Forward Air profit rises but outlook muted

Forward Air, which consolidates small shipments and separates them at the receiving end, said its core business of shipping goods between airports slowed in the third quarter but its truckload brokerage and door-to-door delivery services performed well.

The Associated Press

10/21/2008

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Forward Air Corp. said Monday that its third-quarter profit rose 12 percent but the company gave a fourth-quarter profit outlook that fell short of Wall Street expectations.

The company, which consolidates small shipments and separates them at the receiving end, said its core business of shipping goods between airports slowed in the third quarter but its truckload brokerage and door-to-door delivery services performed well.

Forward Air reported net income of $12.1 million, or 42 cents per share, matching the forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. A year earlier, the company earned $10.8 million, or 36 cents per share.

Revenue rose 24 percent to $121.5 million from $97.7 million.

For the fourth quarter, Chief Financial Officer Rodney Bell said earnings would be 40 to 44 cents per share. Analysts were expecting 48 cents per share.

Bell said the company expects fourth-quarter sales to be 14 to 19 percent higher than a year earlier.

Last month, Forward Air completed the acquisition of Service Express of Spartanburg, S.C., which gave it five more terminals and expanded its presence in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions.