Forward Air Shares Plunge On Outlook, Downgrade

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Forward Air Corp. plunged Tuesday after the air cargo industry contractor reported a first-quarter loss, issued a murky outlook and an analyst downgraded the stock.

Blaming a hefty impairment charge and crimped demand, Forward Air said late Monday it lost $3.1 million, or 11 cents per share, in the first three months of this year, compared with profit of $10 million, or 35 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding a $7.2 million writedown related to its Forward Air Solutions unit, the company earned 4 cents per share.

In a conference call, Forward Chief Executive Bruce Campbell called the first quarter "the most difficult in our history."

The company is seeing tough trends continue in the second-quarter. Assuming demand doesn't worsen, Forward expects a profit of 6 to 12 cents per share — below Wall Street's view of 15 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters. It sees revenue falling by 11 percent to 16 percent from last year's second quarter, which would put it at $102.1 million to $108.2 million, shy of analysts' target of $110.6 million in sales.