ABX Air Reports Third Quarter 2007 Results.Charter Segment Revenues Grow 154% WILMINGTON, Ohio For other places with the same name, see Wilmington (disambiguation). Wilmington is a city in Clinton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,921 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clinton County. -- ABX Air ABX Air (NASDAQ: ABXA) is a cargo airline based in Wilmington, Ohio, USA. It operates scheduled, ad hoc charter and ACMI freight services, including overnight express small-package services and freight in the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico. , Inc., (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :ABXA) today reported revenues of $286.0 million and net earnings of $2.4 million, or $0.04 per share, for the third quarter of 2007, compared with revenues of $281.3 million and net earnings of $6.6 million, or $0.11 per share, for the third quarter of 2006. Revenues from ABX ABX Antibiotics ABX Airborne Express ABX Abstracting ABX Albury, New South Wales, Australia - Albury (Airport Code) ABX Automatic Branch Exchange ABx Non-Antibiotics ABX Asset Backed Securities Index ABX Acoustic Bass Extension Air's principal customer, DHL DHL abbr. 1. Doctor of Hebrew Letters 2. Doctor of Hebrew Literature , were down 3% for the quarter, but revenues from ABX Air's expanding independent air charter operations increased 154%, and revenues from other, non-DHL operations increased 74%. ABX Air added two more Boeing 767 freighter aircraft to serve charter customers during the third quarter, for a total of nine in service at the end of September 2007 compared with three at the end of September 2006. Revenues from ABX Air's other non-DHL operations reflected full-scale operations at all three sorting centers that the company manages for the U.S. Postal Service The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) processes and delivers mail to individuals and businesses within the United States. The service seeks to improve its performance through the development of efficient mail-handling systems and operates its own planning and engineering programs. , and from increased aircraft maintenance work for third parties. Third-quarter pre-tax earnings from operations under the DHL agreements declined 12%, and earnings from operations outside those agreements also were down 16%. Results from DHL operations were negatively impacted by the transfer of management of the Allentown, Pennsylvania and Riverside, California Riverside is the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States and is also a focus city of the Greater Los Angeles Area. The city is named for the nearby Santa Ana River. As of 2006, Riverside had an estimated population of 293,741. hubs to DHL during 2007, and by the 2006 reduction in the number of ABX Air aircraft in DHL's U.S. network. Start-up costs associated with new charter customers, including ABX Air's services for All Nippon Airways airways Anatomy The 'pipes'–trachea, bronchi, bronchioles–through which air passes to and from the alveoli. See Small airways. in Asia, were the principal reasons for reduced margins in other operations. The third quarter of 2007 included $2.3 million in deferred (non-cash) income tax expense, compared with zero tax expense in the third quarter a year ago. Interest income, net of non-reimbursable interest expense, was $0.2 million in the third quarter this year, compared with $1.4 million in the third quarter of 2006. The principal factor was interest expense for newly acquired 767s that ABX Air has elected to finance. For the first nine months of 2007, revenues were $855.3 million and net earnings were $11.2 million, or $0.19 per share. For the first nine months of 2006, ABX Air's revenues were $954.1 million, and its net earnings were $21.1 million, or $0.36 per share. The year-to-date earnings for 2007 include $7.7 million of income tax expense, compared with zero income tax expense for the same period in 2006. Joe Hete, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of ABX Air, stated, "Although strong growth in our ACMI ACMI Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (wet lease) ACMI Art & Creative Materials Institute ACMI Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation ACMI American College of Medical Informatics ACMI Australian Center for the Moving Image charter operations, including our Asian Boeing 767 ACMI operations that began in May, helped us achieve positive earnings in our Charter segment for the third quarter, overall the third-quarter results were disappointing." Hete said that, in particular, pre-tax earnings from the Charter segment during the third quarter were lower than expected because deploying recently delivered aircraft for customers is taking longer than expected. Additionally, margins during the quarter were hurt by high aircraft crewing expenses in our Asia start-up operations and the first scheduled heavy maintenance for one of the newer 767s. "Efforts to cooperatively find an alternative to a foreign domicile domicile (dŏm`əsīl'), one's legal residence. This may or may not be the place where one actually resides at any one time. The domicile is the permanent home to which one is presumed to have the intention of returning whenever the purpose at the request of the pilots union have been unsuccessful. We initially implemented a temporary crew rotation plan for the Asian operations that was too costly to maintain," Hete said. "We are now proceeding to establish flight crews permanently in Japan under the provisions of our current collective bargaining agreement The contractual agreement between an employer and a Labor Union that governs wages, hours, and working conditions for employees and which can be enforced against both the employer and the union for failure to comply with its terms. . We expect to realize the lower costs necessary for ABX to be competitive in Asia as a result of the permanent base by the first quarter of 2008. