Casa Systems