Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings Inc (BAER) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's Bridger Aerospace third quarter 2024 conference call. (Operator Instructions). Please note, today's call will be recorded, and I will be standing by should you need any assistance.

大家好，歡迎參加今天的 Bridger Aerospace 2024 年第三季電話會議。（操作員說明）。請注意，今天的通話將被錄音，如果您需要任何幫助，我將隨時待命。

It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to CFO of Bridger Aerospace, Eric Gerratt. Please go ahead.

現在我很高興將會議交給 Bridger Aerospace 財務長 Eric Gerratt。請繼續。

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today. Joining me on the call this afternoon is Chief Executive Officer, Sam Davis; and Senior Vice President of Finance and Capital Markets, John Founders.

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 Sam Davis； John Founders 財務與資本市場資深副總裁。

And 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. These 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 was expressed include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the company's filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission including expectations regarding financial results for 2024.

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。這些前瞻性陳述基於各種假設、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 date. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our assessments to change. However, we undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements or to make any other forward-looking statements.

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。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。

Throughout this afternoon's earnings release and our call today, we refer to the non-GAAP financial measure adjusted EBITDA. 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 results reported under GAAP.

在今天下午的財報發布和今天的電話會議中，我們提到的是非 GAAP 財務指標調整後 EBITDA。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。我們認為調整後的 EBITDA 對於評估我們報告的結果非常有用，作為 GAAP 下報告的結果的補充而不是替代。

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

說到這裡，我想把電話轉給 Sam。

Thank you, Eric. Before I begin, I just want to recognize all of our veterans today on Veterans Day. We thank you all for your service, including those veterans at Bridger who play a critical role in our operations. We are extremely proud to announce our third quarter results, which include the height of the '24 wildfire season with revenue reaching nearly $65 million, net income of $27.3 million and adjusted EBITDA of $47 million. Our dedicated operations team facilitated high levels of deployment of our entire fleet throughout the year, ensuring our fleet was ready as early as February, and through our current deployment in Texas for the latest and longest wildfire season in Bridger's history.

謝謝你，埃里克。在開始之前，我想在今天的退伍軍人節向我們所有的退伍軍人致敬。我們感謝大家的服務，包括在我們的營運中發揮關鍵作用的 Bridger 退伍軍人。我們非常自豪地宣布我們的第三季業績，其中包括 24 年野火季節的高峰期，收入達到近 6500 萬美元，淨利潤為 2730 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 4700 萬美元。我們的專業營運團隊全年促進了整個機隊的高水準部署，確保我們的機隊早在2 月份就做好了準備，並透過我們目前在德州的部署應對了Bridger 歷史上最新且最長的野火季節。

2024 is representative of the trend of longer and more intense wildfire seasons and the financial results Bridger can generate with its current fleet of six Super Scoopers and six Air Attack Aircraft. Overall, we consider 2024 a more typical wildfire season, particularly when compared to the previous year. While we saw a late start to the peak of the season, the US spent a total of 59 days at preparedness Level 5, which we refer to as PL 5 including 10 days in October. As a reminder, PL 5 is the National Interagency Fire Center's highest level, and it signifies that major fire incidents are occurring across multiple geographic areas with the potential to exhaust all agency fire resources.

2024 年代表了野火季節更長、更激烈的趨勢，以及 Bridger 憑藉其當前的六架超級鏟式機和六架空襲機機所能產生的財務業績。總體而言，我們認為 2024 年是一個更典型的野火季節，特別是與前一年相比。雖然我們看到本賽季的高峰期開始較晚，但美國總共花了 59 天處於 5 級準備狀態，我們稱之為 PL 5，其中包括 10 月的 10 天。需要提醒的是，PL 5 是國家跨部門消防中心的最高級別，它意味著重大火災事件正在多個地理區域發生，有可能耗盡所有機構消防資源。

In comparison, last year, there were zero days of PL 5 and only 21 days at PL 4. The last time we saw PL 5 was actually in 2021 with 68 days of PL 5 and an additional 31 at PL 4. Through November 1, 2024, over 8 million acres of Burn National. This compares to just 2.7 million acres burned last year. For comparison, the five year average is 7.7 million total acres burned.

相較之下，去年 PL 5 的天數為 0 天，PL 4 的天數僅為 21 天。我們最後一次看到 PL 5 實際上是在 2021 年，當時 PL 5 有 68 天，PL 4 還額外有 31 天。截至 2024 年 11 月 1 日，Burn National 的面積將超過 800 萬英畝。相比之下，去年被燒毀的面積僅為 270 萬英畝。相比之下，五年平均燒毀面積為 770 萬英畝。

While 2024 was an above average year-end duration and even the East Coast associated wildfire activity -- this accompanying factors can impact whether Bridger gets called. Overall, we believe the days of work and flight hours were only slightly above average for Bridger.

