Aspen Aerogels Inc (ASPN) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Thanks for attending Aspen Aerogels, Inc. Q3 2023 financial results call. All lines will be muted during the presentation portion of the call with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end.

早安.感謝您參加 Aspen Aerogels, Inc. 2023 年第三季財務績效電話會議。在通話的演示部分，所有線路將被靜音，最後有機會提問和回答。

I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Neal Baranosky, Aspen's Senior Director of Corporate Strategy and Finance. Thank you. You may proceed, Mr. Baranosky.

現在我想將會議交給東道主尼爾·巴拉諾斯基（Neal Baranosky），他是阿斯彭公司策略和財務高級總監。謝謝。您可以繼續了，巴拉諾斯基先生。

Thank you, Elliot. Good morning. And thank you for joining us for the Aspen Aerogels fiscal year 2023 third quarter financial results conference call. With us today are Don Young, President and CEO, and Ricardo Rodriguez, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，艾利奧特。早安.感謝您參加我們的 Aspen Aerogels 2023 財年第三季財務業績電話會議。今天與我們在一起的有總裁兼執行長 Don Young 和財務長 Ricardo Rodriguez。

There are a few housekeeping items that I would like to address before turning the call over to Don. The press release announcing Aspen's financial results and business developments, as well as a reconciliation of management's use of non-GAAP financial measures compared to the most applicable US generally accepted accounting principles or GAAP measures is available on the Investors section of Aspen's website, www.aerogel.com.

在將電話轉給唐之前，我想先解決一些內務問題。宣布阿斯彭財務績效和業務發展的新聞稿，以及管理層使用非公認會計準則財務衡量標準與最適用的美國公認會計原則或公認會計準則衡量標準的對照表，可在阿斯彭網站www. aspen.com 的投資者部分獲取。氣凝膠.com。

In addition, I'd like to highlight that we've uploaded to our website a slide deck that will accompany our conversation today. You can find the deck in the Investors section of our website.

此外，我想強調的是，我們已經將幻燈片上傳到我們的網站，該幻燈片將伴隨我們今天的對話。您可以在我們網站的投資者部分找到該套牌。

On today's call, management will make forward-looking statements about our expectations. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include the factors identified in our filings with the SEC. Please review disclaimer statement on pages 1 and 2 of the slide deck as the content of our call will be governed by this language.

在今天的電話會議上，管理階層將對我們的期望做出前瞻性陳述。這些陳述存在風險和不確定性，可能導致我們的實際結果出現重大差異。這些風險和不確定性包括我們向 SEC 提交的文件中確定的因素。請查看投影片第 1 頁和第 2 頁的免責聲明，因為我們的通話內容將受此語言管轄。

During this call, we will refer to non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA. These financial measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. For definitions and reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, and a discussion of why we present these non-GAAP financial measures, are included in yesterday's press release.

在本次電話會議中，我們將參考非公認會計準則財務指標，包括調整後的 EBITDA。這些財務指標並非依據公認會計準則制定。這些非公認會計原則財務指標不應被孤立考慮，也不能取代根據公認會計原則編制的結果。有關這些非 GAAP 財務指標與最直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標的定義和調節，以及我們為何提出這些非 GAAP 財務指標的討論，請參閱昨天的新聞稿。

And one final note, during the Q&A session, in the interest of time, we ask that you limit your questions to two questions at a time. If you have additional questions beyond the initial two, please get back into the queue. And we will get to all questions. I'll now turn the call over to Don. Don.

最後要注意的是，在問答環節中，為了節省時間，我們要求您一次將問題限制為兩個問題。如果您除了前兩個問題之外還有其他問題，請回到佇列中。我們將回答所有問題。我現在將電話轉給唐。大學教師。

Thanks, Neal. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our Q3 2023 earnings call. My initial comments will highlight our Q3 performance and Q4 outlook. The status and impact of several critical elements of our strategy and our EV OEM development pipeline.

謝謝，尼爾。大家，早安。感謝您參加我們的 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。我的初步評論將重點介紹我們第三季的業績和第四季的前景。我們的策略和電動車 OEM 開發管道的幾個關鍵要素的現狀和影響。

Ricardo will dig deeper into our financial performance and our business strategy. Ricardo and I will expand upon last week's announcement related to our upgraded revenue and adjusted EBITDA outlook for 2023, and the addition of Audi and Scania to our list of OEM design awards. We will conclude with a Q&A session.

里卡多將更深入地了解我們的財務表現和業務策略。我和里卡多將詳細介紹上週發布的有關我們升級的收入和調整後的 2023 年 EBITDA 展望，以及將奧迪和斯堪尼亞添加到我們的 OEM 設計獎項名單中的公告。我們將以問答環節結束。

Q3 revenue was a record at over $60 million. PyroThin thermal barrier revenue was $33 million, surpassing that of our Energy Industrial business for the first time. We believe PyroThin thermal barrier revenue for the second half of 2023 will be three or four times larger than it was for the first half of the year. Gross profit for the second half of 2023 will be two or three times larger than for the first half of the year.

第三季營收創歷史新高，超過 6,000 萬美元。 PyroThin 熱障收入為 3,300 萬美元，首次超過我們的能源產業業務。我們認為 2023 年下半年 PyroThin 熱障收入將是上半年的三到四倍。 2023年下半年的毛利將是上半年的兩到三倍。

Energy Industrial activity remained strong while the team manages through a supply-constrained period as we shift Plant I to produce PyroThin thermal barriers and quote test the system of our planned supplemental supply for Energy Industrial. We are making good progress on both initiatives.

能源工業活動仍然強勁，而團隊管理供應受限時期，我們將一號工廠轉移到生產 PyroThin 隔熱層，並對我們計劃的能源工業補充供應系統進行報價測試。我們在這兩項措施上都取得了良好進展。

In addition to the ramping of the PyroThin thermal barrier business, a highlight for Q3 is the continued progression of our gross margins through 2023: 11% in Q1, 17% in Q2, 23% in Q3. We anticipate continued gross margin expansion in Q4 as we progress on the path to achieving our targeted 35% gross margin

除了 PyroThin 熱障業務的成長之外，第三季的一大亮點是我們的毛利率在 2023 年之前持續成長：第一季為 11%，第二季為 17%，第三季為 23%。隨著我們在實現 35% 毛利率目標的道路上取得進展，我們預計第四季毛利率將持續成長

Based on our Q3 performance and current momentum, on October 24, we announced a revenue outlook of at least $225 million, favorably modified from an earlier outlook of a range between $200 million and $250 million. The UAW strike has not impacted our revenue. But we will remain cautious until the tentative agreements have been ratified and the autoworkers are fully back to work.

根據我們第三季的業績和當前的勢頭，10 月 24 日，我們宣布了至少 2.25 億美元的收入前景，較之前 2 億至 2.5 億美元的預期進行了有利修改。 UAW 罷工並未影響我們的收入。但我們將保持謹慎態度，直到暫定協議獲得批准並且汽車工人完全重返工作崗位。

We also announced an improvement to our 2023 adjusted EBITDA outlook from a midpoint of negative $50 million to a midpoint of negative $35 million, our second enhanced adjusted EBITDA outlook in as many quarters. The improved outlook for adjusted EBITDA is driven by higher volumes, leading to a fuller, fixed-cost absorption. We expect this trend to continue in Q4.

我們也宣布將 2023 年調整後 EBITDA 前景從負 5,000 萬美元的中點上調至負 3,500 萬美元，這是我們在多個季度中第二次上調調整後 EBITDA 前景。調整後 EBITDA 前景的改善是由銷售增加所推動的，從而實現更全面的固定成本吸收。我們預計第四季度這一趨勢將持續。

Also on October 24, we announced the additions of Scania and Audi, both part of the Volkswagen Group to our list of design awards. We expect revenue from these two awards to commence during 2024, scale in 2025, and be significant contributors in 2026 and beyond. We anticipate the opportunity to serve other European OEMs as well and continue to believe that we remain on track to reach our target of six OEM design awards by year-end.

同樣在 10 月 24 日，我們宣布將大眾汽車集團旗下的斯堪尼亞和奧迪納入我們的設計獎項名單中。我們預計這兩個獎項的收入將於 2024 年開始，到 2025 年規模化，並在 2026 年及以後成為重要貢獻者。我們預計也有機會為其他歐洲原始設備製造商提供服務，並繼續相信我們仍有望在年底前實現六項原始設備製造商設計獎項的目標。

Two key elements of the implementation of our strategy are first, the full conversion of Plant I in East Providence to PyroThin thermal barrier supply. And second, the commencement of our supplemental supply dedicated to our Energy Industrial segment. We believe that both strategic initiatives will be functional in early 2024.

