Patriot Transportation Holding, Inc.

PATRIOT TRANSPORTATION HOLDING, INC. ANNOUNCES RESULTS FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER AND FISCAL YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2004.

Jacksonville, Florida; December 1, 2004 – Patriot Transportation Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ-PATR) reported net income of $1,493,000 or $.50 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2004, compared to $1,669,000 or $.56 per diluted share for the same quarter last year. Fiscal 2003 fourth quarter included $739,000 of income from discontinued operations. Income from continuing operations was $1,704,000, an 83.2% increase over the same quarter last year.

Net income for fiscal year 2004 was $20,740,000 or $6.97 per diluted share, and increase of $16,165,000 over fiscal year 2003. Income from continuing operations for fiscal 2004 increased 71.6% to $6,096,000.

Fourth Quarter Operating Results. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004, consolidated revenues were $30,049,000, an increase of $3,095,000 or 11.5% over the same quarter last year.

The transportation segment’s revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004 were $25,787,000, an increase of $2,848,000 or 12.4% over the same quarter last year. Approximately $656,000 of this increase was a result of a 3.2% increase in miles hauled in the fourth quarter of 2004 over the same quarter last year. Increased fuel surcharges accounted for $909,000 of the increase over the same quarter last year. The remaining difference of $1,283,000 was due to an 8.9% increase in average revenue per mile, reflecting higher freight rates.

Real estate revenues were $4,262,000 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004, an increase of $247,000 or 6.2% from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2003. Lease revenues from flex office-warehouse properties increased $390,000 or 16.2%, primarily due to a 17.3% increase in average leased square feet. Royalties from mining contracts decreased $143,000 or 8.9% primarily resulting from a reduction in tons sold and a decrease in average royalty rates compared to the same quarter last year.

Consolidated gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2004 was $6,262,000, an increase of $1,691,000 or 37.0% from the fourth quarter of last year. Gross profit in the transportation segment increased $1,459,000 or 68.1%, primarily due to the increases in volume and pricing and steady level of fixed costs compared to the same quarter last year. Gross profit in the real estate segment increased $232,000 or 9.6% from the fourth quarter of 2003, primarily due to increased lease revenue from higher average leased square footage.

Income from continuing operations was $1,704,000 or $.57 per diluted share from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004, an 83.2% increase over the fourth quarter of last year.

Net income was $1,493,000 or $.50 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004 compared to $1,669,000 or $.56 per diluted share for the same quarter last year. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2004 included a charge of $211,000 included in discontinued operations related to tax expense on prior quarter property sales. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2003 included $739,000 of income from discontinued operations.

Fiscal 2004 Operating Results. Consolidated revenues for fiscal 2004 were $115,789,000, an increase of 13.0% from $102,440,000 the previous year.

The Transportation segment’s revenues for fiscal year 2004 were $99,424,000, an increase of $11,428,000 or 13.0% over last year. Transportation revenues increased $6,937,000 over last year due to an 8.8% increase in miles, reflecting increased customer demand for transportation services. The increased demand also allowed better pricing for our services and as a result, average revenue per mile, excluding fuel surcharges, increased 2.5%. Fuel surcharge revenue increased $1,670,000 over the previous year as a result of the average price per gallon of diesel fuel increasing $0.17.

Real Estate revenues were $16,365,000, an increase of $1,921,000 or 13.3% in 2004. Lease revenues from developed properties increased $1,739,000 or 19.8% due to the completion of a fully leased 200,200 square foot office/warehouse at the Hillside Business Park in late fiscal 2003 and the purchase of two 50% leased office/warehouses at Interchange Boulevard in Newark, Delaware, in March of 2004. Royalties from mining operations increased 4.5% during 2004.

Consolidated gross profit for fiscal 2004 increased 28.7% to $22,482,000 from $17,469,000 for the previous year. Transportation gross profit was $13,212,000, an increase of $4,172,000 or 46.2%, in 2004 compared to 2003. The increase in gross profit was primarily due to the increase in miles and prices and a steady level of fixed expenses. Real Estate gross profit increased $841,000 primarily due to the increase in rental revenues from the higher average leased square feet.

Selling, general and administrative expenses for 2004 increased $899,000 to $9,052,000, primarily due to the accrual of management incentive compensation, which is based on the Company achieving certain profitability targets. Selling, general and administration expense as a percent of consolidated revenues was 7.8% compared to 8.0% last year.