雖然 2024 年的年終持續時間高於平均水平，甚至東海岸也有相關的野火活動，但這些伴隨因素可能會影響布里傑是否會接到電話。總體而言，我們認為布里傑的工作天數和飛行時間僅略高於平均值。

As states scrambled this summer to secure firefighting resources against the backdrop of government agency contracting lags and budgeting delays, we strategically secured exclusive use minimum day task orders for four of our six air attack aircraft, two multi-mission aircraft and four of our super scoopers driving increased utilization. We continue to focus on maximizing the number of these exclusive use commitments, ensuring our fleet remains dedicated to critical wildfire response efforts with the goal of maximizing price and flight hours.

今年夏天，在政府機構合約滯後和預算延遲的背景下，各州爭先恐後地確保消防資源，我們戰略性地為我們的六架攻擊機中的四架、兩架多任務飛機和四架超級鏟運機獲得了獨家使用最低日任務訂單推動利用率的提高。我們繼續致力於最大限度地增加這些專用承諾的數量，確保我們的機隊繼續致力於關鍵的野火應對工作，以最大限度地提高價格和飛行時間。

We're also focusing on securing multi-year contracts, which will serve to guarantee overall revenue and smooth out seasonality associated with peak wildfire [six] days and hours. Much of this groundwork happens in the winter months as government budgeting and planning cycles are underway.

我們還專注於獲得多年期合同，這將有助於保證整體收入並消除與野火高峰[六]天和小時相關的季節性。大部分基礎工作發生在冬季，因為政府預算和規劃週期正在進行中。

As the 2024 wildfire season winds down, the task orders for our two Polaris, PC-12 Multi-mission Aircraft or MMA, guaranteed for 150 days a piece were extended to grow the 190 days piece. We also added some nonfire-related missions throughout the year for additional work. We currently have station two scoopers in Texas on standby, positioned for activity under continued high threat of fire activity, estimate to the growing demand during the late season. While some of this revenue is profitable than in-season revenue, it serves to boost as utilization in the shoulder season.

隨著 2024 年野火季節的結束，我們的兩架北極星、PC-12 多任務飛機或 MMA 的任務訂單（每個保固 150 天）延長至 190 天。我們還在全年增加了一些與火無關的任務以進行額外的工作。目前，我們在德克薩斯州部署了兩台鏟運機待命，以應對火災活動持續高威脅下的活動，估計晚季需求不斷增長。雖然其中一些收入比淡季收入更有利可圖，但它有助於提高淡季的利用率。

Turning to FMS. As a reminder, we closed the acquisition on June 28. So this was FMS's first quarter as a part of Bridger and it contributed approximately $1.6 million to revenue. Adding FMS's strong engineering modification and manufacturing capabilities to Bridger has already created exciting growth opportunities in mission-critical areas such as aerospace modifications and defense systems engineering.

轉向 FMS。提醒一下，我們在 6 月 28 日完成了收購。這是 FMS 作為 Bridger 的一部分的第一季度，它貢獻了大約 160 萬美元的收入。將 FMS 強大的工程改裝和製造能力添加到 Bridger 中，已經在航空航天改裝和國防系統工程等關鍵任務領域創造了令人興奮的成長機會。

And we hope these opportunities will enable us to diversify our customer base and add more gear ground revenue to help offset the seasonal nature of our firefighting business. FMS also continues to build a pipeline to support Bridger aircraft for modifications to solidify competitive advantage and to incorporate leading-edge sensor technologies as well as separate projects and Bridger aircraft to enhance performance, reliability and safety.

我們希望這些機會將使我們的客戶群多樣化，並增加更多的裝備地面收入，以幫助抵消我們消防業務的季節性。FMS 也繼續建立管道來支援 Bridger 飛機進行改裝，以鞏固競爭優勢，並整合領先的感測器技術以及單獨的專案和 Bridger 飛機，以提高性能、可靠性和安全性。

A quick update on Ignis Technologies. Our software subsidiary launched its mobile form this year to support firefighters in the field. Several counties, cruise and incident management team are currently piloting the app. As we move forward, many of these organizations are expected to transition to a subscription-based model for the 2025 wildfire season with flexible pricing based on organization size and features.

