Ballard Power Systems Inc (BLDP) 2019 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Ballard Power Systems Q1 2019 Conference Call. (Operator Instructions). I would now like to turn the conference over to Guy McAree, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

感謝您耐心等候。我是會議接線員。歡迎參加 Ballard Power Systems 2019 年第一季財報電話會議。(接線員指示)。現在我想把會議交給投資人關係總監 Guy McAree。先生，請開始。

Great, thanks very much and welcome everybody to Ballard's first quarter 2019 results conference call. With us today on the call are Randy MacEwen, our President and CEO, and Tony Guglielmin, our Chief Financial Officer.

好的，非常感謝，也歡迎各位參加 Ballard 2019 年第一季業績電話會議。今天與會的有我們的總裁兼執行長 Randy MacEwen，以及財務長 Tony Guglielmin。

We're going to be making forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectations, beliefs and assumptions concerning future events. Actual results could be materially different. Please refer to our most recent annual information form and other public filings for a complete disclaimer and related information. So on the call today, Randy is going to provide an update on the execution of our corporate strategy. Tony is going to review our Q1 2019 financials and then we'll open the call for questions and answers.

我們將發表前瞻性陳述，這些陳述係基於管理層對未來事件之目前預期、信念與假設。實際結果可能會有重大差異。請參閱我們最近一期年度資訊表及其他公開申報文件，以取得完整的免責聲明與相關資訊。因此在今天的電話會議中，Randy 將就我們公司策略的執行情況提供最新進展。Tony 將回顧我們 2019 年第一季財務表現，之後我們將開放問答。

Just a brief note that Ballard is going to be meeting with investors to discuss strategic direction and operational highlights at several upcoming conferences: The Oppenheimer Emerging Growth Conference in New York City on May 14th, The 20th Annual B. Riley FBR Investor Conference in Los Angeles on May 22nd and 23rd, and the Cowen 47th Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in New York on May the 30th. And I'll now turn the call over to Randy.

簡要說明一下，Ballard 將在接下來幾場會議與投資人會面，討論策略方向與營運重點：5 月 14 日於紐約市舉行的 Oppenheimer Emerging Growth Conference、5 月 22 日與 23 日於洛杉磯舉行的第 20 屆 B. Riley FBR Investor Conference，以及 5 月 30 日於紐約舉行的 Cowen 第 47 屆年度 Technology, Media & Telecom Conference。接下來我把電話交給 Randy。

Thanks, Guy and welcome everyone to today's conference call. [Q1 2019] results were consistent with our expectation for a softer start to the year. We delivered revenue of $16 million, gross margin of 14% and ending cash reserves of $165 million. With a 12-month order book of $76 million at March 31st bolstered by the $44 million deal with our Weichai-Ballard joint venture announced yesterday and further supported by our sales pipeline, we have a strong setup for the back half of 2019 and forecasted growth into 2020.

謝謝你，Guy，也歡迎各位參加今天的電話會議。[Q1 2019] 的結果符合我們對年初較為疲弱開局的預期。我們實現營收 1,600 萬美元、毛利率 14%，期末現金儲備 1.65 億美元。截至 3 月 31 日的 12 個月訂單簿為 7,600 萬美元，並因昨日宣布與濰柴—Ballard 合資公司達成的 4,400 萬美元交易而獲得強化，且在我們銷售管線的進一步支撐下，我們已為 2019 年下半年以及延伸至 2020 年的預期成長奠定良好基礎。

There's an extraordinarily high level of activities, developments, and progress bubbling below the surface that are not reflected in our Q1 results. As a result, our long-term outlook is very strong. Our line of sight to commercial scaling and profitability is improving. With a backdrop of continued encouraging policy and industry signals in the first quarter, we made solid progress in the execution of our corporate strategy across key markets. We see clear signs of diesel engine disruption in heavy and medium duty motive applications including bus, commercial truck, rail and marine. We expect fuel cell electric vehicles or FCEVs to offer a compelling zero-emission value proposition for use cases requiring long range, rapid refueling, heavy payload and route flexibility and where the barriers to hydrogen refueling infrastructure are lowest, such as centralized depot refueling.

在表面之下，有極其大量的活動、發展與進展正在醞釀，但並未反映在我們第一季的結果中。因此，我們的長期展望非常強勁。我們對商業化擴產與達成獲利的可視性正在提升。在第一季持續出現令人鼓舞的政策與產業訊號背景下，我們在關鍵市場的公司策略執行方面取得了扎實進展。我們看到在重型與中型動力應用（包括巴士、商用卡車、鐵道與海事）中，柴油引擎被顛覆的明確跡象。我們預期燃料電池電動車（FCEV）將為需要長續航、快速加氫、重載荷與路線彈性，且氫燃料補給基礎設施障礙最低的使用情境（例如集中式車隊基地加氫）提供具吸引力的零排放價值主張。

As demonstrated at the ACT Expo held in April in Long Beach, there is a fast-growing movement towards electrification of commercial trucks. There's also a growing recognition that lithium-ion batteries are too heavy for Class 8 long haul applications and this market is best served by fuel cell electric solutions. Truck emissions typically don't receive the same level of attention as do the emission standards for passenger cars. There is now growing evidence that change is underway. Of course, the global truck market is massive. In 2018, global truck sales were 3.2 million including heavy duty truck sales of 2.4 million units. Notably, China accounted for 1.3 million trucks sold in 2018 or approximately 41% of the global total and 49% of global heavy duty truck sales.

如同 4 月在長灘舉行的 ACT Expo 所展示的，商用卡車電動化正快速形成並成長為一股趨勢。同時也越來越多人認知到，鋰離子電池對於第 8 級長途運輸應用而言過於沉重，而此市場最適合由燃料電池電動解決方案來服務。卡車排放通常不像乘用車排放標準那樣受到同等程度的關注。目前已有越來越多證據顯示變革正在發生。當然，全球卡車市場規模龐大。2018 年全球卡車銷量為 320 萬輛，其中重型卡車銷量為 240 萬輛。值得注意的是，中國 2018 年售出 130 萬輛卡車，約占全球總量的 41%，並占全球重型卡車銷量的 49%。

In Europe, road transportation accounts for almost 20% of all CO2 emissions with trucks alone accounting for about 30% of the transportation total. Truck sales in Europe were just under 400,000 units last year or about 12% of global sales. So the issue of truck emissions in Europe will continue to grow and garner significant attention. In February, the EU agreed for the first time to place restrictions on trucks' CO2 emissions, setting new limits at a 15% reduction by 2025 and 30% by 2030. In 2022, the rules will also be extended to medium duty trucks, buses and trailers. As with cars, individual OEMs will be subject to specific EU CO2 emission targets based on their fleet composition. There will also be financial penalties for non-achievement of the CO2 targets.

在歐洲，道路運輸約占全部二氧化碳排放的近 20%，其中僅卡車就約占運輸總量的 30%。歐洲去年的卡車銷量略低於 40 萬輛，約占全球銷量的 12%。因此，歐洲的卡車排放議題將持續擴大並受到高度關注。2 月，歐盟首次同意對卡車的二氧化碳排放施加限制，設定新的上限：到 2025 年減少 15%，到 2030 年減少 30%。2022 年，相關規則也將擴及中型卡車、巴士與拖車。與乘用車相同，各家 OEM 將依其車隊組成而適用特定的歐盟二氧化碳排放目標。未達成二氧化碳目標亦將面臨財務罰款。

Globally, we expect other countries to follow this landmark EU legislation. We believe that truck emissions in the future will be more heavily regulated with countries like China, the US, Canada, India and Japan currently reviewing the EU measures closely and we expect CO2 emission targets and resulting fines like those contemplated in Europe to become a key factor in the investment by truck OEMs in zero-emission technologies and solutions including fuel cells.

