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MARTEN TRANSPORT ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER RESULTS Net income improves 31.3 % to kick off 2021 MONDOVI , Wis . , April 15 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- Marten Transport , Ltd. ( Nasdaq / GS : MRTN ) today reported a 31.3 % improvement in net income to $ 18.0 million , or 22 cents per diluted share , for the first quarter ended March 31 , 2021 , from $ 13.7 million , or 17 cents per diluted share , for the first quarter of 2020 . Operating Results Comparison Percentage Increase Three Months Ended March 31 , 2021 vs. 2020 Percentage Increase Percentage Increase Year Year Ended Ended December 31 , December 31 , 2020 vs. 2019 2019 vs. 2018 Operating revenue 2.0 % 3.7 % 7.1 % Operating revenue , net of fuel surcharges 2.5 % 6.8 % 8.6 % Operating income 33.1 % 21.9 % 8.7 % Net income 31.3 % 13.8 % 11.0 % Operating revenue improved 2.0 % to $ 223.0 million for the first quarter of 2021 from $ 218.6 million for the first quarter of 2020. Excluding fuel surcharges , operating revenue improved 2.5 % to $ 198.2 million for the 2021 quarter from $ 193.4 million for the 2020 quarter . Fuel surcharge revenue decreased slightly to $ 24.9 million for the 2021 quarter from $ 25.2 million for the 2020 quarter . Operating income improved 33.1 % to $ 24.0 million for the first quarter of 2021 from $ 18.0 million for the first quarter of 2020 . Operating expenses as a percentage of operating revenue improved to 89.2 % for the first quarter of 2021 from 91.8 % for the first quarter of 2020. Operating expenses as a percentage of operating revenue , with both amounts net of fuel surcharges , improved to 87.9 % from 90.7 % . Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Randolph L. Marten said , “ Our talented and determined people followed up the impact of the severe winter weather in February with an extremely strong finish to our first quarter , earning 10 cents per diluted share in the month of March . The 33.1 % operating income improvement in our 2021 first quarter continues the consistent solid growth we achieved in 2020 of 21.9 % and in 2019 of 8.7 % , demonstrating our earnings leverage across some challenging operating environments . ” " We have been increasing and will continue to increase the compensation from our customers for our premium services within the tightening freight market , which is the result of both accelerating demand and constraining capacity driven by the intensifying national driver shortage . We expect to continue to build on our momentum in expanding the capacity we provide within our unique multifaceted business model across our diverse customer base with our continued improvements to our aggressive levels of driver compensation and benefits , safety and technology . "