Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. has announced second-quarter 2021 net income of $107.1 million, or $3.53 per diluted share, compared with net income of $78.9 million, or $3.01 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2020.
Second-quarter 2021 Airline Operations segment performance improved significantly compared with the prior year that included exceptionally high commercial cargo Charter yields in April and May 2020.
“Our strong performance continued in the second quarter, with revenue and earnings exceeding our already high expectations,” said Atlas Air Worldwide President and Chief Executive Officer John W. Dietrich. “These positive results were driven by our team executing our strategy, increasing the utilization of our aircraft and delivering safe, high-quality service for our customers.
“Our performance continued to benefit from operating the four 747 freighters and one 777 freighter we reintroduced to our fleet throughout 2020. This capacity, along with a tremendous team effort, contributed to our ability to enter into and extend long-term agreements with strategic customers, as well as to capitalize on lucrative short-term opportunities in the strong global airfreight market.
“Economic and supply chain conditions remain favorable for air cargo and our dedicated freighters. These include global airfreight volumes exceeding pre-pandemic levels, an acceleration of e-commerce and express growth, low inventory levels, positive Purchasing Managers’ Index readings, as well as congestion, long lead times and elevated pricing for ocean freight. Demand also continues to exceed available supply, particularly on long-haul international routes, as belly capacity on a significant number of widebody passenger aircraft remains out of the market.”
Reported results for the six months ended June 30, 2021 reflected net income of $197.0 million, or $6.59 per diluted share. Results for the first half of 2021 compared with net income of $102.3 million, or $3.92 per diluted share, which included an unrealized loss on financial instruments of $29.7 million, for the six months ended June 30, 2020.
We expect market conditions to remain favorable in the third quarter and for our initiatives to continue driving strong performance. We are also closely monitoring developments related to COVID-19 and the Delta variant, and any associated impact on global airfreight, operations, demand and economic activity.
This outlook reflects the contribution of long-term customer agreements with favorable rates and guaranteed levels of flying; high levels of aircraft utilization driven by strong customer demand; and commercial cargo Charter yields to remain above typical seasonal levels.
