Forward Air Corporation Reports Second Quarter 2012 Results

GREENEVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) today reported revenue, operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2012.

Operating revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2012 increased 12.2% to $148.3 million from $132.2 million for the same quarter in 2011. Income from operations was $23.1 million, compared with $19.9 million in the prior-year quarter. As a percent of operating revenue, income from operations increased to 15.6% from 15.1% for the same quarter last year. Net income during the period increased to $14.2 million from $12.0 million in the prior-year quarter. Income per diluted share for the second quarter of 2012 was $0.48 compared with $0.40 in the prior-year quarter.

Operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2012 increased 13.1% to $285.4 million from $252.4 million for the same period in 2011. Income from operations was $39.9 million, compared with $33.2 million in the prior-year period. As a percent of operating revenue, income from operations increased to 14.0% for the first six months of 2012 from 13.1% for the same period in 2011. Net income during the period was $24.4 million compared to $19.8 million in the prior-year period. Income per diluted share from operations for the first six months of 2012 was $0.83 compared with $0.67 in the prior-year period.

Bruce A. Campbell, Chairman, President, and CEO, commenting on the second quarter said, “As anticipated, we delivered a solid second quarter operation performance. Additionally, we continued to have strong demand for our Forward Air, Inc. service offerings, which, in turn, drove double digit revenue growth and produced a 20% increase in our income per diluted share.”

Commenting further, Mr. Campbell said, “Our recent positive yield trends did moderate during the quarter as we passed the June anniversary of our 2011 general rate increase and experienced a reduction in the benefit derived from net fuel surcharges as a result of lower diesel prices. We will implement our 2012 general rate increase effective September 2, 2012. The anticipated net benefit on airport to airport revenue is estimated to be approximately 3% on a monthly basis.”

Turning to the Forward Air Solutions business segment, Mr. Campbell said, “Over the course of the second quarter Solutions continued to steadily improve posting essentially a break-even compared to an operating loss of nearly half a million dollars in the second quarter of 2011. Our Solutions team is intensely focused on being profitable for the remainder of the year.”

In closing, Mr. Campbell said, “As always, I would like to thank the Forward Air team of employees and independent contractors for their dedication and hard work. Without them, these results would not have been possible.”

Commenting on the Company's guidance for the third quarter, Rodney L. Bell, Senior Vice President and CFO said, “We anticipate that our third quarter 2012 revenues will increase in the range of 10% to 14% over the comparable 2011 period, and we expect income per diluted share to be between $0.47 and $0.51 per share. This compares to $0.44 per share in the third quarter of 2011.”

Review of Financial Results

Forward Air will hold a conference call to discuss second quarter 2012 results on Friday, July 20, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. EDT. The Company's conference call will be available online at www.forwardair.com or by dialing 800-230-1059. A replay of the conference call will be available at www.forwardair.com beginning shortly after the completion of the live call.

About Forward Air Corporation

Forward Air Corporation operates two business segments, Forward Air, Inc. and Forward Air Solutions, Inc.

Forward Air, Inc. is a high-service-level contractor to the air cargo industry providing time-definite ground transportation services through a network of terminals located on or near major airports in 85 cities in the United States and Canada. It provides these services as a cost-effective alternative to air transportation of cargo that must be delivered at a specific time but is relatively less time-sensitive than traditional air freight or when air transportation is not economical.

Forward Air Solutions, Inc. is a provider of pool distribution services. Pool distribution involves the consolidation and shipment of several smaller less-than-truckload shipments to a common area or region. Once at the regional destination, the loads are deconsolidated, then grouped with other shipments with common delivery points, and delivered in a very precise, time-sensitive manner. Our pool distribution network consists of terminals and service locations in 20 cities within the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest and Southwestern United States.

Important Information

This press release contains “forward-looking statements,” as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical information or statements of current condition and relate to future events or our future financial performance. Some forward-looking statements may be identified by use of such terms as “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “projects” or “expects.” Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The following is a list of factors, among others, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements: economic factors such as recessions, inflation, higher interest rates and downturns in customer business cycles, our inability to maintain our historical growth rate because of a decreased volume of freight moving through our network or decreased average revenue per pound of freight moving through our network, increasing competition and pricing pressure, surplus inventories, loss of a major customer, the creditworthiness of our customers and their ability to pay for services rendered, our ability to secure terminal facilities in desirable locations at reasonable rates, the inability of our information systems to handle an increased volume of freight moving through our network, changes in fuel prices, claims for property damage, personal injuries or workers' compensation, employment matters including rising health care costs, enforcement of and changes in governmental regulations, environmental and tax matters, the handling of hazardous materials, the availability and compensation of qualified independent owner-operators and freight handlers needed to serve our transportation needs and our inability to successfully integrate acquisitions. As a result of the foregoing, no assurance can be given as to future financial condition, cash flows or results of operations. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Forward Air Corporation
Rodney L. Bell, 423-636-7000
rbell@forwardair.com

Source: Forward Air Corporation

Released July 19, 2012