 2021, compared to $842.0 million in 2020. Adjusted operating income in 2021 was $96.0 million, compared to $84.5 million in 2020. Adjusted operating ratio improved by 100 basis points, to 89.0% in 2021, compared to 90.0% in 2020. Adjusted EBITDA in 2021 was $144.6 million, compared to $137.5 million in 2020.

These improved full-year results were driven by our team's ability to redeploy assets and capture elevated freight rates in the construction, manufacturing, and high-security cargo verticals, combined with improved gain on sale of assets, which more than offset the decrease in high-margin revenues related to 2020, record wind energy activity and inflationary cost pressures including rising driver and employee compensation, along with supply chain disruptions impacting our fleets.

Flatbed Solutions – During the fourth quarter of 2021, Flatbed Solutions revenue increased 24.1% to $176.4 million, compared to $142.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Operating income in the fourth quarter of 2021 was $17.6 million, compared to $4.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, representing a 341.1% year-over-year improvement. Operating ratio improved by 720 basis points to 90.0% in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 97.2% in the fourth quarter of 2020. Net income in the fourth quarter of 2021 was $2.0 million, compared to a net loss of $11.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Adjusted operating income in the fourth quarter of 2021 was $18.6 million, compared to $7.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Adjusted operating ratio improved by 550 basis points to 89.4% in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 94.9% in the fourth quarter of 2020. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 55.0% to $26.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $17.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Our team's ability to redeploy assets and capture elevated freight rates led to a 23.1% improvement in rate per mile when compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, helping overcome the impact on lower freight volumes resulting from fleet downsizing efforts and constrained equipment availability. The business continued to see consistent growth in key industrial end market verticals, particularly in steel and construction. The segment benefitted from the flexibility of the 'asset-right' model which positioned the company to leverage our owner operator and brokerage network to further capitalize on the strong freight rate environment.

In 2021, Flatbed Solutions revenue of $694.7 million was up 20.0%, compared to 2020. Operating income in 2021 was $72.6 million, compared to an operating income of $32.6 million in 2020. Net income in 2021 improved to $40.6 million, compared to $3.9 million in 2020. Operating ratio improved by 490 basis points to 89.5% in 2021, compared to 94.4% in 2020.

Adjusted operating income in 2021 was $76.8 million, compared to $39.2 million in 2020. Adjusted operating ratio improved by 430 basis points to 88.9% in 2021, from 93.2% in 2020. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 46.4% to $109.2 million in 2021, from $74.6 million in 2020.

These strong full-year results were driven by the strategic redeployment of assets across the network to better support customers and leverage an improving rate environment, combined with enhanced utilization of our asset-light capacity to capture incremental loads and efforts to right-size the fleet, partially offset by inflationary cost headwinds in the form of driver recruitment and retention, driver and employee compensation, in addition to supply chain disruption impacts on our fleet.

Capital Summary

At December 31, 2021, Daseke had cash and cash equivalents of $147.5 million as well as $107.8 million available under its revolving credit facility, for total available liquidity of $255.3 million. Total debt was $594.5 million and net debt was $447.0 million. This compares to cash and cash equivalents of $176.2 million and $83.2 million available on the revolving credit facility, total available liquidity of $259.4 million, total debt of $679.7 million, and net debt of $503.5 million on December 31, 2020.

For the fourth quarter of 2021, net cash provided by operating activities was $29.0 million, cash capital expenditures were $19.5 million, and cash proceeds from the sale of excess property and equipment were $10.7 million, resulting in Free Cash Flow of $20.2 million. Additionally, capital expenditures financed with debt and finance leases were $9.7 million. This compares to net cash provided by operating activities of $22.5 million, cash capital expenditures of $19.2 million, and cash proceeds from the sale of excess property and equipment of $16.8 million, resulting in Free Cash Flow of $20.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Capital expenditures financed with debt and finance leases were $12.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.

2022 Outlook

"We are encouraged by the operational and strategic progress delivered by our entire team in 2021," said Jason Bates, Chief Financial Officer of Daseke. "Looking ahead, we remain optimistic that our internally-driven, operational improvements and industrial end market tailwinds will combine to improve both top-line revenues and bottom-line financial performance in 2022 relative to our 2021 performance. At this time, we expect consolidated year-over-year revenues in 2022 to increase by 4% to 7%, with Adjusted EBITDA outpacing revenue growth, improving by 5% to 10%. Our team has done a great job this past year in meeting our customers' needs in a capacity-constrained environment, repositioning assets, while proactively managing our various fleet strategies to ensure higher freight rate capture - a trend we expect to see continue into 2022. That said, we remain vigilantly focused on the potential for increased operating costs and inflationary pressures, including driver compensation, recruitment and retention costs, and supply chain disruptions potentially affecting equipment availability and maintenance costs. We expect to further refine our outlook at the end of the first quarter of 2022, as we gain further visibility into each of these key drivers."

Bates continued, "We estimate our 2022 net capital expenditures to be $160 to $170 million; roughly $25 million of which was planned capital spending from 2021 that was pushed into 2022 due to lack of availability in new equipment markets stemming from the global supply chain constraints. Additionally, we intend to deploy roughly $10 million of net capital expenditures toward systems enhancements and upgrades as we further align and integrate our technology stack. Finally, we expect cash capex less the proceeds of any sale on equipment to range between $25 to $35 million for the year."

Conference Call

Daseke will hold a conference call today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time to discuss its fourth quarter and full-year 2021 results and 2022 outlook. Investors, analysts, and members of the media interested in listening to the live presentation are encouraged to join a webcast of the call with accompanying presentation slides, available on the Company’s website at https://www.daseke.com. Presentation materials will be posted at the time of the call at investor.daseke.com as well. Interested parties may also participate in the call by dialing (855) 242-9918 and entering the passcode 7036134. A replay of the conference call will be available a few hours after the event on the investor relations section of the Company’s website, under the events section.

About Daseke, Inc.

Daseke, Inc. is the premier North American transportation solutions specialist dedicated to servicing challenging industrial end-markets. Daseke offers comprehensive, best-in-class services to a diversified portfolio of many of North America’s most respected industrial shippers. For more information, please visit www.daseke.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

This news release includes non-GAAP financial measures for the Company and its reporting segments, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Net Income (Loss), Adjusted earnings per share, Adjusted Operating Ratio, Free Cash Flow and net debt. This news release also includes GAAP and non-GAAP measures appended with ex-Aveda, which represent the measure excluding the impact of our Aveda business, which we disposed of in 2020. Although we ceased generating revenues from our Aveda business and completed the wind-down of our Aveda operations in 2020, we continued to recognize income and expenses from our Aveda business in 2021. Such income and expenses relate primarily to workers compensation claims and insurance proceeds.

Please note that the non-GAAP measures described below are not a substitute for, or more meaningful than, net income (loss), cash flows from operating activities, operating income or any other measure prescribed by GAAP, and there are limitations to using non-GAAP measures. Certain items excluded from these non-GAAP measures are significant components in understanding and assessing a company’s financial performance, such as a company’s cost of capital, tax structure and the historic costs of depreciable assets. Also, other companies in Daseke’s industry may define these non-GAAP measures differently than Daseke does, and as a result, it may be difficult to use these non-GAAP measures to compare the performance of those companies to Daseke’s performance. Because of these limitations, these non-GAAP measures should not be considered a measure of the income generated by Daseke’s business or discretionary cash available to it to invest in the growth of its business. Daseke’s management compensates for these limitations by relying primarily on Daseke’s GAAP results and using these non-GAAP measures supplementally.

