Benson Hill Inc (BHIL) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Thank you for attending Benson Hill's fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 earnings call. My name is Drew, and I'll be your moderator. (Operator Instructions)

早安.感謝您參加 Benson Hill 2023 年第四季和全年財報電話會議。我叫德魯，我將擔任您的主持人。（操作員指令）

I want to pass the conference over to your host, Tana Murphy, Acting Investor Relations Leader with Benson Hill. Tana, please go ahead.

我想將會議交給主持人、本森希爾 (Benson Hill) 代理投資者關係負責人塔娜·墨菲 (Tana Murphy)。塔娜，請繼續。

Thank you, and good morning. We appreciate you joining us to review our fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 financial results and outlook. Joining me today are Deanie Elsner, Benson Hill's Chief Executive Officer; and Dean Freeman, our Chief Financial Officer. We also have Susan Keefe, our incoming Chief Financial Officer, listening in. Susan begins her role with Benson Hill on March 29.

謝謝，早安。感謝您加入我們，回顧我們 2023 年第四季和全年的財務表現和展望。今天與我一起出席的還有 Benson Hill 的執行長 Deanie Elsner；以及我們的財務長 Dean Freeman。我們即將上任的財務長 Susan Keefe 也出席了這場演講。蘇珊於 3 月 29 日開始在 Benson Hill 任職。

Earlier this morning, we filed our fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 earnings release. Our 10-K will be filed after the market closes today. These documents and an investor presentation we will reference during the prepared remarks will be available in the Investor section of the Benson Hill website.

今天早些時候，我們提交了 2023 年第四季和全年財報。我們的 10-K 報表將在今天市場收盤後提交。這些文件和我們將在準備好的發言中引用的投資者介紹將在 Benson Hill 網站的投資者部分提供。

Comments today from management will contain forward-looking statements including Benson Hill's expectations of future financial and business performance, industry commentary, and a high-level outlook for 2024. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions and are not guarantees of performance. We caution you to consider the risk factors that could materially cause results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements.

管理層今天的評論將包含前瞻性陳述，包括 Benson Hill 對未來財務和業務表現的預期、行業評論以及對 2024 年的高層展望。前瞻性陳述本質上受風險、不確定性和假設的影響，且不能保證業績。我們提醒您考慮可能造成結果與前瞻性陳述產生重大差異的風險因素。

Such factors include those referenced in the cautionary note included in our Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, press release, and investor presentation, and other SEC filings. Also, during this presentation, we will discuss specific non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation to GAAP is available in our earnings release and investor presentation. I will now turn the call over to Deanie.

這些因素包括我們的 10-K 表、10-Q 表、新聞稿和投資者介紹以及其他 SEC 文件中包含的警告說明中提及的因素。此外，在本次演示中，我們將討論具體的非 GAAP 財務指標。我們的收益報告和投資者介紹中提供了與 GAAP 的對帳表。現在我將電話轉給 Deanie。

Thanks, Tana, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us to review our fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 results and to discuss the steps we're taking to transform our business.

謝謝，塔娜，大家早安。感謝您與我們一起回顧我們的 2023 年第四季和全年業績，並討論我們為轉變業務而採取的措施。

Let me start by introducing our incoming CFO, Susan Keefe. We're excited that Susan's joining the Benson Hill team. She brings a wealth of experience working with technology-focused companies, both start-ups and mature organizations in the public and private sectors. Her knowledge of biosciences and technology, strategic partnerships, innovation, pipeline development, and licensing will be a great asset in our work ahead.

首先，我來介紹一下我們新任財務長蘇珊‧基夫 (Susan Keefe)。我們很高興蘇珊加入本森希爾團隊。她在與公共和私營部門的以技術為重點的公司（包括新創公司和成熟組織）合作方面擁有豐富的經驗。她在生物科學和技術、戰略合作夥伴關係、創新、管道開發和授權方面的知識將對我們未來的工作大有裨益。

We've been working a three-part plan to strengthen our balance sheet and position Benson Hill for the incredible opportunities before us. First, implementing our cost-cutting initiatives under the expanded Liquidity Improvement Plan. Second, diversifying our portfolio to enter attractive soy segments; and third, delivering strategic partnerships to execute our asset-light strategy.

我們一直在製定一項由三部分組成的計劃，以加強我們的資產負債表，並為 Benson Hill 抓住我們面前的絕佳機會做好準備。首先，根據擴大的流動性改善計畫實施我們的成本削減措施。第二，實現產品組合多元化，進入具吸引力的大豆市場；第三，建立策略夥伴關係，實施我們的輕資產策略。

Today, I will walk you through the significant progress we've made on each of those fronts and explain why Benson Hill is well positioned to lead the pace of innovation in soy protein. Let's start with an update on the expanded liquidity improvement plan.

