Bird Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Financial Results

Full Year 2022 Revenue of $245 Million and Second Consecutive Quarter of Positive Adjusted EBITDA

Successful Completion of Bird Canada Acquisition, Provides Over $30 Million in Capital and Positive Cash Flow Operation

New 2023 Guidance with Adjusted EBITDA of $15 to $20 Million, and Positive Cash Flow of $5 to $10 Million

MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Bird Global, Inc. (“Bird” or the “Company”) (NYSE: BRDS), a leader in environmentally friendly electric transportation, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2022.

Shane Torchiana, CEO of Bird, said, “Over the last six months and with the help of our bolstered management team, we have sharpened our focus on our core Sharing business and exited unprofitable operations in EMEA and North America. The year culminated in the acquisition of Bird Canada’s operations, which added profitable, cash flow generating operations in Canada and a $30 million cash investment in Bird Global. In the fourth quarter, we saw dramatically improved gross margins and reduced operating expenses, which position Bird to generate positive Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow in 2023.”

Mr. Torchiana continued, “We believe our rightsized footprint, focus on asset efficiency, new cost discipline and experienced management team will enable us to achieve our targets in 2023 and focus on our mission of providing cleaner, equitable transportation alternatives for the consumers, communities and cities we serve.”

Fourth Quarter Ended December 31, 2022 Financial Results

• Revenue was $69.7 million compared to $49.5 million in the same period in 2021 (“the prior year period”). Revenue in the fourth quarter included $28.8 million unredeemed preloaded wallet balances from prior periods.
• Consolidated gross margin, which is net of vehicle depreciation, as a percentage of revenue was 42%, representing a 35 percentage point increase compared to the prior year period.
• Ride Profit (before Vehicle Depreciation) was $49.7 million compared to $21.5 million in the prior year period. Ride Profit (before Vehicle Depreciation) as a percentage of Bird’s core vehicle-sharing business (“Sharing”) revenue was 72% compared to 53% for the prior year period.
• Total operating expenses were $58.5 million, including $13.3 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense. Adjusted Operating Expenses, which excludes the non-cash stock-based compensation expense as well as certain non-cash, non-recurring items or non-core expenses, of $42.3 million decreased 29% year-over-year.
• Net loss was $36.4 million compared to net loss of $46.7 million in the prior year period.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $6.1 million compared to a loss of $23.8 million in the prior year period.
• Free Cash Flow loss, which was impacted by seasonality and one-time expenses related to financing alternatives, narrowed to $14.6 million compared to $165.5 million in the prior year period.

Full Year Ended December 31, 2022 Financial Results

• Revenue was $244.7 million, representing an increase of 28% compared to $190.5 million in the prior year period. Revenue for the full year included $23.3 million of unredeemed preloaded wallet balances from prior periods.
• Consolidated gross margin, which is net of vehicle depreciation, as a percentage of revenue was 14%, representing a 2 percentage point increase compared to the prior year period.
• Ride Profit (before Vehicle Depreciation) was $126.3 million compared to $76.7 million in 2021. Ride Profit (before Vehicle Depreciation) as a percentage of Sharing revenue was 55% compared to 44% for the prior year period.
• Total operating expenses were $506.1 million, including $95.3 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense; Adjusted Operating Expenses, which excludes the non-cash stock-based compensation expense as well as certain non-cash, non-recurring items or non-core expenses, increased 10% year-over-year.
• Net loss was $358.7 million compared to net loss of $214.9 million in the prior year period.
• Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $62.1 million compared to a loss of $80.9 million in the prior year period.
• Free Cash Flow loss narrowed to $146.2 million compared to a loss of $347.3 million in the prior year period.

2023 Outlook

Continuing to focus on profitability and Free Cash Flow generation, the Company expects:

• Adjusted Operating Expense of no more than $100 million;
• Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $15 to $20 million; and
• Positive Cash Flow of $5 to $10 million.

Michael Washinushi, CFO of Bird, commented, “We are laser-focused on improving gross margins and reducing operating expenses as we enter 2023. Bird Canada offers a template of how to run growing, profitable and cash flow generating markets. Our consolidated gross margins and Sharing gross margins reached 14% and 28%, respectively. Ride Profit (before Vehicle Depreciation) as a percentage of Sharing revenue of 55% points to the positive unit economics and cash margin of our Sharing business. Absent nearly $9 million of operating expenses in the fourth quarter that we do not expect to repeat in the first quarter, our core operating expense run-rate reached $134 million and we expect it to be below $100 million in fiscal year 2023, accelerating our positive Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow goals.”

