Saskatoon, SK., March 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO) (CSE: DPRO) (FSE: 3U8) (“Draganfly” or the “Company”), an award-winning, industry-leading drone solutions and systems developer, is pleased to announce its fourth quarter and fiscal 2023 financial results. Revenue for the fourth quarter and the year was dictated by the shift to larger in-house capacity and drone production capabilities.

The financial year 2023 was a transition year for Draganfly as 2023 marked new production capacity coming online along with the commercialization of its flagship Commander 3XL and Heavy Lift Drone platforms.

Key Financial Highlights for 2023:

• ‎Total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023, was $6,554,842. Product sales decreased $263,339 in 2023 as compared to 2022, while services revenue decreased $786,878. This is largely due to product line transition and a focus on building new and increased production capabilities
• Gross Profit was $2,064,114, an increase of $1,273,439 or up 161.1% from the prior year. As a percentage of sales, gross margin increased from 10.4% in 2022 to 31.5% in 2023. This year’s gross profit included a one-time non-cash write-down of inventory of $331,671 while last year’s gross profit included a non-cash downward adjustment of $1,976,514. Excluding these adjustments, gross profit decreased by $371,404 year over year. As a percentage of sales, adjusted gross margin increased from 36.4% in 2022 to 36.5% in 2023.
• The Company recorded a comprehensive loss including all non-cash items of $23,709,851 compared to a comprehensive loss of $27,305,305 in 2022. The comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 2023, includes non-cash changes comprised of a gain in fair value of derivative liability from warrants of $211,110, an expense for impairment of notes receivable of $101,351, a write-down of inventory of $331,671, and an expense for goodwill and intangibles impairment of $87,415 and would otherwise have been a comprehensive loss of $23,400,524 compared to a comprehensive loss of $24,067,180 excluding non-cash items in the same period last year. Cash used in operating activities decreased by $1,304,184 year over year.
• The Company’s cash balance on December 31, 2023, was $3,093,612.

Key Financial and Operational Highlights for Q4 2023 and Early 2024:

• Revenue for Q4 2023 was $916,299 compared to $1,314,162 for Q4 2022 largely due to a decrease in Q4 product sales relating to product line transition and new customer category integration requirements along with slightly lower services sales.
• Gross Profit was $258,879 for Q4 2023 compared to -$1,665,971 in Q4 2022 representing an increase of $1,924,850 year over year. Gross profit for Q4 2023 would have been $382,303 if it wasn’t for a one time non-cash write down of inventory of $123,424 while Q4 2022 would have been $310,543 not including a one-time non-cash write down of inventory for $1,976,514. Hence, gross profit on an adjusted basis was up 23.1% year over year. Gross profit as a percentage of sales for Q4 2023 was 28.3% but on an adjusted basis was 41.7%.
• The Company recorded a comprehensive loss including non-cash items for Q4 2023 of $4,191,796 compared to a comprehensive loss of $16,660,602 for the same period in 2022. A 69.3% improvement over 2022. The comprehensive loss for the fourth quarter of 2023 includes non-cash changes comprised of a gain in fair value derivative liability of $153,798 as well as a one time write down of inventory of $123,424, and would otherwise be a comprehensive loss of $4,222,170 compared to a comprehensive loss of $7,482,545 excluding non-cash items in the same period last year. The decrease in loss was primarily due to lower professional fees, wages, and share based compensation charges.

• The Company received a Transport Canada Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) for its Heavy Lift Drone to support advanced flight testing above 55lbs/25KG MTOW. This will allow the highly specialized development of advanced delivery, industrial, and defense applications. The Heavy Lift Flight Testing SFOC allows Draganfly to conduct these specialized and advanced operations utilizing the Heavy Lift within an approved flight test area. This development also enables the Company to initiate direct application and use-case testing. Draganfly can enhance and optimize highly specialized operational and maintenance manuals and Standard Operating Procedures for various conditions and scenarios.
  

• The Company addressed United Nations Experts speaking on emerging technologies for disaster risk reduction organized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) as part of ITU’s webinar series on digital transformation. It focused on the transformative ability of cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), digital twin, and the Metaverse and their use in disaster management. This event explored how these technological innovations can effectively mitigate and respond to natural hazards and disasters.

• The Company showcased the Commander 3XL and new military special-purpose capabilities at Modern Warfare Week in Fayetteville, NC. The event is a premier gathering for the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community, providing a platform for education and collaboration on the evolving landscape of warfare. 800 select military and government representatives are anticipated to attend. The Global Special Operations Foundation (GSOF) and the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) jointly sponsor the event.
  

• Draganfly announced the closing of a US$3.5 million underwritten offering, with the Company planning to allocate the net proceeds towards general corporate purposes. These purposes included funding its capabilities to meet the demand for its new products, supporting growth initiatives, covering working capital requirements, continuing the development and marketing of the Company's core product, potential acquisitions, and research and development efforts.

• Draganfly announced record third-quarter results for 2023, recording revenue of $2,138,017, which marked a 14.0% increase from the same period the previous year. The revenue for Q3 of 2023 comprised product sales amounting to $1,653,111 and drone services totalling $484,906. This performance was compared to the Q3 revenue in 2022, which stood at $1,876,221, consisting of $1,359,986 from product sales and $516,235 from drone services, highlighting the Company's growth and expansion in its market segments.
  

Draganfly will hold a shareholder update call on March 27, 2024, at 2:30 p.m. PDT / 5:30 p.m. EDT. Registration for the call can be done here.

Selected financial information is outlined below and should be read with Draganfly’s consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended December 31, 2023 and associated management discussion and analysis, which will be available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and filed on EDGAR.

For the year ended December 31,		2023			2022			2021
Total revenues	$	6,554,842		$	7,605,059		$	7,053,965
Gross Profit (as a % of revenues) (1)		31.5	%		10.4	%		37.5	%
Net (loss) income		(23,611,810	)		(27,654,364	)		(16,202,972	)
Net (loss) income per share ($)
Basic		(0.56	)		(0.82	)		(0.58	)
Diluted		(0.56	)		(0.82	)		(0.58	)
Comprehensive (loss) income		(23,709,851	)		(27,305,305	)		(16,399,137	)
Comprehensive (loss) income per share ($)
Basic		(0.56	)		(0.81	)		(0.59	)
Diluted		(0.56	)		(0.81	)		(0.59	)
Change in cash and cash equivalents	$	(4,801,169	)	$	(15,180,932	)	$	21,093,297