[Stay on top of transportation news: .]
Forward Air Reports Q2 Set Highest Quarterly Revenue Mark
Forward Air Corp. reported July 29 its second quarter set records for revenue and operating income.
The Greeneville, Tenn.-based ground transportation and logistics services company posted net income of $30.7 million, or $1.11 a diluted share, for the three months ending June 30. That compared with $9.2 million, or 33 cents, during the same time the previous year. The total operating revenue increased by 49.3% to $420.7 million from $281.7 million.
Operating income increased 118.4% to $64.8 million from $29.7 million during the prior year quarter.
“Business momentum continued during the quarter, culminating in the highest net income for the month of June,” Forward Air CEO Tom Schmitt said in a statement. “Our focus on our two rock star segments, expedited freight and intermodal, as well as solid revenue management, drove our second-quarter revenue, which exceeded the high end of our guidance range.”
The results surpassed expectations by investment analysts on Wall Street, which had been looking for 93 cents per share and quarterly revenue of $390.9 million, according to Zacks Consensus Estimate.
“I am very encouraged that in our second quarter we are better than in pre-pandemic 2019’s second quarter,” Schmitt said. “Better consolidated operating margins now. And bigger — our operating revenues are up almost 40% year-over-year. Additionally, we are working to bring back our customers’ events business in late 2021 and 2022.”
Schmitt expects volumes in the third quarter to significantly exceed volumes for the same period of 2020. He predicts record third-quarter revenue and net income per diluted share despite the impact of an investment in operational enhancements and the typical slowdown in volumes in the quarter.
“In the second quarter, we achieved the highest revenue and operating income for a quarter in the history of the company,” Schmitt said. “I would like to thank all of our teammates for their hard work in helping to achieve this important milestone.”
The expedited freight segment saw Q2 operating revenue increase 49.3% to $351.7 million from $235.7 million during the same time last year. Income from operations increased 195.1% to $34.7 million from $11.8 million last year. The segment includes network, truckload and final-mile operations.
Network operations saw revenue increase 56.6% during the quarter to $210.1 million from $134.2 million during the same time last year. Truckload operations revenue increased 36.1% to $57 million from $41.9 million during the prior year quarter. Final-mile operations increased 30.8% to $69.9 million from $53.4 million.
The intermodal segment reported that operating revenue increased 48.9% during the quarter to $69.1 million from $46.4 during the same time last year. Income from operations for the segment increased 90% to $8.39 million from $4.41 million.
Forward Air ranks No. 33 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 1 on the Air/Expedited sector list.