Ignis 技術的快速更新。我們的軟體子公司今年推出了行動版本，為現場消防員提供支援。多個縣、郵輪和事件管理團隊目前正在試用該應用程式。隨著我們的前進，其中許多組織預計將在 2025 年野火季節過渡到基於訂閱的模式，並根據組織規模和功能靈活定價。

A major focus in development is linking Bridger's real-time sensor imagery with the Ignis app, creating a seamless data flow from air to ground. This capability promises to unlock new levels of situational awareness, supporting multi-mission, aviation contracts and enhancing both operational effectiveness and safety.

開發的一個主要重點是將 Bridger 的即時感測器影像與 Ignis 應用程式連接起來，創建從空中到地面的無縫資料流。這種能力有望將態勢感知提升到新的水平，支援多任務、航空合約並提高營運效率和安全性。

We remain on track with plan to stand into Europe through our partnership with Marathon Asset Management LP and Avenue's Sustainable Solutions Fund, which completed the four super scoopers from the Spanish government last fall. We are pleased with the progress of the return to service process managed by our Spanish subsidiary, Arrow, and we remain on schedule for all four scoopers to be available during the 2025 wildfire season.

透過與 Marathon Asset Management LP 和 Avenue 永續解決方案基金的合作，我們仍按計劃進軍歐洲，該基金去年秋天完成了西班牙政府的四項超級獨家報道。我們對我們的西班牙子公司 Arrow 管理的恢復服務流程的進展感到高興，我們仍按計劃在 2025 年野火季節期間提供所有四台鏟運機。

We recognized approximately $2.2 million of revenue related to this return to service work in the quarter with them into that also hitting our cost line as well. We are in the process of sourcing operating contracts for all four of these aircraft while their services remain in high demand. At that point, we will determine how best to bring these high-margin assets into the business.

我們確認了與本季恢復服務工作相關的約 220 萬美元收入，這也影響了我們的成本線。我們正在為所有四架飛機尋找營運合同，而它們的服務仍然需求旺盛。屆時，我們將確定如何最好地將這些高利潤資產引入業務。

As we look ahead to the fourth quarter, we see continued use of Bridger aircraft as the intensity of the wildfire season extended into October nationally and into November in certain parts of the country. Year-to-date, we have dropped just shy of 9 million gallons of water. As a result, we expect a record year, including the generation of positive free cash flow after maintenance capital expenditures, and debt service.

展望第四季度，我們看到 Bridger 飛機將繼續使用，因為野火季節的強度在全國範圍內延長至 10 月，並在該國某些地區延長至 11 月。今年迄今為止，我們已經減少了近 900 萬加侖的水。因此，我們預計這一年將創紀錄，包括在維護資本支出和償債之後產生正的自由現金流。

Let me now turn it back to Eric, who will talk about our financial performance for the quarter.

現在讓我回到艾瑞克身上，他將談論我們本季的財務表現。

Thanks, Sam. Looking at results for the third quarter of 2024, revenue increased approximately 20% to $64.5 million from $53.6 million in the third quarter of 2023. Revenue in the third quarter of 2024 benefited from higher flight revenue as well as approximately $2.2 million related to return to service work performed on the Spanish Super scoopers buyer, Spanish subsidiary Albacete Aero as part of our partnership agreement with MAB Funding LLC as well as approximately $1.6 million of revenue from the company's June acquisition of FMS.

謝謝，山姆。從 2024 年第三季的業績來看，營收從 2023 年第三季的 5,360 萬美元成長約 20% 至 6,450 萬美元。2024 年第三季的收入得益於航班收入的增加，以及與西班牙超級直升機買家、西班牙子公司阿爾巴塞特航空公司(Albacete Aero) 恢復服務工作相關的約220 萬美元，這是我們與MAB Funding LLC 合作協議的一部分，以及約220 萬美元的收入。

Cost of revenues was $23 million in the third quarter of 2024 up from $16 million in the third quarter last year. Cost of revenues for the third quarter of 2024 was comprised of flight operation expenses, $15.1 million and maintenance expenses of $7.9 million. This compares to $10.2 million of flight operation expenses and $5.7 million of maintenance expenses in the third quarter of 2023.

2024 年第三季的營收成本為 2,300 萬美元，高於去年第三季的 1,600 萬美元。2024 年第三季的收入成本包括 1,510 萬美元的航班營運費用和 790 萬美元的維護費用。相較之下，2023 年第三季的航班營運費用為 1,020 萬美元，維護費用為 570 萬美元。

The increase in cost of revenue is primarily due to increased flight hours in the third quarter this year compared to the third quarter of 2023, resulting in increased depreciation, maintenance and travel expenses, tied to higher utilization in the field. Also reflected were the expenses associated with the return to service work for the Spanish scoopers which is largely pass-through as well as the addition of FMS and some inflationary churn.

