Trimble's Transportation Segment Reports 9% Revenue Increase

Trimble Navigation Ltd. on Wednesday reported second-quarter revenue of $945 million, a 29% increase compared to the same period last year.

The company posted quarterly earnings of 72 cents per share on a net income of $138.9 million. Trimble topped analysts' estimates for the second quarter, which predicted earnings of 60 cents per share and revenue of $866 million. 

"We achieved record levels of revenue in many of our businesses with an exceptionally strong performance in machine control and civil construction, guidance, and agriculture, and survey and mapping," Robert Painter, Trimble's CEO, said Wednesday during an earnings call after the close of the market.

Sunnyvale, California-based Trimble TRMB is a software and services technology company for industries such as agriculture, building, and construction, geospatial, and transportation.

Trimble is a provider of technology solutions for trucking companies, freight brokerages, and third-party logistics providers.

Trimble's transportation segment revenue increased 9% year-over-year to $163.3 million during the second quarter. It was the transportation's first year-over-year quarterly growth for the transportation segment since the fourth quarter of 2019.

"In transportation, market strength has shifted back to carriers and this, in addition to improved execution, is translating into solid bookings growth," Painter said. "Our recurring bookings were up significantly year-over-year."

North America was Trimble's largest market by revenue during the second quarter, with $493 million, 23% compared with the previous year. Europe was the second-largest market at $292 million, a 41% increase compared to the same period in 2020.

The Asia-Pacific region topped $108 million, with a year-over-year increase in revenue at 19%. 

Painter said the company was upgrading its outlook for the full year.

"The overall landscape is generally robust. Our results demonstrate the quality of our strategy and our business model. On the basis of this strength, we are raising our guidance for the year," Painter said.

Trimble now expects full-year earnings in the range of $2.45 to $2.65 per share, with revenue in the range of $3.55 billion to $3.65 billion.

During the earnings call, Painter announced the creation of Trimble Ventures, a venture fund focused on investing in early- and growth-stage innovative companies.

Trimble has allocated $200 million to invest in companies with the potential for technology-enabled innovation and disruption in industries such as agriculture, construction, geospatial, and transportation. 

"The thesis behind Trimble Ventures is twofold: It's to accelerate platform investments as well as the technology ecosystem," Painter said. "From a technology ecosystem standpoint, think about emerging technologies that could relate to things like augmented reality, or it could be in blockchain, it could be in the Internet of Things, or the economy. That plays across all of Trimble potentially."

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