You can find the reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures in the tables below.

Adjusted EBITDA

Daseke defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) plus (i) depreciation and amortization, (ii) interest, (iii) income taxes, and (iv) other material items that management believes do not reflect our core operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA ex-Aveda is defined as Adjusted EBITDA less the Adjusted EBITDA of the Aveda business, which we disposed of in 2020. Adjusted EBITDA margin is defined as Adjusted EBITDA divided by total revenue, and Adjusted EBITDA ex-Aveda margin is defined as Adjusted EBITDA ex-Aveda divided by total revenue ex-Aveda.

We have not reconciled non-GAAP forward-looking measures to their corresponding GAAP measures because certain items that impact these measures are unavailable or cannot be reasonably predicted without unreasonable efforts. In particular, we have not reconciled our expectations as to forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA to net income due to the difficulty in making an accurate projection as to the change in fair value of warrant liability, which will have a significant impact on our GAAP net income; accordingly, a reconciliation of forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA to net income is not available without unreasonable efforts.

The Company’s board of directors and executive management team use Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA ex-Aveda (collectively discussed below as "Adjusted EBITDA Metrics") as key measures of its performance and for business planning. Adjusted EBITDA Metrics assist them in comparing the Company’s operating performance over various reporting periods on a consistent basis because they remove from the Company’s operating results the impact of items that, in their opinion, do not reflect the Company’s core operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA Metrics also allow the Company to more effectively evaluate its operating performance by comparing the results of operations against its peers without regard to its or its peers’ financing method or capital structure. The Company’s method of computing Adjusted EBITDA Metrics is substantially consistent with that used in its debt covenants and also is routinely reviewed by its executive management for that purpose. The Company believes its presentation of Adjusted EBITDA Metrics is useful because it provides investors and industry analysts the same information that the Company uses internally for purposes of assessing its core operating performance.

Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted Earnings Per Share

Daseke defines Adjusted Net Income (Loss) as net income (loss) adjusted for material items that management believes do not reflect our core operating performance. Daseke defines Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per share as Adjusted Net Income (Loss) divided by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period under the two-class method.

The Company’s board of directors and executive management team use these measures as key measures of its performance and for business planning. These measures assist them in comparing its operating performance over various reporting periods on a consistent basis because it removes from operating results the impact of items that, in its opinion, do not reflect the Company’s core operating performance. The Company believes its presentation of these measures are useful because they provide investors and industry analysts the same information that it uses internally for purposes of assessing its core operating performance.

Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) and Adjusted Operating Ratio

The Company uses Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) and Adjusted Operating Ratio as a supplement to its GAAP results in evaluating certain aspects of its business, as described below. The Company defines Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) as (a) total revenue less (b) Adjusted Operating Expenses. The Company defines Adjusted Operating Expenses as total operating expenses less material items that management believes do not reflect our core operating performance. The Company defines Adjusted Operating Ratio as Adjusted Operating Expenses, as a percentage of total revenue. The Company defines previously defined terms appended with ex-Aveda as their previously defined term excluding the impact of the Aveda business, which we disposed of in 2020.

The Company’s board of directors and executive management team view these non-GAAP measures, and their key drivers of revenue quality, growth, expense control and operating efficiency, as very important measures of the Company’s performance. These measures assist them in comparing the Company’s performance over various reporting periods on a consistent basis because it removes from operating results the impact of items that, in its opinion, do not reflect the Company’s core operating performance. The Company believes its presentation of these non-GAAP measures are useful because they provide investors and industry analysts the same information that it uses internally for purposes of assessing its core operating profitability.

Free Cash Flow

Daseke defines Free Cash Flow as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment, plus proceeds from sale of property and equipment, as such amounts are shown on the face of the Statements of Cash Flows.

The Company’s board of directors and executive management team use Free Cash Flow to assess the Company’s liquidity and ability to repay maturing debt, fund operations and make additional investments. The Company believes Free Cash Flow provides useful information to investors because it is an important indicator of the Company’s liquidity, including its ability to reduce net debt, make strategic investments and repurchase stock.

Net Debt

Daseke defines net debt as total debt less cash and cash equivalents. The Company’s board of directors and executive management team use net debt to help assess the Company’s liquidity and evaluate and plan for future liquidity needs. The Company believes that the presentation of net debt is useful to investors because it provides additional information regarding the Company’s overall liquidity, financial flexibility, capital structure and leverage.

Management’s view of Core Operating Performance

In the non-GAAP measures discussed above, management refers to certain material items that management believes do not reflect the Company’s core operating performance, which management believes represent its performance in the ordinary, ongoing and customary course of its operations. Management views the Company’s core operating performance as its operating results excluding the impact of items including, but not limited to, stock-based compensation, impairments, amortization of intangible assets, restructuring, business transformation costs, and severance. Management believes excluding these items enables investors to evaluate more clearly and consistently the Company’s core operational performance in the same manner that management evaluates its core operational performance.

[Tables deleted]

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/01/25/2372449/0/en/Daseke-Reports-Record-Results-for-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-2021.html

Daseke Reports Record Results for Second Quarter of 2021 and Raises 2021 Outlook (8/03/21)

Strong operational execution and improving demand combine to drive record quarterly Operating Ratio and Adjusted EBITDA

ADDISON, Texas, Aug. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daseke, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE) (“Daseke” or the “Company”), the largest flatbed, specialized transportation and logistics solutions company in North America, today reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2021.

Second Quarter 2021 Highlights:

- Revenue of $404.0 million

- Net income of $35.3 million, or $0.49 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, compared to $1.6 million in last year’s second quarter

- Record Adjusted Net Income ex-Aveda of $30.2 million, or $0.42 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders

- Record Adjusted EBITDA of $69.2 million
-- Results up 20% compared to prior quarterly record of $57.6 million in Q3 2020

- Cash flows from operating activities of $28.6 million and Free Cash Flow of $32.3 million

- Delivered record Operating Ratio (“OR”) of 88.8% and record Adjusted Operating Ratio of 88.0%

- Raising Full Year 2021 Outlook
-- Revenue range of $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion, up 6.9% from previous range
-- Adjusted EBITDA range of $200 million to $210 million, up 20.6% from previous range

Management Commentary

"We are pleased to report record results for our second quarter and announce an increase in our revenue and Adjusted EBITDA outlook for 2021. Over the last two years we have worked diligently to integrate and transform our operations. Because of these efforts, we were able to recruit drivers, seat trucks and optimize our network efficiency, while constructively working with our customers to align on the right balance between rates and needed capacity. It is the partnership we have with our customers, the work ethic of our driver community and the relentless focus on execution by our OpCo management teams that underpinned this resounding improvement in our year-over-year, quarterly Adjusted EBITDA of more than 50%. “Our ability to deliver several consecutive quarters of solid financial results, our record outperformance of this second quarter 2021 and the increase in our 2021 financial outlook each demonstrates the momentum and success of our strategy," said Jonathan Shepko, Chief Executive Officer of Daseke.

Second Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Total revenue in the second quarter of 2021 increased 14.9% to $404.0 million, compared to $351.7 million in the year-ago quarter. Excluding the impact of the Aveda Transportation and Energy Services (“Aveda”) business to 2020, second quarter revenue increased by 18.2%. This year-over-year increase in revenue was driven primarily by record freight rates in the Flatbed segment.