收入成本的增加主要是由於與 2023 年第三季相比，今年第三季的飛行時數增加，導致折舊、維護和差旅費用增加，這與現場利用率的提高有關。也反映了與西班牙鏟運機恢復服務相關的費用（主要是轉嫁費用）以及增加的 FMS 和一些通貨膨脹因素。

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $8.6 million in the third quarter of 2024 compared to $15.1 million in the third quarter of 2023. The increase was primarily due to a decline in the fair value of outstanding rent as of the end of third quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter of 2023. The decrease was also partially attributable to lower non-cash stock-based compensation expense in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter last year.

2024 年第三季的銷售、一般和管理費用為 860 萬美元，而 2023 年第三季為 1,510 萬美元。這一增長主要是由於截至 2024 年第三季末未付租金的公允價值較 2023 年第三季有所下降。下降的部分原因是 2024 年第三季非現金股票薪資費用較去年第三季減少。

Interest expense for the third quarter of 2024 was $6 million compared to $6 million in the third quarter of 2023. Bridger also reported an income of $0.5 million in the third quarter this year compared to $0.6 million in the third quarter last year.

2024 年第三季的利息支出為 600 萬美元，而 2023 年第三季為 600 萬美元。Bridger 還報告稱，今年第三季的收入為 50 萬美元，而去年第三季的收入為 60 萬美元。

For the third quarter of 2024, we reported net income of $27.3 million or $0.31 per diluted share compared to net income of $17.5 million or $0.22 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2023. The increase in net income was primarily driven by strong fleet utilization in the third quarter of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA was $47 million compared to $38.7 million in the third quarter of 2023. A reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net loss or income is included in Exhibit A of our earnings release distributed earlier today.

2024 年第三季度，我們報告的淨利潤為 2730 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.31 美元，而 2023 年第三季度淨利潤為 1750 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.22 美元。淨利潤的成長主要得益於 2024 年第三季強勁的機隊利用率。調整後 EBITDA 為 4,700 萬美元，而 2023 年第三季為 3,870 萬美元。調整後的 EBITDA 與淨虧損或收入的調節表包含在我們今天稍早發布的收益報告的附件 A 中。

Due to our seasonality, the company typically generates a net loss and negative EBITDA in the first and fourth quarters each with the majority of our adjusted EBITDA generated primarily in the third quarter coinciding with the US wildfire season.

由於我們的季節性，該公司通常會在第一季度和第四季度產生淨虧損和負 EBITDA，其中大部分調整後 EBITDA 主要產生於第三季度，即美國野火季節。

Looking at our results for the first nine months of 2024, revenue was $83 million compared to $65.6 million in the first nine months of 2023. Cost of revenues was $42.1 million, comprised of flight operation expenses of $25.2 million and maintenance expenses of $16.8 million. Cost of revenues for the first nine months of 2023 was $33.7 million, comprised of $20.3 million of flight operation expenses and maintenance expenses of $13.5 million.

從我們 2024 年前 9 個月的業績來看，收入為 8,300 萬美元，而 2023 年前 9 個月的收入為 6,560 萬美元。收入成本為 4,210 萬美元，其中包括 2,520 萬美元的飛行營運費用和 1,680 萬美元的維護費用。2023 年前 9 個月的收入成本為 3,370 萬美元，其中包括 2,030 萬美元的航班營運費用和 1,350 萬美元的維護費用。

SG&A expenses declined to $28.2 million in the first nine months of 2024 compared to $63.5 million for the first nine months of 2023, which included noncash stock-based compensation expense of $39.7 million for RSUs compared to only $13.7 million in the first nine months of 2024. The decrease was also partially attributable to an even fair value of outstanding warrants.

2024 年前9 個月的銷售管理及行政費用下降至2,820 萬美元，而2023 年前9 個月為6,350 萬美元，其中包括RSU 的非現金股票補償費用3,970 萬美元，而2024 年前9 個月僅1,370 萬美元。下降的部分原因是未償還認股權證的公允價值均勻。

Interest expense for the first nine months of 2024 was $17.8 million compared to $17.2 million in the first nine months of 2023. Bridger also reported other income of $1.8 million for the first nine months of 2024 compared to $2.3 million for the first nine months of last year. Net loss was $2.7 million in the first nine months of 2024 compared to a net loss of $46.2 million in the first nine months of 2023. Adjusted EBITDA was $40.2 million for the first nine months of this year compared to $29 million in the same period last year.

