News

Air Transport Services Group, Inc. ATSG reported disappointing fourth-quarter 2023 results wherein both earnings and revenues lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Quarterly earnings per share (EPS) (excluding 41 cents from non-recurring items) of 18 cents missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents and declined 66% year over year. Revenues of $517 million lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $521 million and fell 3% year over year.

Air Transport Services Group, Inc Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Air Transport Services’ total fleet in service included 130 aircraft (18 passengers and 112 freighters) at the end of 2023 compared with 128 a year ago. Total operating expenses increased 4.3% to $480.4 million.

Adjusted EBITDA of $129.9 million fell 20% year over year. Operating cash flow rose to $127.98 million from $74.05 million a year ago. In the fourth quarter, adjusted free cash flow was $66.98 million compared with $32.61 million in the prior year.

Adjusted EPS is expected to be in the range of 55-80 cents for 2024. ATSG anticipates 2024 adjusted EBITDA of almost $506 million. Capital spending for 2024 is expected to be $410 million.

Currently, ATSG carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Performances of Other Transportation Companies

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.’s JBHT fourth-quarter 2023 EPS of $1.47 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.74 and declined 23.4% year over year.

JBHT’s total operating revenues of $3,303.70million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,236.2 million but fell 9.5% year over year. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, fell 6% year over year.

Delta Air Lines DAL reported fourth-quarter 2023 EPS (excluding $1.88 from non-recurring items) of $1.28, which comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.17. Earnings, however, declined 13.51% on a year-over-year basis due to high labor costs.

Revenues of $14,223 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14,069.5 million and increased 5.87% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong holiday-air-travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) came in at $13,661 million, up 11% year over year.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. UAL reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings per share (excluding 19 cents from non-recurring items) of $2.00, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.61 but declined 18.7% year over year.

Operating revenues of $13,626 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13,546.8 million. The top line increased 9.9% year over year due to upbeat air-travel demand. This was driven by a 10.9% rise in passenger revenues (accounting for 91.1% of the top line) to $12,421 million. Almost 41,779 passengers traveled on UAL flights in the fourth quarter.

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