Amplitech Group Inc (AMPG) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the AmpliTech Group's first quarter 2025 investor update call. Today's call will cover the company's financial results and strategic progress for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. (Operator Instructions). This call is being recorded, and a replay will be made available on AmpliTech's Investor Relations web page. I'll now turn the call over to Mr. Jorge Flores, Chief Operating Officer.

Thank you, and welcome, everyone. We appreciate you joining today's call to hear updates on AmpliTech's operational and financial progress as well as our growth initiatives. Joining me are Fawad Maqbool, our Founder and CEO; and Louisa Sanfratello, our CFO.

After our prepared remarks, we will open the floor for investor questions. An archived replay of today's call will be posted to the Investor Relations section of the AmpliTech's corporate website. Please note that today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements as defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Please refer to our filings with the SEC for a full list of risk factors. We undertake no obligation to update these statements after today's call.

With that, I would like to turn the call over to our CEO, Mr. Fawad Maqbool.

Thank you, Jorge. Thank you all for joining us today. We're pleased to report continued progress across all our divisions in Q1 2025. While we reported a net loss of $1.8 million this quarter, driven by increased operational spending in our 5G division and R&D efforts, I'd like to emphasize that these are strategic investments. They directly support the certification, scaling, and deployment of our next-generation ORAN 5G platforms. And we're confident that they'll position AmpliTech for long-term success in high-growth markets.

With that, I'll go to the Q1 2025 highlights and strategic progress. The revenue of $3.6 million, up 57% year-over-year, our strongest quarter since Q4 fiscal year 2023. Gross profit of $1.1 million. The record backlog of $19.6 million as of April 30, driven by strong bookings.

Cash and receivables of $19.1 million, $24.6 million of working capital and zero debt. Inventory of over $7 million to support near-term deliveries and demand rebound across both the LNA and semiconductor distribution division.

Looking at the growth outlook in fiscal year 2025 guidance. Following a challenging 2024, we're pleased to see strong demand recovery. Semiconductor and LNA orders are accelerating. AmpliTech has already booked more sales in the first four months than it recorded in all of 2024. Our 5G division leads the charge with over $12 million in firm orders already booked from $118 million LOI pipeline.

We now forecast fiscal year 2025 revenue of nearly $21 million, almost more than double that of the prior fiscal year. We expect this to be the trend going into fiscal year 2026. Our key strategic achievements in Q1, we secured CE FCC and REACH certifications for our ORAN 5G radios, enabling global deployments.

We expanded proprietary LNB product line with the next-generation satellite solutions based on AmpliTech's low-noise IP foundation for which we received three patents this year already. Based on quoting activity and demand trends, LNB revenue is projected to match LNA sales within 12 months.

We boosted our visibility through Mobile World Congress, IEEE MILCOM and LEAP 2026 trade shows and we see emerging opportunities with AI. We're partnering with leading AI native wireless companies to develop technologies for spectrum sensing, network optimization and digital twin applications using our ORAN platforms.

Our certified ORAN 5G radios are already being deployed globally. Over $12 million of our $118 million in signed LOIs will be delivered to customers this year. So the LOIs are very meaningful for the company. We expect to continue delivering on these LOIs well into fiscal year 2026. Shipments are being made to a Tier 1 MNO in North America. So this validates our ability to service and provide high-level equipment in live environments.

We're going to address the tariff resilience and adaptability since that's basically a question by many, many investors. Thanks to our sourcing strategy and operational foresight, we've successfully managed tariff-related risks. We are prepared to adjust pricing if industry trends shift costs and customers while maintaining the value and efficiency.

As I mentioned earlier, we have ample inventory to avoid any immediate effects of the new tariff policies and have not seen a noticeable effect on our supply chain and business at this point in time.

In a closing perspective, AmpliTech is in a position of strength, record backlog, zero debt, certified global products and a growing IP portfolio. With a strong pipeline and execution in place, we expect to deliver continued revenue growth and value creation in 2025 and beyond. (technical difficulty) pretty much in a nutshell.

Thank you for your continued trust and support. Operator, please open the call for Q&A.

(Operator Instructions) Jack Vander Aarde, Maxim Group.

Okay. Great. Great to hear all the positive momentum. Congrats on that, especially with the backlog, the strong outlook, the two LOIs and the FCC certification. Great to see.

So Fawad, it's been a long time coming here. I just want to ask you some more color on the LOIs you've secured that you publicly announced and the acquisition of the ORAN assets, I believe, in Canada as well that are kind of tied to that.

Can you maybe just touch on the acquisition of those assets? Has that closed? And sort of how does -- what does that do for you? How is that -- how do we connect the dots back to the LOIs you do have and the purchase orders you've received?