實施我們策略的兩個關鍵要素是，首先，將東普羅維登斯的 I 工廠完全轉變為 PyroThin 隔熱層供應。其次，我們開始專門為能源工業領域提供補充供應。我們相信這兩項策略措施將於 2024 年初發揮作用。

A third key element of our strategy is the balancing of growth, scale and profitability, which includes the right timing of Plant II in Georgia. Our focus prior to the restart of full construction of Plant II is to utilize our existing assets, supplier arrangements, and current commercial opportunities to build a business that has the potential to produce annually approximately $550 million of revenue, approximately $200 million of gross profit, and approximately $140 million of EBITDA.

我們策略的第三個關鍵要素是成長、規模和獲利能力的平衡，其中包括喬治亞州第二工廠的正確時機。在全面重啟第二工廠建設之前，我們的重點是利用我們現有的資產、供應商安排和當前的商業機會來建立一家有潛力每年產生約 5.5 億美元收入、約 2 億美元毛利的業務，以及約1.4 億美元的EBITDA。

We believe we are well positioned to attain this level of performance. Current industry headlines citing uncertainty related to EV capacity investments by OEMs and to the ramp for EV demand are consistent with the underlying assumptions we have used since early 2023, informing our operating and investment plans.

我們相信我們有能力達到這個績效水準。目前的產業頭條新聞引用了與原始設備製造商的電動車產能投資和電動車需求成長相關的不確定性，這與我們自2023 年初以來所使用的基本假設一致，為我們的營運和投資計畫提供了資訊.

Given the challenging capital environment, we are working to avoid unnecessary dilution for our shareholders by seeking to operate from a position of operational and financial strength, and potentially by partnering with the DOE Loan Programs Office with whom we remain in close contact regarding our Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan application. We believe a more measured ramp in OEM EV production may enable us to have a capital-efficient growth path utilizing our current assets that leads to profitability in the near term and without sacrificing our full growth opportunities in the longer term. Ricardo, over to you.

鑑於充滿挑戰的資本環境，我們正在努力避免對股東造成不必要的稀釋，尋求以運營和財務實力為基礎進行運營，並可能與能源部貸款計劃辦公室合作，我們與能源部貸款計劃辦公室就我們的先進技術保持密切聯繫汽車製造貸款申請。我們相信，原始設備製造商電動汽車產量的更加謹慎的增長可能使我們能夠利用我們的現有資產建立一條資本效率高的增長路徑，從而在短期內實現盈利，並且不會犧牲我們長期的全面增長機會。里卡多，交給你了。

Thank you, Don. And good morning, everyone. I'll start by covering our third quarter and year-to-date results before moving on to the 2023 outlook and then handing the call back to Don.

謝謝你，唐。大家早安。我將首先介紹我們的第三季和年初至今的業績，然後展望 2023 年，然後將電話交還給 Don。

For this quarterly call, I don't have any meaningful strategic updates to cover. And I'm happy to simply focus on reporting our results.

對於本次季度電話會議，我沒有任何有意義的策略更新要介紹。我很高興只專注於報告我們的結果。

With the third quarter representing an important transition period towards higher revenue run rate levels that enable meaningful reductions in our operating losses, our strategy is also yielding positive developments in our commercial pipeline, such as the recent conversion of the LOI from Audi into an award and our gearing up of production to begin supplying Scania at higher volumes next year. As Don mentioned, we feel confident in our ability to receive additional OEM awards as we focus on delivering results with our existing assets.

第三季是向更高收入運行率水準邁進的重要過渡期，從而能夠顯著減少我們的營運虧損，我們的策略也在我們的商業管道中取得了積極的進展，例如最近將奧迪的意向書轉換為獎勵和我們正在加緊生產，以便明年開始向斯堪尼亞提供更高的產量。正如 Don 所提到的，我們對獲得額外 OEM 獎項的能力充滿信心，因為我們專注於利用現有資產交付成果。

To cover our performance, I'll start on slide 4 beginning with revenues. We delivered $60.8 million of revenue in Q3, which translates into 66% growth year over year and 26% growth quarter over quarter. As Don mentioned, this was an all-time company record. We didn't suffer any supply disruptions, thanks to the team's efforts over the past 12 months in Rhode Island and Mexico to preemptively manage our supply chain.

為了介紹我們的業績，我將從第四張投影片開始，從收入開始。第三季我們實現了 6,080 萬美元的收入，年增 66%，季增 26%。正如唐所提到的，這是公司的歷史記錄。我們沒有遭受任何供應中斷，這要歸功於團隊過去 12 個月在羅德島州和墨西哥努力搶先管理我們的供應鏈。

Year to date, we have delivered $154.5 million of revenue, which reflects a 28% year-over-year increase. Year to date, Energy Industrial revenues were $97.3 million, an 8% year-over-year increase given our limited aerogel production capacity.

年初至今，我們已實現 1.545 億美元的收入，年增 28%。年初至今，能源工業收入為 9,730 萬美元，由於我們的氣凝膠產能有限，較去年同期成長 8%。

In Q3, we continued to focus on optimizing our Energy Industrial product mix to lighten the load on our operations by making those products that require the least standard hours of processing, and delivered $27.9 million in sales, reflecting a 21% quarterly decrease and a 13% year-over-year increase.

第三季度，我們繼續專注於優化能源工業產品組合，透過生產那些需要最少標準加工時間的產品來減輕我們的營運負擔，並實現了2,790 萬美元的銷售額，季度下降21%，環比下降13% 。 % 比年增長。

As we've previously mentioned, our energy business is sold out. We have a clear line of sight to about $260 million of annual demand, and currently have approximately $118 million of backlog in orders to fulfill over the next few quarters. To fulfill this excess demand, we are focused on continuing to optimize our mix for steady supply during the remainder of the year and bringing in supplemental supply as soon as possible.

正如我們之前提到的，我們的能源業務已售罄。我們對每年約 2.6 億美元的需求有清晰的預期，目前有約 1.18 億美元的積壓訂單需要在未來幾季完成。為了滿足這一過剩需求，我們的重點是繼續優化我們的產品組合，以在今年剩餘時間內保持穩定的供應，並儘快引入補充供應。

EV thermal barrier revenues of $32.8 million were up 175% year over year and 160% quarter over quarter, reflecting the accelerating ramp in GM's production of Ultium platform-based electric vehicles and steady volumes in the Toyota nameplate that we supply, the bZ4X. General Motors has more than doubled the production of models that we supply them on quarter over quarter. Our year-to-date EV thermal barrier revenues were $57.2 million, representing an 88% increase when compared to the same period in 2022.

電動車熱障收入為 3,280 萬美元，年增 175%，環比增長 160%，反映出通用汽車基於 Ultium 平台的電動車產量的加速增長以及我們供應的豐田銘牌 bZ4X 的穩定銷量。通用汽車公司為其供應的車型產量逐季增加了一倍以上。我們年初至今的電動車熱障收入為 5,720 萬美元，與 2022 年同期相比成長了 88%。

Next, I'll provide a summary of our main expenses. Material expenses of $22 million for the quarter made up 36 percentage points of sales, continuing to reflect the work that our supply chain and procurement groups have put into reducing the cost of some of our main raw materials. We see this as temporary relief and the result of conservative planning as well. So we will remain vigilant with the goal of ensuring that we can keep these below 40 percentage points of sales.

接下來，我將總結我們的主要開支。本季的材料費用為 2,200 萬美元，佔銷售額的 36 個百分點，繼續反映了我們的供應鏈和採購團隊為降低一些主要原材料的成本所做的工作。我們認為這是暫時的緩解，也是保守規劃的結果。因此，我們將保持警惕，目標是確保將這些比例保持在銷售額的 40% 以下。

The Q3 performance enabled our total year-to-date material costs to be $50 million or 38 percentage points of sales, or 200 basis points favorable to our target of 40 percentage points of sales. Conversion costs, which we describe as all production costs required to convert raw materials into finished products, were of $25 million or 41 percentage points of sales in Q3.

第三季的業績使我們今年迄今的總材料成本達到 5,000 萬美元，佔銷售額的 38 個百分點，或比我們 40 個百分點的銷售額目標有利 200 個基點。轉換成本（我們將其描述為將原材料轉換為成品所需的所有生產成本）為 2,500 萬美元，佔第三季銷售額的 41 個百分點。

These costs include all elements of direct labor, manufacturing overhead, factory supplies, rent, insurance, process and logistics, quality and inspection. These results compare favorably to conversion costs in Q2 of this year, which were 46 percentage points of sales. This is the result of much better fixed cost absorption on our aerogel production costs, driven by the higher sales run rate level of this quarter.

