.11, on track for a blowout year
Air Methods Reports Record 2Q99 & 1H99 Revenues and Net Income
DENVER, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Methods Corporation (Nasdaq: AIRM)
reported record results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30,
1999. Results also represent an all-time high for quarterly revenues.
For the quarter, revenue increased 18% to $14.1 million and net income
increased 193% to $879,000 or $0.11 per basic and diluted share compared to
the year ago period. For the six months, revenue increased 14% to
$27.4 million and net income increased 23% to $1.5 million or $0.18 per basic
and diluted share compared to the year ago period. Earnings before interest
expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter
increased 37% to $2.6 million from $1.9 million. For the six months, EBITDA
increased 14% to $5.0 million from $4.4 million.
George Belsey, Chairman and CEO, said the Company continued to benefit
from important investments made last year to expand revenues and operating
margin. "We are pleased with the trends we have established in the first
half," said Mr. Belsey. "We believe that our new business model can continue
to produce strong year over year growth in the second half, increasing our
confidence that we can generate record earnings per share for the year, and
potentially exceed our target of slightly better than $0.21 per share."
All three of the Company's major operations -- Flight Services, Mercy Air,
and Products -- performed in-line with or better than expectations. "On the
revenue side, we maintained healthy flight volumes from both existing and
recently expanded markets and a steady pipeline of contracts from new and
existing product lines," Mr. Belsey said. "On the cost side, maintenance
expenditures and collections from third-party billings were in line with
expectations. As a result, our 18% increase in revenue contributed to
expanded operating margin of 9.1% compared to 6.6% in the year ago quarter."
Second Quarter Highlights:
Flight Services: Flight Services external revenue increased 5.3% compared
to the year ago quarter due to increased flight volume from a greater number
of contracts. Divisional net profit of $607,000 was in line with expectations
and compared to $796,000 in the year ago period. The 1999 quarter includes
additional expense related to increases in backup aircraft capacity in the
second half of 1998.
Mercy Air: Mercy Air revenues increased 25% to $5.0 million from $4.0
million and segment net income increased 60% to $706,000, representing an all-
time quarterly record for the subsidiary. Mercy Air benefited from strong
flight volumes from original and expanded operations and from favorable
weather conditions. Maintenance expenditures were below expectations and
significantly below the prior year period causing the percentage increase in
earnings to significantly exceed the increase in revenues.
Products Division: Excluding internal sales, Products Division revenues
increased 122% to $1.3 million. Divisional net income increased to $171,000
compared to a loss of ($168,000) in the prior period quarter. The division
benefited from an increase in base products contracts as well as from
contributions generated from the continued development of a Spinal Cord Injury
Transport System (SCITS) for the U.S. Air Force.
"Looking ahead to the second half of 1999, we continue to work
aggressively to complete negotiations with the prime contractor for six
initial production units for the U.S. Army UH60Q BlackHawk program. The Army
has plans to retrofit up to 357 BlackHawks with a multi-mission interior
developed by Air Methods. In addition, we are continuing to pursue
consolidation opportunities within the air medical industry and potentially
new acquisition and merger opportunities within the aerospace components
industry that would complement our Products Division," said Mr. Belsey. |
