AeroVironment Inc (AVAV) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the AeroVironment fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2024 conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker for today, Jonah Teeter-Balin. You may begin.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 AeroVironment 第四季和 2024 財年電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。現在我想將會議交給今天的發言人喬納·蒂特-巴林。你可以開始了。

Thanks and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to AeroVironment's fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2024 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 第四季和 2024 財年財報電話會議。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.

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。我們的預期存在重大差異。

Further information on these risks and uncertainties is contained in the company's 10-K and other filings with the SEC, in 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.

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，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 Investor 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, June 26, 2024.

今天下午，我們還提交了一份幻燈片簡報和我們的收益報告，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訊息，僅截至今天（2024 年 6 月 26 日）準確。

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 the events or circumstances occurring after this conference call.

該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，也沒有義務更新它們以反映本次電話會議後發生的事件或情況。

Joining me today from AeroVironment, our 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.

今天與我一起參加 AeroVironment 的是我們的董事長、總裁兼執行長 Wahid Nawabi 先生，以及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。

Thank you, Jonah. Welcome, everyone, to our fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2024 earnings conference call. I will start by summarizing our performance in recent achievements, after which Kevin will review our financial results in greater detail. I will then provide our expectations for fiscal year 2025. And finally, Kevin, Jonah and I will take your questions.

謝謝你，喬納。歡迎大家參加我們的 2024 年第四季和整個財年財報電話會議。我將首先總結我們最近的成就，然後凱文將更詳細地回顧我們的財務表現。然後我將提供我們對 2025 財年的期望。

I'm pleased to report strong results for the quarter and a record-breaking fiscal year for AeroVironment. Our key messages, which are included on slide number three of our earnings presentation, are as follows. First, for the full fiscal year, revenue increased 33% to a record $717 million compared to $541 million last fiscal year. This is now our seventh consecutive year of top-line growth. Fourth quarter revenue rose to $197 million, a 6% increase from the same period last year, and a new fourth quarter record.

我很高興地報告 AeroVironment 本季的強勁業績以及創紀錄的財年。我們的關鍵資訊包含在我們收益簡報的第三張投影片中，如下所示。首先，整個財年的營收成長了 33%，達到創紀錄的 7.17 億美元，而上一財年的營收為 5.41 億美元。現在已經是我們的收入連續第七年增長。第四季營收升至1.97億美元，較去年同期成長6%，創下第四季新紀錄。

Third, our loitering munitions systems segment continues to accelerate, with record full fiscal year revenues of nearly $200 million, a 60% increase compared to last fiscal year. And fourth, given our strong execution, key program awards, and growing pipeline of opportunities, we expect revenues between $790 million and $820 million, reflecting 10% to 15% top-line growth in fiscal year 2025.

第三，我們的巡飛彈藥系統業務持續加速發展，整個財年收入創歷史新高，接近 2 億美元，比上一財年成長 60%。第四，鑑於我們強大的執行力、關鍵項目獎項以及不斷增長的機會管道，我們預計收入將在 7.9 億至 8.2 億美元之間，反映出 2025 財年的收入增長 10% 至 15%。

During this past fiscal year, global demand continued to surge for autonomous systems and AV responded accordingly. We invested across the organization to strengthen our team, expand our manufacturing capacity, and enhance our solution offerings to meet the evolving needs of our customers. With these investments and our core strengths in innovation, capacity, and experience. We continue to lead in this growing market.

在過去的財年中，全球對自動駕駛系統的需求持續激增，自動駕駛汽車也做出了相應的反應。我們在整個組織內進行投資，以加強我們的團隊、擴大我們的製造能力並增強我們的解決方案產品，以滿足客戶不斷變化的需求。憑藉這些投資以及我們在創新、能力和經驗方面的核心優勢。我們繼續在這個不斷增長的市場中處於領先地位。

In the past year, we added three strong directors to our Board with impressive defense and global policy expertise, whose counsel has been instrumental to our continued growth. We also added key leaders at our headquarters in the DC area to enhance customer engagement and help shape and define future requirements. In addition, we made strides in expanding our manufacturing capacity while level loading production to improve operational efficiencies.

去年，我們在董事會中增加了三位實力雄厚的董事，他們擁有令人印象深刻的國防和全球政策專業知識，他們的建議對我們的持續成長發揮了重要作用。我們還在華盛頓地區的總部增加了關鍵領導者，以增強客戶參與並幫助塑造和定義未來的需求。此外，我們在擴大製造能力和平衡負載生產方面取得了長足進步，以提高營運效率。

Due to this hard work, we were able to grow revenue by more than 30% while retaining very high levels of product quality performance and profitability. With increasing orders pipeline, we plan to increase our production capacity even further in fiscal year 2025, while maintaining strong operational efficiencies.

由於這些努力，我們的收入成長了 30% 以上，同時保持了非常高水準的產品品質性能和獲利能力。隨著訂單不斷增加，我們計劃在 2025 財年進一步提高產能，同時保持強勁的營運效率。

Finally, we leveraged the combat experience of our products, nine of which are currently serving in Ukraine, and our close relationship with our customers to implement important product upgrades. Our solutions portfolio is more resilient in contested environments, more autonomous, more effective, and more interconnected than ever before. By utilizing our autonomy suite of solutions, including AVACORE, Kinesis, Autonomy Retrofit Kit or ARK and SPOTR-Edge, our customers can now utilize autonomous vehicles to sense, make sense and act on relevant information across the battle space.

最後，我們利用我們產品的實戰經驗（目前有九款產品在烏克蘭服役）以及我們與客戶的密切關係，實施了重要的產品升級。我們的解決方案組合在競爭環境中更具彈性，比以往更自主、更有效、更互聯。透過利用我們的自主解決方案套件，包括 AVACORE、Kinesis、Autonomy Retrofit Kit 或 ARK 和 SPOTR-Edge，我們的客戶現在可以利用自動駕駛車輛來感知、理解戰場上的相關資訊並採取行動。

We believe that AV is the best positioned defense tech firm to meet our customers' needs. Our uncrewed solutions and loitering munitions are helping our customers achieve their vital missions today, tomorrow, and into the future. We're proud of our accomplishments this year, and we have even greater expectations for the years ahead.

我們相信 AV 是最能滿足客戶需求的國防技術公司。我們的無人駕駛解決方案和徘徊彈藥正在幫助我們的客戶實現今天、明天和未來的重要任務。我們對今年取得的成績感到自豪，對未來抱持更大的期望。

With that, I'd like to discuss results from each of our three segments, starting with Loitering Munitions Systems or LMS. As we mentioned earlier, LMS segment was our strongest growth driver this past quarter and for the full fiscal year. Fourth quarter revenue grew 74% from the same quarter last year to $74 million. For the full year, revenue increased by 60% totaling $193 million. Demand for both Switchblades 300 and 600 grew at an unprecedented rate this past year, and we expect this growth to continue in fiscal year 2025 and beyond.

說到這裡，我想討論我們三個部分的結果，從徘徊彈藥系統或 LMS 開始。正如我們之前提到的，LMS 部門是我們上個季度和整個財年最強勁的成長動力。第四季營收較去年同期成長 74%，達到 7,400 萬美元。全年營收成長 60%，總計 1.93 億美元。去年，Switchblades 300 和 600 的需求以前所未有的速度成長，我們預計這種成長將在 2025 財年及以後持續下去。

In the past few months alone, we've had numerous program wins and awards announcements, many of which are not yet reflected in our backlog. These key wins further validate the effectiveness of our solutions and active conflicts around the globe, and our ability to deliver in volume.

僅在過去的幾個月裡，我們就獲得了許多專案的勝利和獎項公告，其中許多尚未反映在我們的積壓工作中。這些關鍵勝利進一步驗證了我們解決方案的有效性和全球範圍內的活躍衝突，以及我們批量交付的能力。

For example, Switchblade 600 was selected by the US Army as their first procurement under the Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance or LASSO program, and was subsequently selected to participate in tranche one of the first iteration of the US DoD replicators Initiative.