今天，我將向您介紹我們在每個方面取得的重大進展，並解釋為什麼 Benson Hill 能夠引領大豆蛋白創新的步伐。讓我們先來了解一下擴大流動性改善計畫的最新進展。

As you may recall, last October, we identified key milestones designed to strengthen our balance sheet and to improve our cash position. I'm very pleased to report that these significant milestones have been achieved. We've divested our soy processing assets, including the sale of our Seymour facility for $36 million and the sale of our Creston facility for $72 million.

您可能還記得，去年十月，我們確定了旨在加強資產負債表和改善現金狀況的關鍵里程碑。我很高興地報告這些重要的里程碑已經實現。我們剝離了我們的大豆加工資產，包括以 3,600 萬美元出售我們的 Seymour 工廠以及以 7,200 萬美元出售我們的 Creston 工廠。

We've restructured our organization, enabling us to deliver significant cost savings. Our team has now reduced recurring OpEx and CapEx by more than 33%, in line with previously communicated targets. These actions enabled us to fully retire our senior term loan, representing approximately $120 million in debt plus interest and fees. We ended the year with approximately $49 million in cash in line with our expectations. Dean will further address our 2023 results and outlook for 2024 in his section.

我們已經重組了組織，從而能夠大幅節省成本。我們的團隊現已將經常性營運支出和資本支出減少了 33% 以上，符合先前傳達的目標。這些措施使我們能夠完全償還優先定期貸款，相當於約 1.2 億美元的債務加上利息和費用。我們截至年底的現金餘額約為 4,900 萬美元，符合我們的預期。迪恩將在他的部分進一步討論我們的 2023 年業績和 2024 年展望。

In the coming months, we expect to continue driving efficiencies, reducing operating costs and looking for ways to optimize our capital structure. With our senior term loan now retired, our team is entirely focused on the opportunities ahead of us.

在接下來的幾個月裡，我們希望繼續提高效率，降低營運成本，並尋找優化資本結構的方法。我們的高級定期貸款現已還清，我們的團隊將全心全意專注於我們面前的機會。

The second pillar of our plan was to diversify our portfolio and enter attractive new soy market segments. Here, we've made enormous progress. Our advantage stems from the trifecta of our proven soy technology platform, our CropOS innovation engine, our Crop Accelerator speed breeding facility, and our proprietary soy germplasm portfolio. Our differentiated germplasm, along with layers of genomic data, secures our first-mover advantage because it represents literally decades of soybean breeding for animal feed.

我們計劃的第二個支柱是實現產品組合多元化，並進入具有吸引力的新型大豆市場領域。在這裡，我們取得了巨大的進步。我們的優勢源自於我們成熟的大豆技術平台、我們的CropOS創新引擎、我們的Crop Accelerator快速育種設施以及我們專有的大豆種質組合。我們的差異化種質以及層層基因組數據確保了我們的先發優勢，因為它代表了數十年的動物飼料大豆育種經驗。

Over the last six months, we conducted extensive diligence with end users and potential partners on every aspect of our strategy, including our innovation pipeline, our value creation, our shift to an asset-light business model, and our broad acre ramp-up. We validated that Benson Hill is competitively advantaged and ready today to serve the largest soybean markets in the animal feed industry, and we are well positioned to expand into the growing biofuel markets in the future.

在過去的六個月中，我們與最終用戶和潛在合作夥伴就我們策略的各個方面進行了廣泛的盡職調查，包括我們的創新管道、我們的價值創造、我們向輕資產商業模式的轉變以及我們的廣泛擴張。我們證實，Benson Hill 具有競爭優勢，現在已準備好服務於動物飼料行業最大的大豆市場，我們有能力在未來擴展到不斷增長的生物燃料市場。

Benson Hill has built the most advanced soy genetics toolbox in the industry to simultaneously improve both protein and yield. The gains we've achieved for the genetics we acquired in 2019 have surpassed our expectations and outpaced the industry. In January of this year, we announced advancements across our entire portfolio of Ultra High Protein low oligosaccharides or UHP-LO varieties, including introgression of an herbicide tolerance trait to provide the seamless weed control farmers expect for large acre adoption.

Benson Hill 打造了業界最先進的大豆基因工具箱，可同時提高蛋白質和產量。我們在 2019 年獲得的基因收益已經超出了我們的預期，並超越了行業平均值。今年 1 月，我們宣布了整個超高蛋白低寡糖或 UHP-LO 品種組合的進展，包括除草劑耐受性特性的滲入，為大面積採用提供農民期望的無縫雜草控制。

We are on track to significantly expand our seed portfolio from 22 to 35 varieties by 2025 with a pipeline that's in the final stages of lab and field testing, giving us a massive time advantage that can further deepen our competitive moat.