在全球範圍內，我們預期其他國家將跟進這項具里程碑意義的歐盟立法。我們相信未來卡車排放將受到更嚴格的監管；目前中國、美國、加拿大、印度與日本等國正密切檢視歐盟措施，我們預期類似歐洲所規劃的二氧化碳排放目標及其衍生罰款，將成為卡車 OEM 投資零排放技術與解決方案（包括燃料電池）的關鍵因素。

I'd like to now provide an update on China where the market for FCEVs continues to evolve. Speaking to the Automotive News China publication in March, Professor Ouyang, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dean of the Department of Automotive Engineering at Tsinghua University, forecasted 1 million FCEVs on the road in China by 2030. We estimate there are currently over 2,500 fuel cell electric vehicles deployed in China, about 45% of which are buses and 55% are trucks with Ballard technology inside roughly 70% of all of these vehicles. Commercial vehicles in China powered by Ballard technology have now driven in excess of 8 million kilometers. Furthermore, we estimate there are now 24 hydrogen fueling stations in operation in China and another 37 currently under construction.

接下來我想更新中國市場的情況，當地 FCEV 市場仍在持續演進。清華大學汽車工程系主任、同時為中國科學院院士的歐陽教授於 3 月接受《Automotive News China》訪談時預測，到 2030 年中國道路上將有 100 萬輛 FCEV。我們估計目前中國已部署超過 2,500 輛燃料電池電動車，其中約 45% 為巴士、55% 為卡車，而約 70% 的這些車輛採用 Ballard 技術。採用 Ballard 技術的中國商用車累計行駛里程現已超過 800 萬公里。此外，我們估計目前中國已有 24 座加氫站投入營運，另有 37 座正在建設中。

Importantly, on March 15th, China's State Council announced the inclusion in the annual government work report of a proposal to promote the development and construction of fueling stations for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. In March, the China Ministry of Technology also announced changes to battery electric vehicle or BEV new energy vehicle subsidies. The national subsidy levels are being reduced by 50% for BEVs with a range in excess of 400 kilometers and being completely eliminated for BEVs with a range of less than 250 kilometers. In addition, local subsidies are being eliminated altogether. On a relative basis, there continues to be strong subsidy support for FCEVs in China and we're awaiting the release of a new subsidy policy for FCEVs expected by the end of June.

重要的是，3 月 15 日，中國國務院在年度政府工作報告中宣布納入一項提案，以推動氫燃料電池車加氫站的發展與建設。3 月，中國科技部亦宣布調整純電動車（BEV）新能源車補貼。對於續航里程超過 400 公里的 BEV，國家補貼水準下調 50%；對於續航里程低於 250 公里的 BEV，則完全取消補貼。此外，地方補貼也將全面取消。相較之下，中國對 FCEV 仍持續提供強勁的補貼支持；我們正等待新的 FCEV 補貼政策發布，預期將於 6 月底前公布。

Also, our progress on the Weichai collaboration is tracking on plan. This work has included key development and testing activities on our next-generation LCS stack and next generation module and early technology transfer activities. Planning and construction activity on the joint venture facility in Weifang, Shandong province is tracking ahead of our initial expectations and we're currently anticipating completion and commissioning of the facility later this year. Overall, we remain bullish on the long-term outlook for the FCEV market in China and we expect our Weichai-Ballard joint venture to become the leading PEM fuel cell platform in this large market. And on that point, yesterday, we announced a $44 million agreement with the Weichai-Ballard joint venture for products and services to enable Weichai's initial deployments against its commitment to supply a minimum of 2,000 fuel cell modules for commercial vehicles in China by 2021.

此外，我們在與濰柴合作方面的進展正按計畫推進。這項工作包括我們下一代 LCS 電堆與下一代模組的關鍵開發與測試活動，以及早期的技術移轉活動。位於山東省濰坊的合資工廠之規劃與建設進度超出我們最初的預期，我們目前預計該設施將於今年稍晚完成並進行試運轉與投產。整體而言，我們仍然看好中國 FCEV 市場的長期前景，並預期我們的濰柴-Ballard 合資公司將成為這個龐大市場中領先的 PEM 燃料電池平台。也正因如此，昨天我們宣布與濰柴-Ballard 合資公司簽署一項 4,400 萬美元的產品與服務協議，以支持濰柴的初期部署，並履行其承諾：在 2021 年前於中國為商用車供應至少 2,000 套燃料電池模組。

Moving now to Europe. As we continue to await delayed JIVE program orders for buses, key developments during the first quarter related to the considerable progress we made in the marine sector. Just a reminder that at Ballard, we're focusing on utilizing the same technology products and core competencies to address power needs across a range of transportation and motive applications including buses, trucks, trains and now marine. This is an effective strategy to manage cost and leverage our technology advances for maximum advantage in the marketplace. Reduction of pollutants and carbon emissions is a high priority for the marine industry and for port cities around the world. Governments are introducing regulations to restrict diesel emissions, which is contributing to greater interest in zero-emission fuel cell technology. Having estimated that ships emitted more than 1.1 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2008 representing 3.5% of the global total that year, the United Nations International Maritime Organization subsequently announced a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships including a 50% reduction target in GHGs by 2050 as compared to the 2008 level.

接著談歐洲。在我們持續等待延遲的 JIVE 計畫巴士訂單之際，第一季的關鍵進展與我們在海事領域取得的顯著進步相關。提醒一下，在 Ballard，我們專注於運用相同的技術產品與核心能力，來滿足各類運輸與移動應用的動力需求，包括巴士、卡車、火車，而現在也包括海事。這是一項有效的策略，可用於控管成本，並將我們的技術進展加以槓桿化，以在市場中取得最大優勢。降低污染物與碳排放是海事產業以及全球各港口城市的高度優先事項。各國政府正推出限制柴油排放的法規，進而提升市場對零排放燃料電池技術的興趣。在估計船舶於 2008 年排放超過 11 億噸 CO2、約占當年全球總量的 3.5% 之後，聯合國國際海事組織隨後宣布一項降低船舶溫室氣體排放的策略，其中包括以 2008 年為基準、到 2050 年將溫室氣體排放量減少 50% 的目標。

Against this backdrop, we expect fuel cells will offer a strong zero-emission value proposition for the marine market in both standalone and hybrid configurations with batteries based on design flexibility, extended range, and total cost of ownership. Last year, we announced our MoU with ABB in relation to the development of a large scale fuel cell system for port-based hotel power in the cruise ship segment. We also announced our work in a consortium to build and launch the HySeas III ferry, which will operate off the coast of Scotland. In Q1 this year, we announced our participation in the H2PORTS project which is aimed at facilitating a transition at European ports from fossil fuels to low carbon zero-emission alternatives based on hydrogen and fuel cells. The first H2PORTS initiative is a deployment of fuel cell powered equipment and a mobile hydrogen refueling station at the port of Valencia in Spain.