2024 年前 9 個月的利息支出為 1,780 萬美元，而 2023 年前 9 個月的利息支出為 1,720 萬美元。Bridger 還報告稱，2024 年前 9 個月的其他收入為 180 萬美元，而去年前 9 個月的其他收入為 230 萬美元。2024 年前 9 個月的淨虧損為 270 萬美元，而 2023 年前 9 個月的淨虧損為 4,620 萬美元。今年前 9 個月調整後 EBITDA 為 4,020 萬美元，去年同期為 2,900 萬美元。

Turning to the balance sheet. We ended the third quarter with total cash and restricted cash of $42.6 million. Outstanding trade and unbilled receivables of over $26 million as of September 30, 2024, are expected to further increase the cash balance in the coming months.

轉向資產負債表。截至第三季末，我們的現金和限制性現金總額為 4,260 萬美元。截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日，未清貿易及未開立發票應收帳款超過 2,600 萬美元，預計未來幾個月將進一步增加現金餘額。

With that, I'd like to turn the call over now to John to discuss our 2024 guidance.

現在，我想將電話轉給 John，討論我們 2024 年的指導方針。

Thank you, Eric. As the bulk of the wildfire season has come to an end, Bridger is in a position to refine its guidance. supported by record results in the third quarter and continued dry weather in the Western US that has led to multiple aircraft operating into October and even November. We are increasing our 2024 revenue guidance. We now expect revenue to be in a range of $90 million to $95 million. This is an increase of between 35% and 42% in over our reported 2023 revenue and an increase from our initial guidance of $70 million to $86 million.

謝謝你，埃里克。隨著野火季節的大部分時間已經結束，布里傑可以完善其指導。第三季創紀錄的業績以及美國西部持續乾燥的天氣導致多架飛機在 10 月甚至 11 月運行。我們正在提高 2024 年的收入指導。我們現在預計收入將在 9,000 萬美元至 9,500 萬美元之間。這比我們報告的 2023 年收入增加了 35% 至 42%，也從我們最初指導的 7,000 萬美元增加到 8,600 萬美元。

It is also important to note that approximately $6 million to $7 million of anticipated 2024 revenue relates to pass-through return to service work performed on our four Spanish Super Scoopers by our Spanish subsidiary Albacete Aero, as well as the June 2024 acquisition of FMS Aerospace, neither of which was included in the initial guidance range.

另外需要注意的是，預計2024 年收入中約600 萬至700 萬美元與我們的西班牙子公司阿爾巴塞特航空公司(Albacete Aero) 對我們的四架西班牙Super Scooper 進行的轉遞恢復服務工作以及2024年6 月收購FMS Aerospace 相關，兩者都不包含在最初的指導範圍內。

Given the company's largely fixed cost and seasonality of its revenue, Bridger typically generates the majority of adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter each year during the bulk of the wildfire season. As a result, 2024 adjusted EBITDA is expected to grow by over 85% and to a range of $35 million to $40 million compared to the company's initial adjusted EBITDA guidance range of $35 million to $51 million, first provided last November.

鑑於該公司的成本基本固定且收入具有季節性，Bridger 通常會在每年第三季的野火季節產生大部分調整後 EBITDA。因此，與該公司去年 11 月首次提供的 3,500 萬美元至 5,100 萬美元的初始調整後 EBITDA 指導範圍相比，2024 年調整後 EBITDA 預計將成長 85% 以上，達到 3,500 萬美元至 4,000 萬美元。

We have not fully realized the benefits from targeted reductions to our cost structure that we estimated a year ago. This includes the exit of certain subscription maintenance programs and leasing costs for aviation assets that we kept in place to support the high level of fire activity.

我們還沒有完全意識到我們一年前估計的有針對性地削減成本結構所帶來的好處。這包括取消某些訂閱維護計劃和我們為支持高水準火災活動而保留的航空資產租賃成本。

We also experienced some inflationary pressures. Collectively, these factors are expected to prevent us from reaching the high end of our initial guidance range for 2024 adjusted EBITDA. In addition, we also pivoted from some EBITDA boosting opportunities to focus on growth of our non-fire revenue to help smooth seasonality, which are expected to benefit 2025 operations.

