Sign in

You're signed outSign in or to get full access.

BA

Blade Air Mobility, Inc. (BLDE)·Q3 2024 Earnings Summary

Executive Summary

  • Revenue grew 4.8% year over year to $74.9M, with gross margin expanding 520 bps to 19.3% and Adjusted EBITDA rising to $4.2M; diluted EPS was $(0.03) .
  • Passenger segment achieved trailing twelve-month Segment Adjusted EBITDA profitability ahead of plan, driven by route exits, European restructuring, and cost savings; Flight Margin expanded to 26.5% .
  • Medical segment revenue rose 7.8% YoY but fell 5.9% QoQ on softer U.S. transplant volumes and owned-fleet onboarding/maintenance; management expects margins to rebound in Q4 .
  • Guidance reaffirmed: FY24 revenue $240–$250M and positive Adjusted EBITDA; FY25 “double-digit millions” of Adjusted EBITDA, medical revenue double-digit growth, and passenger revenue $85–$95M; Q4 passenger ~$13M .
  • Strategic alliance with OrganOx and two additional aircraft acquisitions (owned fleet rising to 10) strengthen Medical logistics and customer wins; October was one of the highest Medical revenue months in company history .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

  • Passenger profitability milestone: “positive Segment Adjusted EBITDA on a trailing twelve month basis, more than a year ahead of our investor guidance to turn profitable by the end of 2025” .
  • Cash conversion improved: Operating cash flow $6.4M and Free Cash Flow, before Aircraft Acquisitions $3.7M; YoY OCF up $4.3M and FCF (pre-acq) up $2.4M .
  • Strategic alliance with OrganOx to broaden access to the metra perfusion device via Blade’s air/ground logistics; addresses a supply-constrained device with high demand among transplant centers .

What Went Wrong

  • Net loss increased by $2.2M YoY to $(2.0)M, primarily due to a $6.0M decrease in non-cash income from change in fair value of warrant liability despite a $3.9M improvement in loss from operations .
  • Medical segment margins declined sequentially on lower volumes and above-average owned fleet expenses and onboarding delays; management expects normalization in Q4 .
  • Passenger seats flown fell 9.6% YoY to 45,977, reflecting Canada exit and mix changes; Jet & Other revenue declined 15% YoY as charter pricing normalized .

Financial Results

MetricQ3 2023Q2 2024Q3 2024
Revenue ($USD Millions)$71.4 $67.9 $74.9
Diluted EPS ($USD)$0.00 $(0.15) $(0.03)
Gross Margin (%)14.1% 16.7% 19.3%
Flight Margin (%)21.8% 24.1% 26.5%
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)$0.8 $1.0 $4.2

Segment breakdown and profitability:

MetricQ3 2023Q2 2024Q3 2024
Passenger Revenue ($M)$38.0 $29.6 $38.8
Medical Revenue ($M)$33.4 $38.3 $36.1
Passenger Flight Profit ($M)$9.4 $7.3 $12.3
Medical Flight Profit ($M)$6.2 $9.0 $7.5
Passenger Flight Margin (%)24.8% 24.7% 31.8%
Medical Flight Margin (%)18.4% 23.6% 20.8%
Passenger Adjusted EBITDA ($M)$2.8 $0.8 $5.6
Medical Adjusted EBITDA ($M)$3.3 $5.5 $3.9

KPIs:

KPIQ3 2023Q2 2024Q3 2024
Seats flown – all passenger flights50,821 44,037 45,977
Operating Cash Flow ($M)N/A$8.4 $6.4
Free Cash Flow, before Aircraft Acquisitions ($M)N/AN/A$3.7
Cash & Short-term Investments ($M)N/A$142.0 $136.3

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodPrevious GuidanceCurrent GuidanceChange
RevenueFY 2024$240–$250M $240–$250M Maintained
Adjusted EBITDAFY 2024Positive Positive Maintained
Adjusted EBITDAFY 2025Double-digit Double-digit millions Clarified/Reiterated
Passenger RevenueFY 2025N/A$85–$95M New
Medical RevenueFY 2025Double-digit YoY growth Double-digit YoY growth Maintained
Medical Flight Margin (exit 2024)Q4 2024Target ~25% by year-end Low–mid 20% rebound (no longer targeting 25% exit) Lowered
Medical Adjusted EBITDA MarginFY 2025N/A~15% (implies mid-20% flight margin) New
Passenger RevenueQ4 2024N/A~$13M New
Adjusted Unallocated Corporate ExpensesQ4 2024Flat to down remainder of year vs Q2 Flat to down vs last year Maintained