我們預計在 2025 年前將種子組合從 22 個品種大幅擴展到 35 個品種，目前這些種子正處於實驗室和現場測試的最後階段，這將為我們帶來巨大的時間優勢，從而進一步鞏固我們的競爭優勢。

But what is perhaps most exciting is the feedback we've heard from end users about the UHP-LO products that we have available today. Animal feed industry experts have confirmed that the soybeans we harvested in 2023 will be a game changer for animal diets. In fact, they said though that if they could design their holy grail product, this would be it.

但最令人興奮的可能是我們從最終用戶那裡聽到的有關我們今天提供的 UHP-LO 產品的反饋。動物飼料產業專家已經證實，我們在 2023 年收穫的大豆將徹底改變動物飲食。事實上，他們說，如果他們能夠設計出他們最理想的產品，那就是它了。

First, with 20% higher protein than commodity meal, with competitive yield performance, enabling better feed conversion, less soybean meal required, and more room for other ingredients. Second, 92% fewer hard-to-digest oligosaccharide carbohydrates, enabling better gut health, better digestibility, and 27% more available energy to be used by the animal. And going forward, an improved amino acid profile leading to less reliance on synthetic amino acids.

首先，蛋白質含量比商品粕高20%，產量性能具有競爭力，飼料轉換率更高，所需豆粕量更少，為其他成分提供了更多的空間。其次，難以消化的寡糖碳水化合物減少了92％，使腸道更健康，消化率更高，動物可利用的能量增加27％。並且，未來，胺基酸成分的改善將減少對合成胺基酸的依賴。

In the feed industry, every bit of margin matters. Feed is the primary cost in animal production. The reduced cost and improved sustainability benefits of the Benson Hill soy products can unlock impressive savings for animal producers. This is true value creation through innovation.

在飼料產業，每一點利潤都很重要。飼料是畜牧生產的主要成本。Benson Hill 大豆產品的成本降低和永續性提高可以為動物生產者帶來可觀的節約。這是透過創新創造的真正價值。

Shadow pricing estimates indicate that our breeding efforts over the last three years have tripled the value creation of our UHP-LO soy varieties. We are now repeating feeding studies initially conducted in 2020 to validate these improvements, and initial results give us confidence that the value proposition can be achieved.

影子定價估算表明，我們過去三年的育種努力使我們的 UHP-LO 大豆品種的價值創造增加了兩倍。我們現在正在重複 2020 年最初進行的餵食研究，以驗證這些改進，初步結果讓我們相信價值主張是可以實現的。

Looking beyond our UHP-LO varieties, we will increase focus on other products in our portfolio that optimize the protein oil complex. Our COVAL varieties combined heart-healthy, high-oleic oil for the food market with high protein, low oligosaccharide meal for the feed market. Varieties further out in our pipeline combine high-volume commodity oil for the emerging biofuel market with low oligosaccharide meal. This represents substantial additional growth and profit potential.

除了我們的 UHP-LO 品種之外，我們還將更加關注我們產品組合中優化蛋白質油複合物的其他產品。我們的 COVAL 品種將適用於食品市場的有益心臟健康的高油酸油與適用於飼料市場的高蛋白、低寡糖粕結合在一起。我們管道中的其他品種將針對新興生物燃料市場的高容量商品油與低寡糖粕結合在一起。這代表著巨大的額外成長和利潤潛力。

The last pillar of our plan is to secure strategic partners to execute our strategy. Here, too, we've made exciting progress. Across the value chain, we're finding that organizations recognize the shift underway. The current commodity soy system is not designed to provide choice for end users.

我們計劃的最後一個支柱是確保策略夥伴來執行我們的策略。在這裡我們也取得了令人興奮的進展。我們發現，在整個價值鏈中，組織都認識到了正在發生的轉變。目前的商品大豆系統並非旨在為最終用戶提供選擇。

Benson Hill has designed a system to provide both choice and a voice to the end user, [what] changes the dynamic. Seed decisions can be driven not simply by what input traits the farmer prefers, but by what output traits the end user demands. This unlocks a new dimension of growth for those who are positioned to be part of it.

本森希爾 (Benson Hill) 設計了一個系統，為最終用戶提供選擇和發言權，從而改變動態。種子決策不僅取決於農民喜歡的投入特性，還取決於最終用戶要求的輸出特性。這為那些有能力參與其中的人開啟了一個新的成長維度。

We have validated that by focusing on the needs of the end user first, we can create compelling value to incentivize all players from the seed company to the farmer to the customer. Our new asset-light business model encompasses strategic partnerships to leverage the scale and maturity of the existing value chain.

我們已經證實，透過首先關注最終用戶的需求，我們可以創造引人注目的價值來激勵從種子公司到農民再到客戶的所有參與者。我們的新輕資產業務模式包含策略夥伴關係，以利用現有價值鏈的規模和成熟度。

Licensing technology is well established in the agriculture industry. In fact, Benson Hill, and before that, Schillinger, has been licensing high-protein, non-GMO varieties for specific food buckets like tofu for years. We have long-standing relationships with multiple feed distributors that represent significant share, licensing the best-performing, non-GMO soybean variety on the market.

許可技術在農業產業已十分成熟。事實上，Benson Hill 和之前的 Schillinger 多年來一直在為豆腐等特定食品類別授權高蛋白、非基因改造品種。我們與佔據較大份額的多家飼料分銷商保持長期合作關係，並獲得了市場上性能最佳的非基因改造大豆品種的許可。

What's different going forward is the scale of the end market we intend to serve and the magnitude of value we can create by leveraging our existing infrastructure. Scaling for the animal feed markets is actually quite straightforward. The market is large but not highly fragmented. Every potential partner, whether an animal producer or a seed company, represents millions of acres.

未來的不同之處在於我們打算服務的終端市場的規模，以及我們利用現有基礎設施所能創造的價值。擴大動物飼料市場的規模其實非常簡單。市場很大，但分散程度不高。每一個潛在的合作夥伴，無論是動物生產商或種子公司，都代表著數百萬英畝的土地。

Given the response we've received from the animal industry and the nature of the offtake discussions underway, we anticipate that the demand will outstrip the supply of our UHP-LO parent seed, which will be our rate-limiting factor over the next two years. During that time, we expect to establish strategic partnerships and offtake agreements with animal producers to further demonstrate the value proposition of our soybeans.

鑑於我們從動物產業收到的回饋以及正在進行的承購談判的性質，我們預計需求將超過我們的 UHP-LO 親本種子的供應，這將成為我們未來兩年的限速因素。在此期間，我們希望與動物生產者建立戰略合作夥伴關係和承購協議，以進一步展示我們大豆的價值主張。

In addition, we expect to expand licensing agreements with seed companies to expand our go-to-market reach. A number of initiatives have already been advanced to lay the groundwork for these partnerships. For example, we've doubled the size of our seed licensing and distribution network in the past 12 months. Most of these seed companies will be testing our latest varieties in the field this year, and we're validating the agronomic characteristics of our varieties through an extensive network of universities and independent testing centers. Over the next two years, we will also conduct additional animal feed studies from multiple market segments within swine, poultry, and aqua.

此外，我們希望擴大與種子公司的授權協議，以擴大我們的市場範圍。目前已採取多項措施為這些夥伴關係奠定基礎。例如，在過去的 12 個月裡，我們的種子許可和分銷網絡的規模擴大了一倍。大多數種子公司今年將在田間測試我們的最新品種，並且我們正在透過廣泛的大學和獨立測試中心網絡驗證我們品種的農業特性。在接下來的兩年裡，我們也將對豬、家禽和水產等多個細分市場的動物飼料進行更多的研究。

As I reflect on the scope and complexity of what the team has achieved in just a few short months, I'm confident and excited about what we expect to accomplish going forward. We have revalidated our technology pipeline, built a new business model, reshaped the organization, divested two processing assets, retired debt, reduced costs and laid the groundwork with future partners. The energy and focus of the team is now entirely dedicated to operating the business, securing capital and land in strategic partnerships.

當我回顧團隊在短短幾個月內所取得的成就的範圍和複雜性時，我對我們未來期望取得的成就充滿信心和興奮。我們重新驗證了我們的技術管道，建立了新的商業模式，重塑了組織，剝離了兩項加工資產，償還了債務，降低了成本，並為未來的合作夥伴奠定了基礎。團隊的精力和注意力現在全部致力於營運業務、確保策略合作夥伴關係的資本和土地。

Benson Hill is now at an inflection point in 2024 as we evolve the company to drive shareholder value. As I close, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Dean Freeman for his contributions and guidance as CFO of Benson Hill. Dean has been a wonderful partner, and we wish him the best in his next chapter.

2024 年，Benson Hill 正處於一個轉捩點，我們將持續推進公司發展，以提升股東價值。最後，我想藉此機會感謝 Dean Freeman 作為 Benson Hill 財務長所做的貢獻和指導。迪恩 (Dean) 是一位出色的合作夥伴，我們祝他在新的篇章中一切順利。

I'll turn it over to him now to cover the 2023 financial results and things you can watch for in 2024. Dean?

現在我將把主題交給他，介紹 2023 年的財務表現以及 2024 年值得關注的事情。院長？

Thanks, Deanie, and good morning, everybody, and thank you for your support and good wishes after the announcement of my transition. It's really been an honor and a great pleasure to be with Benson Hill on this part of the journey. I am proud of the work we've done in the last two years to position the company for future success. I really enjoyed working with Susan over the last few weeks, and I believe she's an excellent choice as a CFO for Benson Hill's next phase.

謝謝，迪妮，大家早安，謝謝大家在我宣布轉變後給予的支持和祝福。我很榮幸也很開心能與 Benson Hill 一起踏上這趟旅程。我對我們過去兩年來為公司未來的成功所做的工作感到自豪。過去幾週我非常享受與蘇珊的合作，我相信她是本森希爾下一階段財務長的絕佳人選。

Okay. Let's talk results. Notably, we met or exceeded almost all of our key guidance metrics for 2023 despite an increasingly challenging market environment. It was a busy year. We not only focused on developing high-value strategies to the asset-light model, but the team was also laser-focused on executing under our existing business model, aggressively implementing actions under our expanded Liquidity Improvement Plan. This enabled us to increase revenue, substantially strengthen the balance sheet, and lower our cash burn.

好的。讓我們談談結果。值得注意的是，儘管市場環境日益嚴峻，我們仍然達到或超過了 2023 年幾乎所有關鍵指導指標。這是忙碌的一年。我們不僅專注於為輕資產模式製定高價值策略，團隊還專注於在現有業務模式下執行，積極實施擴大的流動性改善計畫下的行動。這使我們能夠增加收入、大幅增強資產負債表並降低現金消耗。

Looking at the full-year results, we reported consolidated revenues of $473 million, a 24% year-over-year improvement, driven by a 52% revenue growth in proprietary and 18% growth in non-proprietary grain products, respectively for the year. Higher revenues at the end of the year were driven by higher volume proprietary grain sales and the sale of noncore technology licenses.

縱觀全年業績，我們報告的綜合收入為 4.73 億美元，同比增長 24%，這得益於全年專有穀物產品收入增長 52% 和非專有穀物產品收入增長 18%。年末收入的增加是由於專有穀物銷售增加以及非核心技術許可證銷售增加。

Looking beyond revenues, we also met our targets for gross profit at $23 million, more than tripling the prior year's gross profit performance. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $48 million, more than 40% improvement year over year. Free cash use of $87 million was a $13 million improvement versus the prior year but included onetime cash costs of approximately $16 million.

除了收入之外，我們還實現了 2,300 萬美元的毛利目標，比前一年的毛利成長了兩倍多。調整後 EBITDA 虧損 4,800 萬美元，較上年同期改善超過 40%。8,700 萬美元的自由現金使用量比前一年增加了 1,300 萬美元，但其中包括約 1,600 萬美元的一次性現金成本。

That sets us up for further improvement going forward and exceeded our cash used targets of $102 million to $107 million. We ended the year with approximately $49 million in cash and marketable securities. Our year-over-year improvements were largely driven by higher volume proprietary revenues, cost and cash efficiency actions.

這為我們今後的進一步進步奠定了基礎，並且超越了我們 1.02 億美元至 1.07 億美元的現金使用目標。截至年底，我們的現金和有價證券約為 4,900 萬美元。我們的年成長主要得益於更高的專有收入、成本和現金效率行動。

Let's look at our operating expenses in a bit more detail. For the year, total operating expenses were $128 million. It's important to note that those included approximately $19 million in goodwill impairment that we previously disclosed in the second quarter, and approximately $13 million in net charges related to non-recurring severance and other related costs associated with the asset divestitures, business transformation, and cost reduction actions for the execution of our expanded Liquidity Improvement Plan.

讓我們更詳細地看一下我們的營運費用。全年總營運費用為 1.28 億美元。值得注意的是，這些包括我們在第二季度披露的約 1900 萬美元的商譽減值，以及與非經常性遣散費相關的約 1300 萬美元的淨費用，以及與資產剝離、業務轉型和執行擴大的流動性改善計劃的成本削減行動相關的其他相關成本。

Turning to 2024, it will truly be a year of transition. Keep in mind that our reported revenues for 2023 largely came from soy processing assets that we've now divested. 2024 is going to look very different as we plan to gain momentum as a provider of seed innovations for the animal feed market.

展望2024年，這將真正是一個過渡之年。請記住，我們報告的 2023 年收入主要來自我們現已剝離的大豆加工資產。 2024 年將會截然不同，我們計劃作為動物飼料市場種子創新提供者獲得發展動力。

In 2024, the company's revenues will include the runoff of the previous business model, including the sale of grain and other products associated with our legacy ingredients business. We expect much lower revenue going forward as a result of these recent divestitures.

