Astra Space Inc (ASTR) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. My name is Abby, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to Astra's Second Quarter Fiscal 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. Today's conference is being recorded.

女士們，先生們，下午好。我叫艾比，今天我將擔任你們的會議主持人。現在，我歡迎大家參加阿斯特拉2023財年第二季財務業績電話會議。今天的會議正在錄製中。

(Operator Instructions) I will now turn the conference over to Andrew Hsiung, Vice President of Strategic Finance and Capital Markets. You may begin.

（操作員指示）現在，我將會議交給策略財務與資本市場副總裁 Andrew Hsiung。您可以開始發言了。

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Astra's Second Quarter 2023 Results Call. After the market closed, we released our financial results. The press release is available on the SEC's website and our Investor Relations website at investor.astra.com. A supplemental presentation related to our results can also be found on the Investor Relations section of our website. This teleconference is also being broadcast over the Internet and will be archived and available on our Investor Relations website. During our call today, we will reference non-GAAP financial measures which we believe to be useful to investors as our management team uses these non-GAAP financial measures to plan, monitor and evaluate our financial performance.

謝謝接線生。大家下午好，感謝您參加阿斯特拉2023年第二季業績電話會議。收盤後，我們發布了財務業績。新聞稿可在美國證券交易委員會（SEC）網站和我們的投資者關係網站investor.astra.com上查閱。您也可以在我們網站的「投資人關係」版塊找到與我們績效相關的補充簡報。本次電話會議也將透過網路進行直播，並將存檔並發佈在我們的投資者關係網站上。在今天的電話會議中，我們將參考非公認會計準則（non-GAAP）財務指標，我們認為這些指標對投資者有用，因為我們的管理團隊將使用這些非公認會計準則（non-GAAP）財務指標來規劃、監控和評估我們的財務表現。

These non-GAAP financial measures exclude certain items and should not be considered as a substitute for comparable GAAP financial measures. Astra's methods of computing these non-GAAP financial measures may differ from similar non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. A description of these items along with the reconciliation of our non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures can be found in our results release.

這些非公認會計準則 (Non-GAAP) 財務指標不包含某些項目，不應被視為可比較公認會計準則 (GAAP) 財務指標的替代。阿斯特拉計算這些非公認會計準則 (Non-GAAP) 財務指標的方法可能與其他公司使用的類似非公認會計準則 (Non-GAAP) 財務指標有所不同。這些項目的描述以及我們非公認會計準則 (Non-GAAP) 財務指標與最具可比性的公認會計準則 (GAAP) 財務指標的對帳表，請參閱我們的績效報告。

Today's call will also contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements refer to future events, including Astra's future financial outlook. When used in this call, the words anticipate, could, enable, estimate, intend, expect, believe, potential, will, should, project and similar expressions as they relate to Astra are as such a forward-looking statement.

今天的電話會議還將包含前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述涉及未來事件，包括阿斯特拉的未來財務前景。在本次電話會議中，預期、可能、能夠、估計、打算、期望、相信、潛在、將要、應該、預測等詞語以及與阿斯特拉相關的類似表述均視為前瞻性陳述。

These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. And as a result, Astra's actual future results and performance may differ materially from those discussed in this call. We encourage you to review our filings with the SEC in which we describe the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations, including those updated risk factors included in our annual report on Form 10-K.

這些前瞻性陳述受許多風險和不確定性因素的影響。因此，阿斯特拉的實際未來業績和表現可能與本次電話會議中討論的業績和表現存在重大差異。我們建議您查閱我們提交給美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 的文件，其中描述了可能導致實際業績和我們當前預期存在重大差異的因素，包括我們10-K表格年度報告中更新的風險因素。

Finally, I would like to remind everyone that this call will be recorded and will also be made available for replay via a link available on the Investor Relations section of our website.

最後，我想提醒大家，本次電話會議將被錄音，並將透過我們網站投資者關係部分提供的連結提供重播。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Chris Kemp, Astra's Founder, Chairman and CEO. Chris?

接下來，我將把電話轉給 Astra 的創辦人、董事長兼執行長 Chris Kemp。 Chris？

Thanks, Andrew. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Joining me on today's call is Axel Martinez, our Chief Financial Officer. During the call, we will review our operational and financial results during the second quarter, review guidance for Q3 and provide a recap of the recent strategic decisions we've announced. For those of you who weren't able to attend our conference call on August 7, I wanted to summarize and provide some color on the announcements related to our integrated strategy around financing, expense reductions and strategic optimization.

謝謝，安德魯。大家下午好，感謝大家的參與。我們的財務長阿克塞爾·馬丁內斯（Axel Martinez）也將參加今天的電話會議。在電話會議上，我們將回顧第二季的營運和財務業績，回顧第三季的業績指引，並回顧我們近期宣布的策略決策。對於那些未能參加8月7日電話會議的各位，我想總結一下，並簡要介紹一下我們圍繞融資、費用削減和戰略優化等綜合戰略的公告。

In early August, we announced a strategic reallocation of a portion of our workforce from our Launch Services organization to our Astra Spacecraft Engine organization. Our priority is delivering on our commitments to customers which requires ensuring we have sufficient resources and an adequate financial runway to do so. To support this, we reallocated approximately 50 engineering and manufacturing personnel from Launch Services to the Spacecraft Engine business.

8月初，我們宣布將部分員工從發射服務部門策略性地調配至阿斯特拉太空船引擎部門。我們的首要任務是履行對客戶的承諾，這需要我們確保有充足的資源和充足的資金來實現。為此，我們將約50名工程和製造人員從發射服務部門調配至太空船引擎業務部門。

Some of these are permanent reassignments and others are temporary assignments to either support specific customer programs or to increase production and test capacity through the end of the year. In addition to this reallocation, we identified other areas to optimize our organization and reduce expenses. As a result, we've reduced our overall workforce by approximately 25% since the beginning of Q3, including the recent announcement of a reduction of approximately 70 employees. We expect this overall headcount reduction to result in savings of over $4 million per quarter starting in Q4 of 2023.

