As Blade Air Mobility turns “the corner to profitability” it is “doing so without sacrificing revenue growth’, according to CEO Rob Wiesenthal.
The operator announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2023 yesterday, highlighted by a 56% year-on-year (YoY) surge in revenue to a record $71.4m.
This growth was driven by robust performances in both the MediMobility Organ Transport and short distance segments.
Blade achieved net income of $0.3m, marking a significant reversal from the losses incurred over the past four quarters. The company also posted a positive cash flow (FCF) of $1.3m in the third quarter.
“We are very pleased to deliver our first quarter of positive free cash flow and positive adjusted EBITDA while maintaining rapid revenue growth in both the passenger and medical segments,” said Wiesenthal on the Q3 earnings call.
“As evidenced by this quarter’s results, we remain on track with our commitment to deliver a meaningful improvement in full year adjusted EBITDA in 2023 versus 2022, and we also expect further year-over-year adjusted EBITDA improvement in Q4 of this year. Looking to 2024, we expect even better results with significantly improved adjusted EBITDA versus 2023,” he added.
Delving into the segment-wise breakdown, MediMobility Organ Transport revenues jumped by 65% YoY to $33.4m, compared with $20.2m during the same period last year.
On the passenger front, short distance business revenues also witnessed a remarkable 50% YoY increase to $30.8m, compared with $20.4m. This growth is primarily driven by acquisitions in Europe and strategic improvements across short distance route networks. Meanwhile, jet and other revenue increased 49.1% YoY to $7.6m in the current quarter versus $5.1m in the prior year period driven by an increase in jet charter volume.
Blade also reported strong margins across all its segments. The passenger segment achieved margins of 24.8%, while the medical segment margins stood at 18.4%.
Looking ahead, Blade expects to further enhance its profitability through the expansion of its new business line, Trinity Organ Placement Services (TOPS). TOPS is a platform to help transplant centres determine if an organ is a match for a potential recipient, thereby reducing transplant waiting times.
Blade has made several strategic acquisitions in an effort to expand its market reach and introduce new and profitable business lines. The company acquired Skyports, Helicopter-Service Deutschland GmbH and Air Hamburg in Europe.
