In its letter to shareholders, Archer revealed that the adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the third quarter were a loss of US$64.8 million. While this is a considerable improvement on the second-quarter results, those numbers were inflated thanks to $73m in payments in the resolution of the Wisk dispute made during Q2. When that one-off charge is taken out of consideration, the underlying trend is a slight increase in losses quarter on quarter. However, it should also be borne in mind that the results for this quarter benefited from a one-off credit to the account in the form of a ‘founder grant forfeiture’ valued at $59.1m.
The company points to its increased activity in product development at the heart of its increased costs, with flight testing underway for its non-conforming prototype, continuing work on the Maker concept aircraft and the component manufacture of ‘six plus’ conforming prototypes, the first of which is expected to be completed ‘early in 2024’.
While the company remains bullish about its prospects in the letter, it is perhaps worth noting the sobering reading when the results for the first nine months of the year are taken into account, which reveal a loss of $468.7m against the current cash position of $461m in cash and other reserves.