Income from continuing operations was $6,096,000 or $2.05 per diluted share in fiscal 2004, an increase of 71.6% compared to $3,552,000 or $1.16 per diluted share for last year.

Income from discontinued operations includes the results of operations and the gain from sales of a mining property in fiscal 2003 and two rental properties and a mining property in fiscal 2004. The after-tax net income from the operations of the sold properties was $188,000 in 2004 and $366,000 in 2003. The after-tax gain from the sale of the properties was $14,456,000 in 2004 and $657,000 in 2003.

Net income increased to $20,740,000 in fiscal 2004 from $4,575,000 in 2003. Diluted earnings per share increased to $6.97 in fiscal 2004 from $1.49 in 2003. Diluted total shares outstanding decreased 2.9% from 3,066,000 in 2003 to 2,976,000 in 2004 primarily as a result of the repurchase and cancellation of 77,533 shares during the year.

Summary and Outlook. The Company’s real estate and transportation businesses are experiencing an improved business climate as the result of a st ronger regional and national economy. While low interest rates continue to enhance overall business conditions, the Company’s real estate development operations are receiving encouraging levels of inquiry from prospective tenants for the Company’s flexible office/warehouse product.

Demand for hauling services remains firm for the Company’s transportation business. Improved pricing is occurring for the Company’s flatbed and tank truck operations. Operating pressures from volatile diesel fuel costs, tight driver availability, and burdensome health and liability insurance costs will continue to challenge the trucking industry. These expense pressures in the face of improving freight demand should lead to continued price increases for hauling services.

Investors are cautioned that any statements in this press release which relate to the future are, by their nature, subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements. These include general business conditions; competitive factors; political, economic, regulatory and climatic conditions; driver availability and cost; regulations regarding driver qualifications and hours of service; freight demand for petroleum products and for building and construction materials in the Company's markets; risk insurance markets; demand for flexible warehouse/office facilities; interest rates; levels of mining activity; pricing; energy costs and technological changes. Additional information regarding these and other risk factors and uncertainties may be found in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Patriot Transportation Holding, Inc. is engaged in the transportation and real estate businesses. The Company’s transportation business is conducted through two wholly owned subsidiaries. Florida Rock & Tank Lines, Inc. is a Southeastern transportation company concentrating in the hauling by motor carrier of liquid and dry bulk commodities. SunBelt Transport, Inc. serves the flatbed portion of the trucking industry in the Southeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic States, hauling primarily construction materials. The Company’s real estate group, comprised of FRP Development Corp, and Florida Rock Properties, Inc., acquires, constructs, leases, operates and manages land and buildings to generate both current cash flows and long-term capital appreciation. The real estate group also owns real estate which is leased under mining royalty agreements or held for investment.

	Three Months		Twelve Months
	Ended		Ended
	September 30,		September 30,
	2004	2003	2004	2003

Revenues	$ 30,049	26,954	115,789	102,440
Gross profit	$ 6,262	4,571	22,482	17,469
Income before income taxes	$ 2,895	1,525	9,975	5,824
Income from continuing operations	$ 1,704	930	6,096	3,552
Income from discontinued operations	$ (211)	739	14,644	1,023
Net income	$ 1,493	1,669	20,740	4,575
Earnings per common share:
Income from continuing operations
Basic	$0.58	0.32	2.08	1.17
Diluted	$0.57	0.31	2.05	1.16
Income from discontinued operations
Basic	($0.07)	0.25	5.00	0.34
Diluted	($0.07)	0.25	4.92	0.33
Net income
Basic	$0.51	0.57	7.08	1.51
Diluted	$0.50	0.56	6.97	1.49
Shares used in computing earnings per share:
Basic	2,929	2,933	2,931	3,033
Diluted	2,973	2,985	2,976	3,066

PATRIOT TRANSPORTATION HOLDING, INC.
Condensed Balance Sheets (Unaudited)
(Amounts in thousands)
	September 30	September 30
	2004	2003

Cash and cash equivalents	$ 199	$ 757
Cash held in escrow (a)	16,553	1,795
Accounts receivable, net	9,123	7,332
Other current assets	4,191	4,081
Property, plant and equipment, net	149,011	139,379
Other non-current assets	6,317	11,872
Total Assets	$ 185,394	$ 165,216

Current liabilities	23,099	$11,220
Long-term debt (excluding current maturities)	41,185	57,816
Deferred income taxes	15,767	10,760
Other non-current liabilities	7,256	7,391
Shareholders’ equity	98,087	78,029
Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity