MONTREAL, Que. — TransForce turned in a solid third quarter, reporting adjusted profit (excluding the after-tax effect of changes in the fair value of derivatives, net foreign exchange gain or loss, and of items that are not in the company’s normal business) of $33.3 million, up 49% year-over-year.

“TransForce generated solid third quarter results despite persistent uncertainty about the North American economy,” said Alain Bedard, chairman, president and CEO of TransForce. “While revenue growth was driven by strategic acquisitions, TransForce delivered a strong 34% increase in the key EBIT metric due to greater operating efficiencies and improved asset utilization, a performance that speaks highly about the quality of our people. In Package and Courier, Dynamex is improving its profitability, but Loomis Express, which accounted for more than 10% of revenue, recorded a loss and we are proactively implementing cost reduction initiatives. Operating profitability of Less-Than-Truckload operations has improved despite currency headwinds and we are committed to continue optimizing asset utilization. Truckload activities further progressed and we remain focused on capacity optimization and a disciplined market approach.”

Total revenue for the quarter increased 49% to $743 million compared to Q3 2010, thanks largely to acquisitions. Year-over-year gains from TransForce’s existing operations reached $38.4 million, a gain of 8%.

For the nine-month period concluding Sept. 30, total revenue reached $2 billion, up from $1.5 billion for the same nine-month period in 2009. Adjusted profit surged 35% over the nine-month period.

“As TransForce continues to evolve towards an asset-light business model, capital will be increasingly deployed in initiatives that add to our know-how and provide our operating companies with the best resources in terms of people and leading-edge technology. In so doing, we will remain proactive in distinguishing ourselves by delivering innovative, value-added solutions to our growing North American customer base and by generating a superior return on assets. TransForce will also maintain its active, yet highly disciplined and selective acquisition strategy, all the while ensuring that shareholder value creation is anchored as the guiding principle in our assessment of investment opportunities,” said Bedard.