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55. U.S. Senate hopeful's company reported losses of more than $77 million in 2023

2024 ELECTIONS
U.S. Senate hopeful’s company reported losses of more than $77 million in 2023

SEC filing shows Tim Sheehy’s Bridger Aerospace is deeply in the red.

by Arren Kimbel-Sannit
04.09.2024



Republican Tim Sheehy announced his bid for U.S. Senate in 2024 on Tuesday. Credit: Courtesy / Tim Sheehy for Montana

Bridger Aerospace, the Gallatin County-based aerial firefighting company founded by Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Tim Sheehy, announced a record-high annual revenue of almost $67 million when it released its 2023 earnings report last month. ... But the annual report the publicly traded company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also shows that Bridger is deeply in debt, hemorrhaging cash and at risk of failing to meet its financial obligations in the coming year.

“The Company has suffered recurring losses from operations, operating cash flow deficits, debt covenant violations, and insufficient liquidity to fund its operations that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern,” Bridger’s auditor said in a note to stockholders and the board of directors. ... Or, as University of Montana accounting professor Terri Herron put it in an interview with Montana Free Press: “Management concluded that they may not be around in a year.”

That’s in part because Bridger reported a net loss of $77.4 million in 2023, a hole more than $30 million deeper than the previous year, according to its annual filing. The company’s current assets total about $45 million — only about $23 million of which is in the form of unrestricted cash or cash equivalents — down from $107 million the year before. Of course, growing a company costs money, and the company’s operational expenses also increased in 2023 as it purchased new aircraft through a joint venture partnership in Spain. It reports that its adjusted EBITDA — a figure that attempts to show a normalized version of a company’s cash position without one-time or other irregular expenditures — is slated to grow by 80% in the next year. Federal and state contracts were responsible for about 88% of the company’s total revenue in 2023.

“The Spanish transaction took multiple years to execute and positions the Company to meaningfully expand our Scooper fleet, providing growth for years to come,” Sheehy said in a note to investors, adding that Bridger is “well positioned for 2024.”

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ARREN KIMBEL-SANNIT
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Raised in Arizona, Arren is no stranger to the issues impacting Western states, having a keen interest in the politics of land, transportation and housing. Prior to moving to Montana, Arren was a statehouse reporter for the Arizona Capitol Times and covered agricultural and trade policy for Politico in Washington, D.C. In Montana, he has carved out a niche in shoe-leather heavy muckraking based on public documents and deep sourcing that keeps elected officials uncomfortable and the public better informed. More by Arren Kimbel-Sannit