其中一些是永久性的調動，另一些是臨時性的調動，目的是支持特定的客戶項目，或提高生產和測試能力直至年底。除了此次調動之外，我們還確定了其他一些領域來優化組織架構並削減開支。因此，自第三季初以來，我們的員工總數已減少約25%，其中包括最近宣布的約70名員工的裁員計畫。我們預計，從2023年第四季開始，此次整體裁員將帶來每季超過400萬美元的節省。

The workforce reduction included employees primarily supporting the launch services, SG&A and shared services functions within the business. We now have just over 200 employees and aim to continue running a lean organization while maintaining all of the critical capabilities and skills required to achieve our near-term goals. These reductions were painful but necessary to reduce operating expenses, which when combined with ongoing reductions in CapEx and additional reductions in OpEx are expected to result in substantial decreases in cash burn over the next few quarters.

此次裁員主要涉及支援公司內部啟動服務、銷售、行政及行政管理 (SG&A) 和共享服務職能的員工。我們目前員工人數略超過200人，旨在持續精簡組織架構，同時維持實現近期目標所需的所有關鍵能力和技能。這些裁員雖然痛苦，但對於降低營運支出而言卻是必要的。這些裁員與持續削減的資本支出和進一步削減的營運支出相結合，預計將在未來幾季大幅減少現金消耗。

I want to thank all of the impacted employees for supporting Astra and our mission. Overall, this reorganization is intended to focus the company's resources on serving our Astra Spacecraft Engine customers and delivering our commitments to them in the near term. We remain excited about the Astra Spacecraft Engine business and are committed to resourcing it for growth and success. We also announced the closing of a senior secured note facility. Please see the Form 8-K we filed on August 4 for important details about that transaction. When combined with our existing ATM, the closing of this transaction represents a broad financing strategy and demonstrates our ability to access the capital markets when needed.

我要感謝所有受影響的員工對阿斯特拉和我們使命的支持。總體而言，此次重組旨在將公司資源集中用於服務阿斯特拉太空船引擎客戶，並在短期內履行我們對他們的承諾。我們對阿斯特拉太空船引擎業務依然充滿熱情，並致力於為其成長和成功提供資源。我們也宣布完成一項優先擔保票據融資。有關該交易的重要詳情，請參閱我們於8月4日提交的8-K表格。與我們現有的ATM（自動櫃員機）結合，此交易的完成代表了一種廣泛的融資策略，並展現了我們在必要時進入資本市場的能力。

Now I'll go through some of the highlights of our Space Products business during the quarter. In our Q1 results call, I said we would ship the first couple of spacecraft engines out of our new spacecraft engine production facility in Silicon Valley. I'm happy to report that in Q2, we shipped the first 4 spacecraft engines out of the new facility, and we remain focused on ramping up spacecraft engine production in the second half of the year. Axel will provide guidance for Q3 Astra Spacecraft Engine shipments in a few minutes.

現在，我將介紹本季航太產品業務的一些亮點。在第一季業績電話會議上，我曾表示，我們將從位於矽谷的新航太引擎生產工廠出貨首批幾台航太引擎。我很高興地告訴大家，在第二季度，我們已從新工廠發貨了首批四台航天發動機，並且我們將繼續致力於在下半年提高航天發動機的產量。幾分鐘後，Axel 將提供第三季 Astra 航太引擎出貨量的指導。

As we've covered before, module shipments are the first step in a 9- to 12-month joint development activity between Astra and each customer that involves integrating Astra's proprietary propulsion module, power module, feed system and tank into our customers' unique satellite platform. This joint development activity typically includes milestones such as conceptual, preliminary and critical design reviews, building and testing qualification modules and production readiness reviews prior to production.

如我們先前所述，模組出貨是Astra與各客戶之間為期9至12個月的共同開發活動的第一步，該活動涉及將Astra專有的推進模組、電源模組、供料系統和儲罐整合到客戶獨特的衛星平台中。這項聯合開發活動通常包括概念設計、初步設計及關鍵設計評審、認證模組的建造和測試，以及生產前的生產準備評審等重要階段。

Astra typically receives payments for completion of these milestones, however we only recognize revenue upon final delivery of spacecraft engines following shipment, delivery and inspection where applicable of the modules. As of today, Astra has completed over 75% of the preproduction, nondelivery customer milestones in its current customer programs. Finally, in early July, we completed an organizational change to separate our Astra Spacecraft Engine business into a new legal entity. This effort included the creation of a distinct leadership team for the Astra Spacecraft Engine business, an assignment of dedicated employees.

阿斯特拉通常會在完成這些里程碑後收到付款，但我們僅在最終交付太空船引擎（包括模組的裝運、交付和檢驗，如適用）時確認收入。截至目前，阿斯特拉已完成其現有客戶專案中超過75%的預生產、未交付客戶里程碑。最終，在7月初，我們完成了組織架構變更，將阿斯特拉太空船引擎業務分割為一個新的法人實體。這項工作包括為阿斯特拉太空船引擎業務組建一個獨立的領導團隊，並指派專職員工。

This organizational change will enable Astra to evaluate strategic opportunities to efficiently finance each of our businesses, our spacecraft engine and launch businesses on both an individual and combined basis and provides Astra with increased flexibility as we evaluate strategic and capital markets opportunities. In addition, as our spacecraft engine business scales, it was important for us to demonstrate to our customers distinct resources dedicated to the successful execution of each customer program, which are now currently in place.

此次組織架構調整將使阿斯特拉能夠評估戰略機遇，從而高效地為我們的各項業務（包括航天器發動機業務和發射業務）進行單獨或合併融資，並在評估戰略和資本市場機會時為阿斯特拉提供更大的靈活性。此外，隨著太空船引擎業務規模的擴大，我們必須向客戶展示我們為成功執行每個客戶專案而專門配置的獨特資源，這些資源目前已到位。

Overall, we remain confident in our ability to produce world-class propulsion systems for a growing roster of customers across both commercial and government applications. We will continue to take necessary actions to ensure we are delivering on our obligations to our customers, as you have seen in recent weeks.

