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Air Express International (AEI) Reports Second Quarter 1999 Results

DARIEN, CT USA (August 3, 1999) -- AEI today announced results for its second quarter ended June 30, 1999.

AEI reported second quarter net income of $12,709,000, or 38 cents per diluted share, versus 1998 second quarter net income of $13,661,000, or 39 cents per diluted share. For the six months ended June 30, 1999, AEI reported net income of $26,333,000 and diluted earnings per share of 78 cents, which included a gain on the sale of marketable securities of $4,908,000, or 14 cents per diluted share. Excluding the above-mentioned gain, net income for the first six months of 1999 was $21,425,000, or 64 cents per diluted share, compared to 1998 net income of $23,391,000 and 66 cents per diluted share.

Gross revenues for the second quarter declined slightly to $373,263,000 versus $378,494,000 in last year's second quarter. Soft airfreight exports from the United States and Europe resulted in airfreight revenues declining five percent to $276,147,000, which was partially offset by improvement in airfreight exports from the Far East. On the positive side, ocean freight revenues for the second quarter increased eight percent to $55,727,000 on improved volumes in Asia. Additionally, customs brokerage and other revenues increased 17 percent to $41,389,000 due to increased activity in the United States and the inclusion of revenues from businesses acquired subsequent to the second quarter of last year.

Net revenues for the second quarter increased three percent to $126,645,000 principally due to the increase in customs brokerage and other revenues. Operating profit for the second quarter declined five percent to $18,745,000 primarily on lower operating results in Europe.

For the six months ended June 30, 1999, gross revenues were $727,947,000 versus $750,870,000 in the first half of last year. The decline was attributable to lower airfreight revenues, which were $544,423,000 versus $583,015,000 in 1998. This was offset by increases in ocean freight revenues of 11 percent to $104,979,000 and in customs brokerage and other revenues of eight percent to $78,545,000.

Operating profit for the first six months of 1999 was $30,649,000, a decline of seven percent from the same period of last year, due entirely to lower results in the Company's European operations.

Guenter Rohrmann, AEI's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "During the second quarter and first half of this year, softness in the United States and European airfreight business has hampered our operating results. We are pleased that our ocean freight, customs brokerage and Asian airfreight have shown good growth. We anticipate improvement in our airfreight business in the second half of this year."

Headquartered in Darien, CT, AEI is a world leader in integrated logistics services, delivering multi-modal transportation, warehousing and distribution, customs brokerage and information management solutions across a network of 705 locations in more than 135 countries.