在此背景下，我們預期燃料電池將以其設計彈性、延長續航里程與總持有成本等優勢，在海事市場中以獨立或與電池混合的配置，提供強而有力的零排放價值主張。去年，我們宣布與 ABB 簽署諒解備忘錄（MoU），共同開發用於郵輪領域、以港口為基礎的「旅館負載」供電之大型燃料電池系統。我們也宣布參與一個聯盟，建造並下水 HySeas III 渡輪，該船將在蘇格蘭外海營運。今年第一季，我們宣布參與 H2PORTS 專案，該專案旨在促進歐洲港口從化石燃料轉向以氫能與燃料電池為基礎的低碳零排放替代方案。H2PORTS 的第一項倡議是在西班牙瓦倫西亞港部署燃料電池驅動設備，以及一座移動式氫燃料加注站。

Norway has been a leader in regulating movement towards electrification in the car market and more recently in the marine sector where Norway has close to 200 ferries carrying passengers, cars and trucks throughout its extensive coastal networks. Subsequent to Q1, we announced a supply agreement with Norled A/S, one of Norway's largest ferry operators to provide next-generation 200-kilowatt power modules for a hybrid ferry that's planned to begin operation in 2021. The Norled ferry will be capable of carrying up to 299 passengers along with 80 cars and will be the first liquid hydrogen fuel cell powered ferry in commercial operation globally.

挪威一直是推動汽車市場電動化監管的領先者，近年也擴及海事領域；挪威擁有近 200 艘渡輪，於其廣泛的沿海航線網絡中載運乘客、汽車與卡車。在第一季之後，我們宣布與 Norled A/S（挪威最大的渡輪營運商之一）簽署供應協議，將為一艘預計於 2021 年開始營運的混合動力渡輪提供下一代 200 千瓦動力模組。該 Norled 渡輪可搭載最多 299 名乘客及 80 輛汽車，並將成為全球首艘投入商業營運的液態氫燃料電池渡輪。

And finally, with increasing pressure on port cities to decarbonize maritime applications, last month, we announced our plan to establish a Marine Center of Excellence or Marine CoE at our engineering, manufacturing and service facility in Hobro, Denmark. The Marine CoE will design and manufacture heavy duty fuel cell modules to address zero-emission powertrain requirements for the fast emerging marine industry. We have planned a new motive fuel cell system manufacturing hall that will be constructed and operational at the Hobro location by year-end 2019 with expected annual production capacity of more than 15 megawatts of fuel cell modules. Development work at the Marine CoE will be based on our new FCgen-LCS fuel cell stack and FCmove-HD fuel cell module. All Marine CoE development work will be designed to meet European marine codes and standards and other applicable certification requirements.

最後，隨著港口城市在海事應用去碳化方面承受日益增加的壓力，上個月我們宣布計畫在丹麥霍布羅（Hobro）的工程、製造與服務設施設立海事卓越中心（Marine Center of Excellence，或 Marine CoE）。Marine CoE 將設計並製造重型燃料電池模組，以滿足快速興起的海事產業對零排放動力系統的需求。我們已規劃一座新的移動用燃料電池系統製造廠房，將於 2019 年底前在霍布羅據點完成建置並投入運作，預期燃料電池模組年產能超過 15 兆瓦。Marine CoE 的開發工作將以我們新的 FCgen-LCS 燃料電池電堆與 FCmove-HD 燃料電池模組為基礎。所有 Marine CoE 的開發工作都將依照歐洲海事法規與標準，以及其他適用的認證要求進行設計。

In North America, an exciting development during Q1 was the successful completion of rigorous testing at the Altoona Bus Research and Testing Center by New Flyer's 40-foot and 60-foot Xcelsior fuel cell electric buses, both powered by Ballard FCveloCity-HD 85 kilowatt modules. As a result, these New Flyer buses now join the ElDorado National 40-foot Axess bus also powered by Ballard in being the only fuel cell buses commercially available for sale utilizing Federal Transit Administration funding and California HVIP funding.

在北美，第一季一項令人振奮的進展是：New Flyer 的 40 呎與 60 呎 Xcelsior 燃料電池電動巴士在 Altoona 巴士研究與測試中心成功完成嚴格測試，兩款車型皆由 Ballard FCveloCity-HD 85 千瓦模組提供動力。因此，這些 New Flyer 巴士如今與同樣採用 Ballard 動力的 ElDorado National 40 呎 Axess 巴士一同，成為目前市場上唯二可使用聯邦運輸管理局（Federal Transit Administration）資金與加州 HVIP 資金、可商業銷售的燃料電池巴士。

Moreover, in April, New Flyer announced successful demonstration for Orange County Transit Authority of 350 miles of zero-emission range with its 40-foot Xcelsior CHARGE H2 bus equipped with Ballard's fuel cell technology. This result exceeds the 300-mile performance target by 17% without refueling. The bus operated for 28 hours with a payload representing fully seated passenger capacity and achieved 10.4 miles per diesel gallon equivalent. This is exciting performance that underscores the capability of Ballard powered fuel cell buses and the value proposition of long range.

此外，4 月 New Flyer 宣布，其配備 Ballard 燃料電池技術的 40 呎 Xcelsior CHARGE H2 巴士，已為橘郡交通局（Orange County Transit Authority）成功示範 350 英里的零排放續航里程。在無需加注燃料的情況下，該結果較 300 英里的性能目標高出 17%。該巴士在載重相當於滿座乘客容量的情況下連續運行 28 小時，並達到每柴油加侖當量 10.4 英里的效率。這項令人振奮的表現凸顯了 Ballard 動力燃料電池巴士的能力，以及長續航價值主張。

Also, our unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV team together with Rob Campbell, Ballard's Chief Commercial Officer, participated this week at the AUVSI XPONENTIAL Conference and Expo in Chicago where we launched our 600-watt and 1200-watt FCair fuel cell systems. These systems are used to power fixed-wing and multi-rotor UAVs in what we see as an exciting and fast expanding market opportunity.

另外，我們的無人機（UAV）團隊與 Ballard 首席商務長 Rob Campbell 本週一同參加在芝加哥舉行的 AUVSI XPONENTIAL 會議與展覽，並在會中推出我們的 600 瓦與 1200 瓦 FCair 燃料電池系統。我們認為這些系統可為固定翼與多旋翼無人機提供動力，對應一個令人振奮且快速擴張的市場機會。

To conclude, there is mounting evidence that the shift to zero-emission transportation is now underway and FCEVs will play an integral role and at Ballard, we believe we're positioned at the center of this transition with highly disruptive fuel cell technology. I look forward to our next update call where we expect to discuss a number of exciting developments that further demonstrate this pending transition. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Tony to briefly review the financials.

總結而言，越來越多證據顯示，零排放運輸的轉型已經展開，FCEV 將扮演不可或缺的角色；在 Ballard，我們相信憑藉高度顛覆性的燃料電池技術，我們正位於這場轉型的核心位置。我期待下一次更新電話會議，屆時我們預期將討論多項令人振奮的進展，進一步證明這項即將到來的轉型。接下來，我把電話交給 Tony，請他簡要回顧財務表現。

Thanks, Randy and good morning everyone. Top line revenue in Q1 was $16 million, down 20% year-over-year with Power Products revenue down 49% and Technology Solutions revenue up 25%. Within Power Products, Heavy Duty Motive was down 72% or $6.7 million. This was due to the year-over-year decline in MEA product shipments to China combined with Portable Power/UAV down 94% or $2.3 million reflecting the disposition of the Power Manager assets at Protonex in Q4 last year. These reductions were partially offset by increases of $2.8 million in Material Handling and $0.1 million in Backup Power. The increase in Technology Solutions revenue to $9.7 million was due primarily to increased revenue from the technology transfer program related to the Weichai-Ballard joint venture, which more than offset relatively minor declines in other projects.

