Radiant Logistics beat quarterly expectations Monday, but the bulk of the outperformance came from hurricane-related restocking opportunities. The company noted a still difficult operating environment but sounded more constructive on a recovery in the coming quarters.

“More broadly, it’s pretty tough out there for us and our competitors,” CEO Bohn Crain said on a conference call.

He said the market has been bouncing along the bottom for several quarters now and that shippers remain aggressive with price expectations. However, looking out on the horizon, Crain sees “significantly more upside than downside.”

The Renton, Washington-based 3PL reported adjusted earnings per share of 22 cents for the fiscal second quarter ended Dec. 31. The result was 12 cents higher than a consensus of two estimates averaging 10 cents and 11 cents higher year over year.

Consolidated revenue increased 32% y/y to $265 million in large part due to Hurricane Milton relief-related restocking. Revenue net of purchased transportation expenses increased 2% y/y.  

“We continue to take great pride in our work to support humanitarian and relief related projects around the globe,” Crain stated in a news release. “Our results this quarter reflect our support of a number of such projects, including chartering 49 flights to bring approximately 8 million units of IV fluid to the U.S. as a result of the national shortages resulting from Hurricane Milton.”

Radiant (NYSE: RLGT) reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $12 million, 56% higher y/y. Adjusted EBITDA was approximately flat without the project freight.

The company’s outlook calls for its fiscal third quarter ending March 31 to be soft but in line with the year-ago period. Radiant expects to see market improvement by the end of the calendar year.

Crain said changing trade policy has generally been a headwind but there was a modest demand pull forward in the quarter. A more complex tariff landscape will benefit the company’s customs brokerage offering.

“At the end of the day, I think when tariffs get put into place there will be some short-term disruptions as people try to respond and kind of reconfigure or adjust,” Crain said. He expects there to be some winners and losers across its customer portfolio.

In sum, he said the U.S doesn’t have the manufacturing capacity to keep up with consumption, and while production may be moved out of China, most goods will still come from abroad, meaning there is unlikely to be a material reduction in shipments.

Radiant ended the quarter with approximately $20 million in cash, little debt and no outstanding balance on a $200 million credit facility.

Shares of RLGT were up 8.5% in after-hours trading on Monday.

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