這些成本包括直接勞動力、製造費用、工廠供應、租金、保險、流程和物流、品質和檢驗的所有要素。這些結果與今年第二季的轉換成本相比毫不遜色，佔銷售額的 46 個百分點。這是由於本季銷售運行率水準較高，我們的氣凝膠生產成本得到了更好的固定成本吸收。

As previously mentioned, our long-term target for these costs at a roughly double revenue run rate is of 20 to 25 percentage points of sales. So we aren't done managing these. While we've made improvements, primarily thanks to the efficiency of our operations in Mexico, we need to continue capturing additional opportunities to reduce these costs.

如前所述，在收入運行率大約翻倍的情況下，我們對這些成本的長期目標是佔銷售額的 20 至 25 個百分點。所以我們還沒有完成這些的管理。雖然我們已經取得了進步，這主要歸功於我們在墨西哥的營運效率，但我們需要繼續抓住更多機會來降低這些成本。

Looking ahead, as our team started running all lines of our aerogel plant in Rhode Island to make PyroThin without any switch overs and find their flow, we're sure that we'll see some efficiencies. In Mexico, for EV thermal barrier parts assembly, this week we have a focused team with all hands on deck on increasing-the uptime and throughput of our encapsulation and assembly equipment to drive efficiency and enable the next potential step up in demand.

展望未來，當我們的團隊開始運行羅德島州氣凝膠工廠的所有生產線以在沒有任何切換的情況下生產 PyroThin 並找到其流程時，我們確信我們會看到一些效率。在墨西哥，對於電動車熱障零件組裝，本週我們有一個專注的團隊，全體員工都在努力增加封裝和組裝設備的正常運行時間和吞吐量，以提高效率並實現下一個潛在的需求提升。

The launch next year of simpler designs for prismatic cells on a new set of encapsulation equipment that can be shared across programs will drive additional efficiency. Year to date, our conversion costs of $69.2 million reflect 45 percentage points of sales on our performance improvement year over year. Here has been primarily driven by fabricating $9.9 million of subsea products within our Energy Industrial segment in Mexico versus in Rhode Island.

明年將在一套新的封裝設備上推出更簡單的棱柱形電池設計，這些設備可以在多個項目之間共享，這將提高效率。年初至今，我們的轉換成本為 6,920 萬美元，這反映了我們的業績年增了 45 個百分點的銷售額。這主要是由我們在墨西哥的能源工業部門與羅德島州製造了價值 990 萬美元的海底產品所推動的。

In Q3, company-level gross profit margins were up 23% on our gross profit of $13.8 million. It's a $20.2 million improvement over our gross loss of $6.4 million during the same quarter last year. Our Energy Industrial segment delivered $5.8 million of gross profit or 182% year-over-year increase. In EV thermal barriers, we delivered $8 million of gross profit in Q3. If we compare this quarter with Q2, our EV thermal barriers gross profit improved by $9.1 million on incremental revenue of $20.8 million.

第三季度，公司級毛利率成長了 23%，毛利為 1,380 萬美元。與去年同期 640 萬美元的毛虧損相比，減少了 2,020 萬美元。我們的能源工業部門實現了 580 萬美元的毛利，年增 182%。在電動車熱障領域，我們第三季實現了 800 萬美元的毛利。如果我們將本季與第二季進行比較，我們的電動車熱障毛利潤提高了 910 萬美元，增量收入為 2,080 萬美元。

Our third quarter of 2023 gross profit in EV thermal barriers was $16.4 million higher than the gross loss of $8.4 million that we incurred during Q3 of last year in this segment, reflecting the benefits of starting to operate at a revenue run rate that aligns with the size of our operation. The resulting gross profit margins during the quarter were 21% and 24% for our Energy Industrial and EV thermal barrier segments, respectively.

2023 年第三季度，我們在電動車熱障領域的毛利比去年第三季該領域的毛虧損 840 萬美元高出 1,640 萬美元，反映出開始以與我們的營運規模。本季能源工業和電動車熱障部門的毛利率分別為 21% 和 24%。

Year to date, our gross profit of $27.3 million reflects a $36.7-million improvement in gross profit versus our gross loss of $9.4 million during the same period last year. Operating expenses, which are sized for near-term projected annual revenue capacity of over $550 million or $28.4 million, these ran up in the quarter above our target range as we had several one-time expenses related to the reallocation of our resources from support functions and overhead to further building our technical capabilities.

年初至今，我們的毛利為 2,730 萬美元，與去年同期的毛虧損 940 萬美元相比，毛利增加了 3,670 萬美元。營運費用的規模是根據近期預計年收入能力超過5.5 億美元或2840 萬美元計算的，這些費用在本季度超出了我們的目標範圍，因為我們有幾項與從支援職能部門重新分配資源相關的一次性費用以及進一步建立我們的技術能力的開銷。

Approximately one-third of our quarter over quarter OpEx increase of $3 million was driven by strategic investments in resources tied specifically to accelerating EV thermal barrier product development and commercial launch activity with specific customers tied to unannounced OEM awards. Putting these elements together, our adjusted EBITDA was negative $7.3 million in Q3 compared to negative $23.2 million during the same period last year, resulting in a $16-million year-over-year reduction in our EBITDA loss or a reduction of 68.5%.

我們季度營運支出增加了300 萬美元，其中約三分之一是由專門用於加速電動車熱障產品開發以及與未宣布的OEM 獎項相關的特定客戶的商業推出活動相關的資源策略投資推動的。將這些因素放在一起，我們第三季調整後的 EBITDA 為負 730 萬美元，而去年同期為負 2320 萬美元，導致我們的 EBITDA 損失同比減少了 1600 萬美元，即減少了 68.5%。

As a reminder, we define adjusted EBITDA as net income or loss before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation expenses, and other items that we do not believe are indicative of our core operating performance. In Q3, these other items included $2.8 million of stock-based compensation, $1.3 million of interest income, and $2.2 million of employee retention credits from the government.

提醒一下，我們將調整後的 EBITDA 定義為扣除利息、稅項、折舊、攤提、股票補償費用以及我們認為不能反映我們核心經營業績的其他項目之前的淨收入或虧損。第三季度，這些其他項目包括 280 萬美元的股票薪酬、130 萬美元的利息收入以及來自政府的 220 萬美元的員工保留信貸。

Our net loss in Q3 decreased to $13.1 million or $0.19 per share versus a net loss of $29.6 million or $0.75 per share in the same quarter of 2022. Our quarter-over-quarter net loss decreased by $2.3 million from $15.4 million. Our year-to-date net loss of $45.3 million is $27.8 million lower than our loss of $73.1 million during the first three quarters of last year or down by 38%.

我們第三季的淨虧損降至1,310 萬美元，即每股0.19 美元，而2022 年同一季度的淨虧損為2,960 萬美元，即每股0.75 美元。我們的季度淨虧損從1,540 萬美元減少了230萬美元。我們今年迄今的淨虧損為 4,530 萬美元，比去年前三季的虧損 7,310 萬美元減少了 2,780 萬美元，下降了 38%。

Next, I'll turn to cash flow and our balance sheet, cash used in operations of $7.5 million, reflected or adjusted EBITDA of negative $7.3 million, and cash used for working capital of $1.5 million, offset by interest income of $1.3 million. The key items that resulted in a usage of working capital were an increase in accounts receivable of $10.2 million and inventory of $1.1 million, offset by an increase in accounts payable of $1 million and accrued expenses of $6 million and a decrease in prepaid expenses of $1.9 million.

接下來，我將談談現金流和我們的資產負債表，營運中使用的現金為750 萬美元，反映或調整後的EBITDA 為負730 萬美元，用於營運資本的現金為150 萬美元，被利息收入130 萬美元抵銷。導致使用營運資金的關鍵項目是應收帳款增加 1,020 萬美元和庫存增加 110 萬美元，但被應付帳款增加 100 萬美元和應計費用 600 萬美元以及預付費用減少 1.9 美元所抵消百萬。

Our capital expenditures during the quarter were $32.3 million. These put our operating cash needs for the quarter at $39.8 million. $10 million of our CapEx was spent in closing the main buildings of Plant II in Georgia and helping bring the plant to a healthy resting spot while securing the site, while the remaining $22 million was spent on continuing to tool up our facilities in Mexico to support the EV thermal barrier capacity ramp of 2024 and 2025 while covering the last invoices of the construction of our recently opened advanced thermal barrier center.