我們也經歷了一些通膨壓力。總的來說，這些因素預計將阻止我們達到 2024 年調整後 EBITDA 初始指導範圍的上限。此外，我們也從一些 EBITDA 提振機會轉向專注於非火災收入的成長，以幫助平穩季節性，預計這將有利於 2025 年的營運。

Based on this latest guidance, we expect to report positive free cash flow for the first time in Bridger's history in a range of [$5 million] to $10 million. Free cash flow is defined as adjusted EBITDA, less debt service and less maintenance capital expenditures. Bridger intends to put a portion of this capital to work on low-cost, high benefit aviation investments to find new and expanded revenue opportunities.

根據這項最新指引，我們預計 Bridger 歷史上首次報告正自由現金流，範圍在 [500 萬美元] 至 1000 萬美元之間。自由現金流定義為調整後的 EBITDA 減去償債和維護資本支出。布里傑打算將部分資金用於低成本、高效益的航空投資，以尋找新的、擴大收入的機會。

This includes aircraft modifications for additional customer opportunities, sensor enhancements and download capabilities that will provide increased utilization, opportunity for new contracts and multiyear work and increased customer satisfaction and brand awareness.

這包括為增加客戶機會而進行的飛機改裝、感測器增強和下載功能，這將提高利用率、新合約和多年工作的機會，並提高客戶滿意度和品牌知名度。

With that, I would like to turn the call back to Sam for final comments.

說到這裡，我想把電話轉回 Sam，徵求最終意見。

Thank you, John. At the heart of Bridger Aerospace remains the unshakable focus on the mission to protect lives, property and habitat threatened by wildfires. This year when 16 states and provided support for 385 fires and gathered numerous success stories from suppression on major fires preventing the loss of structures to early detection, preventing small lightning strikes from becoming large incidents. Bridger employees worked long days and nights in some of the harshest conditions to readily serve fellow Americans facing the rising threat of wildfires. Being able to see the results of our hard work to protect others from loss while supporting firefighters on the front lines is at the core of Bridger's makeup.

謝謝你，約翰。Bridger Aerospace 的核心仍然是堅定不移地致力於保護受野火威脅的生命、財產和棲息地的使命。今年，16 個州為 385 起火災提供了支持，收集了從撲滅重大火災、防止建築物損失到及早發現、防止小雷擊演變成大事故的眾多成功案例。Bridger 員工在最惡劣的條件下日夜工作，隨時為面臨日益嚴重的野火威脅的美國同胞提供服務。能夠看到我們在支持前線消防員的同時保護他人免受損失的辛勤工作的成果是布里傑的核心。

What makes the effort of the Bridger team even more commendable was the onslaught of politically motivated attacks we endured as a company as our former CEO ran for public office in a highly contested race. Regardless of political affiliation, Bridger employees, customers and partners were subject to a torrent of speculative for boating designed to tarnish the company's reputation and sabotage its laudable efforts to deliver record results while executing on a critical mission to save lives and property.

讓 Bridger 團隊的努力更值得稱讚的是，當我們的前執行長在一場競爭激烈的競選中競選公職時，我們作為一家公司遭受了出於政治動機的攻擊。無論政治派別如何，Bridger 員工、客戶和合作夥伴都受到大量划船投機行為的影響，這些投機行為旨在損害公司聲譽，並破壞其在執行拯救生命和財產的關鍵使命時取得創紀錄成果的值得稱讚的努力。

Today, we confidently let the integrity of our -- speak for themselves. And we will continue to protect employees, customers and investors from those negative voices that attempt to defame or mischaracterize our efforts to carry out our mission of protecting lives, property and habitat. Ultimately, leadership team at Bridger's strength of its Board has guided through a crucial period in Bridger's life cycle, where it has finally stepped into its stride by exceeding expectations and we continue to be ready and able to answer the call to fight wildfires around the country.

今天，我們滿懷信心地讓我們的誠信不言而喻。我們將繼續保護員工、客戶和投資者免受那些試圖誹謗或歪曲我們為履行保護生命、財產和棲息地使命而做出的努力的負面聲音的影響。最終，Bridger 董事會的領導團隊帶領其度過了 Bridger 生命週期的關鍵時期，最終以超出預期的方式邁出了大步，我們繼續做好準備並能夠響應在全國範圍內撲滅野火的號召。

Now that the election is decided and our Founder and former CEO, Tim Sheehy, has been elected to the US Senate, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board has officially commenced a comprehensive CEO search process and will consider both internal and external candidates. Rare Admiral Wyman Howard lead the search committee. While no specified time line for completion, the search is expected to be completed in 2025. I'm fully committed to being a part of the process, and I'm confident that the Board's ultimate decision will be in the best interest of Bridger's shareholders.

