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Mullen Group reported record third-quarter revenue of C$653.2 million for the three months ended September 30, up 16.3% from C$561.8 million a year earlier. It also reported net income of C$51.5 million, a 55.1% increase. The Okotoks, Alberta-based transportation and logistics company released the results on October 22. Its release attributes the revenue increase to internal growth, higher fuel-surcharge revenue and acquisitions; the figures do not represent freight volumes alone.
Fuel surcharges accounted for a significant part of the increase. Mullen said fuel-surcharge revenue rose C$37.7 million across the business, as higher diesel prices flowed through customer charges. The company said its Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) segment’s fuel surcharge revenue increased C$18.6 million, while Logistics & Warehousing (L&W) added C$16.4 million. In LTL, underlying business-unit revenue excluding fuel surcharges rose only C$1.9 million, while some units stopped pursuing lower-rate customers. This distinction matters: a surcharge can lift reported revenue without representing the same increase in underlying freight demand.
The four operating segments all reported higher revenue. LTL reached C$218.3 million, up 10.4%; L&W rose 13.5% to C$236.2 million; Specialized & Industrial Services (S&I) increased 24.7% to C$131.1 million; and U.S. & International Logistics grew 30.4% to C$70.3 million. Mullen said L&W benefited from mining-related freight demand, cross-border shipments and freight forwarding. S&I reported stronger demand for pipeline hauling, water-management services and drilling-related work, partly offset by lower civil-construction and some production-services demand. These are the company’s segment explanations, not a broad measure of Canadian mining, pipeline or drilling activity.
Mullen’s adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) was C$118.6 million, up 23% year over year, and its margin on consolidated revenue increased to 18.2% from 17.2%. The company defines adjusted OIBDA as a supplementary, non-IFRS measure; it excludes specified foreign-exchange effects and should not replace net income or be compared uncritically with similarly named measures at other carriers. Net cash from operating activities, by contrast, fell to C$78.2 million from C$102.7 million despite higher earnings, underscoring that quarterly profit and cash generation moved differently.
At quarter end, Mullen reported C$213.9 million in cash and C$381.3 million in working capital. It also disclosed a long-term lease for a 411,000-square-foot warehouse and cross-dock facility in Richmond, British Columbia, intended to create a logistics hub in the Port of Vancouver distribution corridor. That is a lease announcement, not evidence that the facility is already operating at full capacity. The company’s interim report says results are unaudited and notes that non-IFRS measures have no standardized meaning under IFRS.