Mr. Washinushi continued, “We ended the year with total cash of $39 million, including $33 million of unrestricted cash. During the quarter, we used $12 million of our non-restricted cash to pay down our Apollo and Yorkville debt, along with using $43 million of restricted cash for the same purpose. Additionally, seasonality has a strong impact on cash flow and we expect to return to positive cash flow starting in the second quarter of 2023.”

Subsequent Events

Effective January 3, 2023, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement (the “Share Purchase Agreement”) with Bird Canada, Inc. (“Bird Canada”) and certain other parties thereto, which, among other things, resulted in the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Bird Canada in exchange for the additional issuance by the Company of an aggregate principal amount of $27.0 million of the Company’s 12.0% Convertible Senior Secured Notes due in 2027, 18,204,365 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, and a nominal amount of cash consideration. In connection with the signing of the Share Purchase Agreement, on December 19, 2022 and December 30, 2022, Bird amended its vehicle financing facility with Apollo Investment Corporation, providing for a new loan from Bird Canada in an aggregate principal amount of $4.0 million and reducing and extending its debt amortization payments to align with Bird’s normal business seasonality. For further information regarding terms and conditions of the Bird Canada transaction, please see Bird’s Current Reports on Form 8-K, filed December 20, 2022 and January 3, 2023.

Going Concern

The Company’s ability to fund working capital, make capital expenditures, and service its debt will depend on its ability to generate cash from operating activities, which is subject to its future operating success, and obtain financing on reasonable terms, which is subject to factors beyond its control, including general economic, political, and financial market conditions. The capital markets have in the past experienced, are currently experiencing, and may in the future experience, periods of volatility that could impact the availability and cost of equity and debt financing and there can be no assurances that such financing will be available to the Company on satisfactory terms, or at all. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had $33.5 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents which, without additional funding, will not be sufficient to meet the Company’s obligations within the next 12 months. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital and generate cash flows necessary to expand its operations and invest in continued innovation, it may not be able to compete successfully and may need to scale back or discontinue certain or all of its operations in order to reduce costs or seek bankruptcy protection, which would harm its business, financial condition, and results of operations. As such, these factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Accordingly, the Company plans to continue to closely monitor its operating forecast, reduce its operating expenses, and pursue additional sources of outside capital. Along with this global footprint realignment, the Company is targeting additional reductions in its operating expenses.

Presentation

This press release presents historical results, for certain periods presented, of Bird Rides, Inc., the predecessor of Bird Global, Inc. for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, these historical results do not purport to reflect what the results of operations of Bird Global, Inc. would have been had the business combination with Switchback II Corporation (the “Business Combination”) occurred prior to such periods. All financial comparisons in this press release compare our financial results from the fourth quarter and full year 2022 to our financial results from the fourth quarter and full year 2021.

Conference Call Information

A conference call to discuss the Company’s fourth quarter and full year 2022 financial results and other business updates is scheduled for today, March 10, 2023, at 8:00 am Eastern time. Participants interested in participating in the call are invited to dial 1-877-407-0792, or join the live audio webcast available online at https://ir.bird.co. A recorded replay of the webcast will be available within two hours of the conclusion of the event and can be accessed online at https://ir.bird.co for 90 days.

About Bird

Bird is an electric vehicle company dedicated to bringing affordable, environmentally friendly transportation solutions such as e-scooters and e-bikes to communities across the world. Founded in 2017 by transportation pioneer Travis VanderZanden, Bird’s cleaner, affordable, and on-demand mobility solutions are available in more than 350 cities across the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. We take a collaborative, community-first approach to micromobility. Bird partners closely with the cities in which it operates to provide a reliable and affordable transportation option for people who live and work there.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Metrics