例如，Switchblade 600 被美國陸軍選為低空追蹤和打擊彈藥或 LASSO 計劃的首次採購，並隨後被選為參與美國國防部複製計劃第一階段的一部分。

In fact, we just delivered the first batch of Switchblade 600 for the US Army. Similarly, Switchblade 300 was selected by the United States Marine Corps for their first traunch of their Organic Precision Fires-Light or OPF-L program of record. In addition to these three significant announcements, Switchblade was also announced for the recently authorized Ukraine security assistance initiative.

事實上，我們剛剛為美國陸軍交付了第一批 Switchblade 600。同樣，Switchblade 300 被美國海軍陸戰隊選擇用於他們的有機精確火光或 OPF-L 記錄計劃的第一批。除了這三項重大公告之外，Switchblade 還宣布用於最近授權的烏克蘭安全援助計畫。

The approximate value of these awards, which are not yet under contract exceeds $300 million. While demand from our US DoD customers is growing, we also continue to see increasing interest from our international, allies. We are getting closer to our US DoD multiyear IDIQ contract that will better facilitate further future international sales to Ukraine and other foreign countries.

這些尚未簽訂合約的合約的價值大約超過 3 億美元。雖然美國國防部客戶的需求不斷增長，但我們的國際盟友的興趣也不斷增加。我們越來越接近與美國國防部簽訂的多年期 IDIQ 合同，該合約將更好地促進未來對烏克蘭和其他國家的進一步國際銷售。

In fact, we just received our first Lithuanian order for Switchblade 300 and 600. As demand for Switchblade continues to rise, AV stands ready to meet our customers' increasing expectations. Our current manufacturing levels have expanded to support more than $500 million in annual product revenue, and we're actively planning for additional capacity growth. We are factory ready today to supply the US DoD and our allied countries with the products and technology they need to succeed in their missions. The LMS business has grown tremendously this past year, and we expect it to similarly lead our growth in fiscal year 2025.

事實上，我們剛剛收到了立陶宛的第一筆 Switchblade 300 和 600 訂單。我們目前的製造水準已擴大到可支援超過 5 億美元的年產品收入，並且我們正在積極規劃額外的產能成長。我們今天已做好工廠準備，為美國國防部和我們的盟國提供他們成功完成任務所需的產品和技術。 LMS 業務在過去一年中取得了巨大成長，我們預計它將在 2025 財年同樣引領我們的成長。

Now on to our uncrewed systems segment, which was formerly referred to as our unmanned systems segment. Revenue for the fourth quarter was $104 million, slightly down from the same quarter last year, primarily due to award timing. However, revenue for fiscal year 2024 grew 30% from the prior year, totaling $448 million. Much of the uncrewed systems segment growth came from our Puma and JUMP20 system. Puma continues to lead the small UAS market as the dominant ISR our workforce in current conflicts, providing much-needed reconnaissance and surveillance.

現在我們的無人系統部分，以前被稱為我們的無人系統部分。第四季營收為 1.04 億美元，比去年同期略有下降，主要是由於獎勵時間的原因。然而，2024 財年的營收較上年成長 30%，總計 4.48 億美元。無人駕駛系統領域的成長大部分來自我們的 Puma 和 JUMP20 系統。 Puma 繼續引領小型無人機市場，作為我們在當前衝突中占主導地位的情監偵察人員，提供急需的偵察和監視。

As evidenced, Ukraine continues to be utilize Puma heavily on the battlefield, and we expect additional orders in the future quarters. We will continue to support Puma to ensure the system remains best in class in contested environments while advancing the development of the next generation small UAS products. We similarly continue to make enhancements to our JUMP20 platform, especially for the maritime environment. We believe maritime operations are of growing importance to our customers, given recent and emerging geopolitical threats.

事實證明，烏克蘭繼續在戰場上大量使用美洲獅，我們預計未來幾季會有更多訂單。我們將繼續支援 Puma，確保系統在競爭環境中保持一流水平，同時推進下一代小型無人機產品的開發。同樣，我們繼續增強我們的 JUMP20 平台，特別是針對海洋環境。我們相信，鑑於最近出現的地緣政治威脅，海上營運對我們的客戶越來越重要。

As we are nearing the one year anniversary of our Tomahawk Robotics acquisition, we could not be more pleased with how well they are performing. We continue to integrate Tomahawk Kinesis software with our other autonomous vehicles and are pleased by the amazing common control capabilities this technology provides to our customers.

隨著收購 Tomahawk Robotics 一週年的臨近，我們對他們的表現感到非常滿意。我們繼續將 Tomahawk Kinesis 軟體與我們的其他自動駕駛車輛集成，並對這項技術為我們的客戶提供的令人驚嘆的通用控制功能感到高興。

While we continue to define the uncrewed systems market, we are not standing idle as our adversaries adjust tactics and our customers missions evolve in response. We're pushing ourselves to innovate every day to remain best in class for our customers and prepare for future programs of record. Uncrewed systems continue to be in high demand around the globe and we anticipate strong domestic and international demand for both Puma and JUMP20 in fiscal year 2025.

在我們繼續定義無人系統市場的同時，我們也不會袖手旁觀，因為我們的對手會調整策略，而我們的客戶任務也會隨之改變。我們每天都在推動自己創新，為我們的客戶保持一流水平，並為未來的記錄計劃做好準備。全球對無人系統的需求仍然很高，我們預計 2025 財年國內和國際對 Puma 和 JUMP20 的需求將會強勁。

Moving now to our MacCready Works segment. This past year, the MacCready Works team continued their mission of incubating new solutions and expanding our AI and autonomy capabilities. We're heavily involved in developing the next generation of solutions for the US DoD's Replicator program and hope to provide additional details soon.

現在轉到我們的 MacCready Works 部分。去年，MacCready Works 團隊繼續履行孵化新解決方案並擴展我們的人工智慧和自主能力的使命。我們積極參與為美國國防部複製器計劃開發下一代解決方案，並希望盡快提供更多詳細資訊。

In addition, we continue to make progress on HAPS and in fact, just secured another $25 million contract with SoftBank that is reflected in our visibility for fiscal year 2025. We similarly continue to make strides with contested logistics, maritime uncrewed systems, space robotics and other exciting platforms and innovations.

此外，我們在HAPS 方面繼續取得進展，事實上，我們剛剛與軟銀簽訂了另一份2500 萬美元的合同，這反映在我們2025 財年的知名度中。人類系統、太空機器人和其他令人興奮的平台和創新。

Just recently, AV was down selected by DARPA for continued development of its [X-Plane] design for the agency's ancillary program. Our solution named Wildcat is a group 3 vertical takeoff and landing UAS that is developed specifically for ship-based operations and maritime environments. Wildcat also provides complimentary capabilities for JUMP20 for future missions. Maritime missions are becoming more important as the US, DoD increases focus on the INDOPACOM theater and we're proud to continue our support of our customers in this region.

就在最近，AV 被 DARPA 選中，繼續為該機構的輔助項目開發其 [X-Plane] 設計。我們名為 Wildcat 的解決方案是一款 3 組垂直起降無人機系統，專為艦載操作和海上環境而開發。 Wildcat 也為 JUMP20 的未來任務提供了補充功能。隨著美國、國防部加大對印太司令部戰區的關注，海事任務變得越來越重要，我們很自豪能夠繼續為該地區的客戶提供支援。

In addition to this key achievement, we also announced our new suite of autonomy solutions including Autonomy Retrofit Kit or ARK and AVACORE. ARK enables operators to task a single or multi-vehicle uncrewed scheme with mission objectives for fully autonomous execution while operating in contested environments. ARK also comes pre-installed with SPOTR-Edge, AV's computer vision software suite, which enables onboard detection, classification, localization and tracking of operationally relevant objects day or night.

除了這項關鍵成就之外，我們還宣布了新的自主解決方案套件，包括 Autonomy Retrofit Kit 或 ARK 和 AVACORE。 ARK 使操作員能夠執行單車或多車無人計劃，其任務目標是在競爭環境中運行時完全自主執行。 ARK 還預先安裝了 AV 的電腦視覺軟體套件 SPOTR-Edge，可在白天或夜間對操作相關物件進行機載偵測、分類、定位和追蹤。

Additionally, AVACORE is AeroVironment's autonomy software suite, providing an open framework for uncrewed systems. It features a modular set of interfaces such as autopilot, RF communication, communication devices and sensors and supports rapid integration with new platforms and applications. In summary, MacCready Works is fulfilling its mission to develop and deliver disruptive novel solutions and we anticipate further exciting announcements in fiscal year 2025.