Operating income in the second quarter of 2021 was $45.3 million, compared to operating income of $12.4 million in the year-ago quarter. The change in operating income was primarily driven by a rate environment in the Flatbed segment that has returned to pre-pandemic levels, lower salaries stemming from prior fleet rationalization efforts, better than anticipated performance on insurance and claims, additional gains on sales of assets and the divestiture of the Aveda business, which had a greater operating loss in the year-ago quarter. Excluding Aveda, operating income in the second quarter of 2021 was $45.5 million compared to operating income of $18.9 million in the prior-year quarter.

Net income for the second quarter of 2021 was $35.3 million, or $0.49 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders, compared to net income of $1.6 million, or $0.00 per share attributable to common stockholders, in the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year change was due to the increase in operating income discussed above, combined with a $9.4 million increase in other income, primarily related to reduced interest expense but also aided by additional non-cash gains resulting from the change in fair value of warrant liability, partially offset by an increase in income tax expense due to the higher pre-tax income. Adjusted Net Income excluding Aveda was $30.2 million in the second quarter of 2021, compared to $9.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2021 was $69.2 million, compared to $43.7 million in the year-ago quarter. Excluding the impact of the Aveda business, second quarter Adjusted EBITDA increased 51.2% to $69.4 million compared to $45.9 million in the comparable period last year.

Segment Results

Specialized Solutions – During the second quarter, the Specialized Solutions segment (all measures presented Ex-Aveda to reflect the exit of that business in 2020) benefitted from continued strong demand and freight rates, primarily serving construction, high security cargo and glass, which largely offset reduced activity in the wind energy market versus last year’s second quarter. Overall, this business mix shift led to a 2.3% increase in average freight rate per mile, while revenue per truck increased by 12.3% versus last year’s second quarter due primarily to an improvement in miles per truck per day. Operations improved versus last year driven by the Company’s end market portfolio approach, offsetting the mix shift away from wind energy project revenues.

Flatbed Solutions – The Flatbed Solutions segment experienced a rate environment that has returned to pre-pandemic levels, as rates increased 38.9% compared to last year’s second quarter and offset the impact of shifting to asset light and fleet downsizing. Freight volumes declined due to fleet-rightsizing efforts over the course of prior year and into 2021. Despite the lower fleet size, load volume increased as excess capacity was directed to the brokerage business. Recovery in various industrial end markets to pre-pandemic levels, particularly in construction and steel and other metals, contributed to the strong rate environment.

Capital Summary and Updated 2021 Outlook

At June 30, 2021, Daseke had cash and cash equivalents of $111.7 million and $119.3 million available under its revolving credit facility, for total available liquidity of $231.0 million. Total debt was $594.4 million and net debt was $482.7 million. This compares to cash and cash equivalents of $176.2 million and $83.2 million available on the revolving credit facility, total available liquidity of $259.4 million, total debt of $679.7 million, and net debt of $503.5 million on December 31, 2020.

For the quarter, net cash provided by operating activities was $28.6 million, cash capital expenditures were $12.8 million, and cash proceeds from the sale of excess property and equipment were $16.5 million, resulting in Free Cash Flow of $32.3 million. Additionally, capital expenditures financed with debt and finance leases were $14.8 million. This compares to net cash provided by operating activities of $53.2 million, cash capital expenditures of $10.4 million, and cash proceeds from the sale of excess property and equipment of $30.6 million, resulting in Free Cash Flow of $73.4 million in the second quarter of 2020. Capital expenditures financed with debt and finance leases were $30.0 million in the second quarter of 2020.

“We are pleased with the significant operational and financial progress the entire Daseke team delivered in the second quarter, as we continue to execute on profitability improvement, most notably our Adjusted Operating Ratio of 88.0%,” said Jason Bates, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Daseke. “While the industrial end-market recovery in various verticals to near pre-pandemic levels certainly played a part in this quarter’s numbers, this impressive performance is a testament to the breadth and capabilities of our OpCo teams, who efficiently executed in this unprecedented environment. Although we do anticipate continued industry-wide cost pressures in the form of driver recruitment and retention, equipment acquisition, as well as insurance and other general expenses into the foreseeable future, with our team’s strong year-to-date execution and the expectation that we will continue to see momentum from our business improvement initiatives, we are increasing our full year 2021 Outlook at this time. We currently anticipate a range of revenue of $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion, with a range for Adjusted EBITDA of $200 million to $210 million. Our CAPEX estimates remain unchanged at this time. Utilizing the midpoints, these outlook increases represent a 6.9% and 20.6% increase in revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, respectively, from our previous guidance. With this significant increase to Adjusted EBITDA and no corresponding increase to CAPEX, we also anticipate a commensurate improvement to the Free Cash Flow generation in 2021 beyond previous expectations.”

Conference Call

Daseke will hold a conference call today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time to discuss its second quarter 2021 results and 2021 outlook. Investors, analysts, and members of the media interested in listening to the live presentation are encouraged to join a webcast of the call with accompanying presentation slides, available on the Company’s website at https://www.daseke.com. Presentation materials will be posted at the time of the call at investor.daseke.com as well. Interested parties may also participate in the call by dialing (855) 242-9918 and entering the passcode 1980152. A replay of the conference call will be available a few hours after the event on the investor relations section of the Company’s website, under the events section.

About Daseke, Inc.

Daseke, Inc. is the largest flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics company in North America. Daseke offers comprehensive, best-in-class services to many of the world’s most respected industrial shippers through experienced people, a fleet of more than 4,500 tractors and 11,000 flatbed and specialized trailers. For more information, please visit www.daseke.com.

[tables deleted]

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/08/03/2273604/0/en/Daseke-Reports-Record-Results-for-Second-Quarter-of-2021-and-Raises-2021-Outlook.html

Daseke Names Jonathan Shepko as Chief Executive Officer (8/03/21)

Shepko to assume permanent CEO duties and continue to lead Daseke’s operational transformation and growth strategy

ADDISON, Texas, Aug. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daseke, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE) (“Daseke” or the “Company”), the largest flatbed, specialized transportation and logistics solutions company in North America, announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Jonathan Shepko as permanent Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), effective immediately. Mr. Shepko had formerly served as interim Chief Executive Officer since January 2021, in addition to serving Daseke as a director since 2017, and a board observer since 2014.

Charles “Chuck” Serianni, Daseke’s Chairman, stated, “Jonathan has been a highly involved member of our Board of Directors since Daseke became a publicly traded company in 2017. His leadership as our Interim CEO over the last several months, as well as his deep knowledge of our business, industry, and capital markets, each have been instrumental in advancing Daseke’s comprehensive operational and financial restructuring. Jonathan’s success is evident in the record financial results the Company achieved during the second quarter of 2021.”

Serianni added, “The Board of Directors performed an extensive search, interviewed several candidates, and believes that Jonathan brings the appropriate skillset to lead the Company’s strategic path to growth and provides valuable continuity to support the Company as it finalizes its operational transformation. We look forward to his continued leadership as he works together with a deep bench of talented leaders across the organization to execute our strategic vision and drive long-term value for our shareholders.”

Jonathan Shepko noted, “I’m thrilled and humbled to serve the Daseke stakeholders as its CEO. The talent we have across the organization is truly a differentiator for our company, and I look forward to working with this experienced collection of emerging leaders. We are the largest flatbed, specialized transportation and logistics solutions company in North America, and we have a unique opportunity to leverage that position to drive significant, sustainable growth and shareholder value. Our strategic direction and near-term priorities will not change. We will continue to be focused on accelerating technology integration to increase our productivity and efficiency, streamlining our operational structure to create a cohesive network, and pursuing organic growth and targeted M&A to better serve our customers and drive efficiencies through our operating platform.”

