Drone Delivery Canada sees 300% increase in revenue

Drone Delivery Canada reported a record revenue of CA$575,385 ($428,162) for the first quarter of 2023, marking a 300% increase year over year.

THE BIG PICTURE: DDC’s Q1 success illustrates the speed with which the drone delivery market is growing. The company attributes its growth to contracts secured in Q1 with Canadian regulator Transport Canada , Edmonton International Airport (YEG) and Care by Air .

BY THE NUMBERS: The company reported Tuesday:

A 15% YoY decrease in operating expenses of more than $372,000,; A 27% YoY reduction in operating loss of about $744,000; A 26% reduction in cash burn by more than $633,000Y; A 265% YoY increase in the number of flights completed, with nearly 800; and A 266% YoY increase in the distance flown, at more than 1,800 kilometers. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: DDC is looking to continue its growth with new technologies.

“We are excited to report a strong first quarter for DDC, with significant revenue growth combined with reduced operating expenses to the business,” DDC Chief Executive Steve Magirias said in a release. “These results demonstrate our ability to continue to advance our technology in a financially prudent manner, which allows us to be laser focused on the key priorities required to propel our company forward, which we expect to ultimately continue to drive revenue growth and deliver value to our shareholders.”

FLASHBACK: DDC secured a $1.2 million contract with Transport Canada to test and operate its heavy-lift Condor drone. The contract was awarded through the country’s Innovative Solutions Canada program, which is designed to stimulate technology development and commercialization in Canada.

DDC also has a contract with YEG to transport cargo on behalf of last-mile logistics solutions providers Ziing Final Mile and Apple Express at the airport .

“This project is the first of its kind in Canada and involves delivering packages out of a major international airport facility,” Magirias previously told Air Cargo Next . “This is also the first time a project of this nature has been approved by NAV Canada and a major step toward the modernization of supply chains.”

NAV Canada is a privately run nonprofit that owns and operates Canada’s civil air and navigation system.

Care by Air uses DDC drones to transport medical supplies directly to a hospital for on-site patient diagnosis, treatment and care, marking the first time that drone delivery is being used for health care in Canada.

NOTEWORTHY: The company produces three drones:

The Sparrow, with a maximum range of 20 km, maximum speed of 60 kph and maximum payload of 4 kg; The Canary, with a maximum range of 20 km, maximum speed of 80 kph and maximum payload of 4.5 kg; and The Condor, with a maximum range of 200 km, maximum speed of 120 kph and maximum payload of 180 kg. The company recently completed endurance flights of the Canary RPA [remotely piloted aircraft] at its test facility to ensure reliability and commercialization readiness. DDC is in the final testing stages of the Canary integration into the company’s FLYTE software, a virtual flight management software that allows for secure automated operations and monitoring commercial air traffic, weather and other sensor data. DDC expects the testing to be completed in Q2.

“It is a major milestone and accomplishment for the DDC team to complete the development and testing for the Canary RPA,” Magirias said. “We are excited to launch this new RPA in the under-25 kg category within the verticals we have targeted as part of our go-to market strategy.”

FUTURE LOOK: DDC continues to develop detect-and-avoid systems and signed a memorandum of understanding with autonomous data collection company Pegasus Imagery for the development of an onboard detect-and-avoid system for the Condor heavy-lift drone. DDC plans to begin this work later this year.

THE BOTTOM LINE: “We continue to focus on creating an agile organization focused on developing the most robust and efficient drone delivery logistics system possible,” Magirias said. “The increase in flight completion and distance goes a long way in supporting these goals.”

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