總體而言，我們仍然有信心為日益增長的商業和政府應用客戶生產世界一流的推進系統。正如大家最近幾週所見，我們將繼續採取必要措施，確保履行對客戶的義務。

Now I'll review key highlights this quarter from our Launch Services business. We continue to focus on the development of Rocket 4 and the servicing of our existing launch contracts. Earlier this year, we announced several additional launch services contracts, including with the United States Space Force and the Defense Innovation Unit. We've had recent discussions with our launch customers who've indicated that they are committed to our Launch Services business and are supportive of recent changes. We remain committed to achieving all milestones stated in our existing launch contracts. In Q2, we commissioned our rocket production line, unveiled the first fit check of Rocket 4 at our annual Space Tech Day and prepared the material for the service readiness review, SRR, for Astra's Space Force STP-29B mission, which we successfully completed last month.

現在，我將回顧本季我們發射服務業務的幾個關鍵亮點。我們將繼續專注於火箭4號的研發以及現有發射合約的服務。今年早些時候，我們宣布了幾份新的發射服務合同，其中包括與美國太空部隊和國防創新部門的合約。我們最近與發射客戶進行了討論，他們表示他們致力於我們的發射服務業務，並支持最近的變革。我們將繼續致力於實現現有發射合約中規定的所有里程碑。在第二季度，我們啟用了火箭生產線，在我們的年度太空技術日上公佈了火箭4號的首次適配檢查結果，並為阿斯特拉太空部隊STP-29B任務的服務準備情況審查（SRR）準備了材料，該任務我們已於上個月成功完成。

For the rest of Q3, we intend to prepare the materials for our first mission design review for STP-29B and continue development and testing of various Rocket 4 and Launch System 2 components. The reduction and reallocation of Launch Services resources is expected to delay the timing of our first test launches into 2024. The timing of paid commercial launches currently scheduled in 2024 will continue to depend on the results of these test flights. Before handing the call over to Axel, I wanted to provide some final thoughts on Astra's long-term strategy. We made some very difficult decisions in the recent weeks to part with some incredible team members focused on launch, SG&A and shared services.

在第三季的剩餘時間裡，我們計劃準備STP-29B首次任務設計審查的資料，並繼續開發和測試各種火箭4號和發射系統2號的組件。發射服務資源的削減和重新分配預計將使我們的首次試射時間推遲到2024年。目前計劃在2024年進行的付費商業發射時間將繼續取決於這些試飛的結果。在將通話交給Axel之前，我想先談談Astra的長期策略。最近幾週，我們做出了一些非常艱難的決定，與一些專注於發射、銷售、行政和管理以及共享服務的優秀團隊成員分開。

This was an incredibly difficult decision for me and Adam, but it was necessary to support a sustainable business plan for Astra going forward as we continue to carefully manage our cash burn and financial runway, while still maintaining the flexibility for Astra to pursue growth opportunities as they arise. We are also excited to partner with strategic and financial parties that are supportive of our long-term vision, and we'll continue to evaluate opportunities where it makes sense for our business. I'll now turn the call over to Axel to review our financials and guidance.

對我和亞當來說，這是一個極其艱難的決定，但為了支持阿斯特拉未來的永續商業計劃，這至關重要。我們將繼續謹慎管理現金消耗和財務跑道，同時保持阿斯特拉的靈活性，以便隨時抓住成長機會。我們也很高興能與支持我們長期願景的策略和財務夥伴合作，並將繼續評估對我們業務有意義的機會。現在，我將把電話轉給阿克塞爾，讓他回顧我們的財務狀況和展望。

Thank you, Chris. And good afternoon, everyone. I will now review our results for the second quarter of 2023. As a reminder, all non-revenue financial figures we will discuss today are adjusted unless we state them as a GAAP measure. You will find a reconciliation from GAAP to non-GAAP results in today's press release. In Q2, our focus was on further refining our expense profile, a proper allocation of our employee resources towards near-term shipments of Astra Spacecraft engines and extending our financial runway.

謝謝克里斯。大家下午好。現在我將回顧我們2023年第二季的業績。提醒一下，我們今天討論的所有非收入財務數據均已調整，除非我們將其列為GAAP指標。您可以在今天的新聞稿中找到GAAP結果與非GAAP結果的對帳表。在第二季度，我們的重點是進一步優化我們的費用狀況，合理分配員工資源以應對阿斯特拉太空船引擎的近期出貨，並延長我們的財務跑道。

To reiterate what Chris said earlier, we will report and provide guidance on Astra Spacecraft Engine shipments going forward. Now let's review our Q2 2023 financial results. Revenues were $0.7 million in Q2, driven by deliveries of Astra Spacecraft Engines. We recognize revenue upon the delivery of our spacecraft engines and once the customer inspection period has expired as required by the applicable contract. The inspection period varies, but is typically about 10 to 30 days. For that reason, we may not always recognize revenue in the quarter in which the engine is shipped but rather in the following quarter after the customer inspection period has expired.

重申克里斯之前所說，我們將報告並提供關於阿斯特拉太空船引擎未來出貨量的指引。現在，讓我們回顧一下我們2023年第二季的財務表現。第二季營收為70萬美元，主要得益於阿斯特拉太空船引擎的交付。我們在太空船引擎交付後，以及根據相關合約要求的客戶檢驗期結束後確認收入。檢驗期各不相同，但通常約為10至30天。因此，我們可能並非總是在引擎出貨的當季確認收入，而是在客戶檢驗期結束後的下一個季度確認收入。

This will generally be true for shipments that occurred late in the quarter. For example, in Q2, we shipped 4 engines but recognized revenue on 3 of them for the quarter. The fourth engine will be deemed delivered, and we will recognize revenue on it in Q3. We achieved a gross profit of $0.3 million in Q2, representing a gross margin of 45%. While this level of profitability is very strong, it reflects the initial inefficiencies that come with starting a new manufacturing operation.

