In Brief : Ryder Plans Stock Repurchase

Ryder System Inc. said today it plans to repurchase up to 15% of its common stock on the open market and is exploring the sale of its Insurance Management Services Division and other divisions.

The company said its board has authorized the repurchase of up to about 12 million common shares, worth $340 million at the current market price, over two years.

Ryder shares rose $1.25 to $28.25 in active trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

It also said it is holding talks with an “offshore company” that it did not identify, on the sale of its freight forwarding and customers brokerage unit, Ryder International Freight and Customs Services Inc. In addition, it has retained advisers to arrange the sale of its U.S. Packing and Shipping Co. freight assembly and distribution unit and Ryder Freight System, a full-truckload common carrier.

Analysts said Ryder was selling under-performing units as a response to the past year’s disappointing earnings after steady profit growth in its basic truck-leasing business over the past decade. In the third quarter, its earnings edged up to $55.3 million from $52.7 million in the prior quarter. Revenues climbed to $1.27 billion from $1.16 billion.

The sales of the various units will raise more than $100 million, Ryder Chairman M. Anthony Burns said in a telephone interview. The sales are not expected to result in any earnings reductions from selling the under-performing units at below book value, he said.