AeroVironment Inc (AVAV) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to AeroVironment's Fiscal Year 2024 Second Quarter Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 AeroVironment 2024 財年第二季電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Jonah Teeter-Balin. Please go ahead, sir.

我現在想把會議交給今天的發言人喬納‧蒂特-巴林。請繼續，先生。

Thanks, and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to AeroVironment's Fiscal Year 2024 Second Quarter Earnings Call. This is Jonah Teeter-Balin, Senior Director of Corporate Development and Investor Relations.

謝謝，女士們先生們，下午好。歡迎參加 AeroVironment 的 2024 財年第二季財報電話會議。我是喬納‧提特-巴林 (Jonah Teeter-Balin)，公司發展與投資人關係資深總監。

Before we begin, please note that certain information presented on this call contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. Further information on these risks and uncertainties is contained in the company's 10-K and other filings with the SEC, [and] particular in the Risk Factors and forward-looking statement portions of such filings. Copies are available from the SEC on the AeroVironment website at www.avinc.com or from our Investor Relations team.

在我們開始之前，請注意，本次電話會議中提供的某些資訊包含1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述涉及許多風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與我們的預期存在重大差異。有關這些風險和不確定性的更多資訊包含在該公司向 SEC 提交的 10-K 和其他文件中，[並且]特別是此類文件的風險因素和前瞻性聲明部分。副本可從 SEC 的 AeroVironment 網站 www.avic.com 或我們的投資者關係團隊取得。

This afternoon we also filed a slide presentation with our earnings release and posted the presentation to the Investors section of our website under Events and Presentations. The content of this conference call contains time-sensitive information that is accurate only as of today, December 5, 2023. The company undertakes no obligation to make any revision to any forward-looking statements contained in our remarks today or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after this conference call.

今天下午，我們也提交了收益報告的幻燈片簡報，並將簡報發佈到我們網站的「投資者」部分的「活動和簡報」下。本次電話會議的內容包含時效性信息，僅截至今天（2023 年 12 月 5 日）準確。本公司沒有義務對我們今天的言論中包含的任何前瞻性陳述進行任何修改或更新它們以反映本次電話會議之後發生的事件或情況。

Joining me today from AeroVironment are Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Wahid Nawabi; and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Kevin McDonnell. We will now begin with remarks from Wahid Nawabi. Wahid?

今天與我一起參加 AeroVironment 的有董事長、總裁兼執行長 Wahid Nawabi 先生；資深副總裁兼財務長 Kevin McDonnell 先生。現在我們將首先聽取瓦希德·納瓦比的演講。瓦希德？

Thank you, Jonah. Welcome, everyone, to our fiscal year 2024 second quarter earnings conference call. I'll start by summarizing our performance and recent achievements, after which Kevin will review our financial results in detail. I will then provide information about our outlook, including our increased revenue projections for the remainder of fiscal year 2024. Kevin, Jonah and I will then take your questions.

謝謝你，喬納。歡迎大家參加我們的 2024 財年第二季財報電話會議。我將首先總結我們的業績和最近的成就，然後凱文將詳細審查我們的財務表現。然後，我將提供有關我們前景的信息，包括我們對 2024 財年剩餘時間的收入成長預測。凱文、喬納和我將回答你們的問題。

I'm pleased to report that our second quarter results once again exceeded expectations, and we remain on track for our best year ever. Our key messages, which are also included on Slide #3 of our earnings presentation are as follows. First, second quarter revenue rose to $180.8 million, up 62% year-over-year, representing a record Q2 for AeroVironment. We also posted very strong bottom-line results powered by record demand, strong operating execution and effective supply chain management.

我很高興地報告，我們第二季的業績再次超出預期，我們仍有望實現有史以來最好的一年。我們的關鍵資訊如下，也包含在我們收益簡報的幻燈片#3 中。首先，第二季營收增至 1.808 億美元，年增 62%，創下了 AeroVironment 第二季的紀錄。在創紀錄的需求、強大的營運執行力和有效的供應鏈管理的推動下，我們也公佈了非常強勁的獲利結果。

Second, we have a healthy backlog of $487 million, which is higher than the start of our fiscal year and provides solid visibility for the quarters ahead.

其次，我們有 4.87 億美元的健康積壓訂單，這高於我們財年開始時的水平，並為未來幾季提供了可靠的可見性。

Third, on our last call, we announced our intention to acquire privately held Tomahawk Robotics, which we successfully completed in September. As I will review in a moment, we are well on our way to fully integrate the 2 businesses, while [ravaging] our combined technology across our portfolio. And fourth, we are updating guidance, including an increase to our revenue target, reflecting our strong performance and the impact from the Tomahawk acquisition.

第三，在上次電話會議上，我們宣布有意收購私人公司 Tomahawk Robotics，並於 9 月成功完成收購。正如我稍後將回顧的那樣，我們正在全面整合這兩項業務，同時[破壞]我們整個產品組合中的組合技術。第四，我們正在更新指導，包括提高我們的收入目標，反映我們強勁的業績和戰斧收購的影響。

Overall, we're very pleased with our performance through the first half of this fiscal year, which included significant top line revenue acceleration and record EBITDA. We remain optimistic about our future, exemplified by higher growth, improving operating results and enhanced value creation for our shareholders.

整體而言，我們對本財年上半年的業績感到非常滿意，其中包括顯著的營收成長和創紀錄的 EBITDA。我們對未來保持樂觀，例如更高的成長、改善的經營績效以及為股東創造更多的價值。

As we said last quarter, this reflects not only near-term demand dynamics related to global [comp mix], but also a long-term shift in military strategy for the more frequent use of intelligent multi-domain unmanned systems, which are easy to use, highly effective and provide a compelling value proposition.

正如我們上季度所說，這不僅反映了與全球[comp mix]相關的近期需求動態，而且反映了軍事戰略的長期轉變，即更頻繁地使用智能多域無人系統，這些系統很容易使用、高效並提供令人信服的價值主張。

Our differentiated portfolio offers the greatest breadth and depth of unmanned solutions to meet the growing demands of our country and allies. We are an industry leader in contested environment as well as AI-enabled autonomous operations and governments are around the globe are witnessing these unmatched capabilities effectively perform on real and highly contested battlefields.

我們的差異化產品組合提供最廣度和深度的無人解決方案，以滿足我們國家和盟國不斷增長的需求。我們是競爭環境以及人工智慧自主營運領域的產業領導者，全球各國政府都在見證這些無與倫比的能力在真實且競爭激烈的戰場上有效發揮。

As a testament to the incredible effectiveness of our innovative solutions, we now have 9 different unmanned platforms deployed in Ukraine, all receiving high levels of praise. We could not be prouder and more honored of how our solutions and team members are helping our customers successfully achieve their vital missions.

為了證明我們的創新解決方案具有令人難以置信的有效性，我們現在在烏克蘭部署了 9 個不同的無人平台，所有平台都受到了高度讚揚。對於我們的解決方案和團隊成員如何幫助我們的客戶成功實現其重要使命，我們感到無比自豪和榮幸。

We're also pleased with our progress on fully integrating Tomahawk Robotics into our existing business. As a reminder, Tomahawk, now part of our Unmanned Systems segment, is a leader in AI-enabled robotic common control systems and open standard communications.

我們也對將 Tomahawk Robotics 完全整合到我們現有業務中所取得的進展感到高興。提醒一下，Tomahawk 現在屬於我們的無人系統部門，是人工智慧機器人通用控制系統和開放標準通訊領域的領導者。

As a company, we are increasing interconnectivity and interoperability across our portfolio, making it easier for our customers to successfully manage their growing fleet of unmanned systems. We have already received positive feedback from our customers and intend to leverage this combination to better support their current and future missions.

作為一家公司，我們正在提高整個產品組合的互連性和互通性，使我們的客戶能夠更輕鬆地成功管理其不斷增長的無人駕駛系統。我們已經收到了客戶的正面回饋，並打算利用這個組合來更好地支持他們當前和未來的任務。

We now offer an unmatched capability to integrate unmanned platforms across multiple domains, while providing a common operating picture for the war fighter. For all the reasons just mentioned, we remain confident in our ability to deliver strong value to our stakeholders in fiscal year 2024. We expect that our cutting-edge solutions will be at the forefront of government decision-making for years to come.

我們現在提供無與倫比的能力來整合跨多個領域的無人平台，同時為作戰人員提供通用的操作圖。基於剛才提到的所有原因，我們對在 2024 財年為利害關係人提供強大價值的能力仍然充滿信心。我們預計我們的尖端解決方案將在未來幾年處於政府決策的最前沿。

Now let me provide an update on current developments within our segments. Starting with our Unmanned Systems segment, revenue more than doubled year-over-year. Shipments during the quarter continued to reflect strong demand across nearly all our product lines with significant growth in our Puma and JUMP 20 systems. We have nearly completed delivering all the Puma LE and Puma 3 AE systems, which were part of last year's large Ukraine FMS order.

