MAIDEN, N.C., Feb. 1, 2010 -- Air T, Inc. (Nasdaq Capital Market: AIRT) today reported consolidated net earnings of $1,247,000 ($0.51 per diluted share) for fiscal 2010’s third quarter ended December 31, 2009, compared to consolidated net earnings of $974,000 ($0.40 per diluted share) for the third quarter of fiscal 2009. The Company also reported year-to-date earnings for the nine months of $3,212,000 ($1.32 per diluted share) compared to $3,636,000 ($1.50 per diluted share) for the similar fiscal 2009 period.
Consolidated revenues for fiscal 2010’s third quarter were $22,321,000, a decrease of 5 percent compared to the similar 2009 fiscal quarter. Consolidated revenues for the first nine months of the 2010 fiscal year were $61,411,000 or 12 percent lower than the prior year comparable period. At December 31, 2009, the backlog at Global Ground Support, the Company’s ground support equipment business, was $5.7 million, compared to $12.2 million at December 31, 2008.
Walter Clark, chairman and chief executive officer of Air T, commented, “While we are not pleased with the decrease in revenues and backlog this quarter, we are satisfied with the third quarter profitability of Air T. We have experienced a slowing in the commercial deicer business and at the same time we are awaiting information from the U.S. Air Force regarding unit orders for next year under our new deicer contract. These two factors have contributed to a low backlog for Global Ground Support at this time. It is difficult to predict when this trend will reverse, considering the current economic environment that we are operating in. On a positive note, operating levels at our air cargo delivery business stabilized as we saw no further reduction in the number of aircraft that we operate for FedEx this past quarter. In addition, we continued to experience growth in revenues and profits from our GlobalAviation Services segment. ”
“In this uncertain economy, I want to reiterate that we are continuing our focus on conserving cash, controlling costs, tightening our credit policies and maintaining our customer and vendor relationships,” Clark continued.
