-- Strong Cost Control Contributes to Increase in Cash Balance --
-- SaaS Represented 54% of 2020 Revenue, Driving Gross Margin Expansion to 68% --
-- Company Expects Launch Partners to Deploy Actionable Intelligence Software in Q2 --
CALGARY, Alberta, April 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. (TSX-V: FLY) (OTCQX: FLYLF) (the “Company” or “FLYHT”) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2020.
“We are encouraged by recent trends for short-haul travel and cargo activity in the current environment and are relieved to have 2020 behind us,” said Bill Tempany, CEO. “While it was a challenging year for FLYHT and the commercial aviation industry, we feel that we have weathered the storm relatively well. Given that we serve a client base that has seen a 40% to 75% reduction in revenue, unprecedented financial losses and staff reductions, the revenue slip experienced by FLYHT is better than the industry as a whole and testament to the critical value that our solutions bring to airline operations.”
Tempany continued, “During the fourth quarter, we started to see signs of recovery across our business. We have seen clients that had experienced financial distress early in the pandemic return to the skies with equipped with FLYHT solutions. Additionally, we shipped 24 AFIRS hardware kits in the fourth quarter which was up from only one in the third quarter, and have a solid pipeline of additional units committed for deliveries in 2021. While still down on a year over year basis, overall revenue increased 76% sequentially from the third quarter of 2020.”
“We enter 2021 with an expanded suite of solutions that leverage FLYHT’s historical core strength in real-time aircraft data with additional insights and actions from our Actionable Intelligence suite of SaaS applications. We expect to have at least three clients using the AI software suite in the second quarter of 2021 and to start generating incremental revenue from these services beginning in the third quarter.”
Concluded Tempany, “We are well-positioned, given our cash reserves and current recovery trends, to see a significant improvement in our operating results in 2021 and 2022 as the vaccination rollout continues and pandemic related travel restrictions dissipate.”
Fourth Quarter 2020 Results
- Revenue decreased 21% to $3,379,186 compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. This included:
- SaaS revenue of $1,627,421, a decrease of 40% from Q4 2019;
- Hardware revenue of $1,490,709, an increase of 127% from Q4 2019;
- Licensing revenue of $48,068, down 94% from 4Q 2019; and
- Technical Services of $212,988, an increase of 52% from Q4 2019.
- Gross margin was 56% of revenue compared to 63.0% in the fourth quarter of 2019.
- Operating expenses decreased 12% from the fourth quarter of 2019. Distribution expenses decreased by 23%, Administration expenses increased by 11%, and Research and Development and certification engineering expenses decreased by 13%.
- Negative EBITDA was $1,657,110 in the quarter compared to negative EBITDA of $711,486 in the fourth quarter of 2019.
- Net loss was $1,999,715, compared to a net loss of $1,212,971 in Q4 2019.
Full Year 2020 Results
- Revenue for the full year was $13,652,985, representing a decrease of 36% compared to full year 2019 revenue of $21,171,159. This included:
- SaaS revenue of $7,323,125, a 29% decrease year-over-year;
- Hardware revenue of $2,306,371, a 65% decrease year-over-year;
- Licensing revenue of $3,630,874, an increase of 12% year-over-year; and
- Technical Services of $392,615, a 62% decrease compared to 2019.
- Gross margin of $9,257,099 was a 25% decrease from $12,326,802 in 2019.
- Operating expenses decreased 21% year-over-year to $12,786,742. This included decreases in all expense categories: 35% in Distribution, 4% in Administration, and 11% in Research & Development.
- The full year EBITDA loss was $1,854,413 in 2020, which compares to an EBITDA gain of $1,015,591 for the full year of 2019.
- Net loss for the year increased to $3,237,457 from a 2019 net loss of $746,635.