現在讓我介紹一下我們各細分市場目前發展的最新情況。從我們的無人系統部門開始，收入比去年同期成長了一倍以上。本季的出貨量繼續反映出我們幾乎所有產品線的強勁需求，其中 Puma 和 JUMP 20 系統顯著成長。我們幾乎已完成所有 Puma LE 和 Puma 3 AE 系統的交付，這些系統是去年烏克蘭 FMS 大訂單的一部分。

We have received additional follow-on orders for Ukraine, which we expect to fulfill later this fiscal year. A portion of these new orders for Ukraine are direct commercial sales to the government of Ukraine. This is another testament to the battle proven and industry-leading capabilities of our Puma system. We also began delivering the initial batch of JUMP 20 systems to Ukraine as part of our previously announced $42 million award under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

我們已收到烏克蘭的額外後續訂單，預計將在本財年稍後完成。烏克蘭的這些新訂單的一部分是直接向烏克蘭政府進行商業銷售。這再次證明了我們 Puma 系統的久經考驗且業界領先的功能。我們也開始向烏克蘭交付第一批 JUMP 20 系統，作為我們先前根據烏克蘭安全援助計畫宣布的 4,200 萬美元撥款的一部分。

We remain confident that the JUMP 20 system is also the most capable solution in its class and expect additional shipments to Ukraine in the third and fourth quarters. Additionally, it is important to highlight 2 recent successful tests of the JUMP 20. First, we successfully demonstrated a fully autonomous flight at the U.S. Navy's hybrid fleet campaign in QS, Florida.

我們仍然相信 JUMP 20 系統也是同類產品中功能最強大的解決方案，並預計在第三和第四季向烏克蘭增加出貨量。此外，值得一提的是 JUMP 20 最近的兩次成功測試。首先，我們在佛羅裡達州 QS 的美國海軍混合艦隊戰役中成功地展示了完全自主飛行。

During the exercise, we showcased the JUMP 20's ability to launch and recover from a vessel moving more than 20 knots without user intervention. Second, our team supported the U.S. Army in several allies at their Arcane Thunder exercise in Poland. This event held in September utilized several of our systems as part of a demonstration of the Army's modernization initiative. The customer response to the JUMP 20 has been very positive, and we plan to continue investing in this platform to meet our customers' future needs.

在演習期間，我們展示了 JUMP 20 在無需使用者乾預的情況下從行駛速度超過 20 節的船隻上發射和恢復的能力。其次，我們的團隊在波蘭的奧術雷霆演習中為美國陸軍的幾個盟友提供了支持。九月舉行的這次活動使用了我們的多個系統，作為陸軍現代化計劃展示的一部分。客戶對 JUMP 20 的反應非常積極，我們計劃繼續投資該平台，以滿足客戶未來的需求。

In summary, segment growth this quarter was due to record deliveries overseas, and the demand for our system is expanding. There are multiple potential orders in the pipeline, which are not yet reflected in our backlog. The global trends we discussed previously, plus our healthy pipeline of opportunities, provide even more reason to be optimistic about our Unmanned Systems segment for the remainder of fiscal year 2024 and beyond.

總之，本季的細分市場成長歸因於創紀錄的海外交付量，以及對我們系統的需求正在擴大。有多個潛在訂單正在醞釀中，尚未反映在我們的積壓訂單中。我們先前討論的全球趨勢，加上我們健康的機會管道，讓我們更有理由對 2024 財年剩餘時間及以後的無人系統部門持樂觀態度。

Moving to our Loitering Munitions segment. As anticipated, this quarter's revenue was approximately flat year-over-year. Our shipments are meeting expectations, and we continue to build inventory in anticipation of the numerous opportunities in our growing pipeline. Namely, we're expanding sales to allied countries across the globe, continuing shipments to Ukraine, backfilling U.S. stockpiles and pursuing future DoD (inaudible) [of] the record.

轉向我們的徘徊彈藥部分。正如預期的那樣，本季的營收與去年同期大致持平。我們的出貨量符合預期，我們繼續建立庫存，以應對不斷增長的管道中的眾多機會。也就是說，我們正在擴大全球盟國的銷售，繼續向烏克蘭發貨，回填美國庫存並追求未來國防部（聽不清楚）的記錄。

We're actively in negotiations with the U.S. government to secure a large multiyear sole-source IDIQ contract for Loitering Munitions products, which will meet the substantial U.S. DoD and international allies demand. There is also proposed legislation in Congress to continue supporting Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, which includes additional funding for Switchblade. We continue to make progress with new international customers. We are currently engaged with more than 20 countries, who wish to receive Switchblades and about 1/3 of those cases are actively in the U.S. DoD's export approval process.

我們正在積極與美國政府進行談判，以獲得一份大型的遊蕩彈藥產品多年期獨家 IDIQ 合同，這將滿足美國國防部和國際盟國的大量需求。國會還提議立法繼續支持烏克蘭、以色列和台灣，其中包括為 Switchblade 提供額外資金。我們不斷與新的國際客戶一起取得進步。目前，我們正在與 20 多個希望接收彈簧刀的國家進行接觸，其中約 1/3 的案例正在美國國防部的出口審批流程中積極進行。

At the same time, we've responded to multiple U.S. DoD customer RFPs for multiyear programs of record acquisitions this past quarter. These include the U.S. Marine Corps solicitation for its organic precision fires, or OPF program and the U.S. Army's low altitude stocking and strike ordinance, or LASSO program. The U.S. Army recently stated that AeroVironment will receive a sole-source contract to provide 100 Switchblade 600s for LASSO Increment 1 for testing and fielding.

同時，我們在上個季度回應了多個美國國防部客戶關於多年創紀錄採購計畫的 RFP。其中包括美國海軍陸戰隊對其建制精確火力（OPF）計畫和美國陸軍低空儲存和打擊條例（LASSO）計畫的徵集。美國陸軍最近表示，AeroVironment 將獲得一份獨家合同，為 LASSO Increment 1 提供 100 台 Switchblade 600，用於測試和部署。

We're optimistic about the future of this program due to the incredible real-world performance of our Switchblades and our significant high-volume manufacturing capacity. We're also working on integrating Switchblades onto other vehicle platforms, such as Abrams tanks, Humvees, the next-generation Optionally Manned Fighting vehicles and on helicopters through the long-range precision munition program.

由於我們的彈簧刀在現實世界中具有令人難以置信的性能以及我們強大的大量製造能力，我們對該計劃的未來感到樂觀。我們也致力於透過遠程精準彈藥計畫將彈簧刀整合到其他車輛平台上，例如艾布拉姆斯坦克、悍馬車、下一代可選載人戰車和直升機。

To summarize, the LMS pipeline is robust with many opportunities not yet reflected in our backlog, and we remain optimistic about the future growth potential of this business. We expect the LMS segment to be a stronger contributor of revenue growth in the second half of this fiscal year.

總而言之，LMS 管道非常強勁，有許多機會尚未反映在我們的積壓訂單中，我們對該業務的未來成長潛力保持樂觀。我們預計 LMS 部門將成為本財年下半年營收成長的更強勁貢獻者。

Moving to our MacCready Works segment. Quarterly revenue was also roughly in line with last fiscal year as this segment continues to focus on developing key technologies and incubating future solutions. Our HAPS team continues to make progress on the development of a full-scale next-generation Sunglider, while also working with the U.S. DoD on defense missions.

前往我們的 MacCready Works 部分。季度營收也與上一財年大致持平，因為該部門繼續專注於開發關鍵技術和孵化未來解決方案。我們的 HAPS 團隊繼續在全尺寸下一代 Sunglider 的開發方面取得進展，同時也與美國國防部合作執行國防任務。

We expect to benefit from additional funding perhaps in the government fiscal year 2024 budget, which is awaiting approval by Congress. In addition, we continue to see strong engagement in developing novel next-generation defense solutions. Last quarter, we spoke about DARPA's ancillary program, where we have now been awarded a small contract for Phase 1 of its development. We're also progressing on a jointly funded program under development by the U.S. Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM in Natick, Massachusetts, called the Squad Operations Advanced Resupply, or SOAR. This large autonomous unmanned aircraft system will provide long-range precision delivery within contested environments.

我們預計可能會受益於政府 2024 財年預算中的額外資金，該預算正在等待國會批准。此外，我們繼續看到人們大力參與開發新型下一代防禦解決方案。上個季度，我們談到了 DARPA 的輔助項目，我們現在已獲得該項目第一階段開發的一份小合約。我們還在由美國陸軍作戰能力發展司令部（位於馬薩諸塞州納蒂克的 DEVCOM）聯合資助的項目上取得進展，該項目稱為小隊作戰高級補給（SOAR）。這種大型自主無人機系統將在有爭議的環境中提供遠端精確投送。

Flight testing of the first system is currently underway, and we expect Phase 3 development to be funded by the government fiscal year 2024 budget as well. As you can see, we have many exciting and innovative development projects in our MacCready Works pipeline and remain excited about the potential to develop new capabilities, which could lead to new lines of business from this segment.

第一個系統的飛行測試目前正在進行中，我們預計第 3 階段的開發也將由政府 2024 財政年度預算提供資金。正如您所看到的，我們的 MacCready Works 管道中有許多令人興奮和創新的開發項目，並且對開發新功能的潛力感到興奮，這可能會導致該領域的新業務線。

With that, I would like to now turn the call over to Kevin McDonnell for a review of the quarterly financials. Kevin?

現在，我想將電話轉給凱文麥克唐納 (Kevin McDonnell)，以審查季度財務狀況。凱文？

Thank you, Wahid. Today, I'll be reviewing the highlights of our second quarter performance, during which I will occasionally refer to both our press release and earnings presentation available on our website.

謝謝你，瓦希德。今天，我將回顧我們第二季業績的亮點，在此期間我偶爾會參考我們網站上的新聞稿和收益報告。

Overall, we had another outstanding financial quarter as the second quarter finished strong in terms of revenue, adjusted gross margins and adjusted EBITDA and backlog. As Wahid mentioned in his remarks, revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2024 was $180.8 million, an increase of 62% as compared to the $111.6 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2023.

總體而言，我們又度過了一個出色的財務季度，第二季度在營收、調整後毛利率、調整後 EBITDA 和積壓訂單方面表現強勁。正如瓦希德在演講中所提到的，2024財年第二季的營收為1.808億美元，比2023財年第二季的1.116億美元成長62%。

Slide 5 of the earnings presentation provides a breakdown of revenue by segment for the quarter. Our largest segment during the quarter was Unmanned Systems, UMS, which is a combination of our small UAS, medium UAS, UGV and recently added Tomahawk businesses. UMS had revenue of $132.8 million in the quarter, which is up 115% from last year's $61.6 million, driven primarily by strong international demand for our improvement systems.

收益報告的幻燈片 5 提供了本季按部門劃分的收入細目。本季我們最大的部門是無人系統（UMS），它是我們的小型無人機、中型無人機、UGV 和最近增加的戰斧業務的組合。 UMS 本季營收為 1.328 億美元，比去年的 6,160 萬美元成長 115%，這主要是由於國際上對我們改進系統的強勁需求所推動的。

As Wahid mentioned, we also began shipments of the JUMP 20 product to Ukraine during the quarter, which contributed to the revenue growth. Loitering munitions systems, or LMS, recorded revenue of $30.2 million, a 3% decrease as compared to the $31.1 million last year during Q2. The Switchblade 600 product was the primary driver of revenue during the quarter, and at the same time, we are beginning to ramp up the production of the Switchblade 300 Block 20 product, which was introduced earlier this year.

正如 Wahid 所提到的，我們本季也開始向烏克蘭出貨 JUMP 20 產品，這為營收成長做出了貢獻。徘徊彈藥系統（LMS）的收入為 3,020 萬美元，比去年第二季的 3,110 萬美元下降了 3%。 Switchblade 600 產品是本季營收的主要驅動力，同時，我們開始提高今年稍早推出的 Switchblade 300 Block 20 產品的產量。

Revenue from our MacCready Works segment came in at $17.8 million, a decrease of 6% as compared to the $18.8 million from the second quarter of last fiscal year. We continue to see strong demand for machine learning and autonomy capabilities with various agencies of the U.S. DoD and U.S. government agencies, which was offset by lower SoftBank funded HAPS revenue.

MacCready Works 部門的營收為 1,780 萬美元，比上一財年第二季的 1,880 萬美元下降了 6%。我們繼續看到美國國防部各機構和美國政府機構對機器學習和自主能力的強勁需求，但軟銀資助的 HAPS 收入下降抵消了這一需求。

On Slide 5 of the earnings presentation, there's a breakdown between product and service revenue. Specifically, during the second quarter, product revenue accounted for 81% of total revenues, a notable increase from the 56% in the corresponding quarter of the previous year due to strong product revenue from small UAS and to a lesser extent from lower COCO service operations.

在收益簡報的第 5 張投影片中，產品和服務收入進行了細分。具體來說，第二季產品收入佔總營收的81%，較上年同期的56%顯著成長，這得益於小型無人機的強勁產品收入以及較小程度的COCO服務營運的下降。

For the remainder of fiscal 2024, although we expect product revenue to be close to 80% of total revenue, we also expect LMS revenue to increase as a percentage of product revenue. LMS revenues have lower gross margins relative to small UAS products, so we expect a shift to reduce product gross margins.

在 2024 財年剩餘時間內，儘管我們預期產品收入將接近總收入的 80%，但我們也預期 LMS 收入佔產品收入的百分比將會增加。相對於小型無人機產品，LMS 收入的毛利率較低，因此我們預期產品毛利率將會下降。

Speaking of gross margins, Slide 6 of the earnings presentation shows the trend of adjusted product and service gross margin, while Slide 12 reconciles the GAAP gross margins to adjusted gross margins, which excludes the intangible amortization expense and other noncash purchase accounting items. In the second quarter, consolidated GAAP gross margins finished at 42%, up from 23% in the previous year. The improvement in GAAP gross margins was largely a result of improved product service mix and strong product gross margins from international small UAS.

說到毛利率，收益報告的幻燈片6 顯示了調整後產品和服務毛利率的趨勢，而幻燈片12 將GAAP 毛利率與調整後毛利率進行了調節，其中不包括無形攤銷費用和其他非現金採購會計項目。第二季度，綜合 GAAP 毛利率達到 42%，高於去年同期的 23%。公認會計準則毛利率的改善主要歸功於產品服務組合的改善以及國際小型無人機強勁的產品毛利率。

Second quarter adjusted gross margins reached 43%, marking a substantial increase from the 27% recorded in the same period last year. This improvement was driven by the same factors as for the GAAP gross margins. Adjusted product gross margins for the quarter were 47% versus 38% in the second quarter of last fiscal year due to the high mix of international revenue from our small UAS products during the quarter.

第二季調整後毛利率達到43%，較去年同期的27%大幅成長。這一改善是由與 GAAP 毛利率相同的因素所推動的。由於本季小型無人機產品的國際營收佔比較高，本季調整後產品毛利率為 47%，而上一財年第二季為 38%。

In terms of adjusted service gross margins, the second quarter was at 28% versus 12% in the same quarter last year. Last year, we had accelerated depreciation on a portion of our assets, which negatively impacted our service gross margins. We expect fiscal year 2024 adjusted gross margins to end up in the high 30s to low 40s following the anticipated increase in Loitering Munitions Systems revenue in the second half of the fiscal year, both in terms of dollars and percentage of total revenues.

就調整後服務毛利率而言，第二季為 28%，而去年同期為 12%。去年，我們的部分資產加速折舊，這對我們的服務毛利率產生了負面影響。我們預計 2024 財年調整後的毛利率最終將達到 30 多歲到 40 多歲，繼本財年下半年徘徊彈藥系統收入預計增加（以美元和佔總收入的百分比計算）。

In terms of adjusted EBITDA, Slide 13 of our earnings presentation shows a reconciliation of the GAAP net income to adjusted EBITDA. In the second quarter of fiscal 2024, adjusted EBITDA was $40 million, representing an increase of $33 million as compared to the $7 million from the second quarter of last fiscal year. The main factors contributing to this increase were higher revenue and favorable revenue mix, which was partially offset by incremental SG&A expenses and investments in R&D.

就調整後 EBITDA 而言，我們收益報告的幻燈片 13 顯示了 GAAP 淨利潤與調整後 EBITDA 的調整表。 2024財年第二季度，調整後的EBITDA為4,000萬美元，比上財年第二季的700萬美元增加了3,300萬美元。促成這一成長的主要因素是更高的收入和有利的收入組合，但部分被增量的銷售、行政管理費用和研發投資所抵銷。

SG&A expense, excluding intangible amortization and acquisition related expense for the second quarter was $26 million or 14% of revenue compared to $19 million or 17% of revenue in the prior year. While R&D expense increased year-over-year in terms of -- in dollar terms, R&D expense as a percentage of revenue was 12% versus 15% in the corresponding quarter of last year. We expect R&D to continue to run closer to 12% for the full year as we continue to invest in new products and upgrades to existing products to meet the evolving needs of our customers. This also includes internal funding of our HAPS solar aircraft.

