Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings Inc (BAER) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to today's Bridger Aerospace fourth-quarter 2023 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. Also, today's call is being recorded, and I will be standing by if anyone should need any assistance.

大家下午好，歡迎參加今天的 Bridger Aerospace 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。此時，所有參與者都處於只聽模式。另外，今天的通話正在錄音，如果有人需要任何幫助，我將隨時待命。

Now at this time, I would like to turn the call over to the Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Eric Gerratt, please go ahead, sir.

現在這個時候，我想把電話轉給首席財務官埃里克·杰拉特先生，請繼續，先生。

Good afternoon and thank you for joining us today. Joining me on the call this afternoon is Chief Executive Officer, Founder and Director, Tim Sheehy. Before we begin, please note that certain statements contained in this conference call that do not describe historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

下午好，感謝您今天加入我們。今天下午與我一起參加電話會議的是執行長、創辦人兼董事 Tim Sheehy。在我們開始之前，請注意，本次電話會議中包含的某些未描述歷史事實的陳述屬於 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》中定義的前瞻性陳述。

Since forward-looking statements are based on various assumptions, risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including expectations regarding financial results for 2024.

由於前瞻性陳述是基於各種假設、風險和不確定性，實際結果可能與此類陳述明示或暗示的結果有重大差異。可能導致結果與所表達的結果有重大差異的因素包括但不限於該公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中討論的因素，包括對 2024 年財務業績的預期。

Management cannot control or predict many factors that ultimately impact future results. Listeners should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect management's views only as of today. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our assessment to change.

管理層無法控製或預測最終影響未來結果的許多因素。聽眾不應過度依賴前瞻性陳述，這些陳述僅反映管理階層截至目前的觀點。我們預計後續事件和事態發展將導致我們的評估發生變化。

However, we undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements. Throughout this afternoon's earnings release and our call today, we refer to the non-GAAP financial measure of adjusted EBITDA.

然而，我們不承擔修改或更新任何前瞻性陳述或做出任何其他前瞻性陳述的義務。在今天下午的財報發布和今天的電話會議中，我們提到了調整後 EBITDA 的非 GAAP 財務指標。

The definition, calculation, and reconciliation to the financial statements of adjusted EBITDA can be found in Exhibit A of our earnings release, which is available on our website. We believe adjusted EBITDA is useful in evaluating our reported results as a supplement, to and not a substitute for, our results reported under GAAP.

調整後 EBITDA 財務報表的定義、計算和調節可以在我們網站上的收益發布的附件 A 中找到。我們相信調整後的 EBITDA 有助於評估我們報告的結果，作為我們根據 GAAP 報告的結果的補充，而不是替代方案。

With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Tim.

有了這個，我想把電話轉給提姆。

Thank you. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining today. Bridger accomplished a great deal in the fourth quarter ended 2023 as a whole. We achieved record revenue of nearly $67 million and record adjusted EBITDA of $18.7 million for the full year. This record performance was despite one of the slowest fire seasons in 25 years in the United States. While each fire season has its own seasonal and regional fluctuations and complexion, the overall trend of larger wildfires and longer fire seasons continues. This drives continued long-term demand for our aerial surveillance, suppression, services and technology capabilities.

謝謝。下午好，感謝您今天加入。Bridger 在 2023 年第四季整體上取得了巨大成就。我們全年營收創紀錄地接近 6,700 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 創紀錄地達到 1,870 萬美元。儘管這是美國 25 年來火災最慢的季節之一，但仍取得了創紀錄的表現。雖然每個火災季節都有自己的季節和區域波動和情況，但野火規模更大和火災季節更長的總體趨勢仍在繼續。這推動了對我們的空中監視、壓制、服務和技術能力的持續長期需求。

In fact, 2023 saw record contract awards for Bridger, including a five-year $60 million exclusive-use fire surveillance and technology contract with support for the Department of Interior, and a 10-year AeroTech contract for up to $166 million from the US Forest Service awarded in the third quarter.