此外，AVACORE 是 AeroVironment 的自主軟體套件，為無人系統提供開放框架。它具有一組模組化接口，例如自動駕駛儀、射頻通訊、通訊設備和感測器，並支援與新平台和應用程式的快速整合。總而言之，MacCready Works 正在履行其開發和提供顛覆性新穎解決方案的使命，我們預計 2025 財年將發布更多令人興奮的公告。

With that, I would like to now turn the call over to Kevin McDonnell for a review of the fourth quarter and full year financials. Kevin?

現在，我想將電話轉給凱文·麥克唐納（Kevin McDonnell），以審查第四季度和全年財務狀況。凱文？

Thank you, Wahid. Today I'll be reviewing the highlights of our fourth quarter and full year fiscal FY24 performance, during which I will occasionally refer to our press release and earnings presentations available on our website. As Wahid mentioned, we will now refer to the unmanned system segment as the uncrewed or UXS segment.

謝謝你，瓦希德。今天，我將回顧我們第四季度和全年 24 財年業績的亮點，在此期間我偶爾會參考我們網站上提供的新聞稿和收益演示。正如瓦希德所提到的，我們現在將無人系統部分稱為無人或 UXS 部分。

FY24 was a record year and the fourth quarter finished strong with our highest revenue quarter ever. We expect this business momentum to continue into FY25. In terms of the full year, revenue totaled $716.7 million, an increase of 33% as compared to the $540.5 million for the fiscal year 2023. Our largest segment during the year was uncrewed systems or UxS, which is a combination of our small UAS, which includes our Tomahawk acquisition, medium UAS and UGB businesses.

2024 財年是創紀錄的一年，第四季表現強勁，實現了我們有史以來最高的營收季度。我們預計這項業務動能將持續到 2025 財年。就全年而言，收入總計 7.167 億美元，比 2023 財年的 5.405 億美元增長了 33%。戰斧收購、中型無人機和UGB 業務。

UxS had revenue of $448 million in the year, which is up 30% from last year's $343.9 million. Puma demand remained strong, accounting for 62% of UxS revenue, but the segment also generated $61.5 million from our JUMP20 product, along with contributions from our ground vehicles and Tomahawk products during the year.

UxS 今年的營收為 4.48 億美元，比去年的 3.439 億美元成長了 30%。 Puma 需求仍然強勁，佔 UxS 收入的 62%，但該部門也從我們的 JUMP20 產品以及我們的地面車輛和戰斧產品的貢獻中獲得了 6,150 萬美元的收入。

Loitering munitions systems or LMS recorded revenue of $192.6 million, a 60% increase compared to the $120.6 million last fiscal year. 62% of LMS revenue came from the Switchblade 600 products and services, while the remainder came primarily from the Switchblade 300 block 20 products. Revenue from our MacCready Works segment came in at $76.1 million. This was flat compared to the $76 million from last fiscal year. MacCready Works growth was negatively impacted by the US government budget authorization delays.

徘徊彈藥系統（LMS）的收入為 1.926 億美元，比上一財年的 1.206 億美元增長了 60%。 LMS 收入的 62% 來自 Switchblade 600 產品和服務，其餘部分主要來自 Switchblade 300 block 20 產品。 MacCready Works 部門的收入為 7,610 萬美元。與上一財年的 7,600 萬美元相比，這一數字持平。 MacCready Works 的成長受到美國政府預算授權延遲的負面影響。

In terms of the fourth quarter revenue, we achieved a record total of revenues of $197 million and increased to 6% as compared to the $186 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Uncrewed systems or UxS had revenue of $103.7 million, down 15% from last year's $122.2 million, with small UAS showing the biggest decline as a result of lower Ukraine revenue. Proven demand accounted for 45% of UxS revenue, whereas JUMP20 product sales represented close to 30% of UxS revenue during the fourth quarter.

就第四季營收而言，我們實現了創紀錄的總營收1.97 億美元，與2023 財年第四季的1.86 億美元相比成長了6%。下降了15%去年為 1.222 億美元，其中小型無人機因烏克蘭收入下降而降幅最大。已證實的需求佔 UxS 收入的 45%，而第四季度 JUMP20 產品銷售佔 UxS 收入的近 30%。

Loitering munition systems or LMS recorded revenue of $73.8 million, a 74% increase compared to the $42.5 million last year during Q4. With comparable revenue contribution from both our Switchblade 600 and Switchblade 300 Block 20.

徘徊彈藥系統（LMS）的營收為 7,380 萬美元，比去年第四季的 4,250 萬美元成長了 74%。我們的 Switchblade 600 和 Switchblade 300 Block 20 的收入貢獻相當。

Revenue from our MacCready Works segment came in at $19.5 million, a decrease of 9% compared to the $21.4 million from the fourth quarter of last fiscal year, primarily again, due to delays in half SoftBank revenue and US DoD funding delays as a result of the continuing resolution, which impacted several MacCready Works programs.

MacCready Works 部門的收入為 1,950 萬美元，與上一財年第四季的 2,140 萬美元相比下降了 9%，這主要是由於軟銀收入一半的延遲以及美國國防部因持續的決議影響了MacCready Works的多個項目。

In slide six of the earnings presentation, there is a breakdown of between product and service revenue. The product revenue accounted for 82% of total revenues, an increase from the 65% in the previous year, primarily due to strong product revenue from both small UAS and Loitering munition systems and medium UAS systems. We expect product revenues as a percentage of revenue to remain above 80% for the foreseeable future.

在收益簡報的第六張投影片中，產品和服務收入進行了細分。產品收入佔總收入的82%，較前一年的65%增加，主要得益於小型無人機和巡飛彈藥系統以及中型無人機系統的強勁產品收入。我們預計在可預見的未來，產品收入佔收入的比例將維持在80%以上。

Moving to gross margins. Slide seven of the earnings presentation shows the trend of adjusted product and service gross margins, while slide 13 reconciles the GAAP gross margins to adjusted gross margins, which excludes intangible amortization expense and other non-cash purchase accounting items.

轉向毛利率。收益報告的幻燈片 7 顯示了調整後產品和服務毛利率的趨勢，而幻燈片 13 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。

For the year, consolidated GAAP gross margins finished at 40%, up from 32% in the previous year. The improvement in GAAP gross margins is a result of a combination of a higher mix of product revenues and higher service gross margins. Moving to adjusted gross margins, fiscal 2024 full year adjusted gross margins reached 42%, a significant increase from the 35% recorded in the same period last year. The improvement was driven by the same factors as the GAAP gross margins. We expect adjusted overall gross margins to be slightly down in FY25 but continue to run in the low 40s.

今年，綜合 GAAP 毛利率達到 40%，高於前一年的 32%。公認會計準則毛利率的改善是產品收入組合提高和服務毛利率提高的結果。至於調整後毛利率，2024財年全年調整後毛利率達42%，較去年同期的35%大幅增加。這項改善是由與公認會計準則毛利率相同的因素所推動的。我們預計 2025 財年調整後的整體毛利率將略有下降，但仍將維持在 40 左右的低水準。

Adjusted product gross margins for the year were 43%, flat with the fiscal year -- last fiscal year, even with the increasing LMS product revenue. In terms of adjusted service gross margins, the full year ended at 33% versus 18% last year. As a reminder, last years’ service gross margins were negatively impacted by the wind down of the [MEUAS] COCO operations.

即使 LMS 產品收入不斷增加，今年調整後的產品毛利率為 43%，與上一財年持平。就調整後服務毛利率而言，全年為 33%，而去年為 18%。提醒一下，去年的服務毛利率受到 [MEUAS] COCO 業務縮減的負面影響。

Fourth quarter adjusted gross margins ended at 40%, marking an increase from the 39% recorded in the same period last year. The improvement was driven by the same factors as for the full fiscal year. Adjusted product gross margins for the quarter were 41% versus 47% in the fourth quarter of last fiscal year, reflecting the increase of loitering munitions systems product revenue and the overall mix in this year.