本季我們的資本支出為 3,230 萬美元。這使得我們本季的營運現金需求達到 3,980 萬美元。我們的資本支出中的1000 萬美元用於關閉佐治亞州第二工廠的主要建築，並幫助該工廠在確保場地安全的同時恢復健康，而剩餘的2200 萬美元則用於繼續完善我們在墨西哥的設施，以支持2024 年和 2025 年電動車熱障產能的成長，同時涵蓋我們最近開設的先進熱障中心建設的最後一張發票。

The conversion of our remaining lines in Rhode Island to making PyroThin is also covered by these $22 million. We have incurred $255 million in capital expenses through the end of the third quarter towards Plant II in Georgia. We ended the quarter with $94.6 million of cash and shareholders' equity of $409.8 million. This balance is over $20 million higher than our expectations going into the quarter as we have managed to reduce the quarter-over-quarter cash burn of the company by $33.9 million or 46% to $39.8 million versus $73.7 million in the prior quarter.

這 2,200 萬美元也涵蓋了將羅德島州剩餘生產線改造為生產 PyroThin 的費用。截至第三季末，我們為喬治亞州第二廠支付了 2.55 億美元的資本支出。本季結束時，我們的現金為 9,460 萬美元，股東權益為 4.098 億美元。這一餘額比我們對本季的預期高出2,000 萬美元以上，因為我們成功地將公司的季度現金消耗減少了3,390 萬美元，即46%，達到3,980 萬美元，而上一季為7,370 萬美元。

Turning over to slide 5, I'd like to spend some time recapping the last 15 months and cover where we've been before going into our updated financial outlook for the remainder of 2023. On the left side, you can see how we've improved the company's gross profit margins from 11% in Q1 of this year to 17% in Q2 and 23% during the most recent quarter.

轉向幻燈片 5，我想花一些時間回顧過去 15 個月，並介紹我們在進入 2023 年剩餘時間的最新財務展望之前的情況。在左側，您可以看到我們如何「該公司的毛利率從今年第一季的11% 提高到第二季的17% 和最近一個季度的23%。

Our adjusted EBITDA loss has also shrunk from a loss of $23 million in Q3 of 2022 to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $7 million in the most recent quarter. In Q3, it's no surprise that the lion's share of our 26% quarter over quarter revenue ramp was driven by 160% increase in demand for PyroThin EV thermal barriers for General Motors Ultium platform vehicles.

我們調整後的 EBITDA 虧損也從 2022 年第三季的虧損 2,300 萬美元縮小到最近一個季度調整後的 EBITDA 虧損 700 萬美元。第三季度，我們的營收季增 26%，其中最大份額是由通用汽車 Ultium 平台車輛的 PyroThin EV 熱障需求增加 160% 推動的，這並不奇怪。

GM has more than doubled its production run rates for Ultium-powered vehicles from Q2 into Q3. And barring any interruptions, we expect this ramp to continue. This ramp and demand from General Motors drives our revenue guidance range to above $225 million for 2023. Running at an implied $70 million or above quarterly revenue run rate for Q4 enables us to lower our EBITDA range to a loss of $30 million to $40 million, a loss reduction of $15 million versus our prior range of negative $40 million to negative $55 million of adjusted EBITDA for the year.

從第二季到第三季度，通用汽車將 Ultium 動力車的生產運行率提高了一倍以上。除非出現任何干擾，我們預計這種成長將持續下去。通用汽車的這種成長和需求推動我們2023 年的營收指引達到2.25 億美元以上。第四季隱含的7,000 萬美元或以上的季度營收運作率使我們能夠將EBITDA 範圍降低到3,000 萬美元至4000 萬美元的虧損。與我們先前調整後的 EBITDA 範圍為負 4000 萬美元至負 5500 萬美元相比，損失減少了 1500 萬美元。

As we factor in the effect of meaningful interest income and a different amortization schedule as we operate with less deployed capital, we're also lowering our net loss guidance for the year from a loss of $75 million to $85 million to a loss of $52 million to $62 million. This improvement of $17 million represents an 18% and 17% reduction on the lower and upper end of our prior guidance range, respectively. This also brings our earnings per share guidance to an updated loss range of $0.76 per share to $0.9 per share.

由於我們考慮了有意義的利息收入和不同的攤銷時間表的影響，因為我們在資本配置較少的情況下運營，因此我們還將今年的淨虧損指導從虧損7500 萬美元降低到8500 萬美元，再降低到虧損5,200 萬美元至 6,200 萬美元。 1700 萬美元的改進意味著我們先前指導範圍的下限和上限分別減少了 18% 和 17%。這也使我們的每股盈餘指引更新為每股 0.76 美元至 0.9 美元的虧損範圍。

With a $147.7 million of CapEx spent year to date, we realize that we're very close to our previously stated CapEx guidance of $150 million for the year. Last quarter, we mentioned that we would only increase this amount if we saw a very clear picture of a 2024 EV thermal barrier demand increase as the second half of 2023 materialize. Now that we've experienced this ramp, we think that it is prudent to spend up to an additional $25 million in Q4 of 2023 to enable additional capacity improvements for thermal barrier assembly in Mexico, and improvements to our aerogel plant in Rhode Island, as well as preserving the value of our assets in Georgia.

今年迄今已花費 1.477 億美元的資本支出，我們意識到我們非常接近之前提出的今年 1.5 億美元的資本支出指引。上個季度，我們提到，只有在 2023 年下半年實現 2024 年電動車熱障需求成長的清晰前景時，我們才會增加這一數量。既然我們已經經歷了這種增長，我們認為明智的做法是在2023 年第四季度額外支出2500 萬美元，以進一步提高墨西哥熱障組件的產能，並改進我們位於羅德島州的氣凝膠工廠，因為以及保護我們在喬治亞的資產價值。

For Plant II in Georgia, October was really the first month at which the spend level crossed below our target level to preserve this site now that it has arrived at a healthy resting spot with all the equipment that is on site secured in a temperature-controlled environment. This $25 million would bring our CapEx spend for 2023 to $175 million and enable us to flex up to supply a plant that isn't as constrained as our original expectations for 2024.

對於喬治亞州的二號工廠來說，10 月確實是第一個月，支出水平低於我們保護該場地的目標水平，因為它已經到達了一個健康的休息點，現場的所有設備都固定在溫度控制的環境中。環境。這 2,500 萬美元將使我們 2023 年的資本支出達到 1.75 億美元，並使我們能夠靈活地供應一座不受我們最初預期 2024 年限制的工廠。

In the near term, we continue focus on managing the company with at least $75 million of cash on the balance sheet, and are pursuing nondilutive sources of financing, such as working capital, lines of credit, asset-backed loans, equipment leases, and other instruments that leverage our current asset base. You may remember that on June 15, we terminated our ATM program. And that we have not sold any equity in 2023.

短期內，我們將繼續專注於管理資產負債表上至少有 7,500 萬美元現金的公司，並尋求非稀釋性融資來源，例如營運資金、信貸額度、資產支持貸款、設備租賃和利用我們現有資產基礎的其他工具。您可能還記得，6 月 15 日，我們終止了 ATM 計畫。且我們在 2023 年沒有出售任何股權。

Turning over to slide 6, at this point, you've heard Don and I outline, for several quarters and in every meeting, that our team is focused on making the most of our existing assets and leveraging our partner in China to have approximately $550 million of revenue capacity and deliver 35% gross margins as we get close to maximizing this capacity.

翻到幻燈片6，此時，您已經聽到Don 和我在幾個季度和每次會議上概述了我們的團隊致力於充分利用我們現有的資產，並利用我們在中國的合作夥伴獲得大約550 美元百萬收入能力，並在我們接近最大化這一能力時提供 35% 的毛利率。

While I'll let you digest this slide on your own showing how our quarterly results of 2023 compare with this North Star, it's easy to see how on a run rate basis, the profitability of our business has been positively evolving during the first three quarters with progressive increase in gross profit from 11% in Q1, 17% in Q2, and most recently, 23% in Q3. At a $244-million annual revenue run rate, that is still only 44% of our potential capacity.

雖然我會讓您自己消化這張投影片，展示我們2023 年的季度業績與北極星的比較，但很容易看出，在運行率的基礎上，我們業務的盈利能力在前三個季度一直在積極發展毛利逐步增加，從第一季的 11%、第二季的 17%，到最近的第三季的 23%。以 2.44 億美元的年收入運行率計算，這仍然只占我們潛在產能的 44%。

When we compare the last 12 months to the prior 12 months, our revenue run rate has increased by 41%, while our material costs have decreased by 17 percentage points of sales. And our mass manufacturing costs have decreased by 10 percentage points of sales. Our OpEx has basically remained flat as a percentage of sales. And these have enabled us to shrink our EBITDA loss by 47%.

