Archer Aviation: $457 net loss for 2023 as certification enters final stages

Archer Aviation, developer of the Midnight eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) craft, has reported a net loss of $457.9 million for the full year 2023 despite noting a strong liquidity position of around $625m as of the end of Q4 2023, with its cash balances increasing quarter-on-quarter. The Midnight aircraft is now in the final phase of its certification programme as it readies for entry into service in 2025. “With the vast majority of the aircraft’s subsystems and components being sourced from leading aerospace suppliers with certification heritage we have significantly de-risked [the] path to certification from here,” commented Archer CEO Adam Goldstein. Archer’s total non-GAAP total operating expenses in Q4 2023 were $87.5 million, contributing to $311.8 million for the full year. Operating expenses for Q4 were ‘sequentially higher’ than the previous quarter, notes Archer, ‘primarily due to a one-time non-cash credit of $59.1 million reflected in the third quarter relating to the forfeiture of an equity award’. The company also adds its full year operating expenses were ‘required to achieve the key elements of [its] commercialisation plan’. Adjusted EBITDA was -$305.3 million for the twelve months ending December 31 2023. Services provided to the company by strategic partner Stelantis, which is collaborating on the build of three confirming Midnight aircraft for the upcoming flight test campaign, also totalled $17.5 million. Additionally, Archer spent $70.3 million over the course of the year in non-cash charges relating to the Boeing Wisk agreements. These include the resolution of litigation between the two companies and the ‘issuance of certain warrants that provide for certain investments by Boeing into [Archer]’. In Q1 2024, Archer anticipates total non-GAAP operating expenses of $75-95 million.