About Jonathan Shepko

Jonathan Shepko has served as Interim CEO of Daseke since January 2021 and as a member of the Board since February 2017. Mr. Shepko is a Co-founder and Managing Partner of Stonehollow Capital Partners, which makes direct equity investments in private companies across the United States. He has extensive capital markets and direct investing experience, having served as Managing Partner of EF Capital Management, LP, the investment arm of a substantial single-family office, Managing Director at Ares Management, and Managing Director of CLG Energy Finance (an affiliate of Beal Bank), and a senior role with EnCap Investments, LP. Over the course of his career, he has served in various senior management capacities of portfolio company investments. Collectively, Mr. Shepko has underwritten and managed nearly $2 billion in direct equity and debt financings, spanning multiple industries, including investments in high-growth, as well as mature companies. Mr. Shepko graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Finance from Texas A&M University.

About Daseke, Inc.

Daseke, Inc. is the largest flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics company in North America. Daseke offers comprehensive, best-in-class services to many of the world’s most respected industrial shippers through experienced people, a fleet of more than 4,500 tractors and 11,000 flatbed and specialized trailers. For more information, please visit www.daseke.com.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/08/03/2273553/0/en/Daseke-Names-Jonathan-Shepko-as-Chief-Executive-Officer.html

Daseke Announces Stock Repurchase Program (3/22/21)

Buyback authorization allows for opportunistic cash deployment as part of its balanced capital allocation strategy

ADDISON, Texas, March 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daseke, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE) (“Daseke” or the “Company”), the largest flatbed, specialized transportation and logistics solutions company in North America, announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program under which the Company is authorized to repurchase up to 3,000,000 shares of its outstanding common stock.

The shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions at prevailing market prices or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws and may be repurchased pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The Company intends to fund repurchases from cash on hand.

The timing, as well as the number and value of shares repurchased under the program, will be determined by management at its discretion and will depend on a number of factors, including the market price of the Company’s common stock, general market and economic conditions and applicable legal requirements. The program may be suspended, modified or discontinued by the Board at any time without prior notice.

Jason Bates, Chief Financial Officer of Daseke commented, “As part of our commitment to generating strong returns and returning value to our shareholders and pursuant to the Company’s previously announced cooperation agreement with Don Daseke, the Company’s Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program to repurchase up to three million public shares. Daseke’s recent performance has demonstrated the strong cash flow generative nature of our unique platform. With the recent refinancing transaction now complete, the Company is in a strong position to utilize excess cash to opportunistically repurchase public shares. We will maintain a disciplined and balanced approach to capital allocation over the long-term, with a keen focus on value creation as we continue to balance our decisions between investing for growth, leverage reduction and balance sheet optimization, and/or through opportunistic share repurchases.”

About Daseke, Inc.

Daseke, Inc. is the largest flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics company in North America. Daseke offers comprehensive, best-in-class services to many of the world’s most respected industrial shippers through experienced people, a fleet of more than 5,000 tractors and 11,500 flatbed and specialized trailers. For more information, please visit www.daseke.com.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/03/22/2197233/0/en/Daseke-Announces-Stock-Repurchase-Program.html

Daseke Announces Term Loan Refinancing and Credit Rating Upgrades (3/10/21)

New Covenant-lite Term Loan Extends Maturity to 2028 and Reduces Annual Cash Interest

Moody’s and S&P Global Upgrade Daseke’s Rating to “B2” and “B”, respectively

ADDISON, Texas, March 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daseke, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE) (“Daseke” or the “Company”), the largest flatbed, specialized transportation and logistics solutions company in North America, announced today that it has refinanced its existing $484 million Term Loan B due February 2024 with a new $400 million Term Loan B and available cash. The new Term Loan B, maturing in March 2028 has a floating interest rate of LIBOR + 400 basis points, which is reduced from LIBOR + 500 basis points (the LIBOR floor was also reduced from 100 basis points to 75 basis points). The transaction closed on March 9, 2021. In addition, the Company will seek an amendment to its ABL credit agreement to increase maximum commitments thereunder from $100 million to $150 million, with a $50 million uncommitted accordion.

Transaction Highlights:

Company to utilize $84 million of its $176 million cash and cash equivalents balance as of December 31, 2020 to pay down debt, which was driven by excess cash generated from operations over the course of the previous year

Significantly reduced cash interest expense under new Term Loan

Extends maturity on the Company’s debt from 2024 to 2028

Creates additional financial flexibility through improved covenant-lite structure

Further strengthens the balance sheet and provides capacity for organic and strategic growth investments

Upon close, the Company’s estimated net debt leverage ratio as defined by its credit agreement will be approximately 2.7x based on the terms of the credit agreement

“We are pleased with the improved terms of the new Term Loan B, which were supported by the Company’s improved economic performance and unique competitive positioning,” commented Jason Bates, Chief Financial Officer of Daseke. “Execution against our strategic plan over the last six quarters has significantly enhanced our operational and financial performance, and helped us fortify our balance sheet and meaningfully improve credit metrics. Given the attractive market backdrop, we believe now was the opportune time to utilize our strong cash position to reduce the Company’s funded leverage. Additionally, Daseke’s strengthening credit profile has been recognized by ratings agencies, and the completion of this refinancing further extends our financial flexibility, particularly given the improved pricing and covenant-lite structure. The better cost of debt capital and greater financial flexibility under the new Term Loan will help serve strategic needs and the pursuit of accretive growth opportunities. We remain committed to further advancing our business transformation and driving sustainable top-line and profitability growth.”

In connection with the refinancing, on February 23, 2021, Moody’s Investment Services (“Moody’s”) upgraded Daseke’s corporate family and senior secured ratings to “B2” from “B3,” and S&P Global (“S&P”) provided a one-notch upgrade Daseke’s issuer credit family and term loan ratings to “B”.

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. served as exclusive arranger and sole bookrunner for Daseke in executing this transaction.

About Daseke, Inc.

Daseke, Inc. is the largest flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics company in North America. Daseke offers comprehensive, best-in-class services to many of the world’s most respected industrial shippers through experienced people, a fleet of more than 5,000 tractors and 11,500 flatbed and specialized trailers. For more information, please visit www.daseke.com.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/03/10/2190371/0/en/Daseke-Announces-Term-Loan-Refinancing-and-Credit-Rating-Upgrades.html

Daseke Announces Cooperation Agreements with Lyons Capital and Don Daseke (1/05/21)

Appoints Grant Garbers to Board of Directors

Company to Repurchase Three Million Shares of Stock

ADDISON, Texas, Jan. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daseke, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE) (“Daseke” or the “Company”), the largest flatbed, specialized transportation and logistics solutions company in North America, announced today that it reached separate agreements with Lyons Capital, LLC and its affiliates (together “Lyons Capital”), who hold approximately 5% of the Company’s common stock, and with Don Daseke and his affiliates (together, “Mr. Daseke”), who hold approximately 28% of the Company’s common stock, regarding the membership and composition of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”).

Under the terms of the agreement with Lyons Capital, the Company appointed Grant Garbers to its Board, effective January 1, 2021, and will nominate Mr. Garbers for election to the Board at the Company’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “2021 Annual Meeting”). Kevin Charlton stepped down from the Board effective January 1, 2021.

Under the terms of the agreement with Mr. Daseke, the Company has agreed to re-nominate Mr. Daseke for election to the Board at the 2021 Annual Meeting and Mr. Daseke has agreed to support the Company’s Omnibus share plan and the Board at that annual meeting. The Company has also agreed to implement a stock buy-back program and to purchase at least three million shares of Daseke common stock on the timeline set forth in the agreement.