當我們將過去 12 個月與前 12 個月進行比較時，我們的收入運作率增加了 41%，而我們的材料成本則降低了銷售額的 17 個百分點。我們的大量製造成本降低了銷售額的10個百分點。我們的營運支出佔銷售額的百分比基本上保持不變。這些使我們的 EBITDA 損失減少了 47%。

These results are the benefit of rightsizing and right-timing our capacity ramp. And as we look ahead to '24 and 2025, we will continue adopting the same approach to posting results on the board without being influenced by headlines of slowing demand for EVs and retimed OEM investments. We believe that we may have been very conservative and cautious in our plans and are encouraged to see the updated reality continue to be above our expectations.

這些結果是我們產能提升的合理規模和正確時機的好處。展望 24 年和 2025 年，我們將繼續採用相同的方法在董事會上發布業績，而不會受到電動車需求放緩和 OEM 投資重新安排的頭條新聞的影響。我們相信，我們在計劃中可能非常保守和謹慎，並且很高興看到最新的現實繼續超出我們的預期。

The OEM ramp delays of the past 18 months and rising cost of capital have taught us a lot. And we are confident that these learnings will enable us to continue playing offense by posting results and then making investments versus the treadmill of constantly playing defense by working the other way around. With that, I'm happy to turn the call back to Don.

過去 18 個月的 OEM 產能延遲和資本成本上升給了我們很多教訓。我們相信，這些經驗教訓將使我們能夠透過發布結果然後進行投資來繼續進攻，而不是透過相反的方式不斷進行防守。這樣，我很高興將電話轉回給唐。

Thank you, Ricardo. We have covered a significant amount of ground today in reviewing Q3 and our near-term outlook. Before we move to Q&A, I would like to emphasize our focus on driving significant profitability from our existing resources and opportunities. We believe the near-term business profile as we have it constructed, and again consistent with our current assets and commercial opportunities, has the potential to produce on an annual basis approximately $550 million of revenue, approximately $200 million of gross profit, and approximately $140 million of EBITDA.

謝謝你，里卡多。今天，我們在回顧第三季度和近期展望時已經討論了很多內容。在進行問答之前，我想強調我們的重點是利用現有資源和機會實現顯著盈利。我們相信，我們所建立的近期業務概況，並且再次與我們當前的資產和商業機會相一致，有潛力每年產生約 5.5 億美元的收入、約 2 億美元的毛利和約 140 美元的收入。百萬EBITDA。

We believe Q4 will be the next significant step towards this level of business performance. At the same time, we believe that we maintain our full longer-term upside potential as we continue to win design awards from EV OEMs to expand our profitable baseload of Energy Industrial revenue and to leverage our aerogel technology platform into additional high-value markets, including our ongoing work in battery materials.

我們相信，第四季將是實現這一業務績效水準的下一個重要步驟。同時，我們相信，隨著我們繼續贏得電動車原始設備製造商的設計獎項，以擴大我們能源工業收入的盈利基荷，並利用我們的氣凝膠技術平台進入其他高價值市場，我們將保持全部長期上升潛力，包括我們在電池材料方面正在進行的工作。

The key point is that we are seeking to avoid unnecessary dilution for our shareholders by optimizing the use of our existing assets and opportunities to create a dynamic and cash-generating business. With that, we welcome the Q&A session.

關鍵點是，我們正在尋求透過優化現有資產和機會的利用來創建充滿活力和產生現金的業務，從而避免對股東造成不必要的稀釋。至此，我們歡迎問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Colin Rusch, Oppenheimer.

（操作說明）Colin Rusch，Oppenheimer。

Thanks so much, guys. With the cadence of these incremental wins and the start of production, can you talk a little bit about the dynamics around selling to just fill the channel and get these guys supplied up to start production and how much and actual sell-through you're seeing on the vehicles at this point?

非常感謝，夥計們。隨著這些增量勝利和生產開始的節奏，您能否談談銷售的動態，以填補管道並讓這些人開始生產，以及您看到的實際銷售量此時在車輛上？

Sorry, Colin, maybe just to clarify, so sell-through on the end of General Motors specifically or is this more related to additional OEMs?

抱歉，科林，也許只是為了澄清一下，所以具體是通用汽車公司的銷售，還是這與其他原始設備製造商更相關？

The dynamic we're trying to get after is how much of the growth is really coming from selling into the OEMs. And as you have an incremental cadence of new program wins, there's going to be growth to support that the production. But there's a lot of concern around how these vehicles are selling and potential stagnation in terms of growth at some point. So that's the dynamic we're trying to get after.

我們試圖追蹤的動態是，有多少成長真正來自於向原始設備製造商的銷售。當新節目獲勝的節奏不斷增加時，就會有成長來支持製作。但人們對這些車輛的銷售情況以及在某個時候可能出現的成長停滯存在著許多擔憂。這就是我們想要追求的動力。

Yeah, I think there's two parts to thinking about this one. We've known that some of these EVs have been sitting in lots for over a year at this point. And we factor that into our conservativism as we factor in the volume plans, not only when we are making our own plans, but also when we're quoting these opportunities.

是的，我認為思考這個問題需要分成兩個部分。我們知道，其中一些電動車目前已經停放在停車場一年多了。當我們考慮銷售計劃時，我們會考慮到這一點，不僅是在我們制定自己的計劃時，而且是在我們引用這些機會時。

And when it comes to Ultium specifically, it's a little tough to assess how close General Motors is to hitting the demand limit when they only produced, we estimate, around 14,000 vehicles in Q3. And there's roughly 3,000 to 4,000 Chevy dealers in North America. And that doesn't even come close to getting up to the limits of the consumer demand for these vehicles. So we do think that GM has ways to go in terms of ramping up production before they start to see any limit on consumer demand.

特別是在 Ultium 方面，我們估計通用汽車在第三季僅生產了約 14,000 輛汽車，因此很難評估通用汽車距離達到需求極限有多近。北美約有 3,000 至 4,000 家雪佛蘭經銷商。這甚至還沒有達到消費者對這些車輛需求的極限。因此，我們確實認為，在消費者需求受到限制之前，通用汽車在提高產量方面還有很長的路要走。

Now as we look at additional opportunities, going to the second part of the question, in the same way as we plan to ramp from GM, we truly have learned a lot through the delays with GM's ramp on how to deploy capital in these opportunities, how to design the processes to execute them. And we apply a very similar level of discounting to some of these opportunities in 2025 and 2026 that we're being awarded here in the near term.

現在，當我們著眼於其他機會時，進入問題的第二部分，就像我們計劃從通用汽車公司增加產能一樣，我們確實從通用汽車公司的延遲增加中學到了很多關於如何在這些機會中部署資本的知識，如何設計執行它們的流程。我們對 2025 年和 2026 年近期授予的其中一些機會採用了非常相似的折扣水準。

And it's worth noting that once an OEM puts together a sourcing package for a vehicle that is two to three years away, a lot of work has already been done. And a lot of investment has already been made. And so we do feel pretty good about our ability to get more wins for this 2025 and 2026 timeframe.

值得注意的是，一旦原始設備製造商為兩到三年後的車輛制定採購方案，大量工作就已經完成。並且已經進行了大量投資。因此，我們確實對自己在 2025 年和 2026 年期間獲得更多勝利的能力感到非常滿意。

Now, additional programs, I think, for that 2027, 2028 time frame, we do expect that to continue being retimed and frankly see the recent news of some retimed EV investments as something that was inevitable just given everyone's cost of capital. And we were surprised that it actually took this long to ratchet back some of these investment expectations.

現在，我認為，在2027 年、2028 年的時間範圍內，我們確實預計這些計劃將繼續重新安排，坦白說，考慮到每個人的資本成本，最近一些重新安排電動車投資的消息是不可避免的。我們感到驚訝的是，實際上花了這麼長時間才調低了其中一些投資預期。

But we still feel very good about the opportunities that we have in the horizon for 2025, 2026. And even if we go back to our plans in 2021, we have not had to adjust those downward based on what we're seeing.

但我們仍然對 2025 年、2026 年的機會感到非常滿意。即使我們回到 2021 年的計劃，我們也不必根據我們所看到的情況向下調整這些計劃。

Colin, I would just add, the momentum that we've had moving from Q2 to Q3, you'll see that momentum continue for us here as we move into Q4 and into the new year.