This press release contains “Ride Profit,” “Ride Profit Margin,” “Adjusted Operating Expenses,” “Adjusted EBITDA,” and “Free Cash Flow” which are measures that are not prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Ride Profit reflects the profit generated from rides in our Sharing business after accounting for direct ride expenses, which primarily consist of payments to Fleet Managers. Other ride costs include payment processing fees, network infrastructure, and city permit fees. We calculate Ride Profit (i) before vehicle depreciation to illustrate the cash return and (ii) after vehicle depreciation to illustrate the impact of the evolution of our vehicles. Ride Profit Margin is Ride Profit divided by the revenue we generate from our Sharing business. We use Ride Profit Margin for financial and operational decision-making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. We believe that Ride Profit and Ride Profit Margin are useful indicators of the economics of our Sharing business, as they exclude indirect unallocated expenses such as research and development, selling and marketing, and general and administrative expenses. Adjusted Operating Expenses is a supplemental measure of operating expenses used to provide investors with additional information about the Company’s business performance. We believe Adjusted Operating Expenses is useful in evaluating the operational costs of our business as it excludes impact from items that are non-cash in nature, non-recurring, or not related to our core business operations. We calculate Adjusted Operating Expenses as total operating expenses, adjusted to exclude (i) depreciation and amortization associated with operating expenses, (ii) stock-based compensation expense, (iii) legal settlements and reserves, (iv) impairment of assets, and (v) other non-recurring, non-cash, or non-core items. Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure of operating performance used to inform management decisions for the business. We believe Adjusted EBITDA is useful in evaluating our performance on a relative basis to other comparable businesses as it excludes impact from items that are non-cash in nature, non-recurring, or not related to our core business operations. We calculate Adjusted EBITDA as net profit or loss, adjusted to exclude (i) interest expense (income), net, (ii) provision for (benefit from) income taxes, (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) vehicle count adjustments, (v) stock-based compensation expense, (vi) other income (expense), net, (vii) legal settlements and reserves, (viii) impairment of product sales inventory, (ix) impairment of assets, and (x) other non-recurring, non-cash, or non-core items. Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP financial measure used by our management and board of directors as an important indicator of our liquidity, as it is an additional basis for assessing the amount of cash we generate. Accordingly, we believe that Free Cash Flow provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and board of directors. There are limitations related to the use of free cash flow as an analytical tool, including: other companies may calculate free cash flow differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure; free cash flow does not reflect our future contractual commitments; and free cash flow does not represent the total residual cash flow for a given period. We calculate Free Cash Flow as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, adjusted to exclude capital expenditures, which consist of purchases of vehicles and property and equipment. There are a number of limitations related to the use of non-GAAP financial measures. In light of these limitations, we provide specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from Ride Profit, Ride Profit Margin, Adjusted Operating Expenses, Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow. For reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, see the appendix to this press release.

This press release also contains certain key business metrics which are used to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate business plans, and make strategic decisions. Gross Transaction Value (“GTV”) reflects the total dollar value, excluding any applicable taxes, of Rides in our Sharing business and vehicle sales to retail customers and Bird Platform partners, in each case without any adjustment for retail discounts or refunds. In order to calculate GTV, we add back contra revenues from both Sharing and Product Sales and adjustments to the Bird Platform revenue we recognize. GTV is a key indicator of the scale of our business and ultimately drives revenue. We calculate Rides as the total number of paid and unpaid trips completed by customers of our Sharing business. Rides are seasonal to a certain degree. Deployed Vehicles reflects the number of vehicles available to riders through our Sharing business. We calculate Deployed Vehicles on a pro-rata basis over a 24-hour period, wherein two vehicles deployed for a combined period of 24 hours equate to one Deployed Vehicle. Rides per Deployed Vehicle per Day (“RpD”) reflects the rate at which our shared vehicles are utilized by riders. We calculate RpD as the total number of Rides divided by total Deployed Vehicles in our Sharing business each calendar day.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. We based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, including those regarding our future financial performance and strategy, expected path to profitability, future operations, future operating results and financial condition, ability to achieve our self-sustainability goals, anticipated Adjusted Operating Expenses for full year 2023, anticipated Adjusted EBITDA for full year 2023, ability to achieve positive Free Cash Flow in 2023, our plans to seek additional capital, and objectives of our management are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” “project,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, we disclaim any duty to update any forward-looking statements, all of which are expressly qualified by the statements in this section, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release. We caution you that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Some of the risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to materially differ from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements are described in the “Risk Factors” section in our Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as well as our other filings with Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the time made and the Company does not undertake to update or revise them to reflect future events or circumstances.

Contacts

Investor Contact
Investor@bird.co

Media Contact
Press@bird.co

Read full story here