第二季的 SG&A 費用（不包括無形攤銷和收購相關費用）為 2,600 萬美元，佔營收的 14%，而去年同期為 1,900 萬美元，佔營收的 17%。雖然研發費用以美元計算年增，但研發費用佔營收的比例為 12%，去年同期為 15%。我們預計全年研發支出將持續接近 12%，因為我們將繼續投資新產品並升級現有產品，以滿足客戶不斷變化的需求。這也包括我們的 HAPS 太陽能飛機的內部資金。

Now turning to GAAP earnings. In the second quarter, the company generated net income of $17.8 million versus a net loss of $6.7 million recorded in the same period last year. The increase in net income of $24.5 million can be attributed to several factors, namely a $49.5 million increase in gross margin driven by a rise in sales volume and improvements in revenue mix and the $2.9 million decrease to intangible amortization and other acquisition-related expenses were partially offset by a $11.6 million increase in taxes, a $6.7 million increase in SG&A expense, a $5.4 million increase in R&D spending and a $3.8 million increase in unrealized losses in equity-related investments.

現在轉向 GAAP 收益。第二季度，該公司淨利潤為 1,780 萬美元，而去年同期淨虧損為 670 萬美元。淨利潤增加 2,450 萬美元可歸因於多個因素，即銷售增加和收入組合改善推動毛利率增加 4,950 萬美元，無形攤銷和其他收購相關費用減少 290 萬美元。部分被稅收增加1,160 萬美元、 SG&A 費用增加670 萬美元、研發支出增加540 萬美元、股權相關投資未實現損失增加380 萬美元所抵銷。

Slide 10 shows the reconciliation of GAAP and adjusted or non-GAAP diluted EPS. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of -- diluted per share of $0.97 for the second quarter of fiscal 2024 versus a $0.01 per diluted share for the second quarter of fiscal 2023. Turning to our balance sheet. Total cash investments at the end of the quarter was $121.5 million, which is a decrease of $6.9 million from the second quarter of fiscal 2023.

投影片 10 顯示了 GAAP 與調整後或非 GAAP 稀釋每股盈餘的調整。該公司公佈的 2024 財年第二季調整後每股攤薄收益為 0.97 美元，而 2023 財年第二季攤薄後每股收益為 0.01 美元。轉向我們的資產負債表。本季末現金投資總額為 1.215 億美元，較 2023 財年第二季減少 690 萬美元。

During the quarter, we reduced our term debt by $50 million to $80 million. Inventories increased $6 million during the second quarter of fiscal 2024, primarily driven by the Tomahawk acquisition. Inventories will remain at these higher levels as we prepare for shipments in coming quarters and carry extra inventory as a result of supply chain risk minimization.

本季度，我們將定期債務減少了 5,000 萬美元至 8,000 萬美元。 2024 財年第二季庫存增加了 600 萬美元，主要是由於戰斧收購所致。由於我們為未來幾季的出貨做準備，並且由於供應鏈風險最小化而持有額外的庫存，因此庫存將保持在較高水準。

We continue to have a strong balance sheet with over $100 million of cash in investments and approximately $100 million available under our working capital facility.

我們繼續擁有強勁的資產負債表，擁有超過 1 億美元的現金投資和約 1 億美元的營運資金設施。

I'd like to conclude with some highlights of our backlog metrics. Slide 8 of the earnings presentation provides a summary of our current fiscal 2024 visibility. As Wahid mentioned, our funded backlog at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2024 finished at $487 million. Visibility to the midpoint of our revised FY '24 revenue guidance range is 98%.

最後，我想介紹一下我們的待辦事項指標的一些要點。收益簡報的投影片 8 總結了我們目前 2024 財年的可見性。正如瓦希德所提到的，截至 2024 財年第二季末，我們的積壓資金達到 4.87 億美元。我們修訂後的 24 財年收入指引範圍中點的可見度為 98%。

Now I'd like to turn things back to Wahid.

現在我想把事情轉回瓦希德身上。

Thanks, Kevin. Given our strong quarter performance and the addition of Tomahawk Robotics, we have revised our guidance and increased revenue outlook for fiscal year 2024 as follows. We anticipate revenues of $685 million to $705 million. Net income guidance of $45 million to $51 million or $1.66 to $1.90 per diluted share. This decrease reflects Tomahawk acquisition-related expenses.

謝謝，凱文。鑑於我們強勁的季度業績以及 Tomahawk Robotics 的加入，我們對 2024 財年的指導意見進行了修訂，並提高了收入前景，具體如下。我們預計收入為 6.85 億至 7.05 億美元。淨利潤指引為 4,500 萬美元至 5,100 萬美元，或攤薄後每股收益 1.66 美元至 1.90 美元。這一減少反映了戰斧採購相關費用。

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $119 million to $127 million and non-GAAP earnings of $2.46 to $2.70 per diluted share. We expect an evenly distributed second half revenue split between each of the remaining 2 quarters of this fiscal year. Based on our record first half performance and a strong backlog, we now have almost full visibility to the midpoint of our revised revenue guidance. And as expected, gross margin for the second half of this fiscal year is anticipated to be lower than first half, primarily due to product mix.

非 GAAP 調整後 EBITDA 為 1.19 億美元至 1.27 億美元，非 GAAP 稀釋每股收益為 2.46 美元至 2.70 美元。我們預計下半年收入將在本財年剩餘兩季之間平均分配。基於我們上半年創紀錄的業績和強勁的積壓，我們現在幾乎可以完全了解修訂後的收入指引的中點。正如預期的那樣，本財年下半年的毛利率預計將低於上半年，這主要是由於產品結構的原因。

Lastly, while the situation in Washington has led to slower decision-making, we know our solutions are crucial to our customers in the U.S. and around the world. While operating under a continuing resolution slows down new program starts, we remain optimistic that budget priorities will be resolved and that our programs will eventually get funded. We hope that our supporters on both sides of the aisle can achieve consensus in the very near future.

最後，雖然華盛頓的局勢導致決策速度變慢，但我們知道我們的解決方案對美國和世界各地的客戶至關重要。雖然根據持續的決議進行運作會減慢新計劃的啟動速度，但我們仍然樂觀地認為預算優先事項將得到解決，我們的計劃最終將獲得資助。我們希望兩黨支持者能夠在不久的將來達成共識。

We are very pleased with our position midway through the fiscal year as we continue to meet the needs of our growing customers. The trends we see now represent an inflection point in our growth, which should drive greater demand beyond our current fiscal year.

我們對本財年中期的狀況感到非常滿意，因為我們將繼續滿足不斷增長的客戶的需求。我們現在看到的趨勢代表了我們成長的轉折點，這應該會在本財年之後推動更大的需求。

As I've stated in the past, our nation and allies are realizing the immense value proposition of our distributed autonomous unmanned solutions enabled by AI. We expect strong growth even when the active conflicts wind down as there will be still an underlying need for deterrence with many new programs supporting further adoption of our innovative and battle-tested solutions. We continue to lead the industry in contested environment operations, autonomous missions and true Loitering Munitions capability.

正如我過去所說，我們的國家和盟國正在意識到人工智慧支持的分散式自主無人解決方案的巨大價值主張。我們預計，即使激烈的衝突平息，仍將出現強勁增長，因為仍然存在對威懾的潛在需求，許多新計劃支持進一步採用我們的創新和經過實戰檢驗的解決方案。我們在競爭環境作戰、自主任務和真正的巡飛彈藥能力方面繼續處於行業領先地位。

AeroVironment solutions can identify threats, track them in real time and neutralize them with maximum effectiveness while minimizing collateral damage. We will continue to invest in our innovative solutions to ensure they meet our customers' [exacting] standards and perform when needed in real-world environments.

AeroVironment 解決方案可識別威脅、即時追蹤威脅並以最大效率消除威脅，同時最大限度地減少附帶損害。我們將繼續投資於我們的創新解決方案，以確保它們滿足客戶的[嚴格]標準，並在現實環境中需要時發揮作用。

Now let me once again summarize the key points from today's call. First, we delivered record second quarter results, exceeding expectations and raised our revenue outlook for fiscal year 2024. Second, our backlog remains strong, reflecting global demand for our innovative and combat-proven solutions. Third, we successfully completed the Tomahawk Robotics acquisition and are on track for onboarding this business into our Unmanned Systems segment.