科林，我想補充一點，我們從第二季度到第三季度的勢頭，當我們進入第四季度和新的一年時，你會看到我們在這裡繼續保持這種勢頭。

That's super helpful. Thanks so much, guys. And then, as you work through contracting on more new product wins or with these new customers, the value, both mechanical and the thermal performance of the material is becoming really well understood. I guess I'm curious about any potential for price leverage on your part, at least price preservation, even as you get into higher volumes with some of these customers given that mechanical performance.

這非常有幫助。非常感謝，夥計們。然後，當您透過簽訂更多新產品合約或與這些新客戶簽訂合約時，材料的價值、機械性能和熱性能就會得到真正的理解。我想我對你們的價格槓桿潛力感到好奇，至少是保價，即使考慮到機械性能，你們與其中一些客戶的銷售更大。

Yeah, for us, it's really not just about the underlying merits of the material and the critical problems that it solves, but also the amount of capital that we've deployed. And that we will continue to cautiously deploy here, and an emphasis on paying it back. So we will manage pricing in a way that come hell or high water, we really align with the gearing that we've presented here on slide 6, for example. We want all programs and all sales that we execute here to not pull us away from this path of getting our 35% gross profit margins. And we'll manage pricing to do that.

是的，對我們來說，這實際上不僅僅是材料的潛在優點及其解決的關鍵問題，還包括我們部署的資本數量。我們將繼續在這裡謹慎部署，並強調回報。因此，我們將以一種無論地獄還是高水位的方式管理定價，例如，我們確實與我們在投影片 6 中介紹的傳動裝置保持一致。我們希望我們在這裡執行的所有計劃和所有銷售都不會讓我們偏離獲得 35% 毛利率的道路。我們將管理定價來做到這一點。

Thanks so much, guys.

非常感謝，夥計們。

Thanks, Colin.

謝謝，科林。

Eric Stine, Craig-Hallum.

艾瑞克·斯坦，克雷格·哈勒姆。

Hey, Don. Hey, Ricardo.

嘿，唐。嘿，里卡多。

Hey.

嘿。

Hey, Eric.

嘿，艾瑞克。

Hey, good morning. So maybe for me, I know in the past, you had talked about that $550 million run rate, 25% EBITDA margin -- and very good slide, I appreciate that, that you gave this morning. I think previously, you'd said, I thought, that was possible in the next four to six quarters. And I know you're managing the contract manufacture and ramping things up. And you're constrained in the eye and all of that. Is that still something that you see as possible on a run-rate basis by, I guess, your expectation had been 3Q of '24?

嗨，早安。所以也許對我來說，我知道過去，您曾談到過 5.5 億美元的運行率、25% 的 EBITDA 利潤率，以及您今天早上提供的非常好的幻燈片，我對此表示讚賞。我想以前，你說過，我想，這在接下來的四到六個季度內是可能的。我知道您正在管理合約製造並加快進度。而且你的眼睛和所有這些都受到限制。我猜您的預期是 24 年第三季度，您認為這仍然是可能的嗎？

It's not unlikely. We actually included a slide in the back for everyone's benefit. If you just look at GM alone and the ramps that they're in, in spite of the headlines, if you just look at the IHS ramp and if you see GM's intended ramp, it's even higher than this. But there's the potential for them to just continuing doubling production every quarter for at least two more quarters.

這並非不可能。實際上，為了每個人的利益，我們在後面加了一個幻燈片。如果你只看通用汽車公司和他們所處的斜坡，不管頭條新聞如何，如果你只看 IHS 斜坡，如果你看到通用汽車的預期斜坡，它甚至比這更高。但他們有可能在至少兩個季度內繼續將每季的產量翻一番。

And the implications of that on our revenue run rate, supplemented by the supply from China for our Energy Industrial business put us on this path to be able to get there. Now whether it happens in Q2, Q3, Q4, we're just cautiously managing it. But we do see it as something that is still possible.

這對我們的收入運行率的影響，再加上中國對我們能源工業業務的供應，使我們走上了這條能夠實現這一目標的道路。現在無論是第二季、第三季或第四季度，我們都在謹慎管理。但我們確實認為這仍然是可能的。

Understood, yeah, just making sure that's still the expectation. That is helpful. And then maybe for my follow-up, maybe just an update on the DOE loan that you're in the mix for. I know previously, you'd talked about potentially hearing next steps by year end, and the expectation that if you're invited for further diligence, that that's a great sign towards the eventual award or possible award. Just curious if that's still the view.

明白，是的，只是確保這仍然是期望。這很有幫助。然後也許是我的後續行動，也許只是您參與的能源部貸款的最新情況。我知道之前，您曾談到可能會在年底聽到下一步措施，並期望如果您被邀請進行進一步的盡職調查，那是最終獲獎或可能獲獎的一個好兆頭。只是好奇這是否仍是這樣的觀點。

Thank you, Eric. Yes, the DOE LPO process, we continue to be closely engaged with the LPO office and the team, if you will, on that side of the table and working very, very closely with them. Our team is doing a great job. I think we're putting our best foot forward. And of course, it's always an unpredictable process. But we do believe that we're on that timeline that we outlined earlier. And we hope to be able to keep you posted on that here as we work our way through Q4.

謝謝你，埃里克。是的，在 DOE LPO 流程中，我們將繼續與 LPO 辦公室和團隊密切合作（如果您願意的話），與他們進行非常非常密切的合作。我們的團隊做得很好。我認為我們正在全力以赴。當然，這始終是一個不可預測的過程。但我們確實相信我們正處於我們之前概述的時間表上。我們希望能夠在第四季的工作中隨時向您通報這一情況。

Okay, thank you.

好的謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Alex Potter, Piper Sandler.

亞歷克斯·波特，派珀·桑德勒。

Great, thanks, guys. So I was wondering just maybe, obviously you're working on the contract manufacturing avenue with your partner in China. Any update you can give on how that's progressing, what gives you confidence that everything is on track and on time?

太好了，謝謝你們。所以我想知道也許，顯然你正在與你在中國的合作夥伴一起從事合約製造方面的工作。您能提供有關進展的任何更新嗎？是什麼讓您相信一切都按時按期進行？

Well, again, we're impressed by them. We're working very closely. It's a matter of qualifying our products, setting up the supply chain and logistics, working with our Energy Industrial customers.

好吧，我們再次對他們印象深刻。我們正在非常密切地合作。這關係到我們的產品合格、建立供應鏈和物流、與我們的能源工業客戶合作。

And it's going very well. And we have said that we will test the system here over the course of 2023. And we're doing just that now. And that it should be up and contributing at the early part of 2024. And, Alex, we're right on that path.

一切進展順利。我們已經說過，我們將在 2023 年在這裡測試該系統。我們現在正在這樣做。它應該在 2024 年初啟動並做出貢獻。亞歷克斯，我們正走在這條路上。

So we're confident. We're impressed by the work that we're doing together with our supplemental supplier and, again, right on track.

所以我們有信心。我們與補充供應商一起所做的工作給我們留下了深刻的印象，並且再次步入正軌。

Okay, that's great to hear. And then the second question I had was on the PyroThin volume that you're selling into GM for the Ultium products. I'm just curious, are they putting PyroThin themselves in their own inventory or are they taking it from you, putting it directly into a vehicle, and pushing that vehicle out?

好的，很高興聽到這個消息。我的第二個問題是關於你們向 GM 銷售 Ultium 產品的 PyroThin 卷。我只是很好奇，他們是把 PyroThin 自己放入自己的庫存中，還是從你那裡拿走它，直接放入車輛中，然後將車輛推出去？

I'm just trying to understand, obviously, you're producing. You sell to them. But I don't know -- just, I guess, trying to gauge whether there's the potential for inventory buildup or shortages at any point between you, GM, and then downstream of GM.

顯然，我只是想了解你正在製作。你賣給他們。但我不知道——我想，只是試圖衡量在你、通用汽車和通用汽車的下游之間的任何時候是否存在庫存積累或短缺的可能性。

Yeah, I think the best way to think about it is that it's fair to say that a part that we're making in Mexico right now probably won't find its way into a finished vehicle for about a month. And so when the ramp is as significant as what we're seeing, looking at the 14,000 Ultium-based vehicles that we believe GM built in Q3 isn't totally enough to explain our revenues. If you take our revenues, divide it by 14,000, you end up with a CPV that's way higher than what's actually there.

是的，我認為最好的思考方式是，公平地說，我們現在在墨西哥製造的零件可能在大約一個月內無法進入成品車。因此，當產量成長如我們所看到的那樣顯著時，我們認為通用汽車在第三季生產的 14,000 輛基於 Ultium 的汽車並不足以解釋我們的收入。如果您將我們的收入除以 14,000，您最終會得到比實際情況高得多的 CPV。

And so GM is building up a decent amount of inventory here to enable the ramp. And from what we understand, they've been hand to mouth here during Q3. And we'll have to see really, going back to the Colin's question on we'll see how long these vehicles then spend on the lot to translate that into ultimate sales for GM. But we do see about a one-month delay, which gives us the chance to recognize revenues and build revenues of a month ahead of the end of the quarter.

