News & Media

FLYHT Reports Record 2016 Year End Results – Third Consecutive Profitable Quarter and First Profitable Year

Calgary, Alberta – April 4, 2017 – FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. (TSX-V: FLY) (OTCQX: FLYLF) (the “Company” or “FLYHT”) a leader in real-time data and communication technologies in the aerospace industry has reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2016.

“FLYHT made notable progress in 2016; we reported three straight, record-setting quarters,” stated Thomas R. Schmutz, Chief Executive Officer of FLYHT. “We had $2.5 million in EBITDA and a net profit for the first time in history, a 37% increase in revenue over 2015, paid off $5.4 million in debentures, rolled out a new software platform and signed several new sales contracts. We are happy to celebrate these results with our shareholders and partners.”

Fourth Quarter highlights include:

• Revenue of $4,127,827, which represents 9.5% increase over the fourth quarter of 2015.
• Recurring revenue (voice and data services) of $1,169,741, an increase of 9.5% over the fourth quarter of 2015, and parts sales $2,091,720, an increase of 86.1%.
• Gross profit was 74.9% of revenue compared to 64.4% for the fourth quarter of 2015.
• EBITDA[1] of $243,017 in the quarter compared to negative $902,784 in the same quarter of 2015.
• Net income of $79,709 which included research and development (R&D) costs of $725,739, which if removed would have resulted in net income of $805,448. The net income increased $1,283,707 over the fourth quarter of 2015.
• Distribution expenses were $1,424,211 representing an increase of $339,768 compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, attributable mainly to higher people costs.
• Administration expenses decreased to $719,097 in the quarter; a decrease of $854,699 compared to the same quarter in 2015 due to severance and share based remuneration costs in the prior year that did not recur, decreased costs of investor relations consultants and lower travel costs.
• Customer deposits of $317,899 at quarter end were a 68.9% decrease from Q4 2015 and payments received were $716,828 lower than the same quarter last year due to the normal variability between quarters. The value of deposits moved to unearned revenue was $702,582, a decrease of $30,153 compared to Q4 2015.
• Unearned revenue decreased in the quarter to $827,235 from $1,145,341 or 27.8% lower than the fourth quarter of 2015.
• Revenue recognized on AFIRS units shipped was $886,975 lower than in Q4 2015. Revenue was recognized for 12 installation kits in Q4 2016 compared to 28 in the fourth quarter of 2015. In 2016, revenue was recognized for 73 kits, compared to 58 in 2015.
• The value of AFIRS units shipped in Q4 2016 was a 4.1% decrease from 2015 ($30,153).

Year Highlights Include:

• Revenue of $14,331,191, which represents an increase of 37% over 2015, owing to a significant increase in parts sales, more AFIRS units, and an increase in recurring revenue.
• Recurring revenue (voice and data services) was $4,375,138, an increase of 9.7% over 2015, and AFIRS sales were $3,931,607 an increase of 16.6%.
• Gross profit for 2016 was 68.4% of revenue compared to 69.3% in 2015.
• EBITDA of $2,503,610; a $5,660,040 increase from the $3,156,430 negative EBITDA in 2015.
• Net income for the year was $1,712,718 compared to a loss of $3,891,560 in 2015, an increase of $5,604,278. If R&D costs were removed, the gain would have been $4,313,947, an improvement of 496.1%.
• Distribution expenses were $4,907,039, an increase of $929,406 from 2015 due to higher people cost offset by a recovery of a bad debt written off in 2014.
• Administration expenses decreased to $3,087,656 from $3,676,953 for 2015, or a decrease of $589,297 due to decreased severance costs, a decrease in investor relations consultants and lower travel costs.
• R&D expenses were $2,601,229, a decrease of 7.2% from 2015 due mainly to lower people cost and partially offset by the settlement of a warranty claim.
• Net finance costs increased 6.0% or $40,220 in 2016 to $713,499.
• Cash burn reduced significantly as the year progressed. Q1 operating activities absorbed cash of $292,087, Q2 generated cash of $1,162,445, Q3 absorbed $401,053 and Q4 absorbed $24,124.
• In total $445,181 cash was generated by operating activities in 2016 and cash absorbed by the Company, after redeeming $5,360,000 debentures in cash mainly from the proceeds of $5,086,513 shares and warrants issued and $3,228,166 sale of a license to use certain intellectual property, was $479,215; $2,415,263 less cash absorbed than in 2015.
• At year end, current assets exceeded current liabilities by $1,724,190 (55.4%) and total assets exceeded total liabilities by 40.5% ($1,877,359). In 2015, the Company had negative net assets.

Detailed information in FLYHT’s 2016 Annual Report containing the CEO’s Message, Management Discussion and Analysis and Financial Statements has been posted to the Company’s website and can be accessed at https://flyht.com/financial-reports/. The MD&A and Financial Statements have also been filed with SEDAR and will be accessible at www.sedar.com.

FLYHT will host a live conference call to discuss fourth quarter results on Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 9 am MDT (11 am EDT, 8 am PDT). The conference call will include a brief presentation about FLYHT’s fourth quarter and year end results followed by a question and answer period with management.

To access the conference call by phone within Canada and the U.S.A., the toll-free number is 1-800-319-4610. Outside Canada and the U.S.A., 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 Presentations and Webcasts section of FLYHT’s website as soon as it is available from the conference call provider. https://flyht.com/presentation-and-webcast/

About FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd.

FLYHT is a leading provider of real-time aircraft intelligence and cockpit communications for the aerospace industry. More than 70 customers, including airlines, leasing companies and original equipment manufacturers, have installed our systems in order to increase safety, improve operational efficiencies and enhance profitability. FLYHT’s proprietary technology, the Automated Flight Information Reporting System (AFIRS^TM), operates on multiple aircraft types and provides functions such as safety services voice and text messaging, data collection and transmission, and on-demand streaming of flight data recorder (black box), engine and airframe data. AFIRS sends this information through the Iridium Satellite Network to FLYHT’s UpTime^TM ground-based server, which routes the data to customer-specified end points and provides an interface for real-time aircraft interaction. AFIRS has flown over 2.4 million aggregate flight hours and 1.6 million flights on customers’ aircraft. FLYHT holds supplemental type certificates (STC) which allow for the installation of AFIRS on 95% of transport category aircraft.

Contact Information

FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd.
Nola M. Heale, CPA, CA
Chief Financial Officer
403-291-7425
nheale@flyht.com 
Investor Relations
The Howard Group Inc.
Dave Burwell
Vice President
(888) or (403)-221-0915
dave@howardgroupinc.com
Join us on social media!

www.facebook.com/flyht
www.twitter.com/flyhtcorp
www.slideshare.net/flyhtcorp
www.youtube.com/flyhtcorp
www.flyht.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

[1] EBITDA: defined as earnings before interest, income tax, depreciation and amortization (a non-GAAP financial measure).