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , the market demand for the Boeing 767s The Boeing 767 is an American mid-size, wide-body twinjet airliner produced by Boeing's Commercial Airplane division. The 767 can carry between 181 and 245 passengers in a standard three-class configuration and has a range of 5,200 to 6,590 nautical miles (9,400 to 12,200 km) remains strong, and I am pleased to note that this month, we will deploy an aircraft for a new South American customer under an ACMI contract." Hete also said that ABX Air continues to deploy the Boeing 767 freighters it agreed to acquire in 2005. Nine of those aircraft were in service at the end of September 2007, and three more will arrive during the fourth quarter. Two more will enter service during 2008. Results Associated with the DHL Agreements ABX Air's revenues from its two commercial agreements with DHL declined 3% to $260.6 million, due primarily to the factors mentioned above and reduced DHL package volume in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Pre-tax earnings from those agreements were $3.2 million during the third quarter of 2007, down from $3.6 million in the third quarter of 2006. ABX Air has two commercial agreements with DHL: an aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) agreement, and a Hub Services agreement. Under each agreement, ABX Air earns a base mark-up of 1.75% on eligible costs, and has the opportunity to earn incremental Additional or increased growth, bulk, quantity, number, or value; enlarged. Incremental cost is additional or increased cost of an item or service apart from its actual cost. mark-ups for meeting certain quarterly cost goals, as well as annual cost and service goals. Third quarter pre-tax earnings included $2.6 million from base mark-up. Incremental mark-up added $587,000, all of which was earned under the ACMI agreement. The latter represents approximately 100% of the maximum quarterly incremental mark-up possible under the ACMI agreement, and 51% of the total potential award under both contracts. In the third quarter of 2007, ABX Air recognized a $325,000 impairment charge associated with four DC-9 aircraft released in September from service for DHL. Three of the four aircraft will be sold to DHL, while ABX will retain the fourth. During the third quarter of 2007, DHL informed ABX Air that it intended to take over management of its South Bend, Indiana This article is about the city in Indiana, US. For other uses of the name South Bend, see South Bend (disambiguation). South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. regional hub and its Columbus, Ohio Columbus is the capital and the largest city of the American state of Ohio. Named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and assumed the functions of state capital in 1816. , logistics center, currently managed by ABX Air. Management of the South Bend South Bend, city (1990 pop. 105,511), seat of St. Joseph co., N Ind., on the great south bend of the St. Joseph River, in a farming and mint-growing region; inc. as a city 1865. hub was transferred to DHL on November 3, 2007. The Columbus center transition will be completed on January 1, 2008. In total, these operations contributed approximately $18.9 million of revenues and $0.3 million of pre-tax earnings in 2007, through September 30. Results from Non-DHL Operations Hete noted that the rapid growth of air charter revenues in the third quarter reflects greater available capacity and strong demand for ABX Air's services. Block hours In aviation, block hours is the time between an aircraft leaving from the departure gate and ariving at the destination gate. flown for Boeing 767 aircraft in non-DHL ACMI service increased 140% in the third quarter of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006. Margins declined principally because of start-up costs and unanticipated higher costs of operations in Asia, which the company is working to resolve. Pre-tax earnings from other third-party operations increased 53%, as orders for avionics upgrades and other maintenance work were completed. Outlook/Other Items Annual Mark-up Potential under the DHL Agreements The two commercial agreements with DHL allow ABX Air to earn additional cost-related and service mark-up revenues based on its performance against annual goals. Mark-up revenues for performance against annual goals are realized in the fourth quarter. Progress toward those annual goals through the first nine months of the year is not necessarily indicative of full year performance. But as of September 30, 2007, ABX Air was on pace to achieve nearly 100% of its ACMI maximum for full-year cost-related performance, but none of the annual incremental cost-related mark-up under its Hub Services agreement. The maximum amount of annual cost-related mark-up on eligible costs available in each agreement is approximately 0.81%. On the same projected basis, through the first nine months of 2007, ABX Air was on pace to achieve annual mark-up for performance against service goals approximately equal to 80% of the maximum available under the ACMI agreement, and approximately 90% of the maximum under the Hub Services agreement. The maximum annual service mark-up available in the ACMI agreement is 0.25%; the maximum service mark-up available in the Hub Services agreement is 0.75%. Default Under DHL Agreements As described in ABX Air's Form 8-K Form 8-K The form required by the SEC when a publicly held company incurs any event that might affect its financial situation or the share value of its stock. Form 8-K See 8-K. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 9, 2007, DHL is in default under terms of the ACMI and Hub Services agreements. The default resulted from an $8.8 million reduction in DHL's weekly pre-funding payment to ABX Air on November 5, 2007, for ABX Air's expenses related to the ACMI and Hub Services agreements. DHL cited as the reason for the reduction its contention that it was no longer responsible to reimburse re·im·burse tr.v. re·im·bursed, re·im·burs·ing, re·im·burs·es 1. To repay (money spent); refund. 