事實上，2023 年，Bridger 獲得了創紀錄的合同，包括為內政部提供支持的為期5 年、價值6000 萬美元的專用消防監視和技術合同，以及來自美國森林部門、價值高達1.66 億美元的10年期航空技術合約第三季授予服務。

While we saw a slow start to the wildfires in last year, we offset the impact by expanding our aerial firefighting operations internationally into Canada for the first time in our history were wildfires kicked off early and record acreage was burned. In fact, there are still over a hundred wildfires that continue to burn underneath the snow today across Canada. These over wintering fires, or zombie fires, as they are called, burn slowly below the surface during the cold months and have become more common in recent years.

雖然去年野火開始緩慢，但我們歷史上首次將國際空中消防行動擴展到加拿大，抵消了影響，野火提前爆發，燒毀面積創紀錄。事實上，今天加拿大各地仍有一百多場野火在雪下持續燃燒。這些越冬火災，或所謂的殭屍火災，在寒冷的月份在地表以下緩慢燃燒，近年來變得更加常見。

Having gone through the regulatory process in Canada last year, we are hopeful that Bridger can assist in Canada in the future as part of normal operations. Our deployment in Canada last year translated into the most territory covered in the history of the company, and we continue to make strides to further expand our aerial firefighting services to meet mission critical areas and geographies.

去年完成了加拿大的監管程序後，我們希望 Bridger 能夠在未來為加拿大的正常運作提供協助。去年我們在加拿大的部署實現了公司歷史上覆蓋範圍最廣的目標，我們將繼續大步地進一步擴大我們的空中消防服務，以滿足關鍵任務區域和地區的需求。

In late 2023, we entered into a joint venture partnership with Marathon Asset Management LP, an avenue sustainable solutions fund to complete the purchase of four Spanish Scoopers recently awarded from the government of Spain. This transaction was several years in the making, and positions us to meaningfully expand our fleet over the coming years.

2023 年末，我們與 Marathon Asset Management LP（一家大道永續解決方案基金）建立了合資夥伴關係，以完成西班牙政府最近授予的四艘西班牙 Scooper 的購買。這項交易醞釀了數年，使我們能夠在未來幾年有意義地擴大我們的機隊。

As part of our expansion into Europe, we have established a new Spanish subsidiary, Albacete Aero, to oversee the return to service work on the four Spanish Scoopers which has already begun. It is important to note that we are not including any impact of the Spanish Scoopers in our current 2024 guidance. We also acquired a hangar in Spain in the fourth quarter to support our growth in Europe.

作為我們向歐洲擴張的一部分，我們建立了一家新的西班牙子公司阿爾巴塞特航空 (Albacete Aero)，負責監督已經開始的四架西班牙 Scooper 的復原服務工作。值得注意的是，我們目前 2024 年的指引中並未包含西班牙獨家新聞的任何影響。我們也在第四季在西班牙收購了一個機庫，以支持我們在歐洲的成長。

I also want to touch on our September acquisition of Ignis Technologies, which has been fully integrated with our investments in fire surveillance, intelligence and SaaS assets. The development with federal, state and local fire organizations, this pioneering mobile and web platform elevates firefighters situational awareness to create a common operating picture across firefighting units and produces real time high value data to better manage wildfire risk. Recent software and surveillance contract showcased this unique and differentiated offering in the marketplace.

我還想談談我們 9 月收購的 Ignis Technologies，該公司已與我們在消防監控、情報和 SaaS 資產方面的投資完全整合。這項開創性的移動和網路平台與聯邦、州和地方消防組織共同開發，可提高消防員的態勢感知能力，從而在各個消防單位之間創建通用的操作畫面，並生成實時高價值數據，以更好地管理野火風險。最近的軟體和監控合約展示了市場上這種獨特且差異化的產品。

Turning to 2024 is important remember, we have historically used our first quarter to finish winter maintenance of our fleet and to complete flight training and carting so that we are ready to mobilize come spring. While fire season typically begins in late April or May, this year, we saw our earliest seasonal employment of Scooper and surveillance aircraft in company history, to Texas and Oklahoma, where wildfires are being driven by air conditions in the central US.