現在讓我再次總結一下今天電話會議的要點。首先，我們交付了創紀錄的第二季度業績，超出了預期，並上調了2024 財年的收入預期。其次，我們的積壓訂單依然強勁，反映出全球對我們創新且經過實戰驗證的解決方案的需求。第三，我們成功完成了對 Tomahawk Robotics 的收購，並有望將該業務納入我們的無人系統部門。

And fourth, the outlook for AeroVironment Solutions continues to improve due to the strength of our product lines and accelerating global demand. We're well prepared to execute in the second half of this fiscal year and now expect further double-digit top line growth in fiscal year 2025.

第四，由於我們產品線的實力和不斷增長的全球需求，航空環境解決方案的前景持續改善。我們已做好在本財年下半年執行的充分準備，現在預計 2025 財年的營收將進一步實現兩位數成長。

Before turning the call over for -- to questions, we're excited to welcome retired General Joseph Votel to our Board of Directors. General Votel brings extensive knowledge of today's military operations and strategy, especially with Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC, and Central Command, or CENTCOM. His guidance will be instrumental in helping AV meet the current and future needs of our country and allies abroad.

在將電話轉交提問之前，我們很高興歡迎退休將軍約瑟夫·沃特爾加入我們的董事會。沃特爾將軍帶來了當今軍事行動和戰略的廣泛知識，特別是聯合特種作戰司令部（JSOC）和中央司令部（CENTCOM）的知識。他的指導將有助於幫助 AV 滿足我國和海外盟友當前和未來的需求。

And finally, thank you to our investors for their unwavering support of our mission, and thank you to our customers for putting their faith in AeroVironment. Our success is due to the talent of our team who go above and beyond to continuously improve our products, strive for new innovative solutions, effectively manage the company's supply chain and meet our customers' needs in a timely and expeditious manner. We are honored to support our country and allies at this critical time, and we expect further success during the remainder of fiscal year 2024 and beyond.

最後，感謝我們的投資者對我們使命的堅定支持，並感謝我們的客戶對 AeroVironment 的信任。我們的成功歸功於我們團隊的才華，他們不斷改進我們的產品，努力尋求新的創新解決方案，有效管理公司的供應鏈並及時、迅速地滿足客戶的需求。我們很榮幸能在這個關鍵時刻支持我們的國家和盟友，我們預計在 2024 財年剩餘時間及以後將取得進一步成功。

And with that, Kevin, Jonah and I will now take your questions.

接下來，凱文、喬納和我現在將回答你們的問題。

(Operator Instructions) And our first question comes from the line of Greg Konrad from Jefferies.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Greg Konrad。

Great quarter. Maybe just to start, and I might have missed it, but did you give any color around the contribution from Tomahawk in the revised guidance? Or how do we think about the higher guidance from core versus the Tomahawk contribution?

很棒的季度。也許只是開始，我可能錯過了，但是您在修訂後的指南中對戰斧的貢獻做了任何說明嗎？或者我們如何看待核心貢獻與戰斧貢獻的更高指導？

So Greg, Tomahawk Robotics is now part of -- as a product line within our Unmanned Systems segment. And as you know, we don't break down the details of each of our product lines because we have several of them. However, what I can say is that in terms of our guidance, the increased revenue top line guidance is attributed to both organic demand and growth in our business as well as the portion of it is related to the acquisition of Tomahawk. We believe that both of these 2 are fairly equally represented in terms of the demand for the second half of this year. We see strong growth across our product lines and our core businesses as well as the addition of Tomahawk. So we're very excited about both.

因此，Greg，Tomahawk Robotics 現在是我們的無人系統部門的產品線的一部分。如您所知，我們不會分解每條產品線的細節，因為我們有多個產品線。然而，我可以說的是，就我們的指導而言，收入頂線指導的增加歸因於我們業務的有機需求和成長，其中一部分與收購戰斧有關。我們認為，就今年下半年的需求而言，這兩者的代表性相當均衡。我們看到我們的產品線和核心業務的強勁成長以及戰斧的增加。所以我們對兩者都感到非常興奮。

And then maybe just for the second one, staying on Tomahawk. You mentioned integration. Can you maybe provide road map and kind of timing and major milestones when you think about that integration and maybe potential revenue synergies and how you're thinking about timing and magnitude of some of those events?

然後也許只是第二個，留在戰斧上。你提到了整合。當您考慮整合以及潛在的收入協同效應以及您如何考慮其中一些事件的時間表和規模時，您能否提供路線圖、時間表和主要里程碑？

Of course, for sure. So the feedback so far from our customers, which is the most important thing for me, in particular, has been extremely positive about the acquisition and the synergies that we're going to be able to deliver in terms of improving our customers' experiences in a common operating picture for the war fighter. In terms of integration, we have a very detailed multiphase integration plan. We're on track. We're ahead of our schedule. They are now already integrated with our business in terms of being part of our Unmanned Systems segment.

當然，這是肯定的。因此，到目前為止，我們客戶的回饋（這對我來說尤其重要）對此次收購以及我們將能夠在改善客戶體驗方面提供的協同效應非常積極。戰士的通用操作圖。在整合方面，我們有一個非常詳細的多階段整合計劃。我們步入正軌。我們比計劃提早了。它們現在已經與我們的業務整合，成為我們的無人系統部門的一部分。

We have actually expanded the role and responsibility of the 2 cofounders of Tomahawk Robotics. They're now general managers of our larger businesses within AeroVironment. They're very excited about the prospects of the future. In terms of the road maps, we're already working some of those. We're very excited. And in fact, we're more bullish now than we were even before that there's tremendous synergies between our capabilities and our products and technologies, namely -- and the foreseeable future, we're going to be able to integrate pretty much all of our products.

我們實際上擴大了戰斧機器人公司兩位共同創辦人的角色和責任。他們現在是我們 AeroVironment 內較大業務的總經理。他們對未來的前景感到非常興奮。就路線圖而言，我們已經在進行其中的一些工作。我們非常興奮。事實上，我們現在比以前更樂觀，我們的能力、我們的產品和技術之間存在著巨大的協同作用，即——在可預見的未來，我們將能夠整合我們幾乎所有的產品。

Our unmanned ground vehicles or unmanned UAVs, air vehicles, all with the Tomahawk Robotics common controller as well as would allow us to actually integrate other third-party platforms into this effort. Now that effort is a multiyear effort because there are lots and lots of demand for integration from external customers even in partners, but also -- and on-site there's significant opportunities for [integrate].

我們的無人駕駛地面車輛或無人駕駛無人機、飛行器均配有戰斧機器人通用控制器，並且允許我們將其他第三方平台實際整合到這項工作中。現在，這項工作是一項多年的工作，因為外部客戶甚至合作夥伴都有大量的整合需求，而且現場也存在大量的[整合]機會。

The last thing I want to mention is that their location in Southern -- in Florida -- in Eastern Florida, actually is very positive for us, too. They've got a tremendous team. We're very excited and encouraged by their talent, both engineering and business. And we're going to actually start to scale our resources in terms of headcount even at their facilities. So it actually gives us a better footprint in the East Coast where most of our customers are as well as allow us to hire and grow our talent as our growth desires -- or requires it.

我想提到的最後一件事是，他們位於佛羅裡達州南部、佛羅裡達州東部的位置實際上對我們來說也非常積極。他們有一支強大的團隊。他們的工程和商業才華讓我們感到非常興奮和鼓舞。我們實際上將開始擴大我們的資源（甚至在他們的設施中）的人員數量。因此，它實際上讓我們在東海岸有了更好的足跡，我們的大多數客戶都在那裡，並且允許我們根據我們的成長願望或要求來僱用和培養我們的人才。

And our next question comes from the line of Peter Arment from Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自貝爾德 (Baird) 的彼得·阿門特 (Peter Arment)。

Yes. Nice results. Hey, Wahid, could you give us the latest kind of status update of the Switchblade 600? I know there's been some recent articles out there about some of the Eastern European countries looking to start to take delivery of that product. Where are we in terms of the potential production for the Switchblade 600?

是的。不錯的結果。嘿，Wahid，您能為我們提供 Switchblade 600 的最新狀態更新嗎？我知道最近有一些關於一些東歐國家希望開始接收該產品的文章。 Switchblade 600 的潛在產量處於什麼水準？

Sure. So I'm glad to report that we've had many -- several of the U.S. government and U.S. DoD's leadership as well as congressional leaders visit in the last couple of weeks related to our Switchblade production. We have a significant amount of production capacity which we've invested in. We were very fortunate. That's a major plus because we can deliver Switchblade by the thousands now. And we can deliver them at U.S. DoD program of record quality and caliber and maturity.

