LAFAYETTE, IN. —  The future of the trailer business, as seen through the lens of Wabash National, is bright, according to the company’s Q1 report.   

Not only is Wabash gaining ground on several fronts, the company has grown considerably since this time last year, having acquired trailer manufacturer Walker in 2012 and certain assets of Beall, the tanker builder, earlier this year.

In releasing its first quarterly results, the manufacturer reports new trailer shipments were down but the President and CEO Dick Giromini expects things to get busier, soon.

The Company reported net income of $5.7 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2013 on net sales of $324 million.

The Company’s first quarter results include the impact of one-time costs related to the acquisition of Walker and of certain bankruptcy assets of Beall Corporation (“Beall”) acquired on February 4, 2013, totaling $0.6 million, or $0.01 per diluted share. Excluding the impact of these items, non-GAAP adjusted earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 were $6.1 million, or $0.09 per diluted share. The Company reported net income of $5.1 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, on net sales of $278 million during the same period last year.

“New trailer shipments for the first quarter were approximately 8,600, consistent with our previous guidance of 8,000 to 9,000 trailers,” Giromini reported to shareholders. 

“We anticipate a significant increase in customer pickups during the second quarter with trailer shipments expected to be between 11,000 to 12,000 trailers. We continue to expect the full year trailer shipments to be between 45,000 and 48,000 units.

“Our backlog increased during the quarter and remains at a healthy level of approximately $674 million as of March 31, 2013. Longer-term, we believe the demand environment for trailers will remain strong as key drivers support continued demand for new trailers such as fleet age, customer profitability, used trailer values, regulatory compliance and access to financing all support continued demand for new trailers. On the backdrop of these industry tailwinds, we remain focused on delivering the most innovative and highest quality products with the best value to our customers across all of our business segments.”