Sure, Jack. Yes, I'd be glad to answer that question. These LOIs that we announced were based on the relationships that we are having in discussions with large MNOs currently. And the idea of that was to acquire assets. By the way, it's a closed deal -- It's a closed deal. We acquired the assets that we needed to. And we're basically positioning the company so that we can become a viable supplier to a very large MNO that is looking for a complete push into ORAN technology.

So there are -- this is a trend that's going around globally now that ORAN is becoming the acceptable way of growth for all of these MNOs and it gives them flexibility to go from a RAN-based environment, which is lock them into other suppliers like Nokia and Ericsson and Fujitsu. Those basically offer a one-shot solution to them, they have no flexibility.

They have stuck with them forever, and they have to always go to them for any changes in technology. We're offering basically a plug-and-play type of solution with ORAN. The whole idea is that we can replace their existing infrastructure, whether it be for replacing antiquated architecture or whether it's because it's Chinese architecture, any reason there is, we're able to come in and offer a flexible solution so that now the MNO has a choice to go and change the software partners or the actual hardware partners, even though we provide everything from top to bottom for these companies.

So it really is meaningful. It's a trend that's going up. You'll find that the ORAN growth is over 30% or 40% combined annual growth and the RAN growth, which is existing technology is flat and actually decreasing. So we believe we're in the right positioning. We're a couple of years, a few years ahead of all the competitors.

They don't have the kinds of products that we have and making this deal and completing it and acquiring the assets that we need, it actually adds to the IP that we have right now. So it basically goes right to our bottom line assets and also continued IP development that we're doing for all the other MNOs in private 5G.

Okay. Great. I have probably at least two more questions, Fawad. Do you have line of sight into the remaining, let's call it, I guess, over $100 million left between those two LOIs, which I think both are -- they're kind of like three-year LOI agreements. You received over $12 million between them.

Have you -- do you have line of sight into when those -- how those 100 -- that extra $100 million will come in, if it will come in, how that would be kind of scattered? Just curious to know like how much visibility do you have there?

Well, I don't think we haven't received $12 million yet. We have received the orders. We will deliver $12 million by the end of this -- by the -- in this year. Am I right, Jorge?

Well, we received purchase orders $12 million, $12 million is already in the backlog, right? So for 2026 and 2027, we do expect that it's going to be scaling up with our best year 2026 with the higher number of radios that we need to deliver. But 2026 is definitely going to be a great year for us when it comes to hundreds of deliveries for these radios.

The bulk of them will be in.

That was what I was going to follow up with. So it sounds like you're expecting -- you've already received $12 million of orders. You still have to ship those orders, but you received $12 million. And then it sounds like you're expecting that to significantly ramp in 2026. And then I guess then there will be even more coming in 2027 from these two LOIs alone. Is that a fair way to think about it?

Yes. Programs, we believe they have legs. For example, in one of them with the $78 million that we negotiated already with the end user. Right now, the first negotiation that we had was for three years program, but we are following very closely on their program with their end user as well. And we have seen information that the program is extending through 2030. So it's expanding as we speak.

Okay. That's fantastic to hear. I look forward to learning more about that. And then Fawad, maybe there's so much to chew on here, but I guess I'm trying to be -- I'm trying to structure some of the more top-of-mind thoughts here.

So you obviously have one formal MNO relationship in Canada that you have announced publicly. Can you maybe speak to other potential discussions you're having or looking to have with other MNOs globally in North America or wherever?

Are you gaining traction in any other discussions with other MNOs? Are they knocking on your doors? Did they catch word of this pretty large LOI contract you recently signed? Is this bringing more MNOs knocking on AmpliTech's door?

Yes. Actually, even before this was done -- even before we did this MNO deal, we were talking to several MNOs in Europe and in Southeast Asia and Far East. So we are constantly talking with them. But this achievement obviously will make our chances much better to close deals with all these other MNOs. It gives us a working relationship and it allows them to understand that we can receive these large orders and deliver them.

I mean we can say that we've already delivered, I guess, [three quarters to a half] of what we were supposed to deliver this year to the first MNO already. So we're really well into this cycle, and it shows that we can deliver it and that was the whole question. A company like us, the new company, but will we be able to service these MNOs in the proper way. And that's what we're showing now.

So yes, we do expect all these other MNOs to catch wind of this. They already have actually, and they've approached us, and we're going to continue to build on that. So we believe we will have more bookings.

Excellent. Okay. And then it looks like the balance sheet is very healthy, very strong. So I'm not going to ask questions about that. No debt, you have lots of cash. So that's not an issue, I guess, in terms of satisfying any of these orders.

My final kind of question, I guess, would be just if you could touch on the FCC certification and just maybe help us understand the importance of achieving that milestone. What does that enable you to do that you haven't been able to do in the past? And that's it. Thanks.

Yes. So the FCC certification is very important because it allows -- it gives AmpliTech the entity and its own identity to be able to radiate in the spaces that the government allows in the USo it's really purely a US certification, but it's very important for us because we're a US manufacturer, and we are trying to gain the US business, not just globally, but US and the world.