展望 2024 年，重要的是要記住，我們歷來利用第一季完成機隊的冬季維護並完成飛行訓練和運輸，以便我們準備好在春季動員。雖然火災季節通常在四月下旬或五月開始，但今年，我們看到了公司歷史上最早的季節性使用鏟和偵察機，飛往德克薩斯州和俄克拉荷馬州，美國中部的空氣條件導致了那裡的野火。

While this revenue will not be sufficient to offset spending in Q1 and seasonally negative adjusted EBITDA, it is helpful to set the company up for another record year of growth. And I'll turn it back to Eric to talk about our financial performance.

雖然這筆收入不足以抵消第一季的支出和季節性調整後的負 EBITDA，但有助於公司再創紀錄的成長年。我將把話題轉回給埃里克，談談我們的財務表現。

Thanks, Tim. Looking at our results for 2023, revenue grew 44% to a record $66.7 million compared to $46.4 million in 2022. After the late start to the 2023 US wildfire season, fire activity increase in the third quarter, driving record utilization of the ompany's growing Super Scooper fleet, despite a shorter than average North American wildfire season.

謝謝，蒂姆。從我們 2023 年的業績來看，營收成長了 44%，達到創紀錄的 6,670 萬美元，而 2022 年為 4,640 萬美元。2023 年美國野火季節較晚開始，儘管北美野火季節比平均水平短，但第三季度火災活動有所增加，推動該公司不斷增長的 Super Scooper 機隊的利用率創歷史新高。

Cost of revenues was $41.3 million and was comprised of flight operations expenses of $24.4 million and maintenance expenses of $16.9 million. This compared to cost of revenues of $33.9 million in 2022, which included $18.8 million of flight operations expenses and $15.1 million of maintenance expenses. The increase primarily relates to higher employee labor and depreciation expenses related to the two additional Super Scooper aircraft that were placed into service in September 2022 and February 2023, respectively.

收入成本為 4,130 萬美元，其中包括 2,440 萬美元的飛行營運費用和 1,690 萬美元的維護費用。相較之下，2022 年的收入成本為 3,390 萬美元，其中包括 1,880 萬美元的飛行營運費用和 1,510 萬美元的維護費用。這一增長主要與分別於 2022 年 9 月和 2023 年 2 月投入使用的兩架 Super Scooper 飛機相關的員工勞動力和折舊費用增加有關。

Gross margin increased to 38% in 2023, up from 27% in 2022, driven primarily by the record utilization of the company's Super Scooper fleet. Selling, general, and administrative or SG&A expenses, were $82.9 million compared to $35.1 million in 2022, with the increase primarily attributable to $45.7 million of noncash stock-based compensation related to RSUs granted to management and employees in 2023.

毛利率從 2022 年的 27% 增加到 2023 年的 38%，這主要是由於該公司 Super Scooper 機隊的利用率創紀錄。銷售、一般和行政或 SG&A 費用為 8,290 萬美元，而 2022 年為 3,510 萬美元，成長主要歸因於 2023 年授予管理層和員工的 RSU 相關的 4,570 萬美元非現金股票薪酬。

The remaining increase was primarily attributable to an increase in business development, insurance, professional services, and other expenses associated with operating as a publicly traded company in 2023, as well as impairment charges of $2.4 million associated with our plan to phase out certain aging aircraft platforms in our aerial surveillance operations.

剩餘的成長主要歸因於業務開發、保險、專業服務和與 2023 年作為上市公司運營相關的其他費用的增加，以及與我們逐步淘汰某些老化飛機的計劃相關的 240 萬美元減值費用我們的空中監視行動中的平台。

The increase was partially offset by $10.1 million of transaction related bonus bonuses for employees recorded in the third quarter of 2022 in connection with the business combination and preparation of becoming a public company.