第四季調整後毛利率為 40%，較去年同期的 39% 成長。這項改善是由與整個財年相同的因素所推動的。本季調整後產品毛利率為 41%，而上一財年第四季為 47%，反映了今年巡飛彈藥系統產品收入和整體組合的成長。

In terms of adjusted service gross margins, the fourth quarter was at 38% versus 13% during the same quarter last year. Again, last year's Q4 service gross margins included the impact of the wind down of the COCO operations.

就調整後服務毛利率而言，第四季為 38%，而去年同期為 13%。同樣，去年第四季的服務毛利率也包括了 COCO 業務縮減的影響。

In terms of adjusted EBITDA, slide 14 of our earnings presentation shows the reconciliation of GAAP net income to adjusted EBITDA. For the full fiscal year 2024, adjusted EBITDA was $128 million, representing an increase of $38 million or 42% from last fiscal year. The main factors contributing to this increase were increases in revenue and gross margins, which were partially offset by increased investments in R&D and incremental SG&A expenses.

就調整後 EBITDA 而言，我們收益簡報的第 14 張投影片顯示了 GAAP 淨利潤與調整後 EBITDA 的調整表。 2024 財年，調整後 EBITDA 為 1.28 億美元，較上一財年增加 3,800 萬美元，即 42%。造成這一成長的主要因素是收入和毛利率的成長，但部分被研發投資的增加和增量銷售、一般管理費用所抵銷。

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, adjusted EBITDA was $22 million, representing a decrease of $24 million or 52% from the fourth quarter of last fiscal year. The lower year-over-year adjusted EBITDA is a result of higher R&D and SG&A expense, which I will cover next. SG&A expense, excluding intangible amortization and acquisition related expense, for the year was $107 million or 15% of revenue compared to $81 million or 15% of revenue in the prior year.

2024財年第四季，調整後EBITDA為2,200萬美元，較上財年第四季減少2,400萬美元，降幅52%。調整後的 EBITDA 年比較低是由於研發和銷售、一般行政費用較高，我將在接下來介紹這一點。本年度的 SG&A 費用（不包括無形攤銷和收購相關費用）為 1.07 億美元，佔營收的 15%，而前一年的 SG&A 費用為 8,100 萬美元，佔營收的 15%。

The SG&A expense is the percentage of revenue stayed flat, but includes increases from the Tomahawk acquisition and continued expansion of our domestic and international sales team. SG&A expense for the fourth quarter was $33 million or 17% of revenue compared to $23 million or 13% of revenue in the prior year. The year-over-year increase is attributed to the Tomahawk acquisition, the expansion of our sales team and increased performance-based compensation after another record year.

SG&A 費用佔收入的百分比保持不變，但包括因戰斧收購和我們國內和國際銷售團隊的持續擴張而增加的費用。第四季的 SG&A 費用為 3,300 萬美元，佔營收的 17%，而去年同期的 SG&A 費用為 2,300 萬美元，佔營收的 13%。同比成長歸因於戰斧收購、銷售團隊的擴張以及在又一個創紀錄的一年後基於績效的薪酬增加。

R&D expense for the year was $98 million for 14% of revenue compared to $64 million or 12% of revenue in the prior year. The increase of R&D expense in both dollar terms and percentage of revenue is a result of our investments in our next generation Group 1 UAV, the maritime version of the JUMP20, investments in our HAP solar aircraft and investments in other new products.

本年度的研發費用為 9,800 萬美元，佔營收的 14%，而前一年的研發費用為 6,400 萬美元，佔營收的 12%。研發費用（以美元計算）和收入百分比的增加是由於我們對下一代 Group 1 無人機、JUMP20 海上版本的投資、對 HAP 太陽能飛機的投資以及對其他新產品的投資。

R&D expense for the fourth quarter was $35 million or 18% of revenue compared to $16 million or 9% of revenue in the prior year. A significant portion of our AV R&D dollars in Q4 were directed to some of our US DoD programs for which funding had been delayed due to the pending finalization of the US federal budget for the government fiscal year. We expect R&D expense to range in the 12% to 13% area in fiscal 2025 as we continue to make investments across the product portfolio.

第四季的研發費用為 3,500 萬美元，佔營收的 18%，而上年同期為 1,600 萬美元，佔營收的 9%。第四季度我們的 AV 研發資金的很大一部分用於美國國防部的一些項目，由於美國政府財政年度聯邦預算尚未最終確定，這些項目的資金被推遲。隨著我們繼續對產品組合進行投資，我們預計 2025 財年的研發費用將在 12% 至 13% 之間。

Now turning to GAAP earnings. In fiscal year 2024, the company generated net income of $59.7 million versus a net loss of $176.2 million recorded in the fiscal year '23, an increase in net income of $235.8 million. In fiscal 2023, the company recognized $156 million goodwill impairment for its medium UAS business and $34.1 million of accelerated intangible amortization following the closure of its associated COCO site.

現在轉向 GAAP 收益。 2024 財年，該公司實現淨利 5,970 萬美元，而 23 財年則錄得淨虧損 1.762 億美元，淨收入增加 2.358 億美元。 2023財年，該公司確認了其中型無人機業務的商譽減損1.56億美元，並在其相關COCO站點關閉後確認了3,410萬美元的加速無形攤銷。

The balance of the favorability can be attributed to a $10.1 million decrease in intangible amortization and other acquisition related expenses, a $110.4 million increase in adjusted gross margin, a $5.1 million decrease in interest expense, a $0.8 million increase in equity related investment income. These were partially offset by a $33.4 million increase in R&D spending, a $26.4 million increase in SG&A expenses, excluding intangible amortization, $16.6 million increase in taxes, and a $4 million increase in other losses, mostly related to unrealized losses in our equity investment portfolio.

優惠餘額可歸因於無形攤銷和其他收購相關費用減少 1,010 萬美元、調整後毛利率增加 1.104 億美元、利息費用減少 510 萬美元、股權相關投資收入增加 80 萬美元。這些損失被研發支出增加3,340 萬美元、SG&A 費用增加2,640 萬美元（不包括無形攤銷）、稅收增加1,660 萬美元以及其他損失增加400 萬美元（主要與股權投資組合中的未實現損失有關）所部分抵消。

It should be noted that our full year tax rate ended up being approximately 3%. However, we expect our tax rate for FY25 to increase in the range of 8% to 9%. In the fourth quarter, the company generated net income of $6 million versus a net loss of $160.5 million reported in the same period last year.

值得注意的是，我們的全年稅率最終約為 3%。然而，我們預計 25 財年的稅率將在 8% 至 9% 的範圍內增加。第四季度，該公司淨利潤為 600 萬美元，而去年同期淨虧損為 1.605 億美元。

Slide 11 shows a reconciliation of GAAP and adjusted or non-GAAP diluted EPS. The company posted adjusted earnings per share, diluted earnings per share of $2.99 in fiscal 2024 versus $1.26 per diluted share in fiscal 2023. Adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 were $0.43 versus $0.99 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

投影片 11 顯示了 GAAP 與調整後或非 GAAP 稀釋後每股盈餘的對帳。該公司公佈了調整後每股收益，2024 財年稀釋後每股收益為2.99 美元，而2023 財年稀釋後每股收益為1.26 美元。而2023 財年第四季稀釋後每股收益為0.99 美元。

Turning to the balance sheet, at the close of the fourth quarter, our total cash and investments amounted to $94.3 million compared to $129 million at the end of the third quarter. Our total debt at the end of the fiscal 2024 was $28 million, and as we paid down $107 million of the term loan facility during the course of the fiscal year.

轉向資產負債表，截至第四季末，我們的現金和投資總額為 9,430 萬美元，而第三季末為 1.29 億美元。截至 2024 財年末，我們的總債務為 2,800 萬美元，並且我們在本財年期間償還了 1.07 億美元的定期貸款融資。

Looking forward to fiscal 2025, we expect working capital to remain at the current levels with some quarter-to-quarter fluctuations. Our expectation is we start to see some reductions in our unbilled receivables as we enter into a new contract with the US Army. Our capital expenditures should remain in the low single digits or around 5% of revenue. We continue to invest in new systems, facilities, and manufacturing tooling and fixtures to support our growth. Overall, we expect significant increase in our pre-cash flow in FY25.