因此，通用汽車正在這裡建立相當數量的庫存，以實現產能擴張。據我們了解，他們在第三季一直處於勉強糊口的狀態。我們必須真正看到，回到科林的問題，我們將看到這些車輛在該地塊上花費多長時間才能將其轉化為通用汽車的最終銷售。但我們確實看到了一個月的延遲，這使我們有機會在季度末前一個月確認收入並建立收入。

Okay, got it. Thanks. That's very helpful. I'll pass it on.

好，知道了。謝謝。這非常有幫助。我會把它傳遞下去。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Jeff Osborne, TD Cowen.

傑夫·奧斯本，TD·考恩。

Thank you. Good morning, two quick ones on my side. I was curious on the Audi win. That's great to see. Is that part of a broader program as part of the VW family, maybe just starting with one vehicle in '24? Any help there would be helpful. Because I thought you were targeting more pack designs across multiple vehicles as opposed to a one-off. So understanding that would be helpful.

謝謝。早安，我這邊有兩個快的。我對奧迪的勝利很好奇。很高興看到這一點。這是大眾汽車家族更廣泛計劃的一部分嗎？也許只是從 24 年的一輛車開始？任何幫助都會有幫助。因為我認為你們的目標是跨多輛車進行更多的包裝設計，而不是一次性的。所以理解這一點會很有幫助。

And then any other updates that you could share on the battery materials side of the business? You haven't talked about that in a few quarters. But I'm just curious how that's progressing. Would be also helpful to understand.

那麼您可以分享有關電池材料業務方面的其他更新嗎？你們已經好幾個季度沒有談論過這件事了。但我只是好奇事情進展如何。也會有助於理解。

Yeah, so happy to jump in on the first one there, Jeff. Yeah, so the Audi program is an electric vehicle platform, which means that multiple different Audi nameplates could be based on this platform.

是的，很高興能加入第一個，傑夫。是的，奧迪計畫是一個電動車平台，這意味著多個不同的奧迪銘牌可以基於這個平台。

And then on the battery materials side, we continue to work on advancing the technology. And we are endeavoring to solve a hard problem. And we are making, I think, steady and interesting progress on that.

然後在電池材料方面，我們繼續致力於推進技術。我們正在努力解決一個難題。我認為，我們正在這方面取得穩定且有趣的進展。

We've kept quiet on it to a great degree on purpose as we've continued to advance that. I think it will be an opportunity for us to talk about it in the coming earnings call or two. And I would really like for that to not only talk about the status of the technology, but perhaps also the status of one or two working relationships we have with third parties at that point, helping us advance the technology and taking it, that next step.

在我們繼續推進這一目標的過程中，我們有意在很大程度上對此保持沉默。我認為這將是我們在即將到來的一兩次財報電話會議上討論這個問題的機會。我真的希望不僅能談論科技的狀態，也許還能談論我們與第三方建立的一兩個工作關係的狀態，幫助我們推進技術並採取下一步。

But it's a very exciting program for us. We've got an excellent team of people working on it. And we're careful in our expenditures. But it's adequately and well-resourced to continue to advance that technology.

但這對我們來說是一個非常令人興奮的計劃。我們有一支優秀的團隊致力於此。我們在支出方面也很謹慎。但它有足夠的資源來繼續推進這項技術。

Excellent, I appreciate it, Dan. That's all I have.

太棒了，我很感激，丹。這就是我的全部。

Thanks, Jeff.

謝謝，傑夫。

George Gianarikas, Canaccord.

喬治·賈納里卡斯，Canaccord。

Hey, good morning. And thanks for taking my question. Maybe just to focus on some of the potential EV OEM awards that you haven't announced yet that could get announced by the end of the year, curious, can you just shed a little light on when you expect potential volumes to start there? Just so we can understand, when we look to 2024, how diversified will your PyroThin business be away from GM? Thank you.

嗨，早安。感謝您提出我的問題。也許只是為了關註一些您尚未宣布的潛在電動車原始設備製造商獎項，這些獎項可能會在今年年底公佈，好奇，您能否透露一下您預計潛在銷量何時開始？這樣我們就可以理解，當我們展望 2024 年時，您的 PyroThin 業務遠離 GM 的多元化程度如何？謝謝。

Yeah, thanks, George. So, those awards would really kick in in 2025. The meaningful volumes and the ramp would happen in 2025. So for 2024, it's fair to say that we will still be fairly concentrated on GM, which is proving out to not be a bad thing now. And then Toyota and Scania will also ramp up in the second half of next year.

是的，謝謝，喬治。因此，這些獎項將在 2025 年真正生效。有意義的銷量和增長將在 2025 年發生。因此，對於 2024 年，可以公平地說，我們仍然將相當集中於通用汽車，事實證明這不是一件壞事現在。豐田和斯堪尼亞也將在明年下半年加大力度。

Thank you. And maybe to the extent you could share, any details on Toyota? They seem to be, at least in their public pronouncements, going back and forth with their commitment to EVs. What sort of momentum do you see with that account? Thank you.

謝謝。也許您可以分享一下有關豐田的任何細節嗎？至少在公開聲明中，他們似乎一再強調對電動車的承諾。您認為該帳戶的勢頭如何？謝謝。

Yeah, I think we would put them in a similar bucket as the other OEMs. They still haven't announced a broad battery platform strategy. Instead, it's more of a nameplate by name plate approach. And that scope can increase. But we don't see anything here in the near term for '24.

是的，我認為我們會將它們與其他原始設備製造商放在類似的位置。他們仍未宣布廣泛的電池平台策略。相反，它更像是一個接一個銘牌的方法。而且這個範圍還可以擴大。但我們在 24 短期內看不到任何東西。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Thank you, George.

謝謝你，喬治。

Chris Souther, B. Riley.

克里斯·索瑟，B.萊利。

Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my questions here. Could you talk through the moving pieces on the revenue and EBITDA guidance for the fourth quarter? You said revenue is expected to grow. Gross margins are expected to increase.

大家好。感謝您在這裡提出我的問題。您能否談談有關第四季度收入和 EBITDA 指導的動態內容？你說收入預計會成長。毛利率預計將增加。

But you have a $7-million EBITDA loss in the third quarter. So what are the moving pieces around the low end of the EBITDA guidance? Yeah, $8 million loss -- can you talk through what you'd need from a revenue perspective to hit the positive EBITDA in the fourth quarter? Or is it some specific output out of China or other factors that would be in play there?

但第三季 EBITDA 損失為 700 萬美元。那麼 EBITDA 指引下限的變化因素有哪些呢？是的，損失了 800 萬美元——您能從收入角度談談您需要什麼才能在第四季度實現正 EBITDA 嗎？或者是中國的某些特定產出或其他因素會在那裡發揮作用？

Yeah, no, that's a good question. We knew you'd go there. And we really are protecting for the doomsday scenario here. If you look at the negative [$40 million] of EBITDA, potential EBITDA, I think we'll be forthcoming, tightening that up as November materializes here.

是的，不，這是一個好問題。我們知道你會去那裡。我們確實是在為世界末日場景做好準備。如果你看看 EBITDA 的負值 [4000 萬美元]，潛在的 EBITDA，我認為我們將在 11 月到來時收緊這一點。

But for us, really, when we looked at the UAW agreement not being ratified, some of the big certification work streams with the contract manufacturers still in full swing and the potential cost of an additional turn of certification on those products, it really -- you combine all of those negative things that could happen, albeit with low probabilities. That's how you end up at the negative [$40 million] of EBITDA. And yeah, I do think that given the ramp that we expect for Q4, we will have an opportunity to potentially tighten that range.

但對我們來說，實際上，當我們看到 UAW 協議尚未獲得批准、合約製造商的一些大型認證工作流程仍在全面展開以及對這些產品進行額外認證的潛在成本時，確實——你把所有可能發生的負面事情結合起來，儘管機率很低。這就是您最終的 EBITDA 為負數[4000 萬美元]的原因。是的，我確實認為，考慮到我們對第四季度的預期成長，我們將有機會收緊該範圍。

Understood, okay, that's very helpful.