對於季度末發貨的情況，通常情況如此。例如，我們在第二季度出貨了4台發動機，但其中3台已確認收入。第四台發動機將被視為已交付，我們將在第三季確認收入。我們在第二季實現了30萬美元的毛利，毛利率為45%。雖然這樣的獲利水準非常強勁，但它也反映了新製造業務啟動初期的低效率。

For that reason, we continue to expect higher levels of profitability as our operation scales over time. GAAP operating expenses totaled $16 million in Q2 compared to $46.5 million last quarter. GAAP operating expenses in Q2 reflect lower compensation expense and other cost savings initiatives implemented in prior quarters. GAAP operating expenses in Q2 included the following: R&D expenses of $24.4 million, a decrease of $6.7 million quarter-over-quarter, in part due to a reduction in development costs.

因此，隨著業務規模的擴大，我們預期獲利水準將持續提升。第二季 GAAP 營運費用總計 1,600 萬美元，而上季為 4,650 萬美元。第二季 GAAP 營運費用反映了薪資支出的下降以及前幾季實施的其他成本節約措施。第二季 GAAP 營運費用包括：研發費用 2,440 萬美元，季減 670 萬美元，部分原因是開發成本的降低。

Sales and marketing expenses of $0.7 million, a $1.8 million decrease due in part to lower compensation expense. G&A expenses of $7.6 million, an improvement of $8.1 million due to lower compensation, legal and consulting expenses. Finally, during the second quarter, we recorded a $16.6 million gain on change in fair value of contingent consideration, reflecting the current forecast of eligible spacecraft engine revenues and contracts through December 31, 2023.

銷售和行銷費用為70萬美元，減少180萬美元，部分原因是薪資費用減少。一般及行政費用為760萬美元，由於薪資、法律及諮詢費用減少，減少810萬美元。最後，在第二季度，我們記錄了1,660萬美元的或有對價公允價值變動收益，這反映了截至2023年12月31日對合格太空船引擎收入和合約的當前預測。

Now let's talk about GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments during Q2. Adjustments during the quarter included a $16.6 million gain on change in fair value of contingent consideration previously mentioned; $2.1 million in stock-based compensation and $1 million in other special items, which include $1.3 million in R&D income and offset by a $0.3 million inventory adjustment. Given these adjustments on a GAAP basis, our second quarter net loss was $14 million. On a non-GAAP basis, second quarter adjusted net loss was $33.7 million.

現在讓我們來談談第二季 GAAP 到非 GAAP 的調整。本季的調整包括前面提到的或有對價公允價值變動收益 1,660 萬美元；股票薪酬 210 萬美元；以及 100 萬美元的其他特殊項目，其中包括 130 萬美元的研發收入，並被 30 萬美元的庫存調整抵銷。根據 GAAP 計算，我們第二季的淨虧損為 1,400 萬美元。根據非 GAAP 計算，第二季調整後淨虧損為 3,370 萬美元。

Q2 adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $33.1 million. Second quarter capital expenditures were $3.2 million. And lastly, we ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $26.3 million. The results for adjusted EBITDA loss, basic shares outstanding and capital expenditures are in line with the original Q2 guidance provided at our Q1 2023 earnings call on May 15, 2023. The result for cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities is lower than the range initially provided on our May 15 earnings call primarily due to 2 factors: delays in collecting on government receivables of approximately $2.9 million; and a delay in the company's receipt of cash proceeds from the employee retention tax credit of approximately $2.1 million. Had these 2 items been collected during the quarter, we believe, based on our current views, the Astra's cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities would have been within the guidance provided previously.

第二季調整後息稅折舊攤提前利潤（EBITDA）虧損3,310萬美元。第二季資本支出為320萬美元。最後，本季末我們持有的現金、現金等價物及有價證券總額為2,630萬美元。調整後息稅折舊攤銷前利潤（EBITDA）虧損、基本流通股和資本支出的結果與我們在2023年5月15日召開的2023年第一季財報電話會議上最初提供的第二季度指引一致。現金、現金等價物和有價證券的表現低於我們5月15日財報電話會議上最初提供的範圍，主要原因是兩個因素：約290萬美元的政府應收帳款延遲收取；以及約210萬美元的員工保留稅收抵免現金收益延遲收到。如果這兩筆款項在本季收到，根據我們目前的觀點，我們認為，阿斯特拉的現金、現金等價物和有價證券的餘額將符合先前提供的指引。

Next, I'll provide an outlook for our third quarter ending September 30. As previously mentioned, we continue to focus our operating plan on scaling deliveries of Astra Spacecraft Engines throughout 2023. I wanted to provide an update on production of Astra Spacecraft Engines from our Sunnyvale facility. As we had indicated last quarter, we were only expecting to ship a few initial deliveries out of our new spacecraft engine facility as we spent the majority of the first half of this year on standing up that facility, installing equipment and completing nondelivery milestones prior to us commencing production activities. We have delivered 4 units out of our new manufacturing facility, and we expect product deliveries to begin ramping up in Q3 as indicated previously in our guidance. As a reminder, Astra Spacecraft Engines typically have a lead time of approximately 12 months and off the required integration work with the customer. Space Products also require extensive testing, qualification and configuration before they can be delivered.

接下來，我將對截至9月30日的第三季業績進行展望。如前所述，我們將繼續專注於2023年全年擴大阿斯特拉太空船引擎的交付量。我想介紹一下我們桑尼維爾工廠阿斯特拉航天器發動機生產的最新情況。正如我們上個季度所指出的，我們預計新的太空船引擎工廠只會交付少量首批產品，因為今年上半年我們大部分時間都在建造該工廠、安裝設備，並在開始生產活動之前完成尚未交付的里程碑任務。我們已經從新的製造工廠交付了4台發動機，我們預計產品交付量將在第三季開始增加，正如我們先前的指引中所指出的那樣。提醒一下，阿斯特拉太空船引擎的交付週期通常約為12個月，其中包括與客戶進行必要的整合工作。航太產品在交付前還需要進行大量的測試、鑑定和配置。

As Chris mentioned, we have allocated additional resources towards the delivery of spacecraft engines going forward through both temporary and permanent reassignments from other parts of our business. As a reminder, our third quarter guidance and all guidance is subject to various important cautionary factors including the risks and uncertainties set forth in our annual report on Form 10-K and other security filings.