這一增長被 2022 年第三季因業務合併和準備成為上市公司而記錄的 1,010 萬美元員工交易相關獎金部分抵消。

Interest expense for 2023 increased to $23.2 million from $20 million in 2022. Bridger reported other income of $3.1 million for 2023 compared to $0.5 million of other expenses for 2022. Net loss was $77.4 million in 2023 compared to $42.1 million in 2022. Adjusted EBITDA was $18.7 million for 2023 compared to $3.7 million lost in 2022.

2023 年的利息支出從 2022 年的 2,000 萬美元增加到 2,320 萬美元。Bridger 報告 2023 年的其他收入為 310 萬美元，而 2022 年的其他支出為 50 萬美元。2023 年淨虧損為 7,740 萬美元，而 2022 年淨虧損為 4,210 萬美元。2023 年調整後 EBITDA 為 1,870 萬美元，而 2022 年則損失 370 萬美元。

Adjusted EBITDA excludes income tax expense or benefit, depreciation and amortization, interest expense, stock-based compensation, business development and integration expenses, operating offering costs related to financing and other transactions, loss on disposal and noncash impairment charges, changes in fair value of earnout consideration, changes in fair value of warrants, loss on extinguishment of debt, and onetime discretionary bonuses to employees and executives.

調整後 EBITDA 不包括所得稅費用或福利、折舊和攤提、利息費用、股票薪酬、業務開發和整合費用、與融資和其他交易相關的營運成本、處置損失和非現金減損費用、公允價值變動獲利對價、認股權證公允價值變動、債務清償損失以及向員工和管理人員一次性酌情發放的獎金。

Turning to our results for the fourth quarter of 2023 revenue was $1.1 million compared to $1.1 million in the fourth quarter last year. Cost of revenues was $8.4 million and was comprised of flight operation expenses of $4.7 million, and maintenance expenses of $3.7 million. This compares to cost of revenues of $5.3 million in the fourth quarter last year, which included $2.1 million of flight operations expenses, and $3.2 million of maintenance expenses.

看看我們 2023 年第四季的業績，營收為 110 萬美元，而去年第四季為 110 萬美元。收入成本為 840 萬美元，其中包括 470 萬美元的飛行營運費用和 370 萬美元的維護費用。相較之下，去年第四季的收入成本為 530 萬美元，其中包括 210 萬美元的飛行營運費用和 320 萬美元的維護費用。

SG&A expenses were $18.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $6.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. The increase was primarily driven by the noncash stock-based compensation related to RSUs, as well as an increase in professional services and insurance and other expenses associated with operating as a publicly-traded company.

2023 年第四季的銷售管理及行政費用為 1,860 萬美元，而 2022 年第四季為 650 萬美元。這一成長主要是由於與 RSU 相關的非現金股票薪酬，以及與上市公司營運相關的專業服務、保險和其他費用的增加。

The increase is also partially due to the noncash impairment charges associated with our plan to phase out certain aging aircraft as I mentioned before. Interest expense for the fourth quarter of 2023 decreased to $6 million, down from $7 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. For the fourth quarter, we reported a net loss of $31.1 million, compared to a net loss of $17 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.

正如我之前提到的，這一增長的部分原因是與我們計劃逐步淘汰某些老化飛機相關的非現金減損費用。2023 年第四季的利息支出從 2022 年第四季的 700 萬美元降至 600 萬美元。第四季淨虧損為 3,110 萬美元，而 2022 年第四季淨虧損為 1,700 萬美元。

Adjusted EBITDA was negative $10.4 million compared to a negative $8.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. We ended the year with cash, restricted cash, and short-term investments of $37.9 million, and outstanding long-term debt of just under $207 million.