展望 2025 財年，我們預期營運資金將維持在當前水平，但會出現一些季度波動。我們的預期是，隨著我們與美國陸軍簽訂新合同，我們的未開票應收帳款將開始減少。我們的資本支出應保持在較低的個位數或收入的 5% 左右。我們繼續投資新系統、設施以及製造工具和固定裝置，以支持我們的成長。整體而言，我們預計 2025 財年的預現金流量將大幅增加。

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. With a strong fiscal year 2024 behind us, we're pleased to provide our guidance for fiscal year 2025 on slide number seven as follows. We anticipate revenue between $790 million and $820 million. We forecast net income between $74 million to $83 million, or $2.61 to $2.92 per diluted share. Non-GAAP-adjusted EBITDA are between $143 million and $153 million, and we expect R&D to be 12% to 13% of revenues.

謝謝，凱文。隨著 2024 財年的強勁表現，我們很高興在第七張投影片上提供 2025 財年的指導，如下所示。我們預計營收在 7.9 億至 8.2 億美元之間。我們預測淨利潤在 7,400 萬美元至 8,300 萬美元之間，即稀釋後每股收益 2.61 美元至 2.92 美元。非 GAAP 調整後 EBITDA 介於 1.43 億至 1.53 億美元之間，我們預計研發將佔營收的 12% 至 13%。

Our funded backlog at the end of fiscal year 2024 remain healthy at $400 million. As a result, visibility to the midpoint of our fiscal year 2025 revenue guidance range is at 55%. While this level of visibility is lower than recent years, it is important to note that our visibility reflects some uncertainty in the government contracting process.

截至 2024 財政年度末，我們的積壓資金仍維持在 4 億美元的健康水準。因此，我們 2025 財年收入指引範圍的中點可見度為 55%。雖然這一可見度水平低於近年來，但值得注意的是，我們的可見度反映了政府承包過程中的一些不確定性。

Many additional awards have been announced by our customers, but are not yet included in our backlog, including more than $300 million in orders for our LMS business alone. We are confident in achieving our full-year guidance and will update our visibility accordingly in future quarters as these awards and other opportunities in our pipeline can convert to orders and revenue.

我們的客戶已經宣布了許多其他獎項，但尚未包含在我們的積壓訂單中，其中僅 LMS 業務的訂單就超過 3 億美元。我們對實現全年指導充滿信心，並將在未來幾季相應地更新我們的知名度，因為這些獎項和我們管道中的其他機會可以轉化為訂單和收入。

We are confident in achieving our full year guidance, and we'll update our visibility accordingly and future quarters as these awards and other opportunities in our pipeline convert to orders and revenue. We expect first-half revenue to represent almost 45% of the full fiscal year. Further, we expect Q1 revenue to account for approximately half of the first-half revenues.

我們對實現全年指導充滿信心，隨著這些獎項和我們管道中的其他機會轉化為訂單和收入，我們將相應地更新我們和未來季度的可見性。我們預計上半年營收將佔整個財年的近 45%。此外，我們預計第一季營收將佔上半年營收的一半左右。

We anticipate accelerating global demand for autonomous AI-enabled uncrewed solutions to drive continued growth across our business. Given our strong performance and execution, we remain confident that fiscal year 2025 will be another record-breaking fiscal year for AeroVironment. We are uniquely positioned in this marketplace with decades of trusted experience, battle-tested solutions, an unparalleled install base, best-in-class technology, and unrivaled manufacturing capacity.

我們預計全球對基於人工智慧的無人駕駛解決方案的需求將會加速成長，以推動我們業務的持續成長。鑑於我們強勁的業績和執行力，我們仍然有信心 2025 財年將成為 AeroVironment 又一個破紀錄的財年。我們在這個市場中處於獨特的地位，擁有數十年值得信賴的經驗、經過考驗的解決方案、無與倫比的安裝基礎、一流的技術和無與倫比的製造能力。

We remain well-positioned to benefit from US, DoD budget priorities as an industry leader and the original defense tech innovator. We have positioned the company for a healthy multi-year pipeline growth, which lends itself to strong shareholder value creation. Our company is poised for significant growth that extends well beyond fiscal year 2025.

作為產業領導者和原創國防技術創新者，我們仍然處於有利地位，可以從美國國防部預算優先事項中受益。我們已將公司定位為健康的多年管道成長，這有助於創造強勁的股東價值。我們公司預計在 2025 財年之後實現顯著成長。

Before turning the call over for questions, let me summarize the key takeaways from today's call. First, full-year revenue and profitability set new records, marking our seventh consecutive year of top-line growth. Second, we delivered strong fourth-quarter performance and met or exceeded our financial expectations.

在轉交電話提問之前，讓我先總結一下今天電話會議的主要內容。首先，全年營收和獲利能力創下新紀錄，標誌著我們連續第七年實現營收成長。其次，我們第四季業績強勁，達到或超越了我們的財務預期。

Third, our Loitering Munition System segment continues to be the key growth driver for the company, and we anticipate demand for our Switchblade family of solutions to increase again in fiscal year 2025. And fourth, the fundamentals of our business are as strong as they have ever been, and we expect fiscal year 2025 to be another record-setting year for the company.

第三，我們的徘徊彈藥系統部門仍然是公司的主要成長動力，我們預計對 Switchblade 系列解決方案的需求將在 2025 財年再次增加。將是該公司又一個創紀錄的一年。

I would like to thank the AeroVironment team for their dedication and hard work in helping our customers achieve their vital missions. Thank you to our shareholders for supporting our company, and most notably, thank you to our customers for entrusting us to serve you. We're honored to support our country and allies at this critical time and into the future.

我要感謝 AeroVironment 團隊在幫助我們的客戶實現其重要使命方面的奉獻精神和辛勤工作。感謝我們的股東對我們公司的支持，最重要的是感謝我們的客戶委託我們為您服務。我們很榮幸能夠在這個關鍵時刻和未來支持我們的國家和盟友。

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。

Thank you. (Operator Instructions) Greg Konrad, Jefferies.

謝謝。 （操作員說明）Greg Konrad，Jefferies。

Good evening. You called out annual production capacity for LMS greater than $500 million, which is about 2.5 or more than 2.5 times the fiscal year '24 sales. Can you maybe give a timeline given that you called out, continued growth in LMS of kind of reaching that annual production capacity?

晚安.您稱 LMS 的年產能超過 5 億美元，約為 24 財年銷售額的 2.5 倍或 2.5 倍以上。鑑於您呼籲 LMS 持續成長以達到年生產能力，您能否給出一個時間表？

Sure, Greg. So we continue to expand capacity and production rates almost on a monthly basis. So the rate keeps growing. And as you saw, our fourth quarter, we finished the quarter with $74 million-plus worth of revenue. Just as the fourth quarter, and you see the increase from Q3 to Q4 was significant. We expect that same rate of increase to continue. Our goal is to always -- always stay ahead of our customers' demand in terms of capacity. So far in the last three-plus years, especially during COVID's era, as well as the shortages of semiconductors and chips.

當然，格雷格。因此，我們幾乎每個月都繼續擴大產能和生產力。所以這個比率不斷成長。正如您所看到的，我們第四季的收入超過 7400 萬美元。就像第四季度一樣，您會看到從第三季到第四季的成長非常顯著。我們預計同樣的成長率將持續下去。我們的目標是在容量方面始終領先於客戶的需求。過去三年多至今，尤其是新冠疫情時期，還有半導體、晶片的短缺。

We were successful at meeting our customers' demand appropriately. So it is not that far away from today that we're going to be able to reach about half of the $1 billion worth of production capacity. And that is going to be right in line with our customers' expectation and the demand signals that we're seeing, especially with the orders we expect to receive in the next couple quarters.

我們成功地適當地滿足了客戶的需求。因此，距離今天我們將能夠達到價值 10 億美元產能的一半左右。這將完全符合我們客戶的期望和我們看到的需求訊號，特別是我們預計在未來幾季收到的訂單。

And then maybe just as a follow-up, if I look at the guidance, the margins are up about 60 bps at the midpoint. You called out expect R&D to stay in the 12% to 13% range in fiscal year '25. But can you maybe talk about the drivers? How much of that is LMS mix? Do you expect margin expansion within LMS or just some of the moving pieces of the margin expansion?

