RYDER SYSTEM MAINTAINS EARNINGS THROUGH REORGANIZATION

RYDER SYSTEM MAINTAINS EARNINGS THROUGH REORGANIZATION

   Ryder System Inc. posted solid first-quarter net income, despite a company-wide reorganization, which organized Ryder's formerly separate businesses into a single organization.

   First-quarter net income was $19.8 million. That marked a 10.4-percent decline from the first quarter 1999 net income of $22.1 million, which included $11.2 million in net earnings from discontinued operations. Excluding those discontinued operations, Ryder Systems' first-quarter net income increased 81.7 percent.

   Revenue from operations increased 14 percent to $1.31 billion, up from $1.15 billion in the comparable period of 1999.

   Corliss J. Nelson, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, said that “we now look at our business differently. Ryder will now report results for three business segments: logistics solutions, dedicated contract carriage, and leasing and rental.”

   Ryder’s logistics solutions segment reported gross revenue of $387.4 million, up 17.1 percent from 1999’s first quarter, and operating revenue of $291 million, up 25 percent.

      The dedicated contract carriage segment reported gross revenue of $133 million and operating revenue of $132 million, up 8.1 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively, from the first quarter of 1999.

      The leasing and rental segment reported dry revenue (excluding fuel) of $694 million, up 6.5 percent from the year-earlier period. Fuel revenue rose 51.1 percent over the first quarter of 1999.