The current trading session is witnessing a significant surge in Blade Air Mobility, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLDE) shares. Blade Air shares demonstrate a substantial increase, displaying a noteworthy surge of 13.88%. This surge elevates the BLDE stock price to $2.79 on the US stock charts as of the last check. The remarkable ascent in BLDE share value follows an announcement of an equity move.
Today, Blade Air Mobility (BLDE) announced the approval of its Board of Directors to repurchase up to $20 million of outstanding Class A common stock. Given the Company's anticipation of profitability on an adjusted EBITDA basis for the full-year 2024, along with its debt-free balance sheet and significant cash balance, the share buyback program will enable the Company to selectively capitalize on stock price discrepancies, when deemed prudent.
The timing and volume of any repurchases will be contingent upon prevailing business and market conditions, potential acquisition and corporate investment opportunities, and Blade Air's capital allocation strategy at the given time. In its latest financial results press release, BLDE disclosed the launch of Trinity Organ Placement Services ("TOPS") in December, a novel medical service assisting transplant centers in assessing organ compatibility for potential recipients.
Furthermore, the company announced the impending acquisition of eight Hawker 800 aircraft, previously exclusively dedicated to Blade Air's Medical business. There will be a cash down payment of $11.7 million and an existing deposit with the operator of $9.3 million to finance the $21.0 million acquisition cost.
Blade Air has made significant strides in transitioning more Medical flights to dedicated aircraft, providing the company with fixed cost leverage as it expands, strategically located near its hospital clientele. This mutually beneficial arrangement has enabled Blade Air to enhance Flight Profit per trip while reducing costs for hospital clients.
Coupled with its expanding fleet of medical vehicles and the introduction of the new organ placement service, Blade Air has developed the most efficient and reliable end-to-end organ logistics platform in the United States.
Additionally, BLDE has improved Passenger flight profit margins by five percentage points in Q4 2023 compared to the previous year, illustrating a path to full-year profitability in the Passenger segment, anticipated by 2025.