Thomas L. Gallagher | Feb 10, 2010 12:40PM EST
Air freight and expedited less-than-truckload carrier Forward Air earned a profit of $6.4 million on revenue of $118 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31, the company reported.
The harsh conditions of the recession began turning around in the fourth quarter, ending a year in which net income fell to $9.9 million, compared with $42.5 million in 2008, as a result partly of impairment charges in the first quarter.
Operating revenue for the fourth quarter decreased 4.4 percent to $118 million. Income from operations was $12.3 million, compared with $14 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, a decrease of 12.1 percent.
Net income during the period decreased by $1.9 million, or 22.9 percent, to $6.4 million from $8.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.
"We are pleased with our fourth quarter results which provided an encouraging finish to a year of unprecedented challenges,” said Bruce A. Campbell, chairman, president and CEO. “This quarter’s performance validated the positive leverage and earnings power of our model as illustrated by our airport-to-airport segment generating $5.6 million of additional operating income on $14.9 million in additional operating revenue when compared to the third quarter of 2009. We were also pleased to see our Solutions segment return to being a solid earnings contributor despite the continuing struggles of the specialty retail sector.”
“Although we were encouraged by the trends that started at the end of the third quarter and which continued throughout the fourth quarter, we remain very cautious, yet optimistic, in our outlook for 2010. Our yield, while stabilized, continues to suffer from competitive pricing which we expect to continue until such time as capacity is taken out of the market or demand increases from an improved economy,” Campbell said.
Contact Thomas L. Gallagher at tgallagher@joc.com.