然後也許作為後續行動，如果我看一下指導，中間點的利潤率上升了約 60 個基點。您預計 25 財年的研發支出將維持在 12% 至 13% 的範圍內。但你能談談司機嗎？其中有多少是 LMS 組合？您預計 LMS 內部的利潤率會擴大，還是只是利潤率擴張的一些移動部分？

Sure. So, Greg, generally speaking, our margin for fiscal year '25 is going to be very healthy, despite the fact that we have a significant mix shift between our small UAS demand and our much faster-growing LMS business. While the growth in LMS is aggressive and quite robust, we've been able to successfully increase the margin profile of that mix within our LMS business as well.

當然。因此，格雷格，一般來說，我們 25 財年的利潤率將非常健康，儘管我們的小型 UAS 需求和成長更快的 LMS 業務之間存在重大的組合轉變。雖然 LMS 的成長非常積極且相當強勁，但我們也成功地提高了 LMS 業務中該組合的利潤率。

So as we are negotiating new contracts with the US Army and our international allies, we expect to see those margins improve throughout the year. But overall for the year, we believe that the market is going to continue to grow. LMS continues to be the faster-growing segment of our business.

因此，當我們正在與美國陸軍和我們的國際盟友談判新合約時，我們預計全年利潤率將有所改善。但總體而言，我們相信今年市場將持續成長。 LMS 仍然是我們業務中成長最快的部分。

And the fact that we have capacity to increase and we're level Loitering the factory, we believe that we're going to continue to be able to improve the margin profile of our LMS business. All of that should translate into, basically, roughly similar margins to 2024 for the full year.

事實上，我們有能力提高產能，我們正在工廠閒逛，我們相信我們將能夠繼續改善 LMS 業務的利潤狀況。所有這些基本上都應該轉化為與 2024 年全年利潤率大致相似的利潤率。

So gross margin slightly improving adjusted EBITDA.

因此，調整後的 EBITDA 毛利率略有改善。

That's right.

這是正確的。

I'll leave it at that. Thanks.

我就這樣吧。謝謝。

Thank you, Greg.

謝謝你，格雷格。

Peter Arment, Baird.

彼得·阿門特，貝爾德。

Hey, thanks. Good afternoon, Wahid, Kevin, and Jonah. Nice results. Wahid, you mentioned that $300 million. You kind of listed them all off, LASSO, Replicator, OPF-L, something that was in the Ukraine. I think Lithuania was also mentioned.

嘿，謝謝。瓦希德、凱文和喬納，下午好。不錯的結果。瓦希德，你提到了那 3 億美元。你把它們全部列出來了，LASSO、Replicator、OPF-L，烏克蘭的東西。我想立陶宛也被提了。

So you kind of just talked about that fourth quarter run rate. So how do we think about that $300 million kind of rolling through LMS? Is it kind of like an 18-month period, and then we're going to see additional orders from domestic customers? How do we think about how those contracts roll through?

所以你剛才談到了第四季的運行率。那麼我們該如何看待透過 LMS 投入的 3 億美元資金呢？是不是有點像 18 個月的時間，然後我們會看到國內客戶的額外訂單？我們如何看待這些合約如何延續？

Sure. So, Peter, we're working on several fronts. The primary reason for those orders not being secured yet is the contracting capacity and timeline of our customers. The US government has been really challenged in terms of not having their budgets approved for almost half of their government fiscal year, and now they're trying to contract all those with different suppliers.

當然。所以，彼得，我們正在幾個方面開展工作。這些訂單尚未獲得的主要原因是我們客戶的承包能力和時間表。美國政府確實面臨著巨大的挑戰，政府財政年度近一半的預算都沒有獲得批准，現在他們正試圖與不同的供應商簽訂所有合約。

Especially in our case because we are working on a multi-year contract that takes a little bit longer, especially since we're negotiating some of the key critical terms and conditions of that contract. So having said that, we expect pretty much all of those $300 million worth of potential orders, and even more than that, to materialize or convert into contracts this fiscal year. We expect all of that and then some more.

特別是在我們的例子中，因為我們正在簽訂多年期合同，需要更長的時間，特別是因為我們正在談判該合約的一些關鍵條款和條件。話雖如此，我們預計幾乎所有價值 3 億美元的潛在訂單（甚至更多）將在本財政年度實現或轉化為合約。我們期待所有這些，然後還有更多。

I was just trying to point out that our backlog at the end of the year was not as strong, and the visibility was not as strong as last fiscal year, even though our full-year number is much higher now. But we see significant upside on the orders that are in the works that we believe we're going to convert that into contracts in the next 9 to 12 months.

我只是想指出，儘管我們現在的全年數字要高得多，但年底的積壓訂單並不那麼強勁，可見度也不如上財年那麼強。但我們看到正在進行的訂單有顯著的增長，我們相信我們將在未來 9 到 12 個月內將其轉化為合約。

And the timing of those contracts will kind of dictate our ability to recognize the revenue this year or next year.

這些合約的時間表將決定我們今年或明年確認收入的能力。

That's right.

這是正確的。

Understood. And just as a follow-up, Kevin, you mentioned the unbilled on your kind of prepared remarks. So that was up for the year, about $95 million year-over-year. But does it continue to grow? You mentioned that you're going to have a new contract, and then that changes, I guess, maybe the terms. But how do we think about unbilled from here and where that will go as we think about fiscal '25? Thanks.

明白了。凱文，作為後續行動，您在準備好的評論中提到了未開票的情況。這就是今年的總收入，年比約為 9,500 萬美元。但它會繼續成長嗎？你提到你將簽訂一份新合同，然後我想，也許條款會改變。但是，當我們考慮 25 財年時，我們如何考慮從這裡開始的未開票以及它將走向何方？謝謝。

Yeah. I mean, it'll be a nice milestone when we get the new contracts. We'll be able to recognize or take progress payments for some of that revenue. But we're not expecting that in the near term. So you'll probably see some fluctuations in the unbilled in the near term. And then hopefully reach a point when we get the new contract, it'll start to come down as the older contracts go off and the new ones come on board. But I think overall for the year, we should kind of be about the same place that we are. We'll just bounce up and down a little bit.

是的。我的意思是，當我們獲得新合約時，這將是一個很好的里程碑。我們將能夠確認或收取部分收入的進度付款。但我們預計短期內不會出現這種情況。因此，短期內您可能會看到未開票金額出現一些波動。然後希望當我們拿到新合約時，隨著舊合約的終止和新合約的加入，它會開始下降。但我認為總體而言，今年我們應該處於同樣的位置。我們只會上下彈跳一點。

Got it. Thanks again.

知道了。再次感謝。

You're welcome, Peter.

不客氣，彼得。

Ken Herbert, RBC.

肯·赫伯特，加拿大皇家銀行。

Yeah. Hi, good morning or good afternoon. Well, greetings Kevin.

是的。嗨，早上好或下午好。好吧，問候凱文。

Good afternoon.

午安.

Yeah. Hey, I just wanted to follow up on the -- for the top line outlook next year, if we if we apply some of the numbers you're talking about for the LMS segment, it implies, you know, limited growth obviously in the former UAS segment. So how do we think about growth respectively, maybe to put a finer point on it between the two segments in fiscal '25?

是的。嘿，我只是想跟進一下明年的營收前景，如果我們將您談論的一些數字應用於 LMS 領域，這意味著，您知道，該領域的增長顯然有限前無人機部分。那麼，我們如何分別考慮成長，也許可以在 25 財年的兩個細分市場之間進行更詳細的闡述？

So ken, we expect all of our segments to grow, not only this year, but also in the next few years. All of our segments have very, very handsome, attractive growth trajectories and forecast for the multiple years, including fiscal year '25. Number one, obviously Loitering munition is going to be one of the fastest growing ones, because of very large announcements and awards that we've won recently, which is going to translate into contracts soon.