當然。因此，我很高興地向大家報告，在過去的幾周里，我們有很多美國政府和美國國防部的領導層以及國會領導人來訪，與我們的 Switchblade 生產相關。我們投資了大量的生產能力。我們非常幸運。這是一個重大優勢，因為我們現在可以交付數千台 Switchblade。我們可以按照美國國防部計劃提供創紀錄的品質、水準和成熟度。

Secondly, there are several -- about 20 different countries that we're engaged in, in terms of their interest in acquiring Switchblade or wanting to receive Switchblade. About 1/3 of those cases are already an active Department of State and Department of Defense export approval process.

其次，我們正在與大約 20 個不同的國家合作，了解他們對收購 Switchblade 的興趣或希望獲得 Switchblade。其中約 1/3 的案件已進入國務院和國防部出口審批流程。

So I expect in the next 6 months or so that this process will go faster than before because the demand is very high and the U.S. defense organizations as well as Department of State is very favorable towards helping us equip these countries with Switchblade. We've delivered quite a good chunk of those Switchblade 600s and 300s so far to the U.S. DoD. All of these cases so far for Switchblade remain to be FMS cases.

因此，我預計在未來 6 個月左右的時間裡，這個過程會比以前更快，因為需求非常高，而且美國國防組織和國務院非常願意幫助我們為這些國家裝備 Switchblade。到目前為止，我們已經向美國國防部交付了大量 Switchblade 600 和 300。到目前為止，Switchblade 的所有這些案例仍然是 FMS 案例。

So, A, [we've] delivered a lot. There's 5 countries that have already spoken for them and they've gone public about it, and it's made its statements. There's a total of 20 countries that we're actively involved with and about 1/3 of those are actively in the export approval process, which is really, really encouraging and positive.

所以，A，[我們]交付了很多。有5個國家已經為他們發聲，他們已經公開此事，並且已經發表了聲明。我們積極參與的國家一共有 20 個，其中約 1/3 正在積極參與出口審批流程，這確實非常令人鼓舞和積極。

In addition to that, Peter, I also want to mention that we're actively negotiating with the U.S. DoD on a very large multiyear IDIQ sole-source Switchblade contract that allows the U.S. DoD to purchase large quantities of Switchblade for multiple years from AeroVironment and then actually fulfill the needs for Ukraine for the U.S. DoD stockpiles and programs as well as for our allies in the FMS cases. That actively is in process. It will take some time, but it's very encouraging.

除此之外，Peter，我還想提一下，我們正在與美國國防部積極就一項非常大的多年期 IDIQ 獨家來源 Switchblade 合約進行談判，該合約允許美國國防部在多年內從 AeroVironment 和然後真正滿足烏克蘭對美國國防部庫存和項目以及我們在FMS 案例中的盟友的需求。這正在積極進行中。這需要一些時間，但非常令人鼓舞。

And Kevin, maybe just a quick one for you on -- you made some comments about that, you kind of expected the gross margin -- adjusted gross margin for the year to end up in the low 40s to high 30s. Maybe you could just -- that implies, I guess, in the second half of the year if you're going to be in the high 30s that you'd see that gross margin come down, I guess, maybe to mid-30s or so. Is that primarily tied to the LMS revenue ramp? Or could you maybe -- highlight maybe some of the puts and takes there?

凱文，也許只是簡單地向您介紹一下 - 您對此發表了一些評論，您對毛利率有所預期 - 調整後的今年毛利率最終會在 40 多歲到 30 多歲之間。也許你可以——我想，這意味著，在下半年，如果你的業績要達到 30 多歲，你會看到毛利率下降，我猜，可能會下降到 30 多歲左右，或者所以。這主要與 LMS 收入成長有關嗎？或者你可以——強調一下那裡的一些看跌期權嗎？

Right. So you kind of have a combination of a little bit lower small UAS revenue and then that's kind of replaced by the lower margin element in the second half.

正確的。因此，小型無人機收入略低，然後在下半年被較低的利潤因素所取代。

And our next question comes from the line of Ken Herbert from RBC Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自加拿大皇家銀行資本市場的肯·赫伯特。

Hey, Wahid, maybe if I could, just to sort of put a finer point on the mix impact in the second half of the fiscal year. What's your outlook for growth, specifically within the LMS segment for the second half of the year, I mean second quarter growth there? I mean, consistent with your expectations, but flattish down slightly. How much of the second half growth is going to come from that segment relative to UMS or MacCready Works?

嘿，瓦希德，也許如果可以的話，只是為了更好地闡述本財年下半年的混合影響。您對成長的前景有何看法，特別是下半年 LMS 領域的成長，我指的是第二季的成長？我的意思是，與您的預期一致，但略有下降。相對於 UMS 或 MacCready Works 而言，下半年的成長將有多少來自該領域？

So Ken, I'm glad you asked that question. First of all, this fiscal year, Loitering Munitions as a whole, we expect it to be the strongest driver of our growth overall. It's going to be very, very robust growth for the whole year. That's our expectation. As we expected, and as I said in my comments, the first half of the year is very much in line to our expectations and how we thought it's going to play out, primarily because the contracts for Switchblade are very large, lumpy contracts. We had a very strong fourth quarter, if you remember last fiscal year, which we had a record shipments and record bookings. That has allowed us to ship on the first quarter and the second quarter according to our plans.

肯，我很高興你問這個問題。首先，本財年，徘徊彈藥作為一個整體，我們預計它將成為我們整體成長的最強勁驅動力。全年成長將非常非常強勁。這是我們的期望。正如我們所預期的那樣，正如我在評論中所說，今年上半年非常符合我們的預期以及我們認為它將如何發揮作用，主要是因為 Switchblade 的合約非常龐大且不穩定。如果您還記得上一財年，我們的第四季表現非常強勁，我們的出貨量和預訂量都創下了紀錄。這使我們能夠按照計劃在第一季和第二季發貨。

Second half is going to be very dominant in terms of growth and revenue driver for Switchblade 300 and 600. We have a robust pipeline for Switchblade that is not only going to fuel our second half performance in terms of revenue and bookings, but it's also going to fuel our fiscal '25 and beyond. I mean the pipeline for Switchblade 300 and 600 looks extremely promising.

下半年，Switchblade 300 和 600 的成長和收入驅動力將佔據主導地位。我們擁有強大的 Switchblade 管道，這不僅會推動我們下半年在收入和預訂方面的表現，而且還會繼續推動我們的成長。為我們的25 財年及以後的發展提供動力。我的意思是 Switchblade 300 和 600 的產品線看起來非常有前途。

It just takes a little while primarily because of the nature of the product, the government contracting process and the FMS approval process that we have to go through for all these exports. But overall, I think second half is going to be dominant by our Loitering Munitions business, both in terms of bookings as well as in terms of revenue performance for the year.

這只需要一點時間，主要是因為產品的性質、我們所有這些出口都必須經歷的政府合約流程和 FMS 審批流程。但總體而言，我認為下半年將由我們的遊蕩彈藥業務佔據主導地位，無論是在預訂方面還是在今年的收入表現方面。

And maybe Wahid or Kevin, what's your outlook for full year free cash flow? I mean you've sort of used [$36 million] or so through the first half of the year, your significant investments in working capital. Do we expect much relief in positive free cash in the second half of the year? Or how do we think about the full year from a cash basis?

也許是瓦希德或凱文，您對全年自由現金流的展望如何？我的意思是，今年上半年您已經使用了[3600萬美元]左右，這是您在營運資金方面的重大投資。我們預計下半年正自由現金會大幅緩解嗎？或者我們如何從現金收付制來看待全年？

I mean, I'm not banking too much on a lot of relief. But I think the working capital levels will stay around this mark here in the third and fourth quarter, maybe even up a little in the third quarter and then come down a little bit in the fourth quarter. And then I think you'll start to see some improvement, at least as a percentage of overall sales in FY '25.

我的意思是，我並不太指望能得到很多緩解。但我認為第三季和第四季的營運資本水準將保持在這個水準附近，甚至可能在第三季略有上升，然後在第四季略有下降。然後我認為您將開始看到一些改善，至少佔 25 財年總銷售額的百分比。

(Operator Instructions) And our next question comes from the line of Pete Skibitski from Alembic Global.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Alembic Global 的 Pete Skibitski。

I think -- I guess, one for me, how do you guys -- what's the right way to think about the -- kind of the time frame or the path to improve LMS gross margins? And what are the major factors that impact that through the midterm?

我想——我想，對我來說，你們如何——思考提高LMS毛利率的時間框架或路徑的正確方法是什麼？影響中期的主要因素有哪些？

So Pete, we actually have seen fairly strong improvement on the gross margin of our Switchblade product line as a whole relative to the last several years, and we continue to make even more progress. Having said that, our small UAS, especially international contracts and orders are by far the most profitable products because we've invested for many, many years in that product line, and we're able to sell those as a commercial item to a lot of our international customers.

