Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings posts $15.9 million net profit

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings posts $15.9 million net profit

   Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. (AAWW), parent company of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, reported a second quarter net profit of $15.9 million.

   In the same period last year, AAWW posted a net deficit of $51.4 million, which included $39.4 million in reorganization expenses following the company’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in July 2004.

   Operating income for the second quarter was $43.8 million, up 434 percent from $8.2 million in the comparable period last year. Revenue increased 16.8 percent to $395.2 million from $338.3 million.

   AAWW said its total operated block hours increased more than 10 percent on improved aircraft utilization and an approximate 6 percent rise in the number of average operating aircraft.

   “Unit revenues in all four of our service types were also higher during the quarter, and operating expenses, excluding aircraft fuel, were essentially flat,” said Jeffrey H. Erickson, president and chief executive officer of AAWW.

   For the year to date, AAWW posted a net income of $16.5 million, an operating income of $64.2 million and revenue of $742.1 million.

   AAWW cautioned that its financial results for periods prior to its emergence from Chapter 11 are not directly comparable with those for periods after emergence as it applied the provisions of fresh-start accounting as of July 27, 2004.