調整後 EBITDA 為負 1,040 萬美元，而 2022 年第四季為負 850 萬美元。截至年底，我們的現金、限制性現金和短期投資為 3,790 萬美元，未償長期債務略低於 2.07 億美元。

Looking at Bridger's standalone operations for the full year 2024, including our six Scooper, adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to range from $35 million to $51 million on revenues of $70 million to $86 million. This guidance, which is in line with our prior guidance issued in November 2023, includes the impact of recent reductions to the company's largely fixed cost structure and excludes any impact from the Spanish Super Scoopers offers acquired by the joint venture partnership between Marathon Asset Management, LLP, Avenue's Sustainable Solutions Fund, and Bridger aerospace, which are undergoing maintenance work in order to be returned to service.

看看 Bridger 2024 年全年的獨立業務，包括我們的六輛 Scooper，調整後的 EBITDA 預計在 3500 萬美元到 5100 萬美元之間，收入在 7000 萬美元到 8600 萬美元之間。該指導意見與我們先前於 2023 年 11 月發布的指導意見一致，包括近期削減對公司基本固定成本結構的影響，並排除了馬拉松資產管理公司 (Marathon Asset Management) 與LLP、Avenue 永續解決方案基金和Bridger 航空航天公司正在進行維護工作，以便恢復服務。

Also despite the early start to the wildfire season, given the company's largely fixed cost structure, Bridger is expected to generate negative adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2024 with positive adjusted EBITDA anticipated in the second and third quarters.

此外，儘管野火季節提前開始，但鑑於該公司基本固定的成本結構，Bridger 預計將在 2024 年第一季產生負調整後 EBITDA，並預計在第二季和第三季產生正調整 EBITDA。

With that, I'd like to turn the call back to Tim for final comments.

至此，我想將電話轉回蒂姆以徵求最終意見。

Thanks, Eric, and thank you to everyone for joining us on today's call and for your support. While our first year as a public company was not without its challenges, with a profitable business model, strong fundamentals and strict cost controls, we reported record results and are well-positioned for 2024.

謝謝艾瑞克，感謝大家參加今天的電話會議並感謝大家的支持。儘管我們作為上市公司的第一年並非沒有挑戰，但憑藉盈利的業務模式、強勁的基本面和嚴格的成本控制，我們報告了創紀錄的業績，並為 2024 年做好了充分準備。

We continue to pursue opportunities to expand our aerial firefighting services to new mission critical areas and geographies, and are receiving an unprecedented influx of requests from multiple foreign governments for wildfire suppression and technology services. This is due both to the global demand for Super Scoopers and surveillance aircraft fed by the limited supply of functional Super Scoopers and the heightened awareness of the effectiveness of these purpose-built aircraft.

我們繼續尋求機會，將空中消防服務擴展到新的關鍵任務地區和地區，並收到多個外國政府前所未有的大量野火撲滅和技術服務請求。這是由於功能性超級鏟式飛機的供應有限而導致全球對超級鏟式飛機和偵察機的需求，以及人們對這些專用飛機的有效性的認識提高。

With the specialized aircraft, our high-quality team, and innovative use of technology and data, we are uniquely positioned to drive stakeholder returns while supporting our federal and state government clients in the growing battle against wildfires. We look forward to updating you on our progress when we report our first quarter results in May,

憑藉專業飛機、高素質團隊以及技術和數據的創新運用，我們處於獨特的地位，可以推動利益相關者回報，同時支持我們的聯邦和州政府客戶日益激烈的抗擊野火的鬥爭。我們期待在五月報告第一季業績時向您通報我們的最新進展，

If anyone has any follow-up questions, please reach out to our Investor Relations contact found on the IR section of our website. Thank you and have a great day.

如果有人有任何後續問題，請聯絡我們網站投資者關係部分的投資者關係聯絡人。謝謝您，祝您有美好的一天。

Thank you, Mr. Sheehey. Ladies and gentlemen, that will conclude the Bridger Aerospace fourth-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. We'd like to thank you all so much for joining us and wish you all a great remainder of your day today. Goodbye.

謝謝你，希伊先生。女士們先生們，Bridger Aerospace 2024 年第四季收益電話會議到此結束。我們非常感謝大家加入我們，並祝福大家今天有個愉快的一天。再見。