Forward Air reports Q1 EPS (64c), consensus (11c)

Reports Q1 revenue $541.8M, consensus $604.0M. CFO Rebecca Garbrick says: “Our first quarter results did not meet our expectations. We continue to face challenging market conditions, characterized by weak freight demand, excess carrier capacity, and pressure on pricing. Omni’s first quarter results were more adversely impacted as a result of its exposure to the international freight market. While these conditions led to decreased customer demand for our intermodal, truckload brokerage and Omni lines of business, we saw momentum in our less-than-truckload line of business where we experienced positive volume trends and improved freight quality metrics. In the first quarter, our shipments per day growth was +1.4%, weight per shipment was +7.4%, and revenue per shipment excluding fuel was +0.7% over the same period in the prior year. Unfortunately, this momentum did not offset softer demand for our intermodal and truckload brokerage services, resulting in an 8% decline in revenues and 41% decline in adjusted EBITDA on a continuing operations basis over the same period in the prior year, excluding the results of Omni. From the acquisition date, January 25, 2024, through the end of the quarter, Omni contributed $225 million in revenues and $(5.9) million in adjusted EBITDA. Our first quarter results are not indicative of what we expect for 2024, and we are taking aggressive steps to improve profitability. One early positive indicator is the sequential growth in revenue as reflected in our preliminary April results. From the month of March 2024 to April 2024, we saw sequential revenue growth of 6% as compared to a sequential decline in revenue from March to April of (15%) over the same period in the prior year. We are also successfully executing on the cost synergies associated with the Omni transaction, which are in line with initial diligence estimates. While our first quarter EBITDA was not reflective of run-rate synergies, we expect to see a steady increase in subsequent quarters until synergies are fully realized by the end of 2025.”