正如克里斯所提到的，我們已從其他業務部門臨時或永久調配資源，用於未來太空船引擎的交付。需要提醒的是，我們第三季的業績指引以及所有業績指引均受各種重要警示因素的影響，包括我們10-K表格年度報告和其他證券文件中列明的風險和不確定性。

Now we will provide future guidance. In the third quarter of 2023, we currently expect shipments of 8 to 12 Astra Spacecraft Engines. Adjusted EBITDA loss to be between $25 million and $29 million. Basic shares outstanding to be between 280 and 290 million shares. These figures are subject to the conversion ratio of 1 to 15 related to the reverse tax split we intend to execute this quarter. Capital expenditures to be between $1 million and $2 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $15 million to $20 million. As indicated in our recent announcements, Astra remains focused on deliveries to customers, prudent expense management and executing on financing transactions to carefully manage our cash runway and cash burn.

現在我們將提供未來業績指引。我們目前預計2023年第三季將交付8至12台阿斯特拉太空船引擎。調整後EBITDA虧損將在2,500萬美元至2,900萬美元之間。基本流通股將在2.8億至2.9億股之間。這些數字將根據我們計劃在本季執行的反向稅收分割方案，並依照1比15的轉換率計算。資本支出將在100萬美元至200萬美元之間，包括現金、現金等價物和1500萬美元至2000萬美元的有價證券。正如我們最近的公告所示，阿斯特拉將繼續專注於向客戶交付產品、審慎的費用管理和融資交易的執行，以謹慎管理我們的現金流量和現金消耗。

We continue to expect cash burn to decline throughout this year with the initial steps of our financial road map announced in early August, including a reduction in our headcount and closing of a senior secured note facility. In addition, based on the foundation we have built for the Astra Spacecraft Engine business, Astra has engaged PJT Partners, a global advisory-focused investment bank, to act as the company's financial adviser in connection with the future financing activities and to explore potential strategic investments in the Astra Spacecraft Engine business for the purpose of strengthening Astra's balance sheet.

我們預計今年全年的現金消耗將持續下降，因為我們已於8月初公佈了財務路線圖的初步步驟，包括裁員和關閉優先擔保票據融資。此外，基於我們為阿斯特拉太空船引擎業務奠定的基礎，阿斯特拉已聘請專注於全球諮詢的投資銀行PJT Partners擔任公司未來融資活動的財務顧問，並探索對阿斯特拉航天器發動機業務的潛在戰略投資，以增強阿斯特拉的資產負債表。

Obviously, the outcome of any such process is uncertain and the structure of any potential investment is subject to ongoing due diligence and other factors. We also remain in active discussions with various capital market participants on debt and equity financings to continue extending our financial runway and to evaluate transactions that are accretive to stockholders. We continue to receive indications of interest from financing providers and will take the actions necessary for Astra to extend its financial runway while taking into consideration dilution, cost of capital, and other related considerations. We will continue to provide future updates on any financing activities as and when appropriate.

顯然，任何此類流程的結果都具有不確定性，任何潛在投資的結構都取決於持續的盡職調查和其他因素。我們仍在與各資本市場參與者就債務和股權融資進行積極討論，以繼續延長我們的財務跑道，並評估那些對股東有利的交易。我們持續收到來自融資機構的意向，並將採取必要措施，幫助阿斯特拉延長其財務跑道，同時兼顧股權稀釋、資本成本和其他相關因素。我們將在適當的時候繼續提供任何融資活動的最新資訊。

In conclusion, as we shared last quarter, we continue to believe our cash runway is supported by expected revenue growth, potential conversion of pipeline opportunities, careful management of expenses and thoughtful consideration of financing opportunities. I will now turn the call back over to Chris.

總而言之，正如我們上季度所分享的，我們仍然相信，預期的收入成長、潛在的通路機會轉化、謹慎的費用管理以及對融資機會的深思熟慮將支撐我們的現金流。現在，我將電話轉回給克里斯。

Thanks, Axel. To summarize, we remain optimistic on our path forward, including near-term deliveries of Astra Spacecraft Engines and our leaner, more focused effort on Launch System 2. We will continue to evaluate and execute on strategic opportunities to extend our financial runway where it is in the best interest of stockholders.

謝謝，阿克塞爾。總而言之，我們對未來發展方向保持樂觀，包括近期交付的阿斯特拉太空船發動機，以及我們更精簡、更專注於二號發射系統的計畫。我們將繼續評估並掌握策略機遇，以延長我們的財務跑道，從而最大程度地維護股東的利益。

I want to thank all of you for your continued support. With that, operator, please open the call for questions.

感謝大家一直以來的支持。接線員，請開始提問環節。

(Operator Instructions) And we will take our first question from Andre Madrid with Bank of America.

（操作員指示）我們將回答來自美國銀行的安德烈馬德里提出的第一個問題。

Yes. I guess just to start, I mean, I understand that certain avenues are being explored. But I guess, what are you guys saying actively like as you seek out investors currently to try to shore up interest? I mean, because just right now, it seems like you guys are in a pretty difficult position. So I just want to know what's the narrative? How should we be looking at the upside here?