Brian Bonner, Chairman of the Board, commented, “We are pleased to have reached these agreements with Lyons Capital and with Mr. Daseke. We look forward to continuing our constructive relationship with these two large shareholders and appreciate their support for continuing our improvement initiatives and the execution of our current strategy.”

Mr. Bonner continued, “On behalf of the Board, I would also like to welcome Grant Garbers to Daseke. Grant has significant transportation knowledge and experience, having served as a special advisor and board member of the Roadmaster Group, which was acquired by Daseke in late 2017. Grant’s industry expertise and his extensive capital markets experience will be valuable to the Board as we continue to execute on our strategy and deliver returns for our shareholders.”

“I am very excited to join the Daseke Board,” said Grant Garbers. “Daseke’s business momentum is clear, its operating businesses are performing well, and I believe Daseke will further extend its leadership position in the coming years. I look forward to contributing to Daseke’s growth, as the company works to achieve its vision.”

Mr. Bonner said, “The Board and I believe Daseke is extremely well positioned to grow and succeed in 2021 and beyond. We are thankful for Kevin’s contributions to Daseke’s recent performance and strategy development.”

The cooperation agreements with Lyons Capital and Mr. Daseke contain, among other provisions, standstill and voting covenants and will be included as exhibits to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Further details regarding the 2021 Annual Meeting will be included in the Company’s definitive proxy materials, which will be filed with the SEC and provided to all Daseke shareholders at a later date.

Other Developments

Separately, the Company announced the retirement of its Chief Executive Officer, Christopher Easter, today and indicated that the Company anticipates its financial and operational performance during Q4 2020 to be in-line with analyst consensus estimates. More information concerning these developments are available in a separate press release issued this morning and will be included in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed with the SEC.

About Grant Garbers

Grant Garbers has been a Managing Director of Harrison Co., a middle market investment banking firm, since June of 2020. Prior to that, Mr. Garbers spent the past 13 years with Capstone Headwaters and its predecessor company Headwaters MB as a Managing Director in its Industrial Technology Practice with the same responsibilities. Mr. Garbers has served both private and public companies across a diverse group of industries such as transportation, medical, consumer products and industrial technology. Mr. Garbers started his career in risk management at Fred S. James before entering the financial services sector. Mr. Garbers served as an independent director of Roadmaster Group, Inc. from 2010 to December of 2017 when it was acquired by Daseke, Inc. Mr. Garbers holds a B.B.A. degree from The University of Georgia and successfully completed the Mergers and Acquisitions Executive Education Program at the Wharton School of Business.

About Daseke, Inc.

Daseke, Inc. is the largest flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics company in North America. Daseke offers comprehensive, best-in-class services to many of the world’s most respected industrial shippers through experienced people, a fleet of more than 5,000 tractors and 11,500 flatbed and specialized trailers. For more information, please visit www.daseke.com.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/01/05/2153448/0/en/Daseke-Announces-Cooperation-Agreements-with-Lyons-Capital-and-Don-Daseke.html

Daseke Announces CEO Retirement (1/05/21)

Company’s Operational and Financial Performance in Q4 Expected to be In-Line with Estimates

Board of Directors Appoints Jonathan Shepko as Interim CEO

ADDISON, Texas, Jan. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daseke, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE) (“Daseke” or the “Company”), the largest flatbed, specialized transportation and logistics solutions company in North America, announced today that Christopher Easter has retired as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors, effective December 31, 2020. The Board has engaged a leading executive search firm to assist in the search for Mr. Easter’s successor. Jonathan Shepko, a current Daseke director, has been appointed as Interim CEO until a permanent successor for Mr. Easter is identified and hired.

Mr. Easter stated, “This has been a very difficult decision for me personally, but I have a number of family-related obligations that need my full attention. As a result, I made the decision to retire from Daseke at the end of the year. Over the past two years, I have been fortunate to work alongside some of the most dedicated and talented people in the flatbed and specialized trucking industry and I am very proud of what we have accomplished together. We have successfully executed a dramatic turnaround in our performance while navigating through a global pandemic. Daseke’s strategy is sound, the business is performing well, and the team is poised to continue forward with this momentum. I have an enormous amount of confidence in Daseke’s future.”

On behalf of the Board, Chairman Brian Bonner said, “We are grateful to Chris for his leadership and want to extend our thanks for the many contributions he has made at Daseke. Among other things, Chris helped to reset our operational strategy and built a solid leadership team with decades of transportation experience. The Board is confident in the team’s ability to execute on our current strategy and guide Daseke to a bright future. The Board respects Chris’ decision to retire and we wish him the very best in the future.”

Mr. Shepko said, “I look forward to leading Daseke during this interim period, with a goal of making further progress on our current strategic path and driving continued operational and financial performance. I expect to be fully engaged with the team and leading the organization with assistance from Brian as if my role were permanent; we must continue our transformation. Brian and I have been extensively involved in helping reset the strategy at Daseke and will help ensure continuity of mission and aggressive execution on our key priorities. Daseke is fortunate to have an experienced leadership team and we will leverage their expertise, and the strong bench of talent throughout the organization, as we continue to improve the earnings power of our business, strengthen our balance sheet, and position the business for long-term growth.”

Operational and Financial Performance Update

Daseke also announced today that the business performed well during the fiscal fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020. Based on preliminary results and excluding the positive impact of the wind-down of the Aveda Transportation business, Daseke expects to achieve its internal financial forecasts and expects results to be approximately in-line with analyst consensus for revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, as calculated by FactSet.1

Daseke expects to release earnings and host a conference call at the end of January, at which time the Company will discuss fourth quarter and full-year 2020 results along with the outlook for 2021.

Other Developments

Separately today, Daseke announced that it signed cooperation agreements with Lyons Capital and Don Daseke and made other changes to the Board’s composition. Additional details concerning these developments are available in a separate press release issued this morning and will be included in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

About Jonathan Shepko

Mr. Shepko is a Cofounder and Managing Partner of Stonehollow Capital Partners, which makes direct equity investments in private companies across the United States. Prior to founding Stonehollow in January 2019, from 2014 to 2018, Mr. Shepko served as a Managing Partner of EF Capital Management, LP, the investment arm of a substantial single-family office, which largely focused on direct equity and direct debt investments, in both public and private companies, across the United States. During his tenure with EF Capital, Mr. Shepko served in various Board and management capacities of the firm’s portfolio investments. Prior to founding EF Capital, Mr. Shepko was a Managing Director with Ares Management (~$100B AUM), where he focused on originating and structuring debt financings in the energy industry. From 2009 until 2014, Mr. Shepko co-headed, and served as Managing Director of, CLG Energy Finance (an affiliate of Beal Bank), which focused on providing senior-stretch and uni-tranche facilities to the energy and infrastructure industries. Prior to forming CLG Energy Finance, Mr. Shepko was a Vice President with EnCap Investments, LP, where his responsibilities included originating, structuring and managing private equity investments in the oil and gas sector, while also serving on the boards of several of these companies. Mr. Shepko was appointed to the Board effective as of February 2017. Mr. Shepko graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Finance from Texas A&M University.

About Daseke, Inc.

