Forward Air Corporation Reports First Quarter 2021 Results

Reports record first quarter revenue

Guides for record second quarter net income per diluted share

Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) (the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2021 as presented in the tables below on a continuing operations basis (Pool Distribution is being reported as a discontinued operation).

Tom Schmitt, Chairman, President and CEO, commenting on first quarter results from continuing operations said, “Our growth strategies drove our record first quarter revenue, which came in above the high end of our guidance range. Business momentum continued during the quarter and accelerated in March, when our LTL business achieved an operating margin higher than in March of peak economy year 2018.”

“Our net income per diluted share of $0.60 exceeded the high end of our guidance range. This guidance included approximately $0.07 of anticipated professional fees related to cybersecurity and shareholder engagement activities. However, during the first quarter these fees were approximately $0.20 (driven predominately by shareholder engagement activities that resulted in us entering into a cooperation agreement), all of which was recorded in Other Operations. We also experienced an estimated $0.06 impact in February from adverse weather (which had a $0.04 impact on our Expedited Freight segment and a $0.02 impact on our Intermodal segment). When adjusting for this approximate $0.26 total impact, we believe the underlying performance of our business during the first quarter greatly exceeded what we expected in our first quarter guidance.”

Regarding the Company’s second quarter 2021 continuing operations guidance, Mr. Schmitt said, “We expect our year-over-year revenue growth will be 35% to 40%, and our net income per diluted share to be between $0.96 to $1.00, compared to $0.33 in the second quarter of 2020 and, more meaningfully compared to $0.79 in the second quarter of 2018.”

In closing, Mr. Schmitt said, “The first quarter was all about a determined focus of the entire team. In the midst of a tight market and winter storms, our teammates and independent contractors went above and beyond to keep our customer commitments. We feel very strongly about our momentum which we will further enhance over the next few months and years. As the country continues its vaccine rollout, we will continue to bring back business together with our customers who were directly impacted by the pandemic such as cruise lines, conferences and trade shows.”

On April 26, 2021, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.21 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 27, 2021 and is expected to be paid on June 14, 2021. This quarterly dividend is made pursuant to a cash dividend policy approved by the Board of Directors, which anticipates a total annual dividend of $0.84 for the full year 2021, payable in quarterly increments of $0.21 per share of common stock. The actual declaration of future cash dividends, and the establishment of record and payment dates, is subject to final determination by the Board of Directors each quarter after its review of the Company’s financial performance and position.

The Board approved a strategy to divest the Pool Distribution business (“Pool”) on April 23, 2020, and the sale of Pool was completed on February 12, 2021. Accordingly, the results of operations and cash flows for Pool have been presented as a discontinued operation and have been excluded from continuing operations in this release for all periods presented. In addition, Pool assets and liabilities were reflected as “held for sale” on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets in this press release for the prior period.

Review of Financial Results

Forward Air will hold a conference call to discuss first quarter 2021 results on Friday, April 30, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. EDT. The Company’s conference call will be available online on the Investor Relations portion of the Company’s website at www.forwardaircorp.com, or by dialing (844) 867-6169, Access Code: 6464581.

A replay of the conference call will be available on the Investor Relations portion of the Company’s website at www.forwardaircorp.com, which we use as a primary mechanism to communicate with our investors. Investors are urged to monitor the Investors Relations portion of the Company’s website to easily find or navigate to current and pertinent information about us.

About Forward Air Corporation

Forward Air is a leading asset-light freight and logistics company that provides services across the United States and Canada. We provide expedited less-than-truckload (“LTL”) services, including local pick-up and delivery, shipment consolidation/deconsolidation, warehousing, and customs brokerage by utilizing a comprehensive national network of terminals; final mile services, including delivery of heavy-bulky freight; truckload brokerage services, including dedicated fleet services, high-security and temperature-controlled logistics services; intermodal first-and last-mile high-value drayage services both to and from seaports and railheads, dedicated contract and Container Freight Station warehouse and handling services; and pool distribution services, including high-frequency handling and distribution of time sensitive product to numerous destinations within a specific geographic region. For more information, visit our website at www.forwardaircorp.com.

Forward Air Corporation Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this press release, the Company uses non-GAAP financial measures that are derived on the basis of methodologies other than in accordance with GAAP. The Company believes that meaningful analysis of its financial performance requires an understanding of the factors underlying that performance, including an understanding of items that are non-operational. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in making financial, operating, compensation and planning decisions as well as evaluating the Company’s performance.

For the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, this press release contains the following non-GAAP financial measures: earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) and free cash flow. All non-GAAP financial measures are presented on a continuing operations basis.

The Company believes that EBITDA from continuing operations improves comparability from period to period by removing the impact of its capital structure (interest and financing expenses), asset base (depreciation and amortization) and tax impacts. The Company believes that free cash flow from continuing operations is an important measure of its ability to repay maturing debt or fund other uses of capital that it believes will enhance stockholder value.

Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, the Company’s financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP financial information does not represent a comprehensive basis of accounting. As required by the Securities and Exchange Act of 1933 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the Company has included, for the periods indicated, a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

The following is a reconciliation of net income from continuing operations to EBITDA from continuing operations for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands):

The following is a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations to free cash flow from continuing operations for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands):

The following information is provided to supplement this press release.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “seek,” “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “will” and similar references to future periods. Forward-looking statements included in this press release relate to expected second quarter 2021 revenue growth and net income per diluted share, expectations regarding increased momentum in our business, expectations regarding full year 2021 projected tax rate, fully diluted share count (before consideration of future share repurchase), and projected capital expenditures, and the future declaration of dividends.

Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. The following is a list of factors, among others, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements: economic factors such as recessions, inflation, higher interest rates and downturns in customer business cycles, the COVID-19 pandemic, our ability to manage our growth and ability to grow, in part, through acquisitions, while being able to successfully integrate such acquisitions, our ability to secure terminal facilities in desirable locations at reasonable rates, more limited liquidity than expected which limits our ability to make key investments, the creditworthiness of our customers and their ability to pay for services rendered, our inability to maintain our historical growth rate because of a decreased volume of freight or decreased average revenue per pound of freight moving through our network, the availability and compensation of qualified Leased Capacity Providers and freight handlers as well as contracted, third-party carriers needed to serve our customers’ transportation needs, our inability to manage our information systems and inability of our information systems to handle an increased volume of freight moving through our network, the occurrence of cybersecurity risks and events, market acceptance of our service offerings, claims for property damage, personal injuries or workers’ compensation, enforcement of and changes in governmental regulations, environmental, tax, insurance and accounting matters, the handling of hazardous materials, changes in fuel prices, loss of a major customer, increasing competition and pricing pressure, our dependence on our senior management team and the potential effects of changes in employee status, seasonal trends, the occurrence of certain weather events, restrictions in our charter and bylaws and the risks described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

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