2024 年，公司的收入將包括先前商業模式的收入，包括穀物和與我們傳統原料業務相關的其他產品的銷售。我們預計，由於最近的這些資產剝離，未來的收入將大幅下降。

While gross profit will decline proportionately with revenue during the balance of this transition, we expect to substantially improve the quality of our earnings over time as we build out the partnership model. Coupled with further reductions in operating expenses, we expect to see a significant reduction in the losses from continuing operations and further improvements of adjusted EBITDA. With the retirement of high-cost debt, coupled with the elimination of highly restrictive covenants, provides ample optionality for further financing opportunities. In fact, we are in the process of exploring additional financing and strategic alternatives to expand our liquidity through the balance of 2024 and beyond.

雖然在過渡期間毛利將隨收入按比例下降，但隨著合作模式的建立，我們預計獲利品質將隨著時間的推移大幅提高。加上營業費用的進一步降低，我們預計持續經營損失將大幅減少，調整後EBITDA將進一步改善。隨著高成本債務的償還，加上高度限制性契約的取消，為進一步的融資機會提供了充足的選擇。事實上，我們正​​在探索額外的融資和策略替代方案，以便在 2024 年及以後擴大我們的流動性。

As we consider key performance factors in 2024, we will be guided by five key areas. One, successful transition of our legacy business model. Second, continued improvement of our operating expenses and margins. Three, acquisition of strategic partnership and licensing deals. Four, optimization of our capital structure. And finally, expansion of our intellectual property and advancement of our technology pipeline.

在考慮 2024 年的關鍵績效因素時，我們將遵循五個關鍵領域。一、成功轉型我們的傳統商業模式。第二，我們的營業費用和利潤率持續改善。三、取得策略夥伴和授權交易。四、優化資本結構。最後，擴大我們的智慧財產權並推進我們的技術管道。

Benson Hill has proven year after year that the team can perform, execute, and adapt. We are seeing substantial demand for innovations created with our core technologies to create a durable runway of growth.

本森希爾年復一年地證明了這支球隊的出色表現、執行力和適應能力。我們看到，利用我們的核心技術進行創新的需求龐大，從而創造了持久的成長空間。

With that, we'd like to open up for Q&A.

現在，我們想開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Kristen Owen from New Jersey.

（操作員指示）來自新澤西州的克里斯汀歐文。

Well, I didn't know that I was from New Jersey but from Oppenheimer. (laughter)

嗯，我不知道我來自新澤西，而是來自奧本海默。（笑聲）

Kristen from New Jersey.

來自新澤西的克莉絲汀。

Well, here we go, guys. First, Dean, thank you, also for your leadership. And Susan, welcome to the team. I understand at this point, in the transition of the business model, revenue clarity is really not necessarily there today to be able to provide some concrete guidance for 2024.

好，夥計們，我們開始吧。首先，院長，我感謝您，也感謝您的領導。蘇珊，歡迎加入團隊。我理解，在現階段，在商業模式的轉變中，收入透明度實際上並不一定能夠為 2024 年提供一些具體的指導。

But I'm wondering, as we think about the building of the pipeline, some of the third-party validation that you're doing, the expansion of varieties, can you maybe just help us understand what the milestones are that we'll be looking for that ultimately contribute to future revenue potential? Just help us understand how to track the business maybe over the next 12 to 18 months.

但我想知道，當我們考慮管道的構建、您正在進行的一些第三方驗證以及品種的擴展時，您能否幫助我們了解我們將尋找的里程碑是什麼，最終有助於未來的收入潛力？只是幫助我們了解如何在未來 12 到 18 個月內追蹤業務。

Yeah. Hi, Kristen, from New Jersey. Dean from St. Louis. Look, I think the way the script reads, if you kind of parse through it, I think there's really two key factors. One is I think we've got to get through the legacy business transition. And while we've divested assets and we've done a lot of fantastic work, there's still a lift through the early part of 2024 that we'll have to work through. And that's going to -- that has the potential -- depending on how things play out, that has the potential to bring a little bit of volatility into our revenue outlook for the year.

是的。你好，克里斯汀，來自新澤西。來自聖路易斯的迪恩。看，我認為劇本的讀法，如果你仔細分析一下，我認為實際上有兩個關鍵因素。一是我認為我們必須完成傳統業務的轉型。雖然我們已經剝離了資產，並且做了許多出色的工作，但到 2024 年初我們仍然需要努力克服困難。而這有可能——取決於事態如何發展，有可能為我們今年的收入前景帶來一點波動。

But I think the key attributes is really the development and the securing of partnership and licensing transactions. And I think as I pointed out in sort of my five-step KPIs, key performance indicators for the year, that is a critical one. And to the extent that we announced secure and then obviously execute on those partnerships and licensing, those are the key aspects, I think, of the performance that you should expect that allows us -- enables us to achieve the revenue performance that we expect in 2024 and beyond.