So it's important to get that certification. At the same time, I'll add that we are also working on getting certifications for other countries, other regions, so that we can provide this technology to all of the other countries as well.

So we are actively working that way. But FCC is important for US really. And reaching that means that we have credibility on our equipment is actually tested. It's tested to certain standards. And when it passes, that's when we get the FCC certification, now we can radiate and provide our solutions anywhere in the country.

Excellent. Well, congrats again on the momentum. It's great to see you guys really executing. I look forward to tracking the story.

Vishal Mishra, Bard Associates.

Great results and great quarter. Congratulations. It seems to me like the company is more becoming the third line of business, which is 5G ORAN radio with $12 million out of $21 million from these 5G RAN radios. Will -- would you have any sort of guidelines or forecast of like the margins, especially for the new business and how much will it fall to bottom line?

And it seems like if it -- if past margins hold, you will reach breakeven GAAP earnings by the end of the year. Is that -- if you can provide some color on that?

That's a good assumption. I mean, basically, we have alluded to the fact that we are transforming the company to follow the 5G trend, and that's important for us. And I think it will be the largest growth for the company, and that's why we're basically positioning the other groups to be basically supporting and making products to grow this whole 5G division.

So it's a chain reaction. The 5G radios, if we sell thousands of radios, we will generate -- since we're putting our own MMICS chips inside them to make them better than our competitors, our own low-noise amplifier technology, our own MMIC division has our own chips and front-end solutions for these radios.

So these radios will have our technology that makes it better, and that makes us even better than our competitors. Even if they have existing radios, they don't have our LNAs inside them. They give them the better coverage, the throughput, the fidelity of the signal.

So therefore, the idea and strategy is that the other groups will feed this 5G division. So as this grows, all the other groups will grow because the chips will be required -- hundreds of thousands of chips will be required to go into these radios. And then the packaging division, which is our distribution division in Silicon Valley, that division will provide the packaging for all these mimics and chips that are developed by our Texas division.

So therefore, all the way down the line, the revenues will grow, and we will be making our own chips that will be in these radios. So therefore, it's really -- as I mentioned many times before, it's a symbiotic feed symbiotic relationship between all our divisions.

That is great Yes, you've been speaking about 5G, and it's all -- you're putting all the pieces together now. So this is fantastic. Like these MNOs who seem to be the biggest customers, are they -- do they also sign LOIs with like whoever else is the 5G ORAN radio provider in addition to you? Like how is the relationship amongst -- of these MNOs with the suppliers of 5G ORAN radio? How does it look like? And.

No, they do sign LOIs in general with companies. And I'm sure they have LOIs for other products with other companies. But this is basically just catered to the AmpliTech 5G division, and we were able to procure these because of the uniqueness of the radio solutions that we provided.

So this is -- in the past, we have not really done any LOIs with -- we have not announced LOIs. But this year, we feel that it's very important because it's a main ingredient and validator for our business, and we have to have that in place. But we also went one step further and actually delivering on the LOIs and not just mentioning them that we have an LOI. So these LOIs, if they were not serious, we would not be mentioning them at all.

And is it mostly -- what I'm hearing is technology of your radios, these MNO customers like better than competitors? Or is there something also like you are US-based or tariffs or like -- and the other competitors are -- I don't know, they're here or they're abroad, like how does that -- how is that differentiating you, if at all?

It's a combination of things. I mean we are -- because we are a US company making these radios, there are no other US companies making these types of radios. So it's important because, as I mentioned before, it's ORAN technology.

And ORAN, we are pretty much a leader now in ORAN technology being actually deployed. There is no other company that has this large deployments or the large orders for ORAN business. So since the whole world is going to be moving towards this, I mean, it gives us -- it's a good position for us to be in as being a qualified supplier where there are not that many players in it.

Right. So going forward and then you have such a large pipeline, that seems like your existing businesses will be smaller, your ORAN business will be larger going forward.

Not necessarily. I mean, as I mentioned before, if we have a demand that's being created by the radios, we are going to fulfill that demand by providing our own products that go into these radios. And it's going to grow the MMICS chip business as well, and it's going to grow the Silicon Valley business to provide the packages. So they're all growing. We're all scaling it up.

Why would we pay in our own designs in our own radios, why would we pay Qorvo and MACOM or other companies for these chips when we can make them ourselves, right?

That concludes the Q&A. I'll now hand the call over back to Mr. Fawad Maqbool for closing remarks.

Thank you. Well, that concludes the Q&A. So thank you very much, operator, and thank you to all who joined us today to hear about the progress we've made and the plan we have to further our company's mission of providing the communication systems of tomorrow today.

We look forward to speaking with you again during our Q2 2025 update in August. Please reach out to Investor Relations for follow-up or one-on-one meetings. Stay safe and thank you for being part of the AmpliTech journey.

That concludes today's conference call. Thank you and have a great day.