Horizon Line’s profit drops 24.3 percent in its fiscal third quarter
Horizon Lines earned a profit of $8.4 million in its fiscal third quarter ended Sept. 20, down 24.3 percent from $11.1 million in the same period last year.
The Jones Act carrier had $308 million in revenue during the quarter, a drop of 12.6 percent from $352.6 million a year ago.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based company said adjusted third-quarter 2009 net income totaled $11.4 million, after excluding antitrust-related legal expenses and vessel impairment charges totaling $3 million.
Its adjusted net income for the 2008 third quarter totaled $14.7 million, which excludes antitrust-related legal fees totaling $3.6 million.
Chuck Raymond, the line’s chairman, president and CEO said the 5.7 percent volume decline from the third quarter of 2008 was an improvement over the past three quarters.
“We maintained stable margins relative to a year ago, although revenue-per-container rates were flat. More than half of the 12.6 percent revenue decline was due to reduced fuel surcharges, as fuel prices were significantly lower than 2008.”
Raymond said that while the carrier’s third-quarter volume performance indicates that “we might be coming off the bottom, we expect the recovery to be slow, muted and disparate.”
He said the line faces a “challenging” fourth quarter, which he said would be characterized by “lingering economic weakness that will continue to impact volumes to varying degrees across all of our trade lanes, as well as in our logistics business"
Raymond forecast 2009 adjusted EBITDA will be below the $130 million reported last year, but remain above levels that would jeopardize compliance with the financial covenants in its credit agreement.
He expects adjusted free cash flow for the year to approximate the level of $59.9 million reached last year, despite a decline in EBITDA.
The Jones Act carrier had $308 million in revenue during the quarter, a drop of 12.6 percent from $352.6 million a year ago.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based company said adjusted third-quarter 2009 net income totaled $11.4 million, after excluding antitrust-related legal expenses and vessel impairment charges totaling $3 million.
Its adjusted net income for the 2008 third quarter totaled $14.7 million, which excludes antitrust-related legal fees totaling $3.6 million.
Chuck Raymond, the line’s chairman, president and CEO said the 5.7 percent volume decline from the third quarter of 2008 was an improvement over the past three quarters.
“We maintained stable margins relative to a year ago, although revenue-per-container rates were flat. More than half of the 12.6 percent revenue decline was due to reduced fuel surcharges, as fuel prices were significantly lower than 2008.”
Raymond said that while the carrier’s third-quarter volume performance indicates that “we might be coming off the bottom, we expect the recovery to be slow, muted and disparate.”
He said the line faces a “challenging” fourth quarter, which he said would be characterized by “lingering economic weakness that will continue to impact volumes to varying degrees across all of our trade lanes, as well as in our logistics business"
Raymond forecast 2009 adjusted EBITDA will be below the $130 million reported last year, but remain above levels that would jeopardize compliance with the financial covenants in its credit agreement.
He expects adjusted free cash flow for the year to approximate the level of $59.9 million reached last year, despite a decline in EBITDA.