因此，我們預計我們所有的細分市場不僅在今年而且在未來幾年都會成長。我們所有的細分市場都有非常非常漂亮、有吸引力的成長軌跡和多年預測，包括 25 財年。第一，顯然巡飛彈藥將成為成長最快的彈藥之一，因為我們最近贏得了非常大的公告和獎項，這些獎項很快就會轉化為合約。

In terms of the unmanned uncrewed systems business, that demand really is based on contract timing. So as you know, we've been notified and we were announced as part of the Ukraine assistant package for Ukraine. That's one potential growth opportunity, which is not reflected in our orders either. And we've got several international opportunities.

就無人系統業務而言，這種需求實際上是基於合約時間的。如您所知，我們已收到通知，並宣布我們是烏克蘭援助計劃的一部分。這是一個潛在的成長機會，但也沒有反映在我們的訂單中。我們有一些國際機會。

A lot of our international allies are also loading up and increasing their inventories of our small UAS, especially given the performance of our solutions and Ukraine. And we will continue to see that grow because our pipeline is growing. So overall we do expect UxS or our uncrewed systems to grow, but the largest growth or the strongest highest growth is going to come from our LMS business. And that picture is going to optically look different each quarter versus quarter or year, primarily because of the timing of the contracts that we're going to convert it into actual orders.

我們的許多國際盟友也在裝載和增加我們小型無人機的庫存，特別是考慮到我們的解決方案和烏克蘭的表現。我們將繼續看到這種增長，因為我們的管道正在增長。因此，總體而言，我們確實預計 UxS 或我們的無人系統將會成長，但最大的成長或最強的最高成長將來自我們的 LMS 業務。從視覺上看，這張圖在每個季度與每個季度或每年都會有所不同，這主要是因為我們將其轉換為實際訂單的合約的時間表。

Okay. Helpful. Thank you. And maybe if I could just, obviously a lot more discussion these days around the shifting competitive landscape. And as we look at some of the potential volume from some of the recent foreign military sales for companies like Andrew and others seem to be, they seem to be taking share fairly aggressively.

好的。有幫助。謝謝。也許如果我可以的話，顯然這些天圍繞著不斷變化的競爭格局進行了更多的討論。當我們看到像安德魯和其他公司這樣的公司最近對外軍售的一些潛在數量時，他們似乎正在相當積極地佔據份額。

Maybe why Wahib, you can just address the, the competitive landscape and where you view competitive strengths for AV, AV in particular and how we should think about your ability to maybe continue to take share or as the market grows, just how we think about your growth relative to other companies?

也許為什麼 Wahib，您可以解決競爭格局以及您認為 AV 的競爭優勢，特別是 AV 的競爭優勢，以及我們應該如何考慮您可能繼續佔據份額的能力，或者隨著市場的增長，我們如何考慮相對於其他公司，你們的成長情況如何？

Sure. So that's a great question. Ken and I'm glad that you were addressing it or asking us that question because we are very close and we follow these things very closely. First and foremost, the recent announcement that you saw for the LMS, it's just an authorization. It's actually not a contract yet. It is just an authorization by the state department that they will allow these companies. And there is a lot more work to be done for those to actually convert into contract and orders. Number one.

當然。這是一個很好的問題。肯和我很高興您能解決這個問題或問我們這個問題，因為我們關係非常密切，並且我們非常密切地關注這些事情。首先也是最重要的，您最近看到的關於 LMS 的公告，這只是一個授權。實際上這還不是合約。這只是國務院的授權，他們才會允許這些公司。要真正轉化為合約和訂單，還有很多工作要做。第一。

Number two, we know that Taiwan prefers and would like to acquire more of AV's solutions, including Switchblade. Three, as I said before, this market is growing quite rapidly. So it's very natural for a lot more competitors to show up because it's going to attract more competition and the US military and our allies by definition are going to make sure that there's more than one player in the market. Given all that the track record that we have in terms of our win rate and the ability for us to deliver it in volume.

第二，我們知道台灣更喜歡並且願意購買更多 AV 解決方案，包括 Switchblade。第三，正如我之前所說，這個市場成長相當迅速。因此，更多競爭對手的出現是很自然的，因為這將吸引更多競爭，而美國軍方和我們的盟友根據定義將確保市場上有不止一個參與者。考慮到我們在勝率方面的記錄以及我們批量交付勝率的能力。

Now a battle proven test and battle tested solution is unmatched. A lot of people can talk about, they can deliver solutions or they have solutions, but there's a huge difference between prototypes and announcements than actually delivering battle tested solutions in volume. So we like our odds of success. The market is going to continue to grow.

現在，經過實戰測試和實戰考驗的解決方案是無與倫比的。很多人都可以談論，他們可以提供解決方案或他們有解決方案，但是原型和公告之間與實際批量提供經過實際檢驗的解決方案之間存在巨大差異。所以我們喜歡我們的成功幾率。市場將持續成長。

We will probably see more competition in this space, but that's not new to us. We've been competing in this space for lots and lots of years. And whenever we've seen this movie over and over again, whenever competitors can't deliver on their promises, we stand ready to deliver. And that's been actually happening more than once in our history in the past. And so there's no one there that can actually deliver these things in volume in a timely manner as we do, especially given the time sensitivity of the BAT conflicts that are booming in the Indo-Pacific right now.

我們可能會在這個領域看到更多的競爭，但這對我們來說並不新鮮。我們在這個領域已經競爭了很多很多年。每當我們一遍又一遍地觀看這部電影時，每當競爭對手無法兌現承諾時，我們就隨時準備好兌現承諾。事實上，這種情況在我們的歷史上已經發生過不只一次。因此，沒有人能夠像我們一樣及時大量交付這些東西，特別是考慮到目前印太地區正在蓬勃發展的最佳可行技術衝突的時間敏感性。

Great. Thanks, Wahid.

偉大的。謝謝，瓦希德。

Thank you, Ken.

謝謝你，肯。

(Operator Instructions) Bryce Sandberg, William Blair.

（操作員說明）布萊斯桑德伯格、威廉布萊爾。

Wahid, Kevin and Jonah, good afternoon. I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about the P-550 aircraft you announced, like what is the vision for that aircraft? And I guess, how does it differentiate from the long endurance Puma or the JUMP20?

瓦希德、凱文和喬納，下午好。我想知道您是否可以談談您宣布的 P-550 飛機，例如該飛機的願景是什麼？我想，它與長續航的 Puma 或 JUMP20 有何不同？

I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you that well. Could you repeat your question, please?

抱歉，我聽不清楚。請您重複一下您的問題好嗎？

Yeah, just wondering if you can talk a little bit about the P-550 aircraft you announced, like what the vision is for that aircraft and how does it differentiate from the long endurance Puma or the JUMP20?

是的，只是想知道您是否可以談談您宣布的 P-550 飛機，例如該飛機的願景是什麼以及它與長航時 Puma 或 JUMP20 有何不同？

Got it. Okay, the P-550. So P-550 is our next generation Group 1 / Group 2 UAS that is purpose designed for the US Army's long range reconnaissance program or record requirements. If you look at the requirements that the US. Army has for the LLR program and you look at the performance specifications that we've so far published, a limited amount of those, for the P-550, it's really directly related to the needs of our customer and the requirements that they have written.

知道了。好的，P-550。因此，P-550 是我們的下一代第 1 組/第 2 組 UAS，專為美國陸軍的遠程偵察計劃或記錄要求而設計。如果你看看美國的要求。陸軍有 LLR 計劃，您可以查看我們迄今為止發布的性能規格，其中數量有限，對於 P-550，它確實與我們客戶的需求以及他們編寫的要求直接相關。

We believe that this is a fantastic capability. It actually enhances the missions of our JUMP20 as well as the Puma's. Long term, I expect in multiple years down the road that the P-550 will be a stronger seller than our Puma. So essentially it's our way of continuing our innovation and continuing to lead the market with disruptive category innovations that is going to keep us ahead of all of our competition.

我們相信這是一項了不起的能力。它實際上增強了我們 JUMP20 以及 Puma 的任務。從長遠來看，我預計在未來的幾年裡，P-550 將比我們的 Puma 更暢銷。因此，從本質上講，這是我們繼續創新並繼續以顛覆性品類創新引領市場的方式，這將使我們在所有競爭對手中保持領先地位。

And so that's what P-550 is all about. We're going to share a lot more about that tomorrow with our investors at our Investor Day conference here in New York City. And we look forward to competing on the LLR as well as many other opportunities that are out there. The LLR opportunity was published recently and we've actually delivered our proposals and we're looking forward to their decision in the near future.

