flyExclusive, the Kinston-based private jet charter company that went public in December, issued its first annual report since going public in December, citing an annual loss and slight decline in revenue from the previous year.
The company said it had a net loss of $46.8 million last year, compared with a gain of $6 million in 2022. Revenue was $315 million last year, compared with $320 million a year earlier.
A key reason for the flat revenue was that flyExclusive ended its agreement with New York-based Wheels Up, another “on-demand” jet charter service that made up 39% of revenue in 2022. That declined to 22% last year after the two companies ended their agreement on June 30.
“We had already expected the percentage of total revenue concentrated in [Wheels Up] to continue to decrease over the next few years, and had already planned to scale down business with” the company said in the report.
The two companies are now involved in pending litigation related to the contract.
About 75% of flyExclusive’s revenue came from its jet club and charter services, in which customers prepay for a certain number of flights, often on a monthly basis. The company said its “members contributing to revenues” increased 39% to 948. Total flight hours declined because of the Wheels Up change.
FlyExclusive went public via a combination with a New York special purpose acquisition company led by investor Gregg Hymowitz. FlyExclusive is the fifth-largest U.S. charter/fractional private jet operator.
CEO Jim Segrave launched flyExclusive in 2015 with two jets after selling his Segrave Aviation to Delta Air Lines in 2010. It now has about 100 owned and leased aircraft. He controls 71% of the company’s voting power.
The Kinston company’s jets range from light aircraft to large cabin sizes. Its Global Transpark operation offers repair, painting, avionics and interior cabin renovation services.
The New York Stock Exchange American, where the company’s shares are listed, had pressed flyExclusive to file its annual 10-K report after missing the exchange’s deadline. The company said it required more time to complete the report because it was a newly public company that became a taxable corporation in December, according to a flyExclusive release.
“Our growth strategy assumes that we will raise sufficient capital to support our projections and provide the necessary working capital needed to grow per our projections,” the company noted in the annual report, citing potential risks to its plans. “However, we currently do not have the available cash to provide us with adequate liquidity for the purchase of the additional aircraft.”
The report noted that flyExclusive had about $254 million of assets, $193 million in long-term debt and $11.6 million in cash or cash equivalents as of Dec. 31. The debt is mostly related to aircraft purchase. It also had $86 million of long-term operating leases on 26 aircraft.
Shares gained about 23 cents Wednesday to close at about $4.50. They have traded between $3.39 and $24 since December. The company’s market capitaliztion is about $350 million.
FlyExclusive’ board of directors include First Citizens Bancshares CEO Frank Holding Jr., Greensboro lawyer Mike Fox, who chairs the N.C. Board of Transportation, and Segrave’s father, Thomas Segrave. None of the three owned shares as of Dec. 31, according to the report.
