Market conditions and e-commerce boost Atlas Air earnings

E-commerce traffic shows no signs of abating, and Atlas Air Worldwide (AAWW) is well positioned to provide the requisite airlift, company President and CEO William Flynn told investors during the company’s Second-Quarter 2017 Results call.

Atlas posted an adjusted income from continuing operations of US$29.1 million. “Earnings growth in the second quarter reflected a 17 percent increase in revenue, 15 percent increase in block hours, and higher direct contribution in all of our segments,” Flynn said.

Atlas Air also announced the ACMI placement of three 747-400 freighters with Hong Kong Air Cargo Carrier Limited, a subsidiary of Hong Kong Airlines (itself a subsidiary of the HNA Group), as the carrier increases its presence in the Asian air freight market.

“We anticipate that our adjusted income from continuing operations, net of taxes, will grow by a percentage in the mid-teens this year, approximately double the midpoint of our previous outlook,” Flynn said.

While Atlas’ charter operations are also up, driving up margins, the company’s efforts to align its business with “the faster-growing express and e-commerce markets,” underpin its optimistic outlook into 2018. The company stated that, “We believe the current demand, including our new services for Asiana Cargo, Cathay Pacific Cargo, FedEx, Hong Kong Air Cargo, Nippon Cargo Airlines and Yangtze River Airlines, the initial accretion from our Amazon operations, and the first full year of contribution from Southern Air provide a strong foundation for earnings growth.”