是的。首先，我知道你們正在探索一些途徑。但我想，你們目前在積極尋找投資者以鞏固投資者興趣時，具體是怎麼說的？因為現在看來，你們的處境相當艱難。所以我想了解一下，你們的敘述是怎麼樣的呢？我們該如何看待它的好處？

Well, I think if you look at the spacecraft engine business, we have a huge backlog of orders from some of the largest aerospace, defense primes and commercial constellation operators in the world. We remain focused on delivering on hundreds of spacecraft engines representing tens of millions of dollars of order value over the next couple of quarters, which will bring in cash.

嗯，我想，如果你看一下航太引擎業務，你會發現我們有大量來自全球一些最大的航空航太、國防和商業星座運營商的訂單積壓。我們將繼續專注於在未來幾季交付數百台航太發動機，這些發動機的訂單價值高達數千萬美元，這將帶來現金流。

There are significant opportunities with new constellations within the SDA Tranche 2 and other commercial constellations that have recently been announced that we're actively bidding on. With our Launch Services business, we have active contracts with the Space Force, Defense Innovation Unit and other commercial customers. Space Force in particular, is paying us for milestones that we are achieving. We are actively focused on finding investors in these 2 businesses that we're increasingly finding are distinct and at different phases of their development.

SDA Tranche 2 中的新星座以及我們最近宣布正在積極競標的其他商業星座，蘊藏著巨大的機會。我們的發射服務業務與美國太空部隊、國防創新部門和其他商業客戶簽訂了有效合約。尤其是美國太空部隊，他們為我們實現的里程碑計畫支付了費用。我們正積極尋找這兩項業務的投資者，我們越來越發現它們彼此獨特，且處於不同的發展階段。

We have recently announced a transaction that provides some debt financing to the company. We've recently put in a $65 million ATM facility. We closed those transactions here in the last couple of weeks. And that gives us some time to look for great strategic investors that understand these businesses and want to invest in these businesses. We announced the completion of the rocket production line most recently that will allow us to scale production of launch vehicles at a fraction of the cost of many of our competitors.

我們最近宣布了一項為公司提供債務融資的交易。我們最近也投入了一筆6500萬美元的ATM貸款。我們在過去幾週完成了這些交易。這給了我們一些時間去尋找了解這些業務並願意投資這些業務的優秀策略投資者。我們最近宣布了火箭生產線的竣工，這將使我們能夠以比許多競爭對手低得多的成本規模化生產運載火箭。

So again, what we have is we have a very compelling business if you're a satellite operator and you need spacecraft engines or if you are a satellite operator and you're looking for the kind of economics that you can only see with large rockets, but with much more dedicated launch services. So we just we explain our focus. We explain our commitment to our customers. We explain the size of these contracts that we have with our customers and Axel has focused with me to ensure that we're reducing our expenses as much as we possibly can, but not so much that we're unable to deliver for our customers.

所以，再說一次，如果你是一家衛星運營商，需要航天器發動機，或者你是一家衛星運營商，正在尋找那種只有大型火箭才能實現的經濟效益，但需要更專業的發射服務，那麼我們的業務非常有吸引力。所以我們只是解釋了我們的重點。我們解釋了我們對客戶的承諾。我們解釋了我們與客戶簽訂的合約規模。 Axel 和我一起致力於確保我們盡可能降低開支，但不會降到無法為客戶提供服務的高度。

Got you. I guess on cash burn, though, I mean, with launch operations pushed now firmly into '24 with even testing now in '24, I mean aside from -- I mean, when could we receive an update as to these conversations that you're having with potential investors? Because at the current rate, it seems like this might not move past 4Q at the current burn, especially with what you guys are targeting for next quarter. And it just also seems kind of concerning because spacecraft is a rather lumpy business. And I feel like it's something that a supply chain pickup could easily push a number of those deliveries out a quarter.

明白了。不過，說到現金消耗，我的意思是，發射計劃已經穩穩地推遲到2024年，甚至測試也已經到了2024年，我的意思是，除了……我們什麼時候能收到你們與潛在投資者對話的最新消息？因為以目前的速度，看起來這可能無法在第四季之後完成，尤其是考慮到你們下個季度的目標。而且這似乎也有點令人擔憂，因為太空船是一個相當不穩定的產業。我覺得，如果供應鏈回暖，很容易就能把一些交付推遲到一個季度。

And then on top of that, the difficult revenue recognition standards that come along with the spacecraft business. It makes it seem like it's just 1 small pickup away from 1 supplier they just can't deliver from some things falling inward. How would you put at ease people that are concerned about something of that nature? And when could there be a reasonable update on something that would actually put those concern at ease?

除此之外，航太器業務的收入確認標準也相當複雜。這讓人感覺好像距離某個供應商只有一步之遙，而他們卻因為一些內部因素而無法交付。您如何安撫那些對此感到擔憂的人？什麼時候才能對相關問題進行合理的更新，真正打消他們的擔憂？

Well, you characterized the spacecraft engine business is lumpy. I think that we have secured a number of orders where we are now delivering spacecraft engines. We noted last quarter that we would deliver the first couple of engines out of our new facility. We did that. We intend to increase the rate at which we ship and recognize revenue for these spacecraft engines next quarter, the following quarter, the quarter after that. And we have pretty good visibility into the supply chain and the amount of inventory that we have on hand.

嗯，您之前說過航天器引擎業務波動很大。我想我們已經接到了一些訂單，目前正在交付太空船引擎。上個季度我們曾表示，我們將從新工廠交付首批幾台引擎。我們確實做到了。我們計劃在下個季度、下個季度以及下個季度提高這些航天器引擎的出貨速度並確認收入。我們對供應鏈和庫存量有相當清晰的了解。

And at least in the near term, the risk associated with the deliveries of the spacecraft engines over the next couple of quarters is something we well understand and due to the fact that we're manufacturing the majority of these components in-house, we have a lot of control over as well. So I would kind of disagree with your characterization of the lumpiness or lack of control we have over the next couple of quarters' deliveries to be sure. And beyond that, I think we're going to continue to focus on refining the business operating as efficiently as possible. So that we continue to see the cash we have and we're able to raise in capital markets last well into that ramp of spacecraft engine deliveries.