Pete，實際上我們已經看到 Switchblade 產品線的整體毛利率相對於過去幾年有相當大的改善，並且我們將繼續取得更大的進步。話雖如此，我們的小型無人機，尤其是國際合約和訂單，是迄今為止最賺錢的產品，因為我們已經在該產品線上投資了很多很多年，並且我們能夠將它們作為商業產品出售給很多人我們的國際客戶。

So while our small UAS has set a very, very high bar in the industry, if not only just for AeroVironment. Switchblade gross margins and profitability is fairly strong and it's improving. How well that it's going to be -- usually our hardwares are in the upper 40s -- mid-40s or low 40s and Switchblades are in the mid to high 30s. So it's not that much off of our small UAS and it's improving. We have several activities and strategies on improving that, one of which, of course, is volume and lowering the cost inputs and allowing us to actually get more efficient in production, which we are making significant improvements, and our team has managed that really well.

因此，雖然我們的小型無人機在業界樹立了非常非常高的標準，但不僅僅是對於航空環境而言。彈簧刀的毛利率和獲利能力相當強勁，並且正在改善。效果會如何——通常我們的硬體在 40 多歲——40 多歲或 40 多歲以下，而 Switchblade 則在 30 多歲中上。因此，它與我們的小型無人機並沒有太大差距，而且還在不斷改進。我們有多項活動和策略來改善這一點，其中之一當然是數量和降低成本投入，使我們能夠真正提高生產效率，我們正在做出重大改進，我們的團隊在這方面做得非常好。

And the second thing is also in terms of improving the cost in terms of the Block 20 product. Switchblades Block 20 and the next-generation systems are actually easier to manufacture, has less labor content and much more automation in terms of its manufacturing capabilities. So we've got several activities, which many of them have already paid some dividend, and they'll continue to pay dividend going forward as well.

第二件事也是在改善Block 20產品的成本方面。 Switchblades Block 20 和下一代系統實際上更容易製造，勞動力含量更​​少，並且在製造能力方面的自動化程度更高。因此，我們開展了多項活動，其中許多活動已經支付了一些股息，並且未來也將繼續支付股息。

Just one more for me. I just want to understand, guys, in terms of this big Switchblade IDIQ just coming down the pike, how will that product sort of -- and how that meets Army requirements, how would that differ from the LASSO contract for the Army, assuming you win LASSO at some point? I don't know if time frame is on that, but it seems like similar products. So I don't know if LASSO is deemed as a mid to long-term replacement for the Switchblade IDIQ? Or what's the right way to think about that?

只給我一個。夥計們，我只是想了解一下，就這個剛推出的大型 Switchblade IDIQ 而言，該產品將如何 - 以及它如何滿足陸軍要求，這與陸軍的 LASSO 合同有何不同，假設您在某個時候贏得LASSO ？我不知道時間框架是否在其中，但看起來像是類似的產品。所以我不知道LASSO是否會被視為Switchblade IDIQ的中長期替代品？或思考這個問題的正確方法是什麼？

Sure, Pete. So let me add some comments or color to this thing. Historically, U.S. Army has been the main contracting office for procuring Switchblades for U.S. DoD as well as for our allies, and that remains still the case right now for the most part. And we used to have a large contract that we bought under for multiple years. And since the demand has gone up so much higher, that contract has reached a ceiling. So now the U.S. government basically buys these on individual UCaaS or [undefinitized] contract action items -- actions, which is laborious for both the government as well as for us.

當然，皮特。所以讓我給這個東西添加一些評論或顏色。從歷史上看，美國陸軍一直是美國國防部以及我們的盟友採購彈簧刀的主要承包商，現在在很大程度上仍然如此。我們曾經有一份多年購買的大合約。由於需求大幅增加，該合約已達到上限。所以現在美國政府基本上是透過個人 UCaaS 或[未定義]合約行動項目來購買這些——行動，這對政府和我們來說都是費力的。

What they have started to do is to actually initiate another very large multiyear sole-source IDIQ contract for all Switchblade, both for U.S. DoD as well as our allies. So the LASSO contract and some of the other ones, until that large multiyear contract is in place, will still be executed and awarded to us based on these UCaaS. But long-term what we want is a larger contract vehicle that allows the U.S. government to buy from many customers, many opportunities and funding sources and fulfill those much easier.

他們已經開始做的是，為美國國防部以及我們的盟友，為所有 Switchblade 真正啟動另一份非常大的多年期獨家 IDIQ 合約。因此，在大型多年期合約到位之前，LASSO 合約和其他一些合約仍將根據這些 UCaaS 執行並授予我們。但從長遠來看，我們想要的是一個更大的合約工具，使美國政府能夠從許多客戶、許多機會和資金來源購買產品，並更容易實現這些目標。

So we're very pleased that the U.S. Army and U.S. DoD has taken that initiative. We're actively working that. It's going to take some while because of the [CR] situation as well as with the bandwidth of U.S. DoD in terms of contracting resources, but we feel very good. We've already turned in our proposals. We're negotiating the rate structures, and I think it's going to be more of a matter of when versus [if]. And when that goes into effect, then it actually allows a lot more volume to go through and a lot more procurement to happen much faster in terms of their time. And so we're looking forward to that. It will be very, very positive for us and for our customers.

因此，我們非常高興美國陸軍和美國國防部採取了這項措施。我們正在積極進行這方面的工作。由於[CR]情況以及美國國防部在承包資源方面的頻寬，這將需要一段時間，但我們感覺非常好。我們已經提交了我們的建議。我們正在就費率結構進行談判，我認為這將更多地是一個「何時」而不是「是否」的問題。當這項政策生效時，實際上可以允許更多的交易量和更多的採購在時間上更快發生。所以我們對此充滿期待。這對我們和我們的客戶來說都將是非常非常積極的。

And our next question comes from the line of Louie DiPalma from William Blair.

我們的下一個問題來自威廉布萊爾的路易迪帕爾瑪。

I'm following up on several of the recent questions. You mentioned the Army announcing that they awarded AeroVironment 100 LASSO systems. Are those 100 systems already in backlog? And what's the general expected time line for the LASSO program in terms of Phase 1 and subsequent phases?

我正在跟進最近的幾個問題。您提到陸軍宣布授予 AeroVironment 100 LASSO 系統。這 100 個系統是否已積壓？ LASSO 計劃第一階段和後續階段的整體預期時間表是怎樣的？

Sure. So, Louie, that particular contract award has 2 very positive aspects to it, and that's why I highlighted it. Number one, it is the first initial tranche of the LASSO program of record potentially, which puts us in a very, very good position. So eventually, as you know, these programs will be [completed], but to be already selected on the first phase and have products go into the U.S. Army for testing and fielding is very, very positive. Secondly, that order is not in our backlog.

當然。所以，路易，那個特定的合約授予有兩個非常積極的方面，這就是我強調它的原因。第一，它可能是 LASSO 記錄計劃的第一批初始部分，這使我們處於非常非常有利的位置。因此，正如您所知，最終這些項目將[完成]，但在第一階段就已經被選中並將產品進入美國陸軍進行測試和部署是非常非常積極的。其次，該訂單不在我們的積壓訂單中。

So while our Switchblade and Loitering Munitions business, backlog is pretty healthy, we -- many of these opportunities that I mentioned on my comments is not reflected on our current backlog. All of these opportunities are additional orders and contracts that we expect to book in the next 6 to 12 months. And in fact, that demand continues to increase rather than decrease in terms of its pace as well as the top line.

因此，雖然我們的彈簧刀和遊蕩彈藥業務的積壓情況相當健康，但我在評論中提到的許多機會並未反映在我們目前的積壓中。所有這些機會都是我們預計在未來 6 至 12 個月內預訂的額外訂單和合約。事實上，無論是從速度或收入來看，這種需求都在持續增加而不是減少。

So our pipeline and our portfolio looks very robust for Switchblade, both 300 and 600. And domestically, we've got several programs. Internationally, we've got lots of countries, and we're also working on many other platforms to integrate Switchblade onto, such as the Humvees, the Abrams and OMFV, et cetera, et cetera. So all in all, we've got a lot more upside on our Switchblade product lines over the next 6 to 12 months in terms of orders.

因此，我們的產品線和產品組合對於 Switchblade 來說看起來非常強勁，無論是 300 台還是 600 台。在國內，我們有幾個項目。在國際上，我們有許多國家/地區，我們也致力於將 Switchblade 整合到許多其他平台上，例如悍馬車、艾布拉姆斯和 OMFV 等等。總而言之，在未來 6 到 12 個月內，我們的 Switchblade 產品線在訂單方面有更多的上升空間。

And I think you and Kevin both mentioned that the second half of the year should be heavy in terms of both Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600. And will Switchblade 600s also be shipped to those 5 international customers in the second half or some of those 5 international customers?