謝謝你，Randy，各位早安。第一季營收（Top line revenue）為 1,600 萬美元，年減 20%；其中，動力產品（Power Products）營收年減 49%，技術解決方案（Technology Solutions）營收年增 25%。在動力產品之中，重型移動應用（Heavy Duty Motive）年減 72%，減少 670 萬美元。這主要是由於 MEA 產品對中國的出貨量較去年同期下滑，再加上可攜式電源／無人機（Portable Power/UAV）年減 94%，減少 230 萬美元，反映我們在去年第四季於 Protonex 處分 Power Manager 資產。上述降幅部分被物料搬運（Material Handling）增加 280 萬美元以及備援電力（Backup Power）增加 10 萬美元所抵銷。技術解決方案營收增加至 970 萬美元，主要是因與濰柴-Ballard 合資公司相關的技術移轉計畫帶來的收入增加，且該增幅足以抵銷其他專案相對輕微的下滑。

Gross margin was 14% for the quarter, a decline of 19 points from Q1 last year. This resulted from the decrease in high margin revenue from the MEA shipments to China as well as the lower revenues from the disposition of the Power Manager assets as well as some increased cost in the quarter to attain certain milestones in select TS contracts. The overall lower product revenue also had a negative impact on overhead absorption. However, we do expect gross margin to improve throughout the year as the Ballard JV Technology Solution program continues to ramp up along with increases in product revenues that will impact overhead absorption as well as the impact of margin on product mix. We are still expecting gross margin for the full year to be in the mid-20% range. Cash operating costs were down 13% in Q1 to $9.3 million due primarily to lower product development costs as we transitioned resources to the Weichai Technology Solutions program along with decreases in sales and marketing costs.

本季毛利率為14%，較去年第一季下滑19個百分點。此一結果主要來自：對中國之MEA出貨所帶來的高毛利營收下降、Power Manager資產處分收入降低，以及本季為達成特定TS合約中若干里程碑而增加的部分成本。整體較低的產品營收亦對間接費用吸收造成負面影響。然而，我們預期毛利率將在全年逐步改善，原因在於Ballard合資企業（JV）技術解決方案計畫持續爬坡，加上產品營收增加將改善間接費用吸收，以及產品組合對毛利率的影響。我們仍預期全年毛利率將落在20%中段區間。第一季現金營運成本下降13%至930萬美元，主要因我們將資源轉移至濰柴技術解決方案計畫後，產品開發成本降低，並且銷售與行銷成本亦有所下降。

Adjusted EBITDA in Q1 was negative $8.6 million, a decline of $4.7 million compared to the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA in Q1 also included equity investment losses of $1.9 million associated with the Weichai-Ballard JV. Net loss in Q1 was $12 million compared to a net loss of $5.5 million in Q1 last year. Adjusted net loss of $10 million in Q1 compared to a net loss of $5.5 million last year and earnings per share was negative $0.05 in Q1 compared to negative $0.03 in Q1 2018 with adjusted earnings per share of negative $0.04, compared to negative $0.03 last year. Cash used by operating activities was $10.5 million in Q1, consisting of cash operating losses of $5.7 million and working capital outflows of $4.8 million. This use in working capital largely reflects lower accounts payable resulting from the timing of supplier payments and annual compensation awards.

第一季調整後EBITDA為負8,600萬美元，較去年同期下滑470萬美元。第一季調整後EBITDA亦包含與濰柴-Ballard合資企業相關的190萬美元權益投資損失。第一季淨損為1,200萬美元，去年第一季淨損為550萬美元。第一季調整後淨損為1,000萬美元，去年為淨損550萬美元；第一季每股盈餘為負0.05美元，相較2018年第一季為負0.03美元；調整後每股盈餘為負0.04美元，相較去年為負0.03美元。第一季營運活動使用現金為1,050萬美元，其中包含現金營運虧損570萬美元及營運資金流出480萬美元。營運資金的使用主要反映應付帳款下降，係由於供應商付款時點及年度薪酬獎勵發放所致。

In terms of liquidity, we ended Q1 with cash reserves of $165 million, a 214% increase from the same time in 2018 and a 14% decline compared to the end of 2018. Finally, we ended Q1 with an order backlog of $188.4 million, a modest decrease of $6.4 million through the end of Q4 and at the end of Q1, our order book for deliveries in the following 12-month period stood at $76 million of which we expect to recognize approximately $60 million throughout the rest of this year.

就流動性而言，我們第一季末現金儲備為1.65億美元，較2018年同期增加214%，但較2018年年底下降14%。最後，我們第一季末訂單積壓（order backlog）為1.884億美元，較第四季末小幅減少640萬美元；且於第一季末，我們未來12個月交付的訂單簿（order book）為7,600萬美元，其中我們預期今年剩餘期間將認列約6,000萬美元。

Putting this all together, the $16 million in Q1 revenue when combined with the $60 million of order book we expect to recognize for the remainder of this year and the revenue expected to be recognized this year from the Weichai-Ballard JV together with our existing sales pipeline gives us confidence in confirming our full year outlook for a relatively flat revenue in 2019 compared to 2018. And with that, let me turn the call back over to the operator for questions.

綜合以上，第一季1,600萬美元營收，加上我們預期今年剩餘期間將認列的6,000萬美元訂單簿金額，以及濰柴-Ballard合資企業預計於今年認列的營收，再結合我們既有的銷售管線，使我們有信心確認全年展望：2019年營收相較2018年將大致持平。接下來我把電話交回給接線員進行提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Rob Brown with Lake Street Capital Markets.

(接線員指示) 我們的第一個問題來自Lake Street Capital Markets的Rob Brown。

First on the announced contract with the Weichai JV of $44 million. Just a little further color on what that is in terms of supplying initially to them. Is it modules or is that just stacks and is that the full 2,000 kind of vehicle units or is there more to come from that?

首先關於已宣布與濰柴合資企業簽訂的4,400萬美元合約。能否再多提供一些細節，說明一開始供應給他們的內容是什麼。是模組（modules）還是僅有堆疊（stacks）？這是否涵蓋完整的2,000台車輛單位，或之後還會有更多？

Rob, its Tony here. The contract that we described, the $44 million is actually a collection of all of the above. There are -- and again, just stepping back, as Randy alluded to we've talked about the -- we're expecting the commissioning of the JV to start later in the year and be up and fully commissioned in early 2020. So what we're -- this order constitutes is actually a collection of a small number of finished modules, but as well some stacks as well as MEAs, some plates and so forth. So as we start to deliver product, the JV will start doing local assembly initially of modules and then as we move into 2020, start doing assembly of stacks. So it is a collection of all of the above. In terms of what does that represent, it represents about a -- roughly about a third or so, maybe a little less than a third of the 2,000 unit commitment.

Rob，我是Tony。我們所描述的這份4,400萬美元合約，實際上是上述各項的集合。而且再退一步說，如Randy所提到，我們先前談過—我們預期合資企業的投產/驗收（commissioning）將在今年稍晚開始，並於2020年初完成並全面投產。因此，這筆訂單實際包含少量的成品模組，亦包含一些堆疊以及MEA，還有部分極板等。隨著我們開始交付產品，合資企業將先在當地進行模組的初期組裝，之後進入2020年，開始進行堆疊的組裝。所以它確實是上述各項的組合。至於這代表什麼，它大約代表2,000台承諾量的三分之一左右，或略低於三分之一。

Okay, great. That's excellent color. And then just maybe in terms of market demand, Randy, you did a lot of -- you went through a lot of areas that are seeing development. I guess just particularly with the EU regulations coming in now, what are you seeing in terms of customer interest and OEM interest in fuel cells and maybe how soon can those sort of turn into product announcements?