這就是 P-550 的意義所在。明天我們將在紐約市舉行的投資者日會議上與投資者分享更多相關內容。我們期待在 LLR 以及其他許多機會上競爭。 LLR 機會最近發布，我們實際上已經提交了我們的提案，我們期待他們在不久的將來做出決定。

Great. Thanks, Wahid.

偉大的。謝謝，瓦希德。

You're welcome.

不客氣。

Andre Madrid, BTIG.

安德烈·馬德里，BTIG。

Hey guys. Thanks for taking my question. I want to start first -- I want to start first with maybe just talking a bit more about the Taiwanese FMS sale that was announced last week. So if you think about the mix of that program, with you and your competitor, I mean how marketable do you think Switchblade can be in the Indo-Pacific just given the limited range relative to competitors and the focus that there is on range in such a vast region as the Indo-Pacific? And are there any thoughts then within that context of maybe expanding up the range as you move further on the Switchblade product line?

大家好。感謝您提出我的問題。我想先談談上周宣布的台灣 FMS 銷售。因此，如果您考慮該計劃與您和您的競爭對手的組合，我的意思是，考慮到相對於競爭對手的有限範圍以及此類地區對範圍的關注，您認為Switchblade 在印度-太平洋地區的市場價值有多大。那麼，當您在 Switchblade 產品線上進一步發展時，是否有任何想法可能會擴大產品範圍？

Andre, so that's a great question again. And let me point out a couple of thoughts on that. Number one, those announcements were basically approvals, not yet orders. So there's still a long way to go from there to actual orders being secured by both us and our competitors.

安德烈，這又是一個很好的問題。讓我對此指出一些想法。第一，這些公告基本上是批准，而不是命令。因此，距離我們和我們的競爭對手獲得實際訂單還有很長的路要走。

Number two, the two solutions are actually not targeted for the same missions. They're quite different in terms of what type of missions they address. Number two -- Number three, Switchblade 600, as you saw, is the only Loitering Munitions that we know of that's publicly been announced as part of a replicator program.

第二，這兩種解決方案其實並不是針對相同的任務。它們所執行的任務類型截然不同。第二——第三，Switchblade 600，正如你所看到的，是我們所知的唯一一種作為複製器計劃的一部分公開宣布的徘徊彈藥。

And we all know from public information that the replicator initiative within the US DoD is by far highly, highly focused in the INDOPACOM theater and the conflicts that are brewing there. So obviously our customers know what they need most, and they selected our solution. And the recent public announcement by our customer was that they are going to be procuring over 1,000 Switchblade 600s for the replicator as part of the US Army's contribution to that.

我們從公開資訊中都知道，美國國防部內部的複製計畫迄今高度關注印度太平洋司令部戰區以及那裡正在醞釀的衝突。顯然，我們的客戶知道他們最需要什麼，因此他們選擇了我們的解決方案。我們的客戶最近公開宣布，他們將為複製機採購 1,000 多台 Switchblade 600，作為美國陸軍對此貢獻的一部分。

So we let our records speak for itself. We've already delivered thousands of these systems. As I said, we will see more competitors in the space. We've been competing in the space for over a decade, and we've delivered thousands and thousands of systems. And we're the only company that I know of who can deliver them in high volume, in thousands, at high level of reliability and battle-proven quality today.

因此，我們讓我們的記錄來說明一切。我們已經交付了數千個這樣的系統。正如我所說，我們將在該領域看到更多的競爭對手。我們已經在這個領域競爭了十多年，並且已經交付了成千上萬的系統。據我所知，我們是唯一一家能夠大量交付數千件、具有高可靠性和久經考驗的品質的公司。

And that's really critical to the INDOPACOM conflict. And so we're very proud of that, and we think that that's unmatched in industry. Announcements could happen a lot, and as you've seen from many announcements in the past, that the end outcome seems to be somewhat different than what the announcements end up being in the beginning. And so we look forward to competing, and we'll keep you updated as this progresses through the process.

這對印太司令部衝突來說確實至關重要。因此，我們對此感到非常自豪，我們認為這在行業中是無與倫比的。公告可能會發生很多次，正如您從過去的許多公告中看到的那樣，最終結果似乎與最初的公告有所不同。因此，我們期待競爭，隨著整個過程的進展，我們將隨時向您通報最新情況。

Perfect. That's really helpful, color. Thank you. And then I guess just as we look more so on FMS and the prospect of further international sales and that mix shifting, I mean, what kind of quantitative metrics can you give as to the interest you've received, how much actual active conversations are going on? I know that's something that you've highlighted before with reference to the over 50 countries that you were approved for sales for. So maybe just some degree of quantitative color on how those conversations are advancing and how much more demand you're getting from incremental US allies.

完美的。這真的很有幫助，顏色。謝謝。然後我想，正如我們更多地關注FMS 以及進一步國際銷售的前景以及這種組合轉變一樣，我的意思是，您可以給出什麼樣的定量指標來衡量您收到的興趣、實際活躍對話的數量發生什麼事了？我知道您之前曾針對您獲準銷售的 50 多個國家/地區強調過這一點。因此，也許只是對這些對話的進展以及美國盟友提出的更多要求進行了某種程度的定量分析。

Sure, Andre. So we, as you know, we've received approval to market and engage with up to 50 of our allies on both Switchblade 300 and 600. As I said today on the call, that we received our first international order for Lithuania for both Switchblade 300 and 600.

當然，安德烈。如您所知，我們已獲准在 Switchblade 300 和 600 上行銷並與多達 50 個盟友進行合作。

In addition to that, we also, as you saw the announcement from the State Department that they have approved Switchblade 300s for Taiwan. In addition to those, we still have close to half a dozen plus countries that are very actively engaged in the various stages of the acquisition of Switchblade 300 and 600 for their needs. And these countries are pretty much both in European theater as well as in the Asia-Pacific.

除此之外，正如您所看到的，美國國務院宣布他們已批准為台灣提供 Switchblade 300。除此之外，我們還有近六個國家非常積極參與採購 Switchblade 300 和 600 以滿足其需求的各個階段。這些國家幾乎既位於歐洲戰場，也位於亞太地區。

And so the process is long because the US State Department and the export arm of the US military has been very, very busy. The FMS office is extremely busy, and the US exports and FMS sales have really, really skyrocketed. But we're engaged, and we see that almost all of those cases are probably most likely in the next 12 to 24 months are going to convert into some sort of orders for us.

所以這個過程很長，因為美國國務院和美國軍方的出口部門一直都非常非常忙碌。 FMS 辦公室非常繁忙，美國的出口量和 FMS 銷售量真的非常非常高。但我們已經參與其中，我們發現幾乎所有這些案例很可能在未來 12 到 24 個月內都會轉化為我們的某種訂單。

The timing of that is extremely difficult to pinpoint exactly. It really depends on each and every case independently and through the process that we go through, but we're very engaged. The countries are interested. US Pentagon is supportive, and State Department has been very receptive to us as well. It just takes time.

確切地說，這個時間點很難確定。這實際上取決於每個案件的獨立性以及我們所經歷的過程，但我們非常投入。各國都很感興趣。美國五角大廈給予了支持，國務院也非常樂於接受我們。只是需要時間。

Super helpful. Thank you.

超有幫助。謝謝。

Thank you, Andre.

謝謝你，安德烈。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm showing no further questions in the queue. I would now like to turn the call back to Jonah for closing remarks.

謝謝。女士們先生們，我不會在隊列中顯示任何其他問題。現在我想把電話轉回喬納，讓他發表結束語。

Thank you once again for joining today's conference call and for your continued 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 look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow at our 2024 Investor Day and wish you a good evening.

再次感謝您參加今天的電話會議以及您對 AeroVironment 的持續關注。謹此提醒，您可以在我們網站的投資者部分找到本次電話會議的存檔版本、SEC 文件和相關新聞。我們期待明天在 2024 年投資者日見到你們，並祝你們有個美好的夜晚。

That concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。