Forward Air revises Q1 24 Ebitda calculation

PRESS RELEASE 

27/06/2024

Consolidated EBITDA Increases from $300 Million to $324 Million Following Addition of Allowable Addbacks

GREENEVILLE, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ: FWRD) (the “Company”, “Forward”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) today announced updates to certain previously released non-GAAP financial measures for the twelve months ended March 31, 2024, to include adjustments to the previously released non-GAAP financial measures.

When Forward released first quarter 2024 earnings on May 8, 2024, the Company made available to investors a conference call presentation, page 19 of which set forth a calculation intended to provide visibility into the Company’s calculation of “Consolidated EBITDA” under the Company’s existing credit agreement for the last twelve months (“LTM”) ended March 31, 2024. In the May 8, 2024 presentation, the Company calculated Consolidated EBITDA of $300 million, which included several one-time costs and pro forma adjustments related to the acquisition of Omni Logistics (“Omni”). After performing a thorough assessment of all available addbacks permitted under the credit agreement, the Company has revised its calculation of Consolidated EBITDA for the twelve months ended March 31, 2024 to approximately $324 million.

As a result, Forward’s revised Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio would have been 5.1x for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, compared to 5.5x as reported on May 8, 2024. Beginning with the fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2024, the Company is required to comply with a financial performance covenant under the credit agreement that sets a maximum Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio of 6.0x. In addition, the Company has taken further cost reduction actions that it believes will add approximately $20 million of incremental Consolidated EBITDA to Forward’s second quarter results.

Chief Executive Officer Shawn Stewart said, “We wanted to provide this adjustment to our first quarter reporting as part of the new leadership’s commitment to increased transparency. We are aggressively taking action to improve profitability, maximize synergy capture and drive our leadership in global supply chain and domestic transportation services so that we can create value for our customers, employees and shareholders. We are focused on execution and continue to be optimistic about the opportunities ahead and our long-term growth trajectory. We look forward to sharing more details on our progress on our second quarter earnings conference call.”

The full release is here.