FWRD - Forward Air Books Big Loss in Post-Merger Q1; Stock Drops 30% Premarket | Benzinga
Shares of Forward Air (NASDAQ: FWRD) plunged 30% in pre-market trading Thursday following a rough first-quarter report that was issued five hours after Wednesday's market close.
Forward reported a headline net loss of $88.8 million, or $2.35 per share. Excluding one-off costs from the acquisition and integration of Omni Logistics as well as severance expenses tied to changes in leadership, the company reported an adjusted net loss of 64 cents per share. That compared to consensus estimates ranging from an adjusted net loss of 15 to 11 cents per share and the year-ago adjusted EPS result of $1.27.
"I am committed to aggressively taking action to improve profitability, maximize synergy capture and drive our leadership in global supply chain and domestic transportation services" said CEO Shawn Stewart. "With the distractions of the deal closing behind us, our team is focused on execution."
Stewart took over in late April, nearly three months after the ouster of Tom Schmitt, who orchestrated the controversial merger of Omni Logistics. Stewart previously held various leadership roles at Ceva Logistics.
He said the company plans to share a full-year outlook in conjunction with its second-quarter call.
Consolidated revenue of $542 million was 52% higher year over year (y/y). The increase was attributable to the Jan. 25 addition of Omni Logistics. In the truncated first quarter, Omni generated $225 million in revenue with an operating loss of $28.6 million. For the full three-month period, Omni generated $307 million in revenue with an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization loss of $9 million.
Omni is a freight forwarder ...