好的，很棒。這些說明非常有幫助。接著可能就市場需求而言，Randy，你剛剛談到很多正在發展的領域。我想特別是歐盟法規現在開始上路，你們看到客戶對燃料電池的興趣以及OEM的興趣如何？以及這些大概多快能轉化為產品公告？

Yes, thanks, Rob. As we look past our order book and backlog to the sales pipeline for example as an indicator, we have a very large portion of a large sales pipeline that is focused on heavy duty motive, medium duty motive applications. So we see a lot of contribution from the bus market in Europe and increasingly in the US, but I would say, I'm really encouraged with what we're seeing in Europe in a number of key markets. We've obviously highlighted here the marine sector during this call and I think it'd be safe to say during the next quarter we expect to be highlighting the bus market as well including in Europe.

是的，謝謝你，Rob。以銷售管線作為指標來看，當我們把視角從訂單簿與訂單積壓延伸到銷售管線時，我們有很大一部分的大型銷售管線聚焦在重型動力（heavy duty motive）與中型動力（medium duty motive）應用。因此我們看到歐洲的巴士市場，以及美國日益增加的巴士市場，帶來不少貢獻；但我會說，我對我們在歐洲多個關鍵市場看到的情況感到非常鼓舞。我們在本次電話會議中已特別強調海事（marine）領域，我認為可以很有把握地說，在下一季我們也預期會強調巴士市場，包括歐洲在內。

I would say over 50% of our sales pipeline is Heavy Duty Motive focused and bus and commercial truck will lead the way. As we move out to 2021 and some of our programs with partners both in rail as well as some truck and marine applications, I think we'll start to see higher product sales in those markets as those programs transition from TS work to product sales.

我會說我們超過50%的銷售管線聚焦於重型動力領域，而巴士與商用卡車將會領先帶動。隨著我們邁向2021年，以及我們與合作夥伴在鐵道、部分卡車與海事應用上的一些計畫推進，我認為當這些計畫從TS工作轉換為產品銷售時，我們將開始在這些市場看到更高的產品銷售。

Okay, good, thank you and then lastly on the marine segment, the Denmark facility, are you envisioning that to work similarly to the China facility where you are supplying the MEAs into it and it's creating the modules or just help me understand kind of the operational structure there?

好的，明白，謝謝。最後關於海事部門，丹麥的設施，你們是否設想其運作方式會類似中國的設施，也就是你們供應MEA進去，由那邊製作模組？或請協助我理解那邊的營運架構？

Yes and just to remind you, the European facility is 100% owned by Ballard. This is part of our family group obviously. So what we're looking at there is assembly of modules but really setting up our European footprint as a Marine Center of Excellence in terms of understanding codes and standards, understanding the market requirements, understanding design considerations, shock and vibe, water, salt, there's a lot of requirements specific to that market and so we expect our European platform to be a Center of Excellence for this and not only on the understanding and design, but also on the actual assembly of those modules. So we'll see module assembly in that market and as volume scales in that market, not just for marine, but for a number of applications, we'll continue to look at what manufacturing strategy we need to have in that market.

是的，先提醒一下，歐洲的設施是由Ballard 100%持有。這顯然是我們集團的一部分。因此我們在那邊的規劃是進行模組組裝，但更重要的是建立我們在歐洲的布局，作為海事卓越中心（Marine Center of Excellence）：在理解法規與標準、理解市場需求、理解設計考量（如衝擊與振動、水、鹽分等）方面，海事市場有許多特定要求；因此我們預期歐洲平台將成為此領域的卓越中心，不僅在理解與設計上，也包含這些模組的實際組裝。所以我們會在該市場看到模組組裝；而隨著該市場的量能擴大，不僅是海事，還包括多種應用，我們也會持續評估在該市場需要採取何種製造策略。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Amit Dayal with H.C. Wainwright.

(主持人指示) 我們的下一個問題來自 H.C. Wainwright 的 Amit Dayal。

Thank you. Good morning and Tony maybe just for you to begin with, on the guidance, you guys are reiterating sort of flat revenue for 2019. Is this going to be maybe lumpy towards the fourth quarter or could you provide any color on how this will play out in terms of cadence for the rest of the year?

謝謝。早安，Tony 也許先請你開始談一下指引，你們重申 2019 年營收大致持平。這會不會可能在第四季比較不平均（呈現波動），或你能否提供一些說明，談談今年剩餘時間的營收節奏將如何展開？

Certainly, yes, so we certainly do expect revenue to kind of wrap up sequentially through the year and then the fourth quarter would be expected to be the highest of the quarters. Part of the reason for that as well is the $44 million Weichai program. Delivery is, you know, we've made some and we'll be starting some modest deliveries soon, but the bulk of the deliveries and the revenue recognition in 2019 will start principally a little bit in Q3, but principally in Q4. So that's where we'll start to see some of that Weichai revenue hit the books. So think about just think about it as sequentially higher quarter-over-quarter with Q4 certainly being the highest.

當然可以，是的，我們確實預期營收會在全年呈現逐季上升，而第四季預期會是各季中最高的一季。其中一個原因是 4,400 萬美元的濰柴（Weichai）專案。交付方面，你知道，我們已經交付了一部分，且很快會開始一些小量交付，但 2019 年大部分的交付與營收認列將主要從第三季開始一點點，但主要會在第四季。因此，我們會在那時開始看到部分濰柴營收入帳。所以可以把它想成是逐季季增，而第四季肯定會是最高。

Thank you. And then on the cash front, cash has dropped from say around $192 million to $165 million between 4Q and 1Q. How much of this was sort of investing activities into your efforts in China versus operating burn and what is your outlook on the cash position by the end of the year?

謝謝。接著談現金面，現金從第四季約 1.92 億美元降到第一季的 1.65 億美元。其中有多少是投入中國相關工作的投資活動，相對於營運現金消耗？另外，你們對年底現金部位的展望為何？

Right. So in the burn for Q1, there was a $14 million -- that included a $14 million payment, which was the second installment, [but] the $14 million capital contribution to the Weichai JV. So in the burn in Q1, $14 million of it was there. We also have a -- expect to make an additional $7 million capital contribution likely in Q4 to the JV. So as you think about the total burn for the year, there will be another $7 million and we expect in total, the total burn for the year probably to be in the, you know, including the -- if you included the $21 million, $22 million going into the JV, probably $50 million odd in total.

好的。第一季的現金消耗中，有 1,400 萬美元——其中包含一筆 1,400 萬美元的付款，這是第二期款，[也就是]對濰柴合資公司（JV）的 1,400 萬美元資本投入。所以第一季的消耗裡面有 1,400 萬美元在那裡。我們也預期還會再對該合資公司追加 700 萬美元的資本投入，可能在第四季。因此，當你思考全年總消耗時，還會有另外 700 萬美元；而我們預期全年總消耗大概會在——你知道，包含——如果把投入合資公司的 2,100 萬到 2,200 萬美元算進去，全年總消耗大概是 5,000 萬美元左右。

So the other part would be operating cash and some CapEx this year. We expect working capital to be probably roughly flat depending on timing of shipments to the end of the year. So think about $50 million-ish overall. Half of that is the capital. I will say though we could have some working capital payment depending on the Weichai one side. I want to be a little -- hedge that a little bit depending on the timing of invoicing and payments on Weichai, but think something in the $50 million to $60 million range including that $22 million.

另一部分則是營運現金以及今年的一些資本支出（CapEx）。我們預期營運資金大致會持平，端看出貨時點到年底的影響。所以整體大概是 5,000 萬美元左右。其中一半是資本投入。不過我也要說，視濰柴那邊的情況，我們可能會有一些營運資金的付款。我想稍微——就濰柴的開立發票與付款時點，做一點保留，但包含那 2,200 萬美元在內，整體可先抓在 5,000 萬到 6,000 萬美元的區間。

That was helpful. Thank you for that. And Randy maybe for you on the I guess the timeline you guys are indicating for the JV to be fully commissioned is 2020, but in terms of you know sort of the micro-level milestones, what should we expect to be achieved say in the next few quarters for you guys to get there?