Daseke, Inc. is the largest flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics company in North America. Daseke offers comprehensive, best-in-class services to many of the world’s most respected industrial shippers through experienced people, a fleet of more than 5,000 tractors and 11,500 flatbed and specialized trailers. For more information, please visit www.daseke.com.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/01/05/2153422/0/en/Daseke-Announces-CEO-Retirement.html

Daseke Reports Record Results for Third Quarter of 2020 (10/30/20)

Strong execution drives record quarterly Operating Income, Net Income of $15.7 million, and record Adjusted Net Income

ADDISON, Texas, (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daseke, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE) (“Daseke” or the “Company”), the largest flatbed, specialized transportation and logistics solutions company in North America, today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020.

Third Quarter Highlights:

- Revenue of $375.8 million

- Net Income of $15.7 million, or $0.22 per share attributable to common stockholders

- Record Adjusted Net Income of $21.9 million

- Record Adjusted EBITDA of $57.6 million, up 33% year-over-year

- Cash flows from operating activities of $39.5 million and Free Cash Flow of $52.0 million

- Record Operating Ratio and Adjusted Operating Ratio of 92.5% and 90.9%, respectively

- Cash and cash equivalents increased by $110.2 million year-over-year to $189.8 million

Management Commentary

“We are pleased to report another very strong quarter of financial and operational results, as Daseke effectively leveraged its niche leadership position and improved operations to deliver record quarterly performance in our Operating Income, Operating Ratio, Adjusted Net income, and Adjusted EBITDA,” said Chris Easter, Chief Executive Officer of Daseke. “While we continue to face demand headwinds that have negatively impacted the Company’s freight volumes and revenues, the significant work we have undertaken to improve our operational performance and our financial returns helped to more than overcome those top-line challenges. Notably, we delivered significant improvement in our quarterly net income and Adjusted EBITDA results in the face of a 17% decline in revenues as compared to the prior year period, demonstrating the much-improved earnings power of our business and operations, and our team’s ability to deliver meaningful results.”

Easter continued, “The ongoing commitment to our key focus areas, including cost discipline and best-in-class operations, has helped solidify our foundation and established improved consistency to our results. In turn, this more resilient foundation has better positioned Daseke to execute upon unique market opportunities, specifically in the Wind Energy and High Security Cargo verticals, which helped lead the growth in our Specialized segment results this quarter. This dynamic helped drive record profitability and positions the Company to eventually capture a broader-based reflation in demand across industrial freight markets.”

Easter concluded, “While the last few months have been challenging for the industrial economy, I am very proud of how our team has stepped up to deliver outstanding performance amid continued softness in the demand environment. Our commitment to Daseke’s strategic priorities has put us in a position to succeed and capitalize on market leadership opportunities, which in turn are now translating into record operating income, positive net earnings, and much improved cash flows. As the results from our transformational efforts are becoming increasingly evident to our bottom line, we have been able to organically strengthen our balance sheet and financial flexibility through leverage reduction and expanding liquidity. While there are still pockets of weakness in certain end markets, we are encouraged by the recent stabilization and sequential improvements across much of our business. We are prepared to leverage our niche market leadership position, which will help us continue to capture strong returns for our shareholders, irrespective of the external environment.”

Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Total revenue in the third quarter of 2020 decreased 17% to $375.8 million, compared to $450.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Excluding the impact of the Aveda business to both 2020 and 2019, third quarter revenue decreased by 6%. This year-over-year decrease in revenue was driven primarily by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to lower freight volumes and lower freight rates in both the flatbed and specialized segments, which were partially offset by increased project business.

Operating income in the third quarter of 2020 was $28.1 million, compared to operating loss of $316.6 million in the year-ago quarter, which included non-cash impairment charges and other restructuring costs. Adjusted operating income in the quarter was $34.3 million, which increased 152% from $13.6 million in the third quarter of 2019. This year over year increase was driven by operational integrations and business improvement plans executed over the trailing year, partially offset by weaker freight volumes. Operating income results also benefited from decreases in salaries, wages and employee benefits, fuel expense, maintenance expense, purchased freight, depreciation and amortization, and non-cash impairment charges.

Net income for the third quarter of 2020 was $15.7 million, or $0.22 per share attributable to common stockholders, compared to net loss of ($273.3) million, or ($4.25) per share attributable to common stockholders, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted Net Income in the third quarter of 2020 was $21.9 million compared to Adjusted Net Income of $4.7 million in the third quarter of 2019. Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of 2020 was $57.6 million compared to $43.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Excluding the impact of the Aveda business, third quarter Adjusted EBITDA increased 37% to $56.2 million compared to $40.9 million in the comparable period last year. The year-over-year improvement in Adjusted EBITDA was driven primarily by growth in specific Specialized segment end markets, and contributions from the Company’s operational improvement plans, partially offset by lower freight volumes.

Segment Results

Specialized Solutions - Specialized Solutions revenue in the third quarter of 2020 was $235.2 million, a decrease of 18% compared to $288.0 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating income in the third quarter of 2020 was $31.1 million, compared to operating loss of $187.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating Ratio improved by 7,830 basis points to 86.8%, compared to 165.1% in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted Operating Ratio of 85.2% improved 870 basis points compared to Adjusted Operating Ratio of 93.9% in the year-ago quarter. Net income in the third quarter was $20.4 million compared to net loss of $162.0 million in the year ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of 2020 increased 39% to $47.4 million compared to $34.2 million in the year-ago quarter, driven primarily by strong Wind Energy and High Security Cargo revenues and margins, which were partially offset by lower freight volumes. Rate per mile in the third quarter of 2020 of $3.28 was down 7% from the prior-year quarter, and revenue per tractor increased 4.7% to $67,500. Excluding Aveda, Specialized rate per mile and revenue per tractor increased 9% and 12%, respectively.

Flatbed Solutions - Flatbed Solutions revenue in the third quarter of 2020 decreased 15% to $144.5 million, compared to $169.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating income in the third quarter of 2020 was $9.3 million, compared to an operating loss of $107.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating ratio improved by 6,990 basis points to 93.6%, compared to 163.5% in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted Operating Ratio of 92.8% improved 220 basis points compared to 95.0% in the year-ago period. Net income in the third quarter of 2020 was $4.6 million, compared to net loss of $96.3 million in the year ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of 2020 decreased 9% to $19.0 million, compared to $20.8 million in the year-ago quarter, driven by lower freight volumes due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various industrial end markets and fleet downsizing efforts, partially offset by operational integrations and business improvement plans, as well as slightly improved freight rates and brokerage revenues. Rate per mile in the third quarter of 2020 of $1.94 was up 2% from the prior-year quarter, and revenue per tractor increased 1% to $43,000.

Balance Sheet and Free Cash Flow

At September 30, 2020, Daseke had cash and cash equivalents of $189.8 million and $82.4 million available under its revolving credit facility, for total available liquidity of $272.2 million. Total debt was $688.7 million and net debt was $498.9 million. This compares to cash and cash equivalents of $79.6 million and $84.6 million available on the revolving credit facility, total available liquidity of $164.2 million, total debt of $713.2 million, and net debt of $633.6 million on September 30, 2019. Our leverage ratio as defined by our credit agreement as of September 30, 2020 was 2.6x.

Year to date, net cash provided by operating activities was $122.4 million, cash capital expenditures were $18.0 million, and cash proceeds from the sale of excess property and equipment were $52.0 million, resulting in Free Cash Flow of $156.4 million. During the same period, capital expenditures financed with debt and capital leases net of notes receivables was $45.1 million. This compares to net cash provided by operating activities of $89.4 million, cash capital expenditures of $17.4 million, and cash proceeds from the sale of excess property and equipment of $23.8 million, resulting in Free Cash Flow of $95.8 million for the nine months ending September 30, 2019. During the same period, capital expenditures financed with debt and finance leases net of property and equipment sold for notes receivable were $65.2 million.