FLYHT’s balance sheet ended the year with:
- Cash and short-term investments balances of $5,127,963, an increase from 2019’s ending balance of $4,127,648;
- Trade and Other Receivables decreased 68% year-over-year, in part due to reserves for bad debts;
- Increases in both Property and Equipment and Non-current lease liabilities, reflecting the addition of a new leased office space for the company’s headquarters in Calgary; and
- Movement of the debenture due in July 2021 to Current from Non-Current Loans and Borrowings.
Conference Call
FLYHT will host a live conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2020 financial results on Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 7 am MT (9 am ET, 6 am PT). The conference call will include a brief presentation about FLYHT’s fourth quarter and full year financial results followed by a question and answer period with Bill Tempany, Interim CEO and Alana Forbes, CFO.
To access the conference call by phone within Canada and the U.S., dial 1-800-319-4610 (toll free). Outside Canada and the U.S., dial 1-604-638-5340. (Callers should dial in five to 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time).
Management will accept questions by telephone and e-mail. Individuals wishing to ask a question during the call, can do so by pressing *1. Questions can be emailed in advance or during the conference call to investors@flyht.com.
An archive of the conference call will be posted on the Investor Communications section of FLYHT’s website as soon as it is available from the conference call provider.
Additional Information
FLYHT’s 2020 Annual Report, which contains more detailed information including the CEO’s Letter to Shareholders, Management Discussion and Analysis and Financial Statements, can be accessed on the Company’s website. The MD&A and Financial Statements have also been filed with SEDAR and will be accessible at www.sedar.com.
Corporate Update
Barry Eccleston, Executive Chairman of FLYHT, has decided to not run for re-election at the AGM. Barry says, “It has been a pleasure working with the board and staff at FLYHT and that I feel confident that the recent changes in management have the company on a strong course to thrive as the airline business recovers from the pandemic. I have always believed in the FLYHT technology and the need the industry has for it and the current direction with Actionable Intelligence, using JetBridge technology, will serve the company’s customers and prospects well to emerge healthier and more agile than pre-pandemic. It has been a pleasure to serve the shareholders of FLYHT and I wish the company, its staff, customers and shareholders every success in the coming years.”
Bill Tempany, Interim CEO stated, “It has been a pleasure to work with and get to know Barry over the last 7 years. For him to be able to carve out the time and energy to give a small company like ours the insights he has of the industry, business and trends has been an immeasurable help to me and to the staff, and has given us a foundation to build on. We will all miss having Barry’s insights, humour and guidance but also understand that after 5 plus decades of hard work, retirement is supposed to mean taking time for your own passions and family. We wish Barry many days of clear skies while he perfects his flying techniques, zero IROP issues while he and Valerie enjoy their many planned activities once the COVID beast is defeated and many years to take advantage of the time well earned while helping aviation in general become a safe, clean, great industry.”
The board will leave the vacancy unfilled and a chairman will be elected from among the elected directors after FLYHT’s AGM in May.
About FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd.
FLYHT provides airlines with Actionable Intelligence to transform operational insight into immediate, quantifiable action, delivering industry leading solutions to improve aviation safety, efficiency and profitability. This unique capability is driven by FLYHT’s patented aircraft certified hardware products including AFIRS™, a satcom aircraft interface device which enables real-time streaming of flight information, cockpit voice and black box data streaming and TAMDAR™, which aggregates and streams airborne weather data in real-time. FLYHT is headquartered in Calgary, Canada with an office in Littleton, Colorado, and is an AS9100 Quality registered company. For more information, view our latest presentation here, or visit www.flyht.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the anticipated/projected revenues and related matters. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.
Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are founded on the basis of expectations, assumptions and hypotheses made by the Company, including, but not limited to projected revenues. Such forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and globally; industry conditions, and supply chain delays. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.
The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Contact Information:
| FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. | FNK IR LLC |
| Alana Forbes | Matt Chesler, CFA |
| Chief Financial Officer | Investor Relations |
| 403.291.7437 | 646.809.2183 |
| aforbes@flyht.com | flyht@fnkir.com |
| investors@flyht.com |
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