Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings has reported a first-quarter net income of $10.5 million, down 68.9% from a $33.8 million profit in 2010. The parent of ACMI cargo carriers Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, stated that first-quarter revenue rose 0.8% over last year to $297.6 million while costs were up 13.8% to $281.1 million. Fuel costs for the period increased by 14.9% to $74.2 million. Operating income was $16.5 million, narrowed from an operating profit of $48.1 million in the 2010 March quarter.
“We expect earnings in 2011 and beyond to continue to benefit from our premium assets, the global scale and scope of our customer offerings and from the commercial and operating transformations that we are implementing,” said William J Flynn, President and chief executive officer of AAWW. “We’re fully utilizing our fleet of highly reliable and efficient 747-400 aircraft, maximizing the capabilities of our older Classic 747 aircraft through military and commercial charter operations, and consistently delivering value-added operating solutions and additional services to our customers. We are also leveraging our scale and experience to further expand our service offerings, such as through our CMI service for Boeing and SonAir and our recently announced expansion into passenger charter service for the U.S. military. These growth initiatives will generate substantial incremental revenues, earnings growth and enhanced value for our shareholders.
“Airfreight volumes continue to grow from record levels in 2010, and market demand for our high-payload, fuel-efficient 747-400 aircraft remains strong. As planned, we expanded our express network ACMI service for DHL Express to eight aircraft from six in late March, and now have 20 of our 24 747-400 freighters in ACMI.”