For the quarter, net cash provided by operating activities was $39.5 million, cash capital expenditures were $3.1 million, and cash proceeds from the sale of excess property and equipment were $15.6 million, resulting in Free Cash Flow of $52.0 million. Additionally, capital expenditures financed with debt and finance leases net of property and equipment sold for notes receivable were $15.2 million.

Outlook

“We are very proud of our team’s ability to execute in the face of a pandemic. These impressive quarterly numbers also highlight our capability to thrive in complex, niche markets,” said Jason Bates, Executive VP and Chief Financial Officer of Daseke. “However, we want to acknowledge that this quarter’s results benefitted from a number of High Security Cargo related projects and an unprecedented backlog of Wind projects executed at high-margins triggered by supply-demand imbalances stemming from COVID-19. It is also important to reiterate the traditional annual trends in the flatbed and specialized markets, with Q2 and Q3 being seasonally strong, and Q4 and Q1 being seasonally slower. As we look forward to 2021, uncertainty lingers with regards to the macro-economic environment and COVID recovery. Having said that, we anticipate consolidated freight volumes to continue to incrementally improve into next year, but given the record contributions from the Wind Energy and High Security Cargo projects, a broader based recovery across our diverse slate of industrial end markets will need to accelerate for us to repeat the 2020 trajectory.”

Conference Call

Daseke will hold a conference call today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time to discuss its third quarter 2020 results. Investors, analysts, and members of the media interested in listening to the live presentation are encouraged to join a webcast of the call with accompanying presentation slides, available on the Company’s website at https://www.daseke.com. Presentation materials will be posted at the time of the call at investor.daseke.com as well. Interested parties may also participate in the call by dialing (855) 242-9918 and entering the passcode 4193403. A replay of the conference call will be available a few hours after the event on the investor relations section of the Company’s website, under the events section.

About Daseke, Inc.

Daseke, Inc. is the largest flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics company in North America. Daseke offers comprehensive, best-in-class services to many of the world’s most respected industrial shippers through experienced people, a fleet of more than 5,000 tractors and 11,500 flatbed and specialized trailers. For more information, please visit www.daseke.com.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/10/30/2117736/0/en/Daseke-Reports-Record-Results-for-Third-Quarter-of-2020.html

DSKE BUY the warrants only .22 and don't expire for 2 years.That's where the big money is IMO.

Daseke Reports Results for Second Quarter of 2020 (8/06/20)

Operational execution and self-help actions offset market weakness to drive Operating Income growth

Company delivers strongest quarterly Operating Ratio performance as a public company

ADDISON, Texas, Aug. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daseke, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE) (“Daseke” or the “Company”), the largest flatbed, specialized transportation and logistics solutions company in North America, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020.

Second Quarter Highlights:

- Revenue of $351.7 million

- Net Income of $0.5 million, or ($0.01) per share attributable to common stockholders

- Adjusted Net Income was $8.0 million, or $0.10 per share attributable to common stockholders

- Adjusted EBITDA was $43.7 million, or $45.9 million, after excluding the results from Aveda Transportation and Energy Services (“Aveda”) which is in the process of being divested

- Cash flows from operating activities of $53.2 million and Free Cash Flow of $73.4 million

- Substantial progress made during the quarter regarding the strategic divestiture of the Aveda assets held for sale, including collection of approximately $48 million in proceeds from the sale of property and equipment, and reduction in net working capital

- Delivered Operating Ratio (“OR”) of 96.5%, which improved by 250 basis points year-over-year and was the best performance in the Company’s history as a public company

- Cash and cash equivalents increased by $93.6 million year-over-year to $157.3 million and Company maintains $82.6 million available under the revolving credit facility, for total available liquidity of $239.9 million

Management Commentary

“While the last few months have been challenging for our industry and our people, I am very proud of how our entire team has stepped up in the face of significant change to safely deliver both value for our customers and strong results for our stakeholders,” said Chris Easter, Chief Executive Officer of Daseke. “The earnings power of our organization is starting to show through despite the challenging environment brought on by the pandemic, driven by the significant transformational work we have done over the last year to improve our operations and financial returns. While softer market conditions impeded our top-line results, the impacts of our improved operational and cost improvement plans helped Daseke more than double its quarterly operating income performance year-over-year. As a result, we delivered an OR of 96.5%, the best quarterly performance in our history as a public company.”

Easter continued, “We took swift action at the onset of the pandemic to drive out cost and best optimize our assets for the changing environment. These actions, on top of the extensive operational improvements and integrations we’ve executed, have created further resilience in our business model. The year-over-year improvement in both operating income and net earnings is translating into stronger cash flow performance, as evidenced by the $73.4 million of Free Cash Flow generated during the second quarter. This growth in cash flows is further serving our strategic priorities, enabling Daseke to consistently improve our balance sheet and financial flexibility through leverage reduction and enhanced liquidity provisions. Moving forward, we remain committed to driving positive Free Cash Flow generation and strengthening our balance sheet. We will also continue to invest prudently in our business to optimize our assets, lower the average age of our fleet, and prepare to fully leverage our niche leadership position as we exit the pandemic.”

Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Total revenue in the second quarter of 2020 decreased 22% to $351.7 million, compared to $450.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Excluding the impact of the Aveda business to both 2020 and 2019, second quarter revenue decreased by 13.5%. This year-over-year decrease in revenue was driven primarily by the economic impact of COVID-19, which led to lower freight volumes and lower freight rates in both the flatbed and specialized segments.

Operating income in the second quarter of 2020 was $12.4 million, compared to operating income of $4.7 million in the year-ago quarter. The increase in operating income year-over-year was driven by decreases in salaries, wages and employee benefits, fuel expense, maintenance expense, purchased freight and depreciation and amortization.

Net income for the second quarter of 2020 was $0.5 million, or ($0.01) per share attributable to common stockholders, compared to net loss of ($6.4) million, or ($0.12) per share attributable to common stockholders, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted Net Income was $8.0 million, which excludes, among other things, business transformation and restructuring costs of $5.7 million, compared to Adjusted Net Income of $3.4 million in the second quarter of 2019. Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2020 was $43.7 million compared to $46.0 million in the year-ago quarter. Excluding the impact of the Aveda business, second quarter Adjusted EBITDA increased 13.3% to $45.9 compared to $40.5 in the comparable period last year. The year-over-year decline in Adjusted EBITDA was driven primarily by the divestiture of the Aveda business and lower freight volumes due to COVID-19, partially offset by contributions from the Company’s operational improvement plans.

Segment Results

Specialized Solutions - Specialized Solutions revenue in the second quarter of 2020 decreased 21% to $221.5 million compared to $280.7 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating income in the second quarter of 2020 was $14.5 million compared to operating income of $11.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating ratio improved by 250 basis points to 93.5%, compared to 96.0% in the year-ago quarter. Net income in the second quarter was $8.7 million compared to net income of $6.1 million in the year ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2020 decreased 13% to $33.0 million compared to $37.8 million in the year-ago quarter, driven primarily by the divestiture of the Aveda business and lower freight volumes, which were partially offset by continued strength in wind energy markets. Rate per mile in the second quarter of 2020 of $3.16 was down 11% from the prior-year quarter, and revenue per tractor decreased 13% to $56,400. Excluding Aveda, Specialized rate per mile and revenue per tractor increased 5% and 1%, respectively, versus the prior year, despite the 6% decline in Specialized revenues excluding Aveda.