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious Mentions (Q1 & Q2 2024)Current Period (Q3 2024)Trend
EVA/eVTOL transition and regulatoryExpect U.S. EVA around 2026; Middle East earlier; asset-light transition via operators FAA guidelines and incoming administration seen as accelerating clarity; Blade positioned with infrastructure and relationships (Joby, Archer, Beta, Hyundai, Eve) Increasing visibility and confidence
Passenger profitability actionsExited BladeOne; Canada exit; Europe restructuring; airport pricing and add-ons lifting margins Trailing-12M Passenger Adj EBITDA positive; strong Northeast summer; record October airport passenger count; continued fare class optimization Execution ahead of plan
Medical owned aircraft strategy & ground logistics7 of 8 aircraft closed with >30% ROIC; ground hubs rising; vehicles payback <1 year Owned fleet now 10 by early 2025; sequential margin dip due to onboarding/maintenance but expected rebound; tuck-in ground acquisition (~4x normalized cash flow) Scaling with transient lumpiness
Organ perfusion and NRPPerfusion expands distances and viability; low-teens use; growing adoption Strategic alliance with OrganOx; NRP cases up >3x YoY YTD; early days but seen as “game changer” by hospitals Structural market expansion
Airline partnerships & distributionEmirates codeshare; Nice Terminals; Atlantic City heliport; JetBlue & Marriott/Bilt partnerships Qatar Airways interline; continued interline momentum; terminals and lounges enhance experience Strengthening demand funnels

Management Commentary

  • “We reached an important milestone this quarter in our Passenger Business, achieving positive Segment Adjusted EBITDA on a trailing twelve month basis…” — Rob Wiesenthal, CEO .
  • “Medical Segment Adjusted EBITDA improved 15.1%… despite a softer than expected Q3 for US organ transplant volumes… October was one of the highest revenue months for Medical in company history…” — Will Heyburn, CFO .
  • “We are also excited to announce a strategic alliance with OrganOx… demand for metra currently exceeds the supply of available machines… enable higher utilization through rapid distribution…” — Will Heyburn, CFO .
  • “During the quarter, we acquired two additional aircraft… bringing our owned fleet to ten… lower medical flight volumes in Q3 led to negative operating leverage… above average expenses… led to lower Medical Segment Adjusted EBITDA margins vs Q2 2024.” — Melissa Tomkiel, President .
  • “Blade’s vertical transportation platform is now stronger than ever… better positioned for the transition to Electric Vertical Aircraft than any other Urban Air Mobility company.” — Rob Wiesenthal, CEO .

Q&A Highlights

  • Medical volumes and downtime: Q3 volumes tracked industry declines; downtime and onboarding costs impacted margins; October rebound and normalization expected in Q4 .
  • Passenger outlook and Canada exit: FY25 passenger revenue guided to $85–$95M; strategy prioritizes profitability with exits from unprofitable routes; record October airport counts .
  • Positioning aircraft near hospitals: Enhances economics per trip, reduces repositioning, improves callout and outcomes; strengthens competitive moat .
  • EVA timing and policy backdrop: Incoming administration seen as pro-urban air mobility, potential reprieve for heliports/curfews; relationships with leading OEMs highlighted .
  • Capital allocation: Tuck-in ground logistics acquisition (~4x normalized cash flow); opportunistic share repurchases balanced with accretive investments .

Estimates Context

  • Wall Street consensus estimates via S&P Global were unavailable for BLDE at the time of this analysis (tool returned missing CIQ mapping). As a result, explicit revenue/EPS/EBITDA beat/miss vs consensus cannot be determined.
  • Directionally, stronger Passenger profitability and cash conversion alongside Medical margin variability may lead analysts to adjust segment margin trajectories (shift to Medical Adjusted EBITDA guidance and FY25 ~15% target) .

Key Takeaways for Investors

  • Passenger profitability arrived earlier than guided, supported by disciplined route exits, pricing, and European restructuring; expect continued margin tailwinds into 2025 .
  • Medical remains the growth/profit engine; despite Q3 variability from industry volumes and fleet onboarding, management guides for margin rebound in Q4 and ~15% Adjusted EBITDA margin in FY25 (implying mid-20% flight margin) .
  • Cash generation improving: Q3 Operating Cash Flow $6.4M and FCF (pre-acq) $3.7M, while maintaining $136.3M in cash/short-term investments; balance sheet supports aircraft adds and tuck-in acquisitions .
  • Strategic OrganOx alliance and rising NRP adoption expand addressable market and deepen customer integration; potential for higher logistics utilization .
  • FY24 guidance reaffirmed; FY25 framework adds passenger revenue range and explicit Medical margin target, offering clearer segment expectations .
  • Near-term trading: Watch Q4 Medical margin/volume normalization and passenger ~$13M print; narrative catalysts include EVA regulatory clarity and airline interline expansion (Qatar, Emirates, JetBlue) .
  • Medium-term thesis: Asset-light platform augmented by targeted aircraft/ground ownership delivers ROIC, margin expansion, and defensible positioning ahead of EVA adoption .