2. To pay back or compensate (another party) for money spent or losses incurred. ABX Air for certain overhead expenses. ABX Air notified DHL that it was in default under the commercial agreements because the agreements do not permit the withholding of amounts in dispute. DHL denied that it has defaulted and maintains that its actions were proper. ABX anticipates arbitrating the DHL claim as specified in the commercial agreements. Acquisition of Cargo Holdings International, Inc. On November 2, 2007, ABX Air announced that it has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding stock of Cargo Holdings International, Inc. ("CHI"), a privately held provider of outsourced air cargo air cargo: see aviation. services based in Orlando, Florida The city of Orlando is a major city in central Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida. According to the 2000 census, the city population was 185,951. A 2006 U.S. , in a transaction with an estimated enterprise value of $350 million. The $350 million enterprise value estimate assumes that CHI will, prior to closing the transaction, acquire and begin cargo modification of two 757-200 aircraft in addition to the one 757-200 it presently owns. At closing, it is anticipated that CHI will have eight aircraft in process of being converted to cargo configuration, including five 767-200s and three 757-200s. None of these aircraft will have contributed any revenue or earnings to CHI prior to being acquired by ABX. CHI projects, on pre-acquisition basis, including results from its non-airline businesses, revenues of approximately $300 million with EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) A metric used to show a company's profitability, but not its cash flow. EBITDA became popular in the 1980s to show the potential profitability of leveraged buyouts, but has become (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is a non-GAAP metric that can be used to evaluate a company's profitability.
The transaction will be financed with the issuance of four million shares of ABX common stock and cash from a new $345 million senior secured credit facility led by SunTrust Bank and Regions Bank, a portion of which will be used to refinance Refinance 1. When a business or person revises their payment schedule for repaying debt. 2. Replacing an older loan with a new loan offering better terms. Notes: When a business refinances they typically extend the maturity date. CHI's existing $100 million credit facility. The acquisition is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close before the end of 2007. The financing of the transaction is also subject to the lenders' satisfaction that upon completion of the transaction, ABX Air would remain in compliance with its material agreements, including its ACMI agreement with DHL. "We recognize that extending our position as DHL's primary domestic airlift supplier is still our principal objective," Hete said, "But the broader base of business we will have from the CHI transaction and the deployment of our wide-body aircraft for new customers will transform ABX. We are eager to share the details about how and why we believe CHI is an excellent strategic fit with ABX Air as separate, wholly owned units of our new parent company, ABX Holdings, Inc. We are focused on getting the best results out of the businesses we have now, as well as accelerating the process by which we can work together with the people of CHI." Conference Call ABX Air will host a conference call to review its financial results for the third quarter of 2007 on Friday, November 16, at 10:30 A.M. Eastern time. Participants should dial (866) 831-6224 and international participants should dial (617) 213-8853 ten minutes before the scheduled start of the call and ask for conference ID #47035810. The call will also be webcast live (listen-only mode) via www.abxair.com and www.earnings.com for individual investors and via www.streetevents.com for institutional investors Institutional Investor A non-bank person or organization that trades securities in large enough share quantities or dollar amounts that they qualify for preferential treatment and lower commissions. . A replay of the conference call will be available an hour after the conclusion of the call. It will be available by phone for five days after the call at (888) 286-8010 (international callers (617) 801-6888); use pass code ID #77444120. The webcast replay will remain available via www.abxair.com and www.earnings.com for 30 days. Except for historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this release contain forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. that involve risks and uncertainties. ABX Air, Inc.'s actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, ABX Air's ability to maintain cost and service level performance under the commercial agreements with DHL, reductions in the scope of services under those agreements, uncertainty as to the ultimate outcome of ABX Air's disputes with DHL under the commercial agreements, uncertainty of the effects the disputes with DHL may have on ABX Air's financial liquidity, the ability to generate revenues and earnings from the deployment of Boeing 767 freighter aircraft into non-DHL charter service and from the sort operations being performed for the U.S. Postal Service, and other factors that are contained from time to time in ABX Air's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including ABX's Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. . Readers should carefully review this release and should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements were based on information, plans and estimates as of the date of this release. ABX undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new information, future events or other changes. [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] The Company does not allocate overhead costs overhead costs see fixed costs. that are reimbursed by DHL to its non-DHL activities. The provisions of the commercial agreements with DHL do not require an allocation of overhead until such time as ABX derives more than 10% of its total revenue from non-DHL business activities. |
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