這很有幫助。謝謝你的說明。另外 Randy 也許請你談一下，你們指出合資公司要到 2020 年才會全面投產（commissioned），但就更細部的里程碑而言，接下來幾季我們應該期待你們達成哪些進展，才能走到那一步？

Sure. Good morning, Amit. Weichai has a very clear communication strategy and I certainly don't want to get ahead of their communications on this. There is a lot of sensitivity around this. So what I can say is that construction work is underway. The procurement of key equipment, specification, procurement of key equipment is underway. There is a lot of activity both at Weichai, Ballard and the Weichai-Ballard JV which we've staffed up significantly in the last say 90 days. So there's a lot of activity underway and I fully expect late 2019 we'll have very good color and images to provide on this front, but I don't want to get ahead of their communications plan.

好的。早安，Amit。濰柴有非常清楚的溝通策略，我當然不希望在他們的對外溝通之前搶先透露。這方面有很多敏感性。所以我能說的是，建設工程正在進行中。關鍵設備的採購、規格制定與關鍵設備的採購正在進行中。濰柴、Ballard 以及濰柴-Ballard 合資公司都有大量活動在推進，而我們在過去大約 90 天也大幅擴編了人力。因此目前有很多工作在進行，我完全預期在 2019 年下半年，我們會在這方面提供非常好的進一步說明與影像，但我不想超前他們的溝通計畫。

Our next question is from Craig Irwin with ROTH Capital Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自 ROTH Capital Partners 的 Craig Irwin。

So last week at ACT Expo, we had an opportunity to talk to many of the truck buyers in North America, a number of global guys as well, and all anybody wanted to talk about is Nikola Motors and their Nikola World they held the prior week where something like 2,000 people showed up and it's well known that Anheuser-Busch has 800 units on order of the truck. There is several hundred units also on order and it seems like there's actually a willingness to believe on the part of a lot of the buyers, it's not just Anheuser-Busch. Can you maybe talk about whether or not there is a resurgence of the conversation with some of the big trucking OEMs outside of China. Are you seeing interest and conversation rebound with some of these large global OEMs outside of your Weichai relationship that could be sort of confirmatory of some of the things we've been hearing over the last couple of weeks?

上週在 ACT Expo，我們有機會和北美許多卡車買家交流，也包括一些全球業者；而大家最想談的就是 Nikola Motors，以及他們前一週舉辦的 Nikola World，據說大約有 2,000 人到場；而且眾所周知 Anheuser-Busch 已下單 800 輛卡車。另外也有數百輛的訂單，看起來不少買家也願意相信這件事，不只是 Anheuser-Busch。你能否談談，在中國以外，與一些大型卡車 OEM 的對話是否有再度升溫？在你們與濰柴合作關係之外，你是否看到與這些大型全球 OEM（中國以外）的興趣與交流回升，某種程度上可用來印證我們過去幾週聽到的一些說法？

So clearly, electrification is front and center now in the commercial truck market and as we look at the technologies that are available to satisfy the market requirements there, I think it's clear at least in our mind that fuel cells offer a compelling value proposition given the range requirements and the weight restrictions. As we look at what Nikola has done, I've got to credit them for really exciting a lot of people and bring some imagination and some vision and I think they should be applauded for the work they are doing. We did have some people attend the Nikola World event as well and by all accounts, it was a very successful event. So our hope is that they are successful and anything we can do in the marketplace with Nikola and any other industry participants of course we're going to support that.

很明顯地，電動化現在已成為商用卡車市場的核心議題；而當我們檢視可用來滿足該市場需求的技術時，至少在我們看來很清楚，考量續航需求與重量限制，燃料電池提供了很有吸引力的價值主張。就 Nikola 所做的事情而言，我必須肯定他們確實讓很多人感到興奮，帶來想像力與願景，我認為他們的努力值得讚許。我們也有人參加了 Nikola World 活動，從各方面來看，那是一場非常成功的活動。因此我們希望他們能成功；而在市場上，無論是與 Nikola 或任何其他產業參與者，只要我們能做的，我們當然都會支持。

In terms of -- you characterized it as resurgence, I guess I would characterize it as initial surge. There hasn't been historically a lot of discussions with truck OEMs. That has changed significantly in the last, I would say, 6 months, particularly. There are a number of OEMs in all the key geographic markets. You know there's 4 or 5 key OEMs that dominate Europe and the US. There's 4 or 5 that dominate in China and we feel like we have an opportunity to make progress with many of them. The reason is if you look at the validation we have of our technology in the field albeit in the bus application, we have proven durability.

至於——你把它形容為「再度升溫」，我想我會把它形容為「初次湧現」。過去在歷史上，與卡車 OEM 的討論其實不多。但這在最近——我會說——特別是過去 6 個月，已經有顯著改變。在所有主要地理市場都有一些 OEM。你知道，歐洲與美國有 4 到 5 家主要 OEM 佔據主導地位。中國也有 4 到 5 家佔主導地位，而我們覺得有機會與其中許多家取得進展。原因是，如果你看我們的技術在實地的驗證——即便主要是在巴士應用——我們已經證明了耐久性。

And as we look at the next generation of stack and look at the next generation of module with cost reduction and performance improvements and as I mentioned earlier even tracking over 8 million kilometers of in-service for trucks and buses now in China as well, we have some very good data points that no other companies have in my opinion with respect to this heavy and medium duty motive applications. So I feel like we're in a very good position from a technology perspective, from a field deployment perspective, from a brand perspective, capital perspective and the level of activity I'm going to say is at record high today at Ballard.

而當我們展望下一代電堆、以及下一代模組在成本降低與性能提升方面的進展時，正如我先前提到的，我們現在在中國的卡車與巴士也已累積超過800萬公里的在役行駛里程追蹤，因此就這些重型與中型動力應用而言，我認為我們擁有一些其他公司所沒有的非常好的數據點。所以我覺得，從技術角度、從實地部署角度、從品牌角度、資本角度，以及我可以說目前在 Ballard 的活動水準來看，我們都處於非常有利的位置，而且今天的活動量是創新高的。

That's good to hear. That's good to hear. So one of the things that we've heard from speaking with multiple vendors of either refueling stations themselves or different components that go into refueling stations is that the regulations in China are changing such that you have to drive a minimum number of miles before you can pull down the related subsidy and people are hoping for visibility there by the end of June. Does it concern you that maybe the chicken and the egg are sort of reversing directions here? Is this something that you've heard? Do you expect your customers in China to be able to build the trucks first and then the stations or is this something that's going to be sort of holistic moving forward at once and we're not likely to see the limitations of the, I guess there is only about 10 or 12 existing hydrogen stations that are working in China right now. Does that really limit us over the next several quarters?

很高興聽到。很高興聽到。所以，我們與多家供應商交流後聽到的一件事是：不論是加氫站本身的供應商，或是提供加氫站各種零組件的供應商，都提到中國的法規正在改變，要求車輛必須行駛達到最低里程數，才能申領相關補貼，而大家希望在六月底前能有更清楚的可見度。你是否擔心這裡的「先有雞還是先有蛋」的順序可能正在反轉？這是你也聽說過的事情嗎？你預期你們在中國的客戶能先造出卡車再建站，還是未來會以更整體、同步的方式一起推進，因此我們不太可能看到限制？我想目前中國真正運作中的加氫站大概只有10到12座。這是否會在接下來幾個季度對我們造成很大的限制？

Yeah, so good question. Just to clarify, there are 24 fueling stations in service today in China and 37 under construction. I think one thing that's important to understand, you mentioned the number of kilometers that vehicles need to drive in order to get subsidies. It used to be 30,000 kilometers, it's been reduced to 20,000 kilometers about a year ago. There will be changes the end of June. I'm not necessarily expecting that to be a change, but I think one of the key changes that we're seeing, we saw this obviously just recently in March in the battery electric market is a focus on infrastructure and the focus on infrastructure in battery electric and now hydrogen fuel cells and particularly in March with the central government announcing in their working paper to focus on hydrogen refueling infrastructure.

