flyExclusive revenue grows 24% in third quarter
Kinston-based private jet aviation company flyExclusive reported total revenue of $76.9m for the third quarter of 2024, representing a robust 24% increase from the same period last year, while grappling with increased operational costs and market pressures.
The company’s core jet club and charter segment led the growth, generating $69.6m in revenue, a 17.3% increase year-over-year.
“flyExclusive achieved a remarkable 122% growth in flight hours since 2019. This marks the highest increase among the top four operators in the private aviation sector according to a recent report published by Jefferies. Year-over-year, flyExclusive was the second fastest growing company, trailing Flexjet by just 1% in growth over the past 12 months,” said Jim Segrave, chairman and CEO, flyExclusive.
In addition to the core segment, the revenue was complemented by impressive growth in fractional ownership by 257.7% to $5.3m. The maintenance, repair, and overhaul division contributed $1.5m, up 25.2%, while the aircraft management services added $551,000 to the top line.
However, strong revenue performance was overshadowed by mounting operational challenges. Operating losses widened to $21.0m primarily driven by a significant swing in aircraft sales results, with the company recording a $3.5m loss on aircraft held for sale compared to a $9.6m gain in the same period last year.
However, the company reduced its number of operating aircraft to 88, from 100 a year ago to optimise performance. The company effectively operates around 100 aircraft since the company is yet to add Volato’s fleet to their certificate.
In terms of costs, pressures continued to impact profitability, with total costs and expenses rising 25.6% to $97.8m. Cost of revenue increased by 7.8% to $68.2m, while selling, general and administrative expenses grew by 14.5% to $20.0m. Depreciation and amortisation saw a modest decrease of 8.8% to $6.1m.
The company’s bottom line showed marginal improvement, with net loss attributable decreasing to $6.3m from $22.1m in the prior year.
In terms of cash position, the company ended the quarter with $18.7m of cash and cash equivalents, $61.4m in short-term investments in securities with additional $8.9m available borrowing capacity under the 2018 term loan. Moreover, the company also has $0.5m of available borrowing capacity under the 2023 revolving credit.
However, the company warned that due to the disparity in exercise price of its outstanding warrants, it is unlikely to receive significant proceeds from warrants in near term. With significantly tight liquidity, the company will require additional funds in the coming quarters.
To note, flyExclusive entered in a strategic agreement with Volato taking over management of the latter’s fleet, which includes 10 fractional aircraft and two leased aircraft. Sharing the progress, the company said that it has already incorporated 178 Volato Insider members into flyExclusive’s Jet Club programme.
Segrave said the financial impact of the Volato agreement has been immediate and substantial, contributing approximately $600,000 to the bottom line in just the first month of operations. He further emphasised that Volato’s customers are now benefiting from access to a significantly larger fleet and flyExclusive’s vertically integrated service model, which has enhanced reliability and service quality.
