Forward Air Corporation Reports Third Quarter 2012 Results

Forward Air Corporation Reports Third Quarter 2012 Results

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

Operating revenue for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 increased 5.7% to $143.5 million from $135.7 million for the same quarter in 2011. Income from operations was $19.6 million, compared with $20.3 million in the prior-year quarter. As a percent of operating revenue, income from operations was 13.7%, compared with 15.0% in the same quarter last year. Net income during the period decreased to $12.3 million from $12.9 million in the prior-year quarter. Income per diluted share for the third quarter of 2012 was $0.41 compared with $0.44 in the prior-year quarter.

Operating revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 increased 10.5% to $428.9 million from $388.1 million for the same period in 2011. Income from operations was $59.5 million, compared with $53.5 million in the prior-year period. As a percent of operating revenue, income from operations increased to 13.9% for the first nine months of 2012 from 13.8% for the same period in 2011. Net income during the period was $36.7 million compared to $32.8 million in the prior-year period. Income per diluted share from operations for the first nine months of 2012 was $1.24 compared with $1.11 in the prior-year period.

Bruce A. Campbell, Chairman, President, and CEO, commenting on the third quarter said, "On September 24^th, we disclosed that, in large part due to macroeconomic issues, our airport-to-airport volumes had fallen off to the point that we needed to revise our guidance for the third quarter. Since that announcement, we have continued to experience choppiness in our daily tonnage numbers but there were some signs of firming last week. With limited visibility and realizing that one week certainly doesn't make a trend, we remain cautiously optimistic that volumes will continue to improve."

Commenting further, Mr. Campbell said, "Our operations group will continue to monitor our volumes and freight flows and will dynamically adjust to fluctuations in network volumes to effectively control our costs."

Turning to the Forward Air Solutions business segment, Mr. Campbell said, "We were extremely pleased to see that our pooled distribution segment performed according to plan and produced a modest profit for the quarter. As you know, the fourth quarter is traditionally our strongest period for this operating group. With decent year-over-year same store volumes as well as recent new business wins, we expect Solutions to make a meaningful contribution to our fourth quarter."

Commenting on the Company's guidance for the fourth quarter, Rodney L. Bell, Senior Vice President and CFO said, "We anticipate that our fourth quarter 2012 revenues will increase in the range of 5% to 8% over the comparable 2011 period, and we expect income per diluted share to be between $0.48 and $0.52 per share. This compares to $0.50 per share in the fourth quarter of 2011."

Review of Financial Results

Forward Air will hold a conference call to discuss third quarter 2012 results on Friday, October 19, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. EDT. The Company's conference call will be available online at www.forwardair.com or by dialing 800-230-1092. 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.