是的，這是個好問題。先澄清一下：目前中國有24座加氫站已投入營運，另有37座正在建設中。我認為有一點很重要需要理解：你提到車輛需要行駛多少公里才能取得補貼。過去是30,000公里，大約一年前已下調到20,000公里。六月底會有變動。我不一定預期那會是針對這個門檻的變動，但我認為我們看到的一個關鍵變化是——這在電池電動市場中我們在三月才剛明顯看到——政策重點轉向基礎設施；而在電池電動與現在的氫燃料電池領域，基礎設施都成為焦點，特別是三月中央政府在其工作文件中宣布將聚焦氫能加注基礎設施。

My expectation is that there will be a lot of activity over the next 24 months to 36 months in China that support high volume adoption in that marketplace. It doesn't mean there won't be challenges either on a storage or transportation and also looking at ways to secure green hydrogen as well. So there's still a number of challenges to focus on, but I think the China government you will see a pivot here shortly that I think really focuses on addressing the infrastructure challenge.

我的預期是，未來24到36個月，中國將會有大量活動來支持該市場的高量導入。這並不代表不會有挑戰，包括儲存或運輸方面的挑戰，以及如何取得綠氫。因此仍有不少挑戰需要聚焦，但我認為你將很快看到中國政府在這裡出現一個轉向，我認為這個轉向會真正著重於解決基礎設施的挑戰。

Now, of course, the applications we're focused on here, buses, city buses typically and commercial trucks including delivery trucks that return to base at night have a lower barrier to entry here. As you can see, we have a situation today where the number of vehicles in the field -- we have just kind of around just under 1,800 vehicles that have Ballard technology in the field today and they're all being fueled fine.

當然，我們在這裡聚焦的應用——巴士（通常是市區公車）以及商用卡車（包含夜間回到基地的配送卡車）——在導入門檻上相對較低。如你所見，我們目前的情況是：在外運行的車輛數量——目前大約略低於1,800輛採用 Ballard 技術的車輛在外運行，而且它們的加氫補給都運作良好。

Our next question is from Jeff Osborne with Cowen and Company.

我們的下一個問題來自 Cowen and Company 的 Jeff Osborne。

Most of them have been asked, but maybe just one following up on Craig's line of questioning. On the Class 8 side in Europe and the US, Randy, can you talk about who in the public domain you've done testing with? I think it was Kenworth, but I forget with one of the port programs, but what's your sort of go-to-market strategy in terms of leveraging bus into the heavy duty side in particular?

大多數問題都已被問過了，但我想沿著 Craig 的提問脈絡再追問一個。在歐洲與美國的 Class 8（八級重型卡車）方面，Randy，你能談談你們在公開資訊中與哪些對象做過測試嗎？我記得是 Kenworth，但我忘了是哪個港口計畫之一；不過你們在市場導入策略上，特別是如何把巴士端的經驗延伸到重型領域，你們的 go-to-market 策略是什麼？

Yes. So I appreciate it. Thanks for the question, Jeff. The announced project we have is with Kenworth and you're right, it's at the Port of LA in Long Beach and there's testing -- field testing underway now with that truck. We do have some other applications underway as well including UPS. So your question was focused on Class 8, of course, there are other classes of trucks that we're doing some early demonstrations with. What I would say is that the OEMs on Class 8 recognize that kind of legacy lithium-ion battery is not going to fit the bill and I think that's part of the reason why a number of people are excited by the Nikola opportunity, but that's really causing a lot of the OEMs to rethink their long-term strategy in terms of transitioning from diesel to zero-emission and obviously the EU legislation is a very good helpful driver on that front.

是的。我很感謝。謝謝你的問題，Jeff。我們已公告的專案是與 Kenworth 合作，你說得沒錯，地點是在洛杉磯港（Long Beach），目前那輛卡車正在進行測試——實地測試正在進行中。我們也有其他應用在推進中，包括 UPS。所以你的問題聚焦在 Class 8；當然，我們也在其他級別的卡車上做一些早期示範。我想說的是，Class 8 的 OEM 都認知到傳統鋰離子電池並不足以滿足需求；我認為這也是為什麼很多人對 Nikola 的機會感到興奮的一部分原因，但這也確實促使許多 OEM 重新思考其從柴油轉向零排放的長期策略，而歐盟法規顯然在這方面是一個非常有利的推動力。

In terms of go-to-market strategy, we've looked at the different parts of the value chain and looked at where we should be marketing our offering. We think there's value in working directly with the OEMs. In some cases, we're obviously trying to engage end users as well to get a demand pull through. We're also focused on engine and powertrain system designers and manufacturers as well. So there's different parts of the value chain we're attacking this at and I do believe that our work in the bus market, while not a full fit is very leverageable in terms of engendering confidence with those customers on the performance and durability as well as our service strategy, in some cases, the power density requirements for truck are different than the bus market and that's why -- part of the reason why we're working on the LCS and HDv8 generation and we'll continue to improve power density over time as well so that we have products that really meet the market requirements.

就 go-to-market 策略而言，我們檢視了價值鏈的不同環節，並思考我們應該在哪些環節推廣我們的方案。我們認為直接與 OEM 合作是有價值的。在某些情況下，我們也會嘗試接觸終端用戶，以形成需求拉動（demand pull-through）。我們也聚焦於引擎與動力總成系統的設計者與製造商。因此，我們從價值鏈的不同部分切入；我也相信，我們在巴士市場的工作雖然不是完全一樣的契合，但在性能、耐久性以及我們的服務策略方面，確實非常有助於建立這些客戶的信心。某些情況下，卡車對功率密度的要求與巴士市場不同，這也是——部分原因——為什麼我們在開發 LCS 與 HDv8 世代，並且我們也會隨時間持續提升功率密度，讓我們的產品真正符合市場需求。

One thing I want to highlight you know I just spent about 10 days in China and we had the opportunity to meet with Weichai and Broad-Ocean, Synergy (inaudible) number of partners there and a few weeks ago, we held a market requirement session, a voice of customer session in China with about 8 to 10 commercial truck OEMs and received an extraordinary amount of very valuable feedback on the requirements obviously for the China market, but some of these companies have exposure to international markets as well and the work we're doing in the US and some of the activities we have underway in Europe coupled with this voice of the customer feedback in China are all I think allowing us to make sure we have a product offering that's going to hit the bullseye.

有一點我想強調：我剛在中國待了大約10天，我們有機會與濰柴（Weichai）和博海（Broad-Ocean）、Synergy（聽不清）等多家合作夥伴會面；幾週前，我們也在中國舉辦了一場市場需求會議、也就是客戶之聲（voice of customer）會議，邀請了大約8到10家商用卡車 OEM，並收到了非常大量且極具價值的回饋，當然是針對中國市場的需求，但其中一些公司也同時涉足國際市場；我認為我們在美國所做的工作、以及在歐洲正在推進的一些活動，再加上這些來自中國的客戶之聲回饋，都在幫助我們確保我們的產品方案能夠精準命中目標。

Got it, that's helpful. Maybe just 2 quick ones for Tony. As you look at the backlog that's remaining for the rest of the year and clearly got the cadence from Amit's question about that ramping up into the fourth quarter, how do we think about the different segments and the margin trajectory through the year in terms of the end markets that that backlog is --what end markets are contributing to the backlog?

