GREENEVILLE, Tenn.— Forward Air Corp. said in a press release that its financial results for the three months ending June 30, 2024, showed improvement, despite a soft freight market.
“As a result of the Omni transaction, the combined company now has a unique platform to drive long-term growth through continued best in class domestic expedited and intermodal services and now global freight forwarding and contract logistics services,” said Shawn Stewart, Chief Executive Officer. “In our first full quarter as one company, we are beginning to see the power of the combination. We have recently closed several exciting sales wins, and operationally, we are laser-focused on capturing the previously announced synergies as well as other additional cost saving opportunities that were not previously identified. Our achievements in such a short period of time have only added to my confidence in our combined ability to build on the strengths of our legacy companies.”
In a media release, Stewart said that because of the Omni transaction, the combined company now has a “unique platform to drive long-term growth through continued best in class domestic expedited and intermodal services and now global freight forwarding and contract logistics services.”
“In our first full quarter as one company, we are beginning to see the power of the combination,” Stewart said. “We have recently closed several exciting sales wins, and operationally, we are laser-focused on capturing the previously announced synergies as well as other additional cost saving opportunities that were not previously identified. Our achievements in such a short period of time have only added to my confidence in our combined ability to build on the strengths of our legacy companies.”
New Chief Financial Officer
“I am thrilled to have Jamie Pierson on board as our chief financial officer,” Stewart said. “Jamie has already made a significant impact at the company, especially to our finance organization’s processes and reporting capabilities. I look forward to working alongside him as we chart a new course for the company.”
Pierson spoke to the market conditions faced during the past quarter.
“While we continue to face challenging market conditions, we experienced positive momentum as Consolidated EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure calculated pursuant to our credit agreement, increased from approximately $55 million in the first quarter of this year to $81 million in the second quarter,” Pierson said. “Our results demonstrate progress in our business, and we expect to see additional improvement as we continue to realize synergies associated with the transaction. This quarter, we realized approximately $14 million in cost synergy capture, in line with the original estimates and anticipate being at full run-rate savings earlier than previously anticipated. According to our revised integration plans, we believe that we will be operating at full run rate synergy levels by the end of the first quarter of 2025, and despite the noise of the integration and softness in the broader freight market, we believe that we will deliver somewhere between $310 to $325 million in Consolidated EBITDA for 2024.”
Stewart touted that while the market is uncertain, the company still sees improvement for the future,
“Obviously, integrations of this size, magnitude and complexity do not progress in a linear fashion, and while the market at large remains uncertain, we believe in the power of the combined company and expect to demonstrate continued improvement in the quarters to come.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