至少在短期內，我們非常了解未來幾季太空船引擎交付的風險，而且由於我們大部分零件都是內部製造，因此我們對此也擁有很大的控制權。因此，我不太同意你對我們未來幾季交付不穩定或缺乏控制的說法。除此之外，我認為我們將繼續專注於盡可能有效率地優化業務營運。這樣，我們就能繼續看到我們擁有的現金以及我們在資本市場上籌集的資金能夠持續到航天器發動機交付量激增的時候。

And the launch team remains focused on threading that needle between making sure that we have a vehicle that we're very proud of, that will have high margins, that will operate reliably before -- we're not obviously going to take so much time that we don't have the opportunity to do some test flights and show the market how much we've learned from the last 6 or 7 years of building and successfully launching satellites into orbit, something very few companies that actually had the opportunity to do.

發射團隊將繼續專注於確保我們擁有一輛令我們引以為豪的火箭，它具有高利潤率，並且能夠可靠地運行——我們顯然不會花太多時間，以至於我們沒有機會進行一些試飛，向市場展示我們在過去 6 或 7 年建造和成功將衛星送入軌道的過程中學到了多少東西，實際上很少有公司有機會做到這一點。

And that's what -- that's management's challenge right now. We understand the challenging capital markets environment. And all we can do is bring in cash and revenue from customers, delivering for our customers and be as efficient as we possibly can be as we bring these products back out to the market.

這就是管理階層目前面臨的挑戰。我們了解充滿挑戰的資本市場環境。我們所能做的就是從客戶那裡獲取現金和收入，為客戶提供服務，並在將這些產品重新推向市場時盡可能高效地運作。

And if I can also, I think, add. It's not just about revenue recognition when it comes to our business. The cash profile of our business is very friendly as we talked about several times in our last few earnings calls, the significant amount of cash that is paid as we deliver on these co-engineering milestones. And so there's a great opportunity to continue to bring liquidity into our business just from continuing to deliver for our customers, both on the -- going to near increase of each contract, but also as we deliver more engines.

如果可以的話，我想補充一下。就我們的業務而言，這不僅僅是收入確認。正如我們在過去幾次財報電話會議上多次提到的那樣，我們業務的現金狀況非常良好，隨著我們實現這些聯合工程里程碑，我們獲得了巨額現金。因此，我們有很大機會繼續透過為客戶提供服務來為業務注入流動性，這不僅體現在每份合約的增加，也體現在我們交付更多引擎的交付上。

And as Chris mentioned, there's great opportunities ahead of us in terms of new contracts and new sales. And so the best thing we can continue to do and this is why we allocated the resources that we did is to focus on deliveries because we want to make sure that our customers are happy with what we're delivering, when we're delivering things for them. And we have the leading system in -- spacecraft engine system in the market. And so we feel that we'll continue to have opportunities to grow the business going forward.

正如克里斯所說，在新合約和新銷售方面，我們面臨著巨大的機會。因此，我們能繼續做的最好的事情，也是我們分配資源的原因，就是專注於交付，因為我們希望確保客戶對我們交付的產品感到滿意，尤其是在我們為他們交付產品的時候。而且，我們擁有市場上領先的太空船引擎系統。因此，我們相信，未來我們將繼續有機會發展業務。

And so with that cash profile that is already embedded in the business, we think that will be -- continue to be a great source of liquidity for us. And just to wrap up, I think, on the facility that we put in place about 10 days, that we announced 10 days ago, it gives us, I think, it's a financial group that perform due diligence on the company and really is a testament to the fact that this company has access to capital markets, right?

因此，鑑於公司已經擁有的現金狀況，我們認為這將繼續成為我們重要的流動性來源。總結一下，我們大約在10天前宣布的、大約在10天前實施的融資機制，它給了我們一個對公司進行盡職調查的金融集團，這確實證明了這家公司可以進入資本市場，對吧？

First, we started with our ATM. Now we put this in place. And we're bringing in PJT to help us manage the process going forward, but we feel that we -- from a fundamentals perspective, our business is very strong.

首先，我們從 ATM 開始。現在我們把它部署到位了。我們正在引入 PJT 來幫助我們管理未來的流程，但我們認為，從基本面來看，我們的業務非常強勁。

And we will take our next question from Suji Desilva with ROTH MKM.

我們將回答 ROTH MKM 的 Suji Desilva 提出的下一個問題。

Apologies. I was muted. So I just wanted to kind of follow up on the ASE backlog there. Thanks for guiding the 3Q and the initial shipment units. That's helpful to know [BH-12]. What is the shape of the backlog shipping from that point forward? Does it kind of ramp up? Is it linear? What -- how should we think about the next few quarters from here on out?

抱歉，我被靜音了。所以我只是想跟進ASE的積壓訂單。感謝您指導第三季和初始出貨量。了解[BH-12]很有幫助。從那時起，積壓訂單的出貨情況是怎麼樣的？它會逐漸增加嗎？是線性成長嗎？我們該如何規劃接下來的幾季？

They continue to ramp. And we talked before about the facility and the investments we've made supporting up to about 500 spacecraft engines per year. And I think what we'll see is a gradual increase over the next year, it's from first shipments all the way through would be 30 to 40 units per month. And the team is very much focused on that, so that we can meet the demands that we see both from our backlog and also from new orders in the pipeline.

他們還在持續增產。我們之前談過，我們投資的設施每年最多可以生產500台航太引擎。我認為明年產量會逐步增加，從第一批出貨開始，每月產量大概在30到40台之間。團隊非常專注於此，以確保我們能夠滿足積壓訂單和新訂單的需求。

And that is the primary focus right now. I mean, if you look at what we have on hand is some of the world's leading commercial and government constellation operators relying on Astra, we put a -- we put our best people on programs to support our customers out in Silicon Valley, and we have deliveries literally happening today. So we're really busy. We're really focused on our customers. And with that focus, in servicing those customers, we see new significant opportunities to create a durable and long-term business in that category.

