Operator
Operator
Welcome to Wheels Up Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Webcast. It is my pleasure to introduce Keith Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson, you may begin the conference.
Wheels Up Experience Inc. (UP)
Q3 2023 Earnings Call· Thu, Nov 9, 2023
$6.21
-0.96%
Same-Day
-4.55%
1 Week
+6.06%
1 Month
+17.42%
vs S&P
+10.45%
Operator
Operator
Welcome to Wheels Up Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Webcast. It is my pleasure to introduce Keith Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson, you may begin the conference.
Keith Ferguson
Management
Thank you. This morning we announced our third quarter financial results. The earnings release with its supporting tables, as well as a copy of today's presentation can be found on our Investor Relations website at wheelsup.com/investors. Please refer to the slide with our disclaimer. Today's presentation contains forward-looking statements based on our current forecasts and expectations of future events. These statements should be considered estimates only and actual results may differ materially. During today's webcast, we will refer to non-GAAP financial measures as outlined by SEC guidelines. Unless otherwise noted, all income statement-related financial measures will be non-GAAP other than revenue. Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures and definitions of non-GAAP financial measures are found within the financial tables of our earnings release and appendix of today's presentation. And with that, I'd like to turn that over to Wheels Ups' Chief Executive Officer, George Mattson.
George Mattson
Management
Thank you, Keith, and thanks to all of you for joining us today. In October, I eagerly took this role for one simple reason: to position Wheels Up as the best run global private aviation company in the world that provides unmatched flexibility and accessibility to its customers, and not only within private aviation, but across Delta's commercial offerings and our global charter subsidiary Air Partner. For the first time customers will be able to choose their optimal mode of travel trip by trip, business or leisure, domestic or international, short medium or long haul exclusively private or commercial, or a private commercial hybrid. My recent customer interactions have reinforced the need for our industry to deliver unique solutions that enable customer choice. And as we realize the potential of our strategic partnership with Delta and our other alliance shareholders, we expect to build and deliver an even more compelling and distinctive value proposition and to do so profitably. Over the last several weeks, we have worked to integrate our corporate sales teams and marketing initiatives with Delta. I have personally participated with the joint teams and dozens of prospective customer discussions and I'm pleased with the reception to the broad set of solutions we can deliver together. On October 31, we launched our new up for business corporate program focused on Delta's 45,000 small- and medium-sized enterprise or SME customers. We are actively engaged with 150 new prospects within the first six business days after launch. The opportunities to collaborate with Delta span across both our traditional Wheels Up member business as well as our Air Partner Global Charter business. Under Todd Smith's leadership as interim CEO, the company took significant steps to align on the right goals. We have improved our execution and value to our members. A…
Todd Smith
Management
Thanks, George. It's been my pleasure. It is great to be with you all today. For the operating and financial update, I will focus on three topics. The highlights from our third quarter performance, details on our operating priorities and progress and how we are on track to deliver on our commitment to achieve positive adjusted EBITDA in 2024. Starting with the highlights of the third quarter. Revenue was $320 million for the quarter down year-over-year, but consistent with our financial plan and a shift to a more profitable regional model. Membership revenue was down slightly year-over-year, largely reflective of the reduction in our program offering and despite continued strong retention of our existing customers. Flight revenue was down 9% sequentially and 23% year-over-year, reflecting a slowdown in industry volumes as well as company-specific market-related concerns of our financial position prior to the capital infusion from Delta and our new investors. As a reminder, going forward, our reported revenue will be lower due to the divestiture of our aircraft management business, which represented $53 million of revenue in the third quarter. Our adjusted contribution margin was 11% in the quarter, including $5.9 million of onetime software license revenue. Excluding that, our underlying adjusted contribution margin was 9.2%, up sequentially and at the highest level in over two years. We have reduced fixed costs through the opening of our member operations center and fleet consolidation, while charter margins have also improved. More importantly, customers have benefited from our operating enhancements, as evidenced by a marked improvement in on-time departures and completion rates. Operating expenses were relatively flat sequentially and down 10% year-over-year in absolute dollars, as we benefited from our restructuring actions and continued expense controls. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $18.5 million for the quarter, including the onetime software license revenue…
George Mattson
Operator
Thanks Todd. I'm really excited about the future for Wheels Up and our ability to lean into our strategic partnership with Delta, to really do something unique in the industry that can't be matched by our competitors. We are going to be a show-me company not a, tell-me one. Our stated goal is to become the best run Private Aviation Company and deliver tangible, measurable progress every week, every month, one flight at a time. I look forward to sharing updates on our continued progress. Before I close, I want to take the opportunity to sincerely thank all of our employees, whose strength, commitment and passion to the company is evident as we work together to fulfill our most important obligation, delivering an always safe and exceptional flight experience for all of our members and customers. I also want to thank our loyal members and customers who have stood with us, despite the increased media attention and speculation in the press earlier this year. We are working tirelessly to provide you with the best possible aviation solutions, as we build toward our future. Thank you for your interest. End of Q&A: That concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.