TORONTO, Ont. — Vitran Corporation Inc has announced record results for the third quarter.

During the period, the Toronto-headquartered trucking services and logistics provider, achieved a 15 percent year-over-year rise in net income to $4.2 million, or 0.41 per diluted share ($0.44 per basic share) on revenues of $117.1 million. In the comparable 2002 three-month period, Vitran reported net income of $3.6 million, or $0.37 per diluted share ($0.38 per basic share) on revenues of $123.0 million (all figures reported in Canadian dollars).

The record results came despite the setbacks created by the rising value of the Canadian dollar. During the third quarter, the Canadian dollar exhibited further strength against the U.S. dollar. As a result, the year-over-year exchange rate change reduced Vitran’s reported revenue by $10.6 million, or 9 percent, and income from operations by $1.2 million, or 34 percent, in the current quarterly period. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange on the Company’s reported results, earnings per share would have been $0.48 diluted ($0.52 per basic share) during the quarter.

For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2003, Vitran’s net income grew 35 percent to $10.1 million, or $1.00 per diluted share ($1.05 per basic share) on revenues of $349.0 million. In the first nine months of 2002, the company recorded net income of $7.4 million, or $0.77 per basic and diluted shares on $358.8 million in revenues. Income from operations for Vitran’s core LTL (less-than-truckload) segment rose 7 percent on a consolidated basis during the 2003 third quarter to $6.3 million, paced by 8 percent and 2 percent revenue growth in the Canadian and U.S. divisions, respectively. The consolidated LTL operating ratio (OR) improved to 93.4 during the period, compared to 94.1 in the 2002 third quarter.

All other key metrics throughout the LTL segment also showed year-over-year improvement during the 2003 third quarter. The Vitran Logistics and Truckload segments also achieved operating profitability during the third quarter of 2003. The Company’s Truckload segment recorded income from operations of $0.3 million on $11.5 million in revenue. Vitran Logistics had operating income of $0.5 million on revenues of $10.2 million during the three-month period. The Logistics division reduced its OR to 95.3 from 96.5, while the Truckload division’s OR was 97.5, compared to 96.8 in the 2002 third quarter.