Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. announced strong third-quarter 2021 results.
?We delivered outstanding financial and operating results in the third quarter. We flew over 90,000 block hours and generated quarterly revenue that exceeded $1.0 billion for the first time in our company?s history,? said Atlas Air Worldwide President and Chief Executive Officer John W. Dietrich.
?Our strategic focus on express, e-commerce and fast-growing global markets is driving robust demand for our services and producing strong financial performance. In a very challenging pandemic operating environment, our team pulled together to increase utilization of our aircraft, and safely serve our customers and the global supply chain.
?We recently announced long-term contract extensions for 20 aircraft with DHL Express as well as a new long-term ACMI agreement with FedEx. We have also extended or entered into other new long-term agreements with additional strategic customers. Collectively, these agreements demonstrate our ability to capitalize on market opportunities and deepen long-standing relationships with our customers.
?As we served the needs of our customers and their businesses, we were also extremely proud to support the U.S. government?s historic evacuation from Afghanistan. In total, we operated over 30 missions, transporting about 10,000 U.S. personnel as well as Afghan evacuees and their families from various locations into the United States.?
Mr. Dietrich added: ?At Atlas, our people are our greatest asset, and we are pleased to have reached a new five-year joint collective bargaining agreement with our pilots. Under this agreement, all of our pilots will receive higher pay, quality of life improvements and enhanced benefits in line with our competitive landscape. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with our pilots and their new union leadership to build an even stronger company.
?We are operating in a very strong airfreight market, and we expect industry conditions to remain favorable for the foreseeable future. Global airfreight volumes continue to exceed pre-pandemic levels, while industry capacity, particularly on long-haul international routes, has not kept pace with demand. Supply chain bottlenecks, including the widely reported challenges at ocean ports worldwide, are driving increased modal shift to air as manufacturers, retailers and shippers strive to replenish very low inventory levels, especially ahead of the holiday shopping season. This current environment has also led to a structural acceleration of express growth and e-commerce adoption, which will drive both current and longer-term airfreight demand.?
He concluded: ?We expect record revenue and adjusted earnings in the fourth quarter of 2021, with revenue of nearly $1.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA of about $325 million. We also anticipate adjusted net income to grow in excess of 20% compared with our prior fourth-quarter adjusted net income record of $143.2 million in 2020.*
?This outlook includes the impact of our new joint collective bargaining agreement and our proactive initiatives to help mitigate the higher costs of the new agreement. It also reflects the increased contribution of numerous new and extended long-term customer agreements, high levels of aircraft utilization driven by strong customer demand, and solid peak-season volumes and yields.?
