Blade reports record revenues and narrowing losses

Blade posted record revenues, up 118%, to $146.1m and narrowing losses of $27.26m down from $32m for the full-year 2022. 

“Our financial performance in the fourth quarter was once again well ahead of our expectations,” according to Rob Wiesenthal, CEO, Blade. “Revenue in the December quarter increased 55% to $38.1m versus $24.6m in the comparable 2021 period. For the full year 2022, revenue increased 118% to a record $146.1m compared to $67.2m in 2021.”

The firm ended 2022 with an especially strong fourth-quarter (Q4), according to Wiesenthal. Q4 was the best quarter yet for Blade Airport, both in terms of passengers and revenue. Also, MediMobility Organ Transport delivered another strong quarter, with growth driven by new customer wins and continued expansion with existing customers. “Today, we are the largest dedicated air transporter of human organs for transplant in the country,” said Wiesenthal. 

Flight profit increased 38% to $5.4m in the current quarter versus $3.9m in the prior year period, driven by largely by strong growth in the MediMobility Organ Transport business. Will Heyburn, CFO told investors: “In the full year 2022, flight profit grew by 79%, driven by revenue and flight profit growth across both our passenger and medical segments.”

Finally, adjusted EBITDA decreased to $8m in the current quarter from $5.9m in the prior year period, but improved as a percentage of revenues to 20.9% in the current quarter from 24.1% in the prior year period. 

Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2023, Heyburn expects both revenue and flight margin to be similar to or slightly above Q4 2022 levels. “From a seasonality perspective, we continue to expect Q1 and Q4 to remain the lowest flight margin quarters of the year, with Q1 slightly better, while our third quarter should have the highest flight margin, driven primarily by mix shift towards higher margin seasonal businesses in New York and Europe during Q3 and part of Q2.”

Heyburn also noted the recent disruption to markets resulting from the Silicon Valley Bank shut down. “First and foremost, Blade does not maintain an account, hold cash, or hold securities at Silicon Valley Bank or Signature Bank,” he said. “Our primary depository relationship is JPMorgan Chase, and we have not identified any material exposure to Silicon Valley Bank or Signature Bank amongst our critical vendors or large customers.”