但我認為關鍵因素實際上是合作夥伴關係和授權交易的發展和保障。我認為，正如我在五步 KPI（年度關鍵績效指標）中指出的那樣，這是一個關鍵指標。就我們宣布的安全以及隨後顯然執行的合作和許可而言，我認為，這些是您應該期待的業績的關鍵方面，這使我們能夠實現我們在 2024 年及以後預期的收入業績。

Kristen, the only other thing I would add to that, just for perspective, if you go back to our '23 results, proprietary representing about 25% of our revenue stream. And so as we go forward and we transition out with no longer having soy processing assets, what we're primarily pushing through is the 2023 grain harvest.

克莉絲汀，我唯一想補充的是，僅從角度來看，如果你回顧我們 23 年的業績，專有業務約占我們收入來源的 25%。因此，隨著我們向前發展並不再擁有大豆加工資產，我們主要要推動的是 2023 年的穀物收穫。

And so it just gives you kind of a benchmark for how to think about those numbers. We're no longer pushing really the commodity side of the business through, and we're transitioning out of directly handling and processing the proprietary side of the business.

所以它只是為你思考這些數字提供了一個基準。我們不再真正推動業務的商品方面，我們正在轉向直接處理和加工業務的專有方面。

And Dean's right. At the same time, we're going to be doing a handoff to those strategic partnerships and begin to build the revenue through those strategic partnerships. And strategic partnerships will be the milestones by which we will benchmark our revenue going forward. But they can be sizable and I think that we'll be able to update you as we land those.

Dean說得對。同時，我們將與這些策略夥伴進行交接，並開始透過這些策略合作夥伴創造收入。策略夥伴關係將成為我們未來收入衡量的里程碑。但它們的規模可能相當大，我想，一旦我們找到它們，我們就能向你們更新消息。

Okay. And forgive me then. I'm just looking for maybe a little bit of -- forgive the expression, but how the stockage is made. When you sign a strategic partnership, is there an upfront licensing technology fee that you recognize and then there's a period of time over which they're done some bulking up of seed. And just help me understand like what the cadence of that kind of agreement looks like.

好的。那請原諒我。我只是在尋找一點——請原諒我的表達，但想知道儲存是如何製作的。當您簽署策略合作夥伴關係時，您是否會確認預付了技術授權費用，然後他們會在一段時間內完成種子的累積。並幫助我理解這種協議的節奏是什麼樣的。

Absolutely. So I'll give you a little bit of background. The strategic partnerships span an array of profiles. In some cases, if they are exclusive in nature, they have had exclusivity or tech access fees tied to them. If they're more tolling in nature or more broad-based in nature, they tend to be offtake agreements. So it just depends on the strategic partnership we have arranged.

絕對地。所以我將向你介紹一些背景。策略夥伴關係涵蓋多種類型。在某些情況下，如果它們本質上是獨家的，那麼它們就會享有與之相關的獨家經營權或技術使用費。如果它們的收費性質更強或範圍更廣，則它們往往會成為承購協議。所以這只取決於我們安排的策略夥伴關係。

We have managed historically both in terms of licensing our germplasm, the tolling, the seed distribution, and then, of course, the exclusivity that comes with typically some kind of exclusivity fee along with that. In terms of how the seed bulk up happens and the offtake happens, I mentioned in the upfront comments, we -- our rate-limiting factor on UHP-LO is the speed and the breadth by which we can build these seeds out.

我們歷來致力於管理種原的許可、收費、種子分銷，當然還有通常伴隨某種排他性費用而來的排他性。關於種子如何增量以及如何銷售，我在前期評論中提到過，我們對 UHP-LO 的速率限制因素是我們可以建立這些種子的速度和廣度。

And so we are building these seeds over the next two years as quickly as possible, but literally bulking them up as quickly as possible to get to as many acres as possible. We believe that the demand for those -- that grain is going to outpace our ability to produce those seeds. So we believe we're going to be going at maximum speed to get these out. We have talked about historically that we are introgressing the herbicide tolerance trait into UHP-LO. That begins to go on the ground in 2026.

因此，我們將在未來兩年內盡快培育這些種子，但實際上會盡快將它們大量種植，以達到盡可能多的種植面積。我們相信，對這些穀物的需求將超過我們生產這些種子的能力。因此我們相信我們將以最快的速度完成這些任務。我們過去曾討論過將除草劑耐受性特性滲入 UHP-LO 中。該計畫將於 2026 年開始實施。

The reason why that's important is because that provides weed control. And when you think about broad acre access or the acres needed to support supply for an animal feed segment, literally 28 million acres in the US annually, you need to have HT introgressed into your germplasm so that you can produce seeds that farmers can grow in broad acre amounts.

