Michael Riegel DipM BSc MSc MBAMichael Riegel DipM BSc MSc MBA• 1st• 1stBusiness Aviation Publisher, Market Analyst, Business Jet Designer & Consumer AdvocateBusiness Aviation Publisher, Market Analyst, Business Jet Designer & Consumer Advocate
2d • Edited • 2d • Edited •
Bloomberg & Vista Global 2023 Results
The attached Bloomberg article stimulated more questions than it answered, at least for me!
Thomas Flohr appeared to acknowledge that the company has been struggling, referring to 2023 as a “year of transition”. As if to illustrate his point, Vista Global reported a 5.2% decline in Flohr’s favored EBITDA. Worse, the company also reported a substantial 30% increase in their fixed costs, without providing any detailed justification for this fixed cost escalation.
Notably absent from the Bloomberg article is any detail surrounding Vista Global’s free cash flow performance. The company reported boosting liquidity, during 2023, but made no mention of their full-year 2023, or more recent, rate of cash consumption.
Debt is indicated at $3.9 billion, at the end of 2023, an increase of $133 million versus 2022. Vista Global, with PriceWaterhouseCooper as their latest auditor, restated the number of aircraft they owned, versus those they leased, as at the end of 2022, which would seem to be a fairly straightforward number for the company’s accountants to determine, IMO.
Thomas Flohr asserted that his 86% ownership stake provides an “enormous equity cushion” should he need to bolster Vista Global’s liquidity, which seems like an acknowledgment that this might become necessary.
The Bloomberg article invites several rather elementary follow-up questions, concerning free cash flow, Vista Global’s 2022 earnings restatement and their surprising 30% increase in 2023 fixed costs. Sadly, this article leaves a few too many gaps in Vista Global’s financial performance to be usable as an indicator of Vista Global’s financial wellbeing.
Overall, the Bloomberg article did little to allay my longstanding concerns about Vista Global’s financial performance and business model. While it is clear that Vista Global’s founder has a great deal of equity to trade, should such become necessary, his comments failed to convince me that his company would be an attractive investment for potential stakeholders.
Hopefully, Mr. Flohr will be more forthcoming, in future interviews, concerning the overall financial position of Vista Global.