Flatbed Solutions - Flatbed Solutions revenue in the second quarter of 2020 decreased 22% to $137.2 million compared to $174.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating income in the second quarter of 2020 was $10.7 million compared to $6.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating ratio improved by 430 basis points to 92.2%, compared to 96.5% in the year-ago quarter. Net income in the second quarter of 2020 was $6.0 million, compared to net income of $2.3 million in the year ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2020 increased 3% to $20.4 million, compared to $19.9 million in the year-ago quarter, driven by operator integrations and business improvement plans executed over the trailing year, partially offset by lower freight volumes and weaker freight rates. Rate per mile in the second quarter of 2020 of $1.80 was down 7% from the prior-year quarter, and revenue per tractor decreased 5% to $40,100.

Balance Sheet and Free Cash Flow

At June 30, 2020, Daseke had cash and cash equivalents of $157.3 million and $82.6 million available under its revolving credit facility, for total available liquidity of $239.9 million. Total debt was $689.4 million and net debt was $532.1 million. This compares to cash and cash equivalents of $63.7 million and $85.2 million available on the revolving credit facility, total available liquidity of $148.9 million, total debt of $713.8 million, and net debt of $650.1 million at June 30, 2019. Our leverage ratio as defined by our credit agreement as of June 30, 2020 was 3.0x.

For the quarter, net cash provided by operating activities was $53.2 million, cash capital expenditures were $10.4 million, and cash proceeds from the sale of excess property and equipment were $30.6 million, resulting in Free Cash Flow of $73.4 million. Additionally, capital expenditures financed with debt, capital leases net of notes receivables was $20.1 million. This compares to net cash provided by operating activities of $18.5 million, cash capital expenditures of $8.2 million, and cash proceeds from the sale of excess property and equipment of $11.9 million, resulting in Free Cash Flow of $22.2 million in the second quarter of 2019. Capital expenditures financed with debt and capital leases net of notes receivable were $22.9 million in the second quarter of 2019.

Aveda Transportation and Energy Services Update

During the second quarter of 2020, management made material progress on its plan to strategically divest Aveda’s assets and operations. Total net proceeds through the end of the second quarter associated with the strategic divestiture totaled approximately $48 million from the sale of property and equipment, and a reduction in net working capital. Management believes that the divestiture process will be finalized before the completion of the third quarter of 2020.

Outlook

Easter concluded, “On a consolidated basis, our freight volumes incrementally improved week-to-week through both May and June, albeit off a low base, after troughing in April. Daseke serves a diverse customer base and various end markets within the industrial economy, and we anticipate that each end market will continue to display recovery curves specific to each individual market. We anticipate that we will see consolidated freight volumes incrementally improve over the coming months, in line with the overall economy’s pace of recovery. As we look to the future, we believe that our organization and culture has transformed significantly, and that we have the tools needed to be a high-performing operator in our industry.”

Conference Call

Daseke will hold a conference call today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time to discuss its second quarter 2020 results. Investors, analysts, and members of the media interested in listening to the live presentation are encouraged to join a webcast of the call with accompanying presentation slides, available on the Company’s website at https://www.daseke.com. Presentation materials will be posted at the time of the call at investor.daseke.com as well. Interested parties may also participate in the call by dialing (855) 242-9918 and entering the passcode 1427067. A replay of the conference call will be available a few hours after the event on the investor relations section of the Company’s website, under the events section.

About Daseke, Inc.

Daseke, Inc. is the largest flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics company in North America. Daseke offers comprehensive, best-in-class services to many of the world’s most respected industrial shippers through experienced people, a fleet of more than 5,000 tractors and 11,500 flatbed and specialized trailers. For more information, please visit www.daseke.com.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/08/06/2074166/0/en/Daseke-Reports-Results-for-Second-Quarter-of-2020.html

(Almost) Free Lottery Ticket (7/07/20)

https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/957061-chris-demuth-jr/5469496-almost-free-lottery-ticket

Daseke, Inc was acquired via the Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. II SPAC.

Each unit was offered at $10.00 and consisted of one share of common stock and one warrant.

Each warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one-half of one share common stock at a price of $5.75 per one-half of one share ($11.50 per whole share), subject to adjustment.The warrants will expire on 2/27/22, five years after the completion of the merger with Hennessy, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. The warrants are listed on the NASDAQ market under the symbol DSKEW.

The Company may call the Public Warrants for redemption at a price of $0.01 per warrant if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the Company’s common stock equals or exceeds $24.00 per share for any 20-trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date the Company sends the notice of redemption to the Public Warrant holders.

Daseke Provides Business Update (6/18/20)

Company expects to generate positive cash flows from operating activities, positive Free Cash Flow, and further strengthen liquidity position during fiscal second quarter

Freight volumes improved five of last six weeks since the April low point

ADDISON, Texas, (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daseke, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE) (“Daseke” or the “Company”), the largest flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics solutions company in North America, provided an update on its business, operations and strong liquidity position as of June 1, 2020.

Highlights:

Freight volumes have improved five of the last six weeks since troughing during the month of April

Company expects positive cash flows from operating activities and positive Free Cash Flow in the second quarter ending June 30, 2020

At June 1, 2020 the Company had more than $220 million of available liquidity, including approximately $80 million available under the revolving credit facility and cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents as of June 1, 2020 increased to over $140 million compared to $107.5 million at the end of the first quarter

Financial results continue to benefit from the previously launched integration, business improvement and comprehensive restructuring plans, which have strengthened the Company and continued to support positive operating profits and free cash flow generation

Daseke has made substantial progress on the strategic divestiture of its Aveda assets and expects to conclude the process by the end of the third quarter 2020

“As the leader in the North American flatbed and specialized transportation market, Daseke continues to move the industrial economy as many of the companies in the end markets we serve are essential service providers and critical components to the economy,” said Chris Easter, Chief Executive Officer of Daseke. “Our business model remains stable and resilient, supported by a highly diverse, blue-chip customer base and a substantial asset-light business, which brings a highly variable cost structure. Further, the proactive efforts we’ve taken over the last year to streamline our operations and improve our business flexibility have helped Daseke generate positive free cash flow and drive further operational and cost efficiencies, despite the headwinds to volumes related to the pandemic during the quarter.”

Easter continued, “Additionally, excluding the Memorial holiday week, we’ve seen sequential volume improvements for five straight weeks across the month of May and the beginning of June. We will remain agile and adaptive to changes in the environment, as we continue to deliver on our goals to improve operating income results and consistently grow our cash flows.”

Easter concluded, “Lastly, we’ve made substantial progress in the strategic divestiture of our Aveda assets, which focus primarily on the oil & gas end market. We expect to complete the process by the end of the third quarter, at which time our exposure to the oil & gas end market will fall from approximately 13% of revenue in 2019, to less than 2% moving forward. More importantly, we will have further streamlined our business from 16 operating companies at this time last year, to 9 following completion of the process. We have materially transformed our business and are well positioned to drive improved operating performance and long-term growth as the U.S. economy continues to build momentum and recover from the pandemic.”

About Daseke, Inc.

Daseke, Inc. is the largest flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics company in North America. Daseke offers comprehensive, best-in-class services to many of the world’s most respected industrial shippers through experienced people, a fleet of more than 5,000 tractors and 11,500 flatbed and specialized trailers. For more information, please visit www.daseke.com.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/06/18/2050078/0/en/Daseke-Provides-Business-Update.html

Time will tell. Picked up a handful of warrants.