現在選舉已經決定，我們的創始人兼前首席執行官蒂姆·希伊(Tim Sheehy) 已當選為美國參議院議員，我們董事會的提名和公司治理委員會已正式開始全面的首席執行官搜尋流程，並將考慮內部和外部候選人。罕見的海軍上將懷曼·霍華德領導搜尋委員會。雖然沒有具體的完成時間，但搜尋預計將於 2025 年完成。我完全致力於參與這個過程，我相信董事會的最終決定將符合 Bridger 股東的最佳利益。

Additionally, to avoid any further allegations of potential conflicts of interest, Tim's brother, Matt Sheehy, has resigned from the Board, and we thank him tireless service to our company over the past 10 years. as well as his steadfast support of us with his continued substantial investments in the company. Bridger is a critical piece of the nation's aerial firefighting bonding network and is proud to have aircraft deployed in support of firefighting in 10 out of the 12 months in 2024. I am honored to lead such an incredibly talented team, and I look forward to continuing to pursue and execute our business plans in the future.

此外，為了避免任何進一步的潛在利益衝突指控，Tim 的兄弟 Matt Sheehy 已辭去董事會職務，我們感謝他在過去 10 年為我們公司做出的不懈服務。以及他對我們的堅定支持和對公司的持續大量投資。Bridger 是美國空中消防聯合網路的重要組成部分，並很自豪能夠在 2024 年 12 個月中的 10 個月內部署飛機支援消防。我很榮幸能夠領導這樣一支才華橫溢的團隊，我期待在未來繼續追求和執行我們的業務計劃。

With that, I would like to open up the call for questions.

至此，我想開始提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Austin Moeller, Canaccord.

奧斯汀·莫勒，Canaccord。

Hi, good afternoon. Congrats on the quarter, everyone.

嗨，下午好。恭喜大家這個季度。

Thank you, Austin.

謝謝你，奧斯汀。

Just my first question here. Can you go into a little bit more detail about the inflation in the quarter the EBITDA guidance? And was that in like aftermarket maintenance or pilot compensation, fuel costs? How should we think about that?

這只是我的第一個問題。您能否更詳細地介紹一下 EBITDA 指導季度的通膨情況？是售後維修或飛行員補償、燃油成本嗎？我們該如何思考這個問題？

Yeah, thanks for the question. I'll turn this one over to Eric, if you wouldn't mind speaking to some of the inflationary pressures?

是的，謝謝你的提問。我會把這個問題交給艾瑞克，如果你不介意談論一些通膨壓力的話？

Yeah. Sure, Austin. So yes, you mentioned a few. So we definitely saw some inflationary pressure in like most companies in various salaries, wages, benefits, kind of on that piece of the puzzle as well as we -- especially during fire season incur costs in terms of travel with our crews and mechanics going all over the country to support our efforts and differently inflationary pressures there. in terms of maintenance, in addition to the labor and side of things and travel, we also saw some pressures in terms of some of our small parts and replacement parts that we use.

是的。當然，奧斯汀。是的，你提到了一些。因此，像大多數公司一樣，我們肯定在各種薪水、工資、福利方面看到了一些通貨膨脹壓力，在這一塊拼圖上，我們也一樣——特別是在火災季節，我們的工作人員和機械師全力以赴，在旅行方面產生了成本全國範圍內支持我們的努力和不同的通膨壓力。在維修方面，除了人工和邊事以及出差之外，我們在使用的一些小零件和替換零件方面也看到了一些壓力。

We're looking at opportunities and have done some things to try to make inventory as efficient as possible to try to reduce those impacts and kind of manage those costs on the travel side. We also have looked at a have done some things in some areas where we leverage some crew housing things like that. So we're not always in hotels and things of that nature. So we've done a decent job of managing it, but there's definitely been those pressures there.

我們正在尋找機會，並採取了一些措施來盡可能提高庫存效率，以減少這些影響，並在差旅方面管理這些成本。我們還研究了在某些領域做了一些事情，我們利用了一些類似的船員住房。所以我們並不總是住在酒店和類似的地方。因此，我們在管理方面做得很好，但那裡肯定存在這些壓力。

That's helpful. How do you view the new administration's impact on federal firefighting funds? Presumably, the committees that oversee the Department of the Interior and the forest service or bipartisan on this issue?

