YELLOW CORP. MEETS ALALYSTS ESTIMATES DESPITE 75% EARNINGS FALL

YELLOW CORP. MEETS ALALYSTS ESTIMATES DESPITE 75% EARNINGS FALL

   Yellow Corp., the holding company for Yellow Freight System and other transportation units, reported fourth-quarter net income before unusual items of $4.4 million, down 75.1 percent from the year-earlier period.

   Despite the earnings free fall, Yellow's per-share quarterly earnings of 18 cents bettered analysts expectations of 16 cents per share.

   Operating revenue for the quarter was $785 million, down 11.1 percent from 2000. Consolidated operating income, before unusual items, was $22.7 million, compared with $61.8 million in the year-earlier period.

   2001 results included unusual charges of $4.8 million, associated with the reorganization of Yellow Freight System and Transportation.com. The year-earlier period included $3.2 million of unusual items, primarily for the integration of the regional western subsidiaries into Saia, an overnight and second-day trucking service.

   'We knew going into the fourth quarter that the economy would continue to have an adverse effect on business levels,' said Bill Zollars, Yellow Corp.'s chairman, president and chief executive officer. 'In response, we accelerated our cost and yield management efforts, resulting in solid profitability.'

   Yellow also made three significant changes entering into the first quarter of 2002:

   * Renamed Yellow Freight System, its largest subsidiary, as Yellow Transportation.

   Yellow Transportation reported fourth-quarter operating income of $12.4 million, down from $37.6 million in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue fell 13.6 percent to $592. Total tonnage was down 11.7 percent, with less-than-truckload tonnage down 11.8 percent. Operating income rose 3.4 points to 97.9 percent.

   * Consolidated all its non-asset-based services under Meridian IQ, which will provide international and domestic forwarding services, multi-modal brokerage services and transportation solutions management developed at Transportation.com and Yellow Transportation.

   During the fourth quarter, the reorganized Transportation.com saw operating loss of $4.9 million, including unusual items. Revenue was $8.8 million.

'    * Created SCS Transportation as a holding company for regional carriers Saia and Jevic, part of Yellow's strategy to separate the regional companies from Yellow Corp.

   Saia's fourth-quarter operating income was $4.8 million, up from $1.0 million, on revenue of $118 million, down from $120 million in the year-earlier quarter. Operating ratio improved to 95.9 percent, from 99.2.

   Jevic saw operating income of $1.1 million, down from $4.5 million in 2001. Revenue was $67 million, down from $67 million. Operating ratio rose 4.2 points to 98.4 percent

   For the year, Yellow Corp. reported net income of $15.3 million, including unusual items, compared with $69.3 million for 2000. Operating income was $57.4 million, compared to $152. million in 2002, while revenue was $3.3 billion, down 8.7 percent.