這是目前的主要重點。我的意思是，看看我們目前的情況，一些世界領先的商業和政府衛星運營商都依賴阿斯特拉（Astra），我們投入了最優秀的人才來支持矽谷的客戶，而且我們今天就已經開始交付產品了。所以我們真的很忙。我們真正專注於我們的客戶。秉持著這種專注，在服務這些客戶的過程中，我們看到了在該領域創造持久和長期業務的全新重大機會。

And we're doing everything we can to ensure that the business provides the infrastructure required by the launch team to come back to the pad and demonstrate the most reliable vehicle, the most cost-efficient vehicle that I'm certainly aware of in the industry.

我們正在竭盡全力確保公司能夠為發射團隊提供所需的基礎設施，以便他們返回發射台並展示業內最可靠、最具成本效益的火箭。

Great. And just to understand that initial 8 to 12 shipments you guided for, is that 1 customer or 2 customers or multiple? Just understand the breadth of the initial shipments.

太好了。您最初指導的8到12批發貨，是針對1個客戶、2個客戶還是多個客戶？請您了解最初出貨的廣度。

Yes. That will be across multiple customers. I don't know the exact number, but certainly a couple [customers].

是的。這涉及多個客戶。我不知道具體數字，但肯定有幾個客戶。

Just wanted to understand if it's concentrated or not. Great. And then the OpEx and the CapEx you've been guiding, it seems like you've got that kind of set. Is that -- is OpEx at the right level now? It sounds like CapEx is low because the Alameda build is largely behind? Just want to confirm those.

只是想了解它是否集中。太好了。然後，您一直在指導的營運支出和資本支出，看起來您已經準備好了。那麼——現在的營運支出是否處於適當的水平？聽起來資本支出較低是因為阿拉米達的建設在很大程度上落後了？只是想確認一下。

Yes. So on the OpEx side, as you can see, when you look at OpEx on a nonadjusted basis for Q2, we reduced it by almost $10 million and as we announced 10 days ago, we made an additional reduction in our headcount focus mostly on SG&A and launch. And so that will get us now, I think, to the right level in terms of headcount. But the truth is, look, we're always looking at all areas, right? There's other areas besides headcount that we're always looking to optimize as the business is going to continue to scale.

是的。所以在營運支出方面，如您所見，以未調整後的數據來看，我們第二季的營運支出減少了近1000萬美元。而且，正如我們10天前宣布的那樣，我們進一步裁員，主要集中在銷售、一般及行政管理費用（SG&A）和產品發布方面。我認為，這將使我們的員工人數達到合適的水平。但事實上，我們一直在關注所有領域，對吧？除了員工人數之外，隨著業務規模的不斷擴大，我們也一直在尋求優化其他領域。

And on CapEx, as we talked about in the past, right, unlike many folks in our industry that are about to enter the investment phase, we've already done, right? So both our facilities are fully built. And this is why you see us guiding CapEx now to the $1 billion to $2 billion in Q3 because it's just a small little expenditures. It's not going to be significant expenditures going forward.

關於資本支出，正如我們之前討論過的，與業內許多即將進入投資階段的公司不同，我們已經完成了，對吧？所以我們的兩座工廠都已完全建成。這就是為什麼你看到我們現在將第三季的資本支出控制在10億到20億美元之間，因為這只是一筆小額支出。未來不會出現大額支出。

Right. That's part of the answer to the last person's question about the value here. A lot of that's in the investments you already made, so that's part of the asset value here. It's good to realize that. And then on launch LS 2, the progress here. Obviously, you've changed kind of the approach there? What milestones can we still watch for as you try to move forward there even with the changes in the approach?

對。這部分回答了上一位關於價值的問題。其中很大一部分是你們已經進行的投資，所以這也是資產價值的一部分。意識到這一點很好。然後是LS 2的發布，這裡的進展如何？顯然，你們已經改變了一些方法？即使方法發生了變化，在你們努力推進的過程中，我們仍然可以期待哪些里程碑？

Absolutely. I think we tried to provide a little bit of guidance on that. There's another deliverable for the Space Force, which, of course, is holding us accountable to the highest standards of rigor in our overall engineering process and operations. So we submitted the service readiness review package and passed that with flying colors.

當然。我想我們試圖在這方面提供一些指導。太空部隊還有另一項可交付成果，當然，這要求我們在整個工程流程和運作中遵守最高嚴謹標準。因此，我們提交了服務準備審查方案，並順利通過。

A few weeks ago, we have the next deliverable for that later this quarter, which we intend to package up and get to them this quarter. We also intend to continue to invest heavily in the testing of the hardware that is coming together. You saw a lot of the hardware. As Axel indicated, a lot of the expensive hardware is already here. So the team is frankly, just spending a lot of time integrating and testing components such as the engines, the valves, some of the electronics, doing a lot of integrated system-level simulation testing to test the overall software stack. So we'll be -- as we have done producing small videos and posting these tests as they occur and you can look forward to us continuing to share the results of those tests as they're completed and continuing to -- we'll continue to keep you updated as we make progress towards the Space Force milestones as well. So hopefully, that will be pretty fun to watch over the next couple of quarters here.

幾週前，我們已在本季稍後完成了下一個可交付成果，並計劃在本季度完成打包交付。我們還打算繼續大力投資即將組裝的硬體測試。各位已經看到了許多硬體。正如阿克塞爾所說，許多昂貴的硬體已經到位。因此，坦白說，團隊正在花費大量時間整合和測試引擎、閥門和一些電子設備等組件，進行大量整合系統級模擬測試，以測試整個軟體堆疊。因此，我們將——就像我們之前製作短視頻並在測試進行時發布一樣——您可以期待我們繼續分享這些測試完成的結果，並且隨著我們在太空部隊里程碑方面取得的進展，我們將繼續向您通報最新進展。希望在接下來的幾個季度裡，觀看這些進展會非常有趣。

And this concludes today's conference call. We thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，現在可以掛斷電話了。