了解，這很有幫助。我想再給 Tony 兩個簡短的問題。當你看今年剩餘期間的在手訂單（backlog），而且從 Amit 的問題中我們也清楚知道出貨節奏會在第四季加速提升，我們該如何看待不同業務分部，以及全年毛利率走勢（margin trajectory）——就終端市場而言，這些在手訂單是由哪些終端市場所貢獻的？

Yes, thanks, Jeff. So the -- as it was mentioned, so there is $76 million currently in the order book, of which $60 million is -- roughly $60 million for delivery this year. I would say about $50 million of that is in TS. So between the Weichai TS program and Audi. So you can think about, call it roughly $60 million of that order book is at fairly high and typical TS margins, and then the remainder of that backlog is largely in Heavy Duty Motive and then again, the part that's not in there of course is whatever we're able to ship and deliver into the Weichai order that we announced yesterday. So by and large, most of what's in the order book is relatively high margin and that gives us the confidence to still push -- to be able to say that we feel comfortable that gross margins will end up the year where we had indicated earlier.

是的，謝謝，Jeff。所以——如同剛才提到的，目前訂單簿中有7,600萬美元，其中6,000萬美元——約6,000萬美元預計在今年交付。我會說其中大約5,000萬美元是在TS。也就是介於濰柴TS專案與Audi之間。所以你可以這樣看：訂單簿中約6,000萬美元是以相當高、且屬於典型TS的毛利率水準；其餘的積壓訂單主要在重型動力（Heavy Duty Motive）。另外，當然不包含在其中的部分，是我們能夠針對昨天宣布的濰柴訂單所出貨並交付的任何數量。總體而言，訂單簿中的大部分屬於相對高毛利，這也讓我們有信心持續推進——並能夠表示我們有把握年度毛利率最終會落在我們先前所指引的水準。

Yes and I might just add 2 points, Jeff, for the material handling market, we typically don't carry a large order book there, it's usually quarter-by-quarter POs. So that doesn't get fully reflected in our outlook for the full year. The other aspect is my expectation is that you'll see a significantly increased order book in the next 3 to 4 months as some of the work that we're working on closes.

是的，我也想補充兩點，Jeff。就物料搬運市場而言，我們通常不會在那裡維持很大的訂單簿，通常是按季度逐筆採購訂單（PO）。因此，這部分不會在我們對全年展望中被完整反映。另一個面向是，我預期在接下來3到4個月，隨著我們正在推進的一些工作完成簽約，你會看到訂單簿顯著增加。

I got it, okay. That is helpful and maybe same line of questioning, any meaningful change in the OpEx run rate as the year progresses for all of these new initiatives and then sort of gearing up for the growth in 2020?

了解，好的。這很有幫助。也許沿著同樣的提問方向，隨著今年推進這些新計畫、並為2020年的成長做準備，營運費用（OpEx）的執行率（run rate）是否會有任何顯著變化？

We have certainly quite an ambitious hiring program this year, which did start in Q1. I'd say Q1 was slightly lower than probably the run rate for the full year. So I would expect a slight bump up in Q2 and Q3, but I'd say once we hit those levels by Q2, Q3, it should levelize from that point forward, meaning we should be fully staffed up going into the latter half of the year and into 2020. So, a bit of a bump up in the next quarter or 2, but levelized from there.

我們今年確實有相當積極的招募計畫，且已在第一季開始。我會說第一季可能略低於全年執行率水準。因此我預期第二季與第三季會小幅上升；但我認為一旦在第二季、第三季達到那些水準，之後就會趨於平穩，也就是說，我們在下半年以及進入2020年之前應該會完成編制補足。所以接下來一到兩季會有些微上升，但之後就會持平。

Yes and Jeff, I would just add to that, if you think about some of the work we're doing obviously with the Weichai JV in China with the build-out of the Marine Center of Excellence in Europe and very significant staffing adds this year, all on relatively flat revenue year-over-year. I think they are all indicators of the growth we see coming.

是的，Jeff，我也補充一下：如果你看看我們正在做的一些工作——顯然包括在中國與濰柴合資（JV）的相關工作、在歐洲建置海事卓越中心（Marine Center of Excellence），以及今年非常顯著的人力增補——而這些都是在營收年對年相對持平的情況下進行的。我認為這些都是我們所看到未來成長的指標。

Makes sense. Can you put the headcount increases Tony in perspective? How many people do you have full time equivalents today and how many open spots you have?

合理。Tony，你能把人力增加的規模放在脈絡中說明一下嗎？你們目前有多少全職當量（FTE），以及還有多少職缺？

We have about 650 employees today and for 2019, we're looking at a hiring plan of just under 120.

我們目前大約有650名員工，而在2019年，我們的招募計畫是略低於120人。

We're about halfway -- so we're at 650, we're about halfway through the hiring plan, Jeff, so maybe another 50 odd to go before year-end. So we'll kind of end the year around 700 give or take.

Jeff，我們大概完成了一半——也就是目前650人，招募計畫大約完成一半，所以到年底前可能還要再招約50多人。因此我們年底大概會在700人左右，上下浮動一些。

Our next question is from Amit Dayal with H.C. Wainwright.

下一個問題來自H.C. Wainwright的Amit Dayal。

Yes, thank you. Just wanted to touch on your migration to the LCS stacks and modules. How are you looking to manage sort of 2 generations of products beyond say 2021. Are you completely just going to migrate to LCS now or are you also going to have a presence in the older generation version of the product?

是的，謝謝。我想談一下你們向LCS電堆與模組的遷移。在例如2021年之後，你們打算如何管理兩代產品並存的情況？你們現在會完全遷移到LCS，還是也會在舊一代產品上維持一定的布局？

Yes, Amit, thanks for the question. A couple of things to point out, the LCS is actually our 13th generation of stack and the HDv8 is our eighth generation of engine. So we have lots of experience in terms of migrating from one generation to another and thinking about how to do that in an effective way with the customer base as well as the supply chain. We do see continued need for [non-SS] cell based products for the foreseeable future. There are a lot of customers that have that specced in, have done some work to design that into their engines and we want to make sure we are supporting them, but very careful plan here in 2019 as we introduce it both in terms of customer expectations as well as inventory and supply base.

是的，Amit，謝謝你的問題。有幾點要說明：LCS其實是我們第13代電堆，而HDv8是我們第八代引擎。因此，我們在從一代遷移到下一代方面有很多經驗，也知道如何以有效方式，兼顧客戶基礎以及供應鏈來推動。我們確實預期在可預見的未來，仍會持續需要以[non-SS]電池為基礎的產品。有許多客戶已將其規格納入、也已做了一些工作把它設計進他們的引擎中，我們希望確保能持續支援他們；但在2019年我們推出新產品時，無論是客戶預期管理、或是庫存與供應基礎方面，都會有非常審慎的規劃。

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Randy MacEwen, CEO for any closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。我想把電話會議交回給執行長Randy MacEwen，請他做結語。

Thank you, Savis and thanks everyone for joining our call today. We look forward to speaking with you again at the beginning of August when we'll discuss our second quarter 2019 results.

謝謝你，Savis，也謝謝各位今天參加我們的電話會議。我們期待在8月初再次與各位交流，屆時我們將討論2019年第二季的業績結果。

This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating and have a pleasant day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。各位可以掛線。感謝您的參與，祝您有美好的一天。