這很有幫助。您如何看待新政府對聯邦消防資金的影響？據推測，監督內政部和林務局的委員會或兩黨在這個問題上？

Yeah. I'll take that one. Yes. So you're right, and we speak to this all the time, wildfires are a very bipartisan issue because they affect everybody and it's a national threat and a rising one year-over-year. Bridger has done what we will do what we've always done, which is continue to work with the administration and be on the forefront of talking with these different committees as we effect a lot on the legislative slide, to increase some of our strategy in terms of getting more exclusive contracts and guaranteed days because that is at the core of what everybody is trying to do to solve this threat. Even right now, as we speak, there's fires on the East Coast outside of New York and in New Jersey. So this is becoming a rising problem. There will may be some potential changes to the committees that we live, but Bridger continues to do work, especially in the off-season meeting with those folks and being on the forefront of chanting solutions that we have.

是的。我會接受那個。是的。所以你是對的，我們一直在談論這一點，野火是一個非常兩黨合作的問題，因為它們影響到每個人，它是一個國家威脅，而且逐年上升。布里傑已經做了我們將要做的我們一直在做的事情，那就是繼續與政府合作，並在我們對立法幻燈片產生很大影響時站在與這些不同委員會對話的最前沿，以增加我們的一些策略獲得更多獨家合約和有保障的日子的條款，因為這是每個人都在努力解決這一威脅的核心。即使是現在，就在我們說話的時候，紐約郊外的東海岸和新澤西州也發生了火災。所以這正在成為一個日益嚴重的問題。我們所在的委員會可能會發生一些潛在的變化，但布里傑會繼續工作，特別是在休賽期與這些人舉行會議，並站在最前線高喊我們擁有的解決方案。

Great. And just one more, if I may. Should we expect to see a reduction in cost structure, operating costs and improved revenue volumes in the off-season now that you required up as you might be getting some other government services work?

偉大的。如果可以的話，再多說一句。既然您可能需要進行其他一些政府服務工作，那麼我們是否應該期望在淡季看到成本結構、營運成本的降低和收入量的增加？

Yeah. I'll turn this one over to John, who's been working on this, especially as we look at guidance for the end of the year and beyond.

是的。我將把這個問題交給約翰，他一直在研究這個問題，特別是在我們研究年底及以後的指導方針時。

Yeah, Austin, that's a great question. Absolutely, we expect to see OpEx down with lower flight levels throughout the winter. I would also comment that the cost rationalization that the company put in place in 2023 going into 2024, we're seeing the effect and impact of that cost rationalization, really starting to go into the P&L in the back half of '24 and into 2025. So we have some cost rationalization over personnel and Eric mentioned travel policy vendors, professional services. We have some things that we believe we will significantly reduce OpEx throughout the winter.

是的，奧斯汀，這是一個很好的問題。當然，我們預計整個冬季營運支出都會隨著航班數量的減少而下降。我還想說的是，公司在 2023 年實施的成本合理化將持續到 2024 年，我們正在看到成本合理化的效果和影響，真正開始在 24 年下半年和 2025 年進入損益表。因此，我們對人員成本進行了一些合理化，艾瑞克提到了差旅政策供應商和專業服務。我們相信有些事情將顯著降低整個冬季的營運支出。

On the revenue side, absolutely FMS has been a winning contracts and continues to deliver on engineering service contracts throughout Q4, Q1, helping to reduce seasonality. Also, the company has been successful with fire and nonfire work with its aviation assets this year. So we expect significant revenue from the core business in Q4 this year. So a very significant change with revenue levels in the outside of fire season quarters, Q4 and Q1.

在收入方面，FMS 絕對是一份中標合同，並在整個第四季度、第一季度繼續交付工程服務合同，有助於減少季節性。此外，該公司今年在其航空資產的消防和非消防工作中取得了成功。因此，我們預計今年第四季核心業務將產生可觀的收入。因此，在火災季節季度之外的第四季和第一季度，收入水準發生了非常重大的變化。

Excellent. That's very exciting. Thanks for all the details.

出色的。這非常令人興奮。感謝您提供所有詳細資訊。

Thank you, Austin.

謝謝你，奧斯汀。

And it does appear that there are no further questions at this time. I'd now like to turn it back to Sam Davis for any additional or closing remarks.

目前看來確實沒有其他問題了。現在我想請薩姆戴維斯（Sam Davis）發表補充或結束語。

Thanks again for joining our conference call today. We look forward to updating you on our progress when we report our final annual results in March. And if anyone has any follow-up questions, please reach out to our Investor Relations directly. Thank you.

再次感謝您今天參加我們的電話會議。我們期待在三月報告最終年度業績時向您通報我們的最新進展。如果有人有任何後續問題，請直接聯絡我們的投資者關係部門。謝謝。

This does conclude today's program. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at any time, and have a wonderful evening.

今天的節目到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以隨時斷開連接，並度過一個美好的夜晚。