我想您和 Kevin 都提到，下半年 Switchblade 300 和 Switchblade 600 的銷售應該會很大。 Switchblade 600 是否也會在下半年運送給這 5 個國際客戶或這 5 個國際客戶中的一些客戶顧客？

The answer is yes, Louie. Many of those international customers -- I can't specifically name any of them because of the respect and confidentiality for our customers. But vast majority, if not all of those customers, desire and have requested both Switchblade 300 and 600. And same is true for the supplemental budget that is in front of Congress for Ukraine, $100 billion-plus budget item, the supplemental package that's in front of Congress that is for Israel, Ukraine and potentially Taiwan. There are line items dollars for both Switchblade 300 and 600 for those 3 countries. And so we feel pretty strong that long-term, since Switchblade 600 is a very new product in terms of its [like] in the market, is going to be equally as large of a product and revenue generator for us as of 300. And obviously, the selling price of the 600 is significantly higher because it's a much bigger Loitering Munitions.

答案是肯定的，路易。許多國際客戶—出於對客戶的尊重和保密，我無法具體說出他們中的任何一個人的名字。但絕大多數（如果不是全部）客戶都希望並已經要求了 Switchblade 300 和 600。國會面前的烏克蘭補充預算也是如此，該預算項目超過 1000 億美元，補充方案包含在國會面前是以色列、烏克蘭，也可能是台灣。這 3 個國家的 Switchblade 300 和 600 都有行項目美元。因此，從長遠來看，我們感覺相當強勁，因為就市場而言，Switchblade 600 是一款非常新的產品，對我們來說，它的產品和收入來源將與 300 一樣大。顯然，600 的售價要高得多，因為它是一種更大的徘徊彈藥。

And one last one for Kevin. Do you expect SoftBank -- or for both of you, do you expect SoftBank to continue funding HAPS? And is AeroVironment prepared to continue funding like HAPS and Sunglider on its own if SoftBank drops out?

最後一張是給凱文的。您是否期望軟銀——或者對於您兩人來說，您是否期望軟銀繼續為 HAPS 提供資金？如果軟銀退出，AeroVironment 是否準備好繼續像 HAPS 和 Sunglider 一樣自行提供資金？

Sure. So, a, SoftBank is very committed to this program. We are working with them very closely. They continue to fund us, although the funding for them has reduced slightly because of their financial situation over the last couple of years. There's a much bigger discussion and known variables in the Japan's economic situation and the pandemic, et cetera, that's affecting that.

當然。所以，a，軟銀非常致力於這個計劃。我們正在與他們密切合作。他們繼續為我們提供資金，儘管由於過去幾年的財務狀況，他們的資金略有減少。日本的經濟狀況和疫情等方面有更大的討論和已知變量，這正在影響這一點。

Number one, that's the underlying reason. But however, SoftBank is very committed to us. We're actively engaged with them. We're talking to them all the time very regularly, and we're progressing that process. So I do not expect them to stop funding our Sunglider anytime soon. They're committed to the mission. They still believe on the platform, and they believe in the long-term value proposition of HAPS. It's just that they have intentionally slowed down over the last 2 years because of the overall macroeconomic situations that they're faced with.

第一，這是根本原因。但是，軟銀對我們非常忠誠。我們正在積極與他們接觸。我們一直定期與他們交談，並且我們正在推進這一過程。因此，我預計他們不會很快停止資助我們的 Sunglider。他們致力於使命。他們仍然相信這個平台，並且相信 HAPS 的長期價值主張。只是由於他們面臨的整體宏觀經濟形勢，他們在過去兩年故意放慢了速度。

Secondly, we are funding it to some small amount, primarily because there is IP involved that we would like to make sure that we own and we protect. We've always done that, and we'll continue to do that. And lastly, we have received our initial contract award from the U.S. DoD, and there is additional funding, a significant amount of funding actually, relatively speaking, and the government fiscal year '24 budget for HAPS and the U.S. DoD budget.

其次，我們提供少量資金，主要是因為涉及智慧財產權，我們希望確保我們擁有並保護這些智慧財產權。我們一直這樣做，並將繼續這樣做。最後，我們已經收到了美國國防部授予的初始合同，並且還有額外的資金，相對而言，實際上是大量資金，以及政府 24 財年的 HAPS 預算和美國國防部預算。

So when the government fiscal year '24 budget is approved, we expect that eventually to transition into a contract environment. And we're actively working this program with the U.S. DoD. There's very strong support and desire for this capability [in] U.S. DoD as well.

因此，當政府 24 財年預算獲得批准時，我們預計最終將過渡到合約環境。我們正在與美國國防部積極合作實施該計劃。美國國防部也對這種能力給予了非常強烈的支持與渴望。

And our next question is a follow-up from Ken Herbert from RBC Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題是來自加拿大皇家銀行資本市場的 Ken Herbert 的後續問題。

I just wanted to follow-up on the EPS guidance. I mean, you did just under $2 in adjusted EPS in the first half. The guidance implies $0.60 to $0.70 in the second half of the year at the upper end of the range. Aside from mix, as you really ramp Switchblade sales, is there anything else in particular of EPS that's sort of driving the significant step down first half to second half?

我只是想跟進 EPS 指導。我的意思是，上半年調整後每股盈餘略低於 2 美元。該指導意味著今年下半年的價格為 0.60 至 0.70 美元，處於該範圍的上限。除了混合之外，當你真正提高 Switchblade 銷量時，還有什麼特別的 EPS 因素會推動上半年到下半年的大幅下降嗎？

We definitely expect a step up in R&D in the second half of the year. So that's going to be part of the equation there for the EPS So you're going to see a little bit lower margins, you're going to see a step up of the R&D expense in the second half.

我們肯定預計下半年研發工作會有所加強。因此，這將成為每股收益等式的一部分。因此，您將看到利潤率略有下降，下半年您將看到研發費用的增加。

So mix in R&D, I guess, would be how we should think about that?

所以我想，混合研發是我們該如何思考的？

Yes, that's right. Normally, our years are all reversed around. So there's a little bit of a backwards here.

恩，那就對了。通常，我們的歲月都是相反的。所以這裡有點倒退。

Yes. And as I said to Ken, on my remarks, as you saw, we have an exciting number of other programs and projects where there's a lot of demand for those systems, including the DARPA ancillary, the SOAR program with the U.S. Army and with the [OSD] for a large contested logistics capability. Those programs are getting a lot of traction. And we do not want to slow down those efforts and make sure that even though if there's a continuing resolution, we accelerate those things because the desire and demand by the U.S. DoD for those capabilities is very high.

是的。正如我對Ken 所說的那樣，正如您所看到的，我們還有大量其他計劃和項目，這些計劃和項目對這些系統有很大的需求，包括DARPA 輔助項目、與美國陸軍和美國陸軍的SOAR 計劃。[OSD] 具有大型競爭性後勤能力。這些計劃受到了極大的關注。我們不想放慢這些努力，並確保即使有持續的解決方案，我們也會加速這些事情，因為美國國防部對這些能力的渴望和需求非常高。

And we also believe that we're very unique in the sense that our solutions are considered the most innovative and the most capable in these categories that the U.S. DoD is feeling very strongly about. So we're going to expect to actually ramp up R&D investments in the second half to support those developments in order to fuel our future growth and shareholder value creation.

我們也相信，我們是非常獨特的，因為我們的解決方案被認為是美國國防部非常重視的這些類別中最具創新性和最有能力的。因此，我們預計下半年將實際增加研發投資，以支持這些發展，從而推動我們未來的成長和股東價值創造。

This does conclude the question-and-answer session of today's program. I'd like to hand the program back to Jonah for any further remarks.

今天節目的問答環節到此結束。我想把程式交還給喬納以供進一步的評論。

Thank you once again for joining today's conference call and for your interest in AeroVironment. As a reminder, an archived version of this call, SEC filings and relevant news can be found under the Investors section of our website. We wish you a good evening and look forward to speaking with you again following next quarter's results.

再次感謝您參加今天的電話會議以及對 AeroVironment 的興趣。提醒一下，本次電話會議的存檔版本、SEC 文件和相關新聞可以在我們網站的投資者部分找到。我們祝您度過一個美好的夜晚，並期待在下一季的業績公佈後再次與您交談。

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect. Good day.

女士們、先生們，感謝你們參加今天的會議。這確實結束了該程式。您現在可以斷開連線。再會。