WILMINGTON — Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (ATSG) reported Thursday consolidated financial results for the quarter ended March 31.
ATSG’s first quarter 2022 results, as compared with the first quarter 2021, include revenues of $486 million, up 29 percent, according to the news release.
Rich Corrado, president and chief executive officer of ATSG, said, “The businesses of ATSG are all operating at pre-pandemic levels, with year-over-year gains in revenues and earnings from our airlines, led by Omni Air’s passenger flying for military and commercial customers. Our employees again delivered outstanding service during the winter months. Our CMI customers have noticed, and are bringing more of the Boeing 767s they own or lease from others to our airlines to fly in their networks.
“CAM, our aircraft lessor, contributed to our earnings momentum for the quarter following last year’s record fifteen deployments of leased Boeing 767-300 freighters. To date, CAM has completed the first two of its projected eleven – nine 767-300s and two Airbus A321s – freighter lease deliveries in 2022. We have customer orders for all eleven 2022 deliveries as well as 19 deliveries in 2023, including fourteen 767-300s and five A321s.”
ATSG continues to project a record $640 million in Adjusted EBITDA for 2022, up nearly $100 million from 2021. ATSG also projects 2022 capital spending of $590 million, including $200 million in sustaining capex and $390 million for growth, primarily funded by the strong Adjusted Free Cash Flow ATSG will generate this year.
The forecast assumes:
• Dry leases of 11 more converted freighters, including nine 767-300s.
• CMI assignments for nine more 767 freighter aircraft. That includes two that CAM will lease and another seven others that the owners or lessees of those aircraft are placing with our cargo airlines to operate.
• Omni’s commercial charter and ATI’s combi flights continue to increase throughout 2022, as charter demand and airport access reflect diminished pandemic risk.
“Our particularly strong first quarter puts us ahead of our projected pace toward the Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Earnings Per Share targets we set in February, as our freighter leasing and airline businesses are already delivering strong returns this year,” Corrado said. “Demand for express-package air assets remains very high. We have customer orders for all 30 of the newly converted freighters we will lease this year and next year, and already have customer orders for the first 20 of 29 Airbus A330s we will start to acquire and convert next year, with leases beginning in 2024 through 2026.
“We are pleased to count ASL Aviation Holdings, a major source of cargo lift to integrated global networks, among our future lessees of Airbus cargo aircraft. ASL has ordered the first two of our A321 freighters in the second half of this year, a third in 2023 and two A330 freighters in 2024.”
Corrado said ATSG will steadily acquire passenger aircraft to fill the more than 80 passenger-to-freighter conversion slots it now controls. ATSG’s current plan calls for all of the Boeing 767, Airbus A330, and best-in-class Airbus A321 aircraft that will enter those slots to be leased and delivered to customers by the end of 2027.
