Air T's (AIRT) Fiscal 2024 Earnings, Revenues Improve Y/Y
Air T, Inc. AIRT delivered a loss per share of $2.42 at the end of fiscal 2024, narrower than $4.32 at the end of fiscal 2023.
Revenues in Detail
Air T registered revenues of $286.8 million at the end of fiscal 2024, up 15.9% from the comparable fiscal 2023 period.
Robust performances by the majority of the segments drove the topline.
Segment Details
Air T’s operations consist of four business segments — Overnight Air Cargo, Ground Equipment Sales (GGS), Commercial Jet Engines and Parts and Corporate and Other.
For the quarter under review, Overnight Air Cargo reported revenues of $115.5 million, up 27.6% from the fiscal 2023-end. This primarily resulted from higher labor revenues, higher admin fees and higher FedEx pass-through revenues due to an increased fleet (105 aircraft in fiscal 2024, up 23.5% from 85 in fiscal 2023), and the Worldwide Aircraft Services, Inc. (WASI) acquisition.
The WASI acquisition contributed revenues of $7.5 million in fiscal 2024 compared with $0.9 million in the prior fiscal year. Pass-through costs under the dry-lease agreements with FedEx totaled $36.4 million in fiscal 2024, up 24.7% from $29.2 million in fiscal 2023.
Revenues in the Ground Equipment Sales segment totaled $37.2 million in fiscal 2024, down 23.3% from the comparable fiscal 2023 period. The decrease was primarily driven by the lower number of deicing trucks sold. As of the fiscal year that ended on Mar 31, 2024, the ground equipment sales segment’s order backlog was $12.6 million compared with $13.6 million in the fiscal year that ended on Mar 31, 2023.
The Commercial Jet Engines and Parts segment generated revenues of $125.5 million in fiscal 2024, up 23.4% from the fiscal 2023-end. The increase was primarily driven by Contrail's higher component part sales and higher pass-through revenues at Worthington. In addition, Contrail also sold three engines at zero profit margin in fiscal 2024, as they had previously written these assets down to the sales price in fiscal 2023.
The Corporate and Other segment generated revenues of $8.6 million in fiscal 2024, up 30.9% from the comparable fiscal 2023 period. The uptick can be attributed to $1.2 million of increased software subscriptions at Shanwick.
Air T, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Air T, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Air T, Inc. Quote
Air T Operating Expenses Analysis
The cost of operating the Overnight air cargo segment during fiscal 2024 was $97.7 million, up 22.5% compared with fiscal 2023. The metric for GGS and Commercial jet engines and parts amounted to $31.8 million and $98 million in fiscal 2024, down 19.1% and up 30.2%, respectively, from the comparable fiscal 2023 period. The cost of operating the Corporate and Other segment during fiscal 2024 was $2.9 million, up 14.6% compared with fiscal 2023.
General and administrative expenses increased 19.3% to $51.1 million in fiscal 2024.
Profitability
Consolidated operating income for fiscal 2024, which ended on Mar 31, 2024, was $1.3 million against a consolidated operating loss of $4.4 million in fiscal 2023.
Operating income for the overnight air cargo segment was $6.8 million, up 67.2% from fiscal 2023 on the back of higher segment revenues.
Operating loss for the GGS segment was $1.6 million in fiscal 2024 against the operating income of $3.1 million in the prior fiscal year, attributable to lower sales.
Operating income of the commercial jet engines and parts segment in fiscal 2024 was $4.2 million against an operating loss of $0.9 million in the prior fiscal year. The increase was primarily attributable to a lower inventory write-down of $1.2 million in the current fiscal year compared with $7.3 million in the prior fiscal year, offset by a lower profit margin on component sales in fiscal 2024 compared with the prior fiscal year.
Operating loss of the Corporate and Other segment was $8.1 million in fiscal 2024, narrower than the operating loss of $10.6 million in fiscal 2023. This was primarily driven by higher corporate allocations to other segments related to executive salaries, bonuses and audit fees compared with the prior fiscal year and increased revenues.
Air T’s adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2024, which ended on Mar 31, 2024, was $5.6 million, down 6.8% from fiscal 2023.
In fiscal 2024, net loss attributable to Air T’s stockholders was $6.8 million, narrower than $12.3 million in fiscal 2023.
Liquidity & Debt Management
Air T exited fiscal 2024 with cash and cash equivalents of $7.1 million compared with $5.8 million at the fiscal 2023-end.
Total debt at the end of fiscal 2024 was $112.9 million compared with $125.1 million at the fiscal 2023-end.
Cumulative net cash provided by operating activities at the end of fiscal 2024 was $17.2 million compared with $16.9 million a year ago.
Our Take
Air T exited fiscal 2024 with encouraging top-line and bottom-line results. Robust performances by the majority of its segments were impressive.
Management confirmed that during the quarter, GGS initiated a new generation of customer-centric service and product while grinding through an unpredicted slowdown in global deicer industry sales, while Contrail continued its expansion and experienced a significant margin rebound in the back half. Per management, Stratus continued to deliver strategic capabilities and generated investment ideas and sales channel expansion during fiscal 2024, while Air T’s digital aviation groups drove notable revenue growth and new product offerings. These look promising for the stock.
However, Air T’s continued loss per share was disappointing. The decline in the GGS segment’s revenues was discouraging.
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Air T, Inc. (AIRT): Free Stock Analysis Report