明白了，好的，很有幫助。

Yeah, Chris, I would say that there's a reasonable chance that we'll provide one more update before year end on some of these topics that you and your colleagues have asked about: revenue and EBITDA, additional OEM awards, commentary on the DOE LPO. Those sorts of things, I think, could very well be appropriate for us to, again, update you all one more time before year-end.

是的，克里斯，我想說，我們很有可能在年底前就您和您的同事詢問的一些主題提供更多更新：收入和 EBITDA、額外的 OEM 獎項、對 DOE LPO 的評論。我認為，這些事情很適合我們在年底前再次向大家通報最新情況。

Got it, okay. That's real helpful. And then just, you talked through your sales not matching up as a leading indicator of GM production. Obviously, the implied ASPs otherwise would have been very high here. Where are the ASPs shaken out if we exclude the Scania stuff, just for general cars, SUVs that are in your OEM award? How much revenue are you guys getting from awards they you haven't yet received as far as component sales that are related to testing and the like. I just wondered if you can provide a bit more clarity around that.

明白了，好吧。這真的很有幫助。然後，您談到了您的銷售額與通用汽車產量的領先指標不符。顯然，否則這裡隱含的平均售價會非常高。如果我們排除斯堪尼亞的產品，僅針對您的 OEM 獎項中的普通轎車、SUV，那麼 ASP 會在哪裡？就與測試等相關的組件銷售而言，你們從尚未獲得的獎項中獲得了多少收入。我只是想知道您能否更清楚地說明這一點。

Yes, the prototype revenues right now make up well less than 10% of our PyroThin revenues. And then I'm assuming you mean more around, when it comes to the rest of the PyroThin revenues, our content per vehicle, how that is tracking.

是的，目前原型收入僅佔 PyroThin 收入的不到 10%。然後我假設您指的是更多的內容，當涉及到 PyroThin 的其餘收入時，我們每輛車的內容，以及如何追蹤。

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly.

是的，完全正確。是的，完全正確。

Yeah, and so we're still pretty consistently seeing our content per vehicle in that $700 to $1,000 per vehicle range, given that the bulk of what we're supplying is vehicles with a pretty large packs. And pouch sells. And when we add one of these prismatic programs, I think, the content there is more in the $350 to $400 per car range.

是的，考慮到我們提供的大部分內容都是帶有相當大包裝的車輛，因此我們仍然看到每輛車的內容價格在 700 美元到 1,000 美元之間。還有袋子賣。我認為，當我們添加這些棱柱形程序之一時，每輛車 350 至 400 美元範圍內的內容會更多。

But nonetheless, it's a much simpler part to produce. It requires a lot less capital. And so we're happy with the economics of those awards as well. But right now, if you're looking at what we're producing here, what we produced here in Q3, what we'll do in Q4 and most of '24, it's still going to be this large pouch configuration with the CPV in that $700 range.

但儘管如此，它的生產起來要簡單得多。它需要的資本要少得多。因此，我們對這些獎項的經濟效益也感到滿意。但現在，如果你看看我們在這裡生產的產品，我們在第三季度生產的產品，我們將在第四季度和24 年的大部分時間做什麼，你會發現它仍然是這種大袋配置， CPV 在700 美元的範圍。

Got it, okay. That's really helpful. I'll hop in the queue. Thanks.

明白了，好吧。這真的很有幫助。我會插隊。謝謝。

Thanks so much.

非常感謝。

Tom Curran, Seaport Research Partners.

湯姆‧柯蘭，海港研究夥伴。

Good morning, guys.

早上好傢伙。

Hey, Tom.

嘿，湯姆。

When it comes to the supplemental supply that you're in the process of testing with your Chinese contract manufacturing partner, is the expectation still a bit, once that's fully ramped to the maximum expected capacity, that your available quarterly revenue capacity for Energy Industrial would be around $37.5 million? And then when it comes to that $118 million backlog of unfilled orders, how much time do you feel you have to catch up with those orders? And do you have any risk or liability related to letting them remain unfilled past a certain point in time?

當談到您正在與中國合約製造合作夥伴進行測試的補充供應時，一旦完全達到最大預期產能，您對能源工業的可用季度收入能力是否仍然有一點期望？大約3750萬美元？然後，當涉及到 1.18 億美元的未完成訂單積壓時，您認為需要多長時間才能趕上這些訂單？如果讓他們在某個時間點之後仍然無人填補，您是否會承擔任何風險或責任？

Well, it's a good question, Tom. We are very close to our Energy Industrial customers, and the distribution channels, and the engineering firms work. And we actively communicate with them to be sure that we're meeting their expectations.

嗯，這是個好問題，湯姆。我們與能源工業客戶、分銷管道和工程公司的合作非常密切。我們積極與他們溝通，以確保我們滿足他們的期望。

But we are in a position to switch over to the supplemental supply again early next year. And we feel that we will fulfill our obligations, our responsibilities to those customers. And quite frankly, that business is strong. Our sales team on the Energy Industrial side is very active on both the Pyrogel side of the business and the CyroGel side, the LNG part of the business. So that business is going to continue to grow and be an important baseload of revenue and gross profit for our company.

但我們有能力在明年初再次轉向補充供應。我們認為我們將履行我們對這些客戶的義務和責任。坦白說，這項業務很強勁。我們在能源產業的銷售團隊在 Pyrogel 業務和 CyroGel 業務（液化天然氣業務）方面都非常活躍。因此，該業務將繼續成長，並成為我們公司收入和毛利的重要基礎。

So again, we feel we're in a good position with those customers, communicating well. The backlog, and you might remember if you go back to the last time we were short of capacity, is substantial. But we're in good shape. As long as we communicate well, I think we're good.

因此，我們再次認為我們與這些客戶處於良好的位置，溝通良好。如果你回顧一下我們上次產能不足的情況，你可能還記得，積壓的訂單數量是巨大的。但我們的狀態很好。只要我們溝通得好，我想我們就很好。

Yeah, and if I may add, the team is pretty good at assessing what gets into that $118 million backlog and which orders they accept. And order makes it into that $118 million if the team has line of sight to fulfilling it within a reasonable timeframe.

是的，如果我可以補充一下，該團隊非常擅長評估 1.18 億美元的積壓訂單中的內容以及他們接受的訂單。如果團隊能夠在合理的時間內完成訂單，那麼訂單金額將達到 1.18 億美元。

Glad to hear that, that's reassuring. And just to follow up and try to clarify, would within the $550 million, would you think of eventual fully available annual revenue capacity for EI being around $150 million?

很高興聽到這個消息，這讓人放心。為了跟進並試圖澄清，在 5.5 億美元內，您認為 EI 最終完全可用的年收入能力約為 1.5 億美元嗎？

Yes. Yes, we would.

是的。是的，我們會的。

Okay.

好的。

When we think about the $550 million, we do think about the PyroThin part of that being $400 million and the remaining part being the Energy Industrial side of our business.

當我們考慮 5.5 億美元時，我們確實會考慮其中的 PyroThin 部分為 4 億美元，其餘部分為我們業務的能源產業部分。

Got it. Thanks for that clarification, Don. And then returning to EVTB, when it comes to these next two potential awards that you remain very optimistic about landing before year end, would you still expect at least one of those two results in a new customer, essentially would-be customer number four?

知道了。感謝您的澄清，唐。然後回到EVTB，當談到您仍然非常樂觀地希望在年底前獲得這兩個潛在獎項時，您是否仍然期望新客戶（基本上是潛在的第四號客戶）至少獲得這兩個結果中的一個？

Yeah, that's correct. Yeah, we put your bingo board there on slide 3. And we would expect different logos on there for the (multiple speakers).

是的，這是正確的。是的，我們把你的賓果遊戲板放在幻燈片 3 上。我們希望（多個發言者）那裡有不同的標誌。

Ricardo, you know I love playing my bingo. I'm almost 50%. Thanks, guys. I'll turn it back.

里卡多，你知道我喜歡玩賓果遊戲。我已經快50%了多謝你們。我會把它轉回來。

Thank you, Tom.

謝謝你，湯姆。

This concludes our Q&A. And I'll now hand back to Don Young, CEO, closing remarks.

我們的問答到此結束。現在我將請執行長唐楊 (Don Young) 致閉幕詞。

Thank you, Elliot. We appreciate your interest in Aspen Aerogels. We look forward to staying in close touch with you and reporting our fourth quarter 2023 results to you early next year. Be well. And have a good day. Thanks so much.

謝謝你，艾利奧特。我們感謝您對阿斯彭氣凝膠的興趣。我們期待與您保持密切聯繫，並於明年初向您報告 2023 年第四季的業績。祝你一切順利。祝你有美好的一天。非常感謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, today's call is now concluded. We like to thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與。現在您可以斷開線路。