這之所以很重要是因為它能夠控制雜草。當您考慮廣闊的土地使用權或支持動物飼料供應所需的土地時，美國每年有 2800 萬英畝的土地，您需要將 HT 基因滲入您的種質中，這樣您才能生產農民可以在廣闊的土地上種植的種子。

And so our focus in the next two years is to go as fast as we can, land the strategic partnerships to literally tie up that demand, and we're confident we are in process to do that and then hit HT and move to broad acre in 2027. And that's why we say our plan really is de-risked in terms of the innovation requirement, the creativity requirement, and really the focus is how fast can we execute and how broad can we go. And so it really becomes a derisked plan focused on executional excellence.

因此，我們在未來兩年的重點是盡可能快地發展，建立戰略合作夥伴關係，以真正滿足這一需求，我們有信心正在做到這一點，然後在 2027 年達到 HT 並轉向廣泛應用。這就是為什麼我們說我們的計劃在創新要求和創造力要求方面確實是沒有風險的，我們真正的重點在於我們執行的速度有多快以及我們能走多遠。因此它實際上成為一個專注於卓越執行的低風險計劃。

That's extremely helpful. Thank you for that color. The last one for me. Just thinking through the support -- the OpEx reduction that you've taken, how you're thinking about run rate operating expense to kind of bridge you through this timeline over the next two years?

這非常有幫助。謝謝你的色彩。對我來說這是最後一個。只是考慮一下您所獲得的支援 - 營運支出的減少，您如何考慮運行率營運費用以幫助您在未來兩年內完成這個時間表？

Yeah, Kristen, I think when we talked about cash OpEx and we talked about CapEx, we set a target of about -- between $55 million and $60 million. We've achieved that target on a run-rate basis. And we expect that -- obviously within the script, we talked a lot about continuing to assess the cost structure of the company and aligning it with the needs of the business. But you should expect that that $55 million to $60 million run rate is sort of the run rate through 2024 as we communicated with. Certainly, a room for improvement from there.

是的，克莉絲汀，我想當我們談論現金營運支出和資本支出時，我們設定的目標約為 5,500 萬美元至 6,000 萬美元之間。我們已經按運行率實現了該目標。我們預計——顯然在劇本中，我們談了很多關於繼續評估公司的成本結構並使其與業務需求保持一致的內容。但您應該預計，正如我們所溝通的那樣，5500 萬至 6000 萬美元的運行率是到 2024 年的運行率。當然，還有改進的空間。

Yeah, I think to Dean's point, and he made some, I think, really important points in his script. And it was really around how the cash burn or the run rate is going to drop over time. Because we really would expect depending on the financial structure, to see a substantial improvement in our quality of earnings over time as we build out this partnership model.

是的，我認為迪恩的觀點是正確的，而且我認為他在劇本中提出了一些非常重要的觀點。這實際上是關於現金消耗或運行率隨著時間的推移將如何下降。因為我們確實希望，隨著我們建立這種合作模式，我們的獲利品質會隨著時間的推移而大幅提高，這取決於財務結構。

So that, combined with further reductions in operating expenses, would result in a less of a cash burn going forward. We have a transition plan in place. And to Dean's point, we'll continue to manage the OpEx and the expenses so that we can deliver against the strategy.

因此，再加上進一步削減營運費用，未來的現金消耗將會減少。我們已製定過渡計劃。正如 Dean 所說，我們將繼續管理營運支出和費用，以便能夠實現策略。

Thank you so much for the time. I appreciate it.

非常感謝您抽出時間。我很感激。

You bet. Thank you.

當然。謝謝。

We have no further questions in the queue. So I will hand over to Deanie Elsner for their closing remarks.

我們沒有其他問題了。因此，我將把時間交給 Deanie Elsner 來做結束語。

Thank you again for joining us this morning to take a look back at 2023 and hear more about where we're headed in '24 and beyond.

再次感謝您今天早上加入我們，回顧 2023 年，並進一步了解我們在 2024 年及以後的發展方向。

Benson Hill has a true competitive advantage, a well-defined strategy, and a really strong management team, all poised to propel us forward. I'm extremely confident our opportunities to create the additional runway we need to execute the robust value-creation strategy we've outlined with you today. Please get in touch with Tana Murphy if you have any additional questions and really have a great day. Thank you so much.

Benson Hill 擁有真正的競爭優勢、明確的策略和真正強大的管理團隊，所有這些都將推動我們前進。我非常有信心，我們有機會創造額外的跑道，以執行我們今天與您概述的強勁價值創造策略。如果您還有其他問題，請聯絡 Tana Murphy 並祝您有個愉快的一天。太感謝了。

That completes the Benson Hill conference call. You may now disconnect your line and exit the webcast.

本森希爾電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路並退出網路直播。