Atlas Air Reports $23.4M First-quarter Profit

PURCHASE, N.Y. (AP) — Cargo hauler Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. reported a first-quarter profit of $23.4 million on Tuesday after losing money during the same period last year.

The company said global air freight traffic remains weak, but "appears to be showing signs of bottoming." With lower capacity in the industry, "any improvement in demand could have an early and meaningful impact" on Atlas, the company said.

Its shares jumped $3.05, or 10.6 percent, to $31.95 in afternoon trading.

Atlas' profit of $1.12 per share compared with a year-ago loss of $5.3 million, or 25 cents per share. Revenue fell 34.4 percent to $244.5 million, from $373 million a year ago, since Atlas sold a 49 percent stake in its Polar Air Cargo unit.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a profit of 64 cents per share.

The company said the first-quarter profit included a $10 million fee for early termination of a contract for two 747-400s, a $2.7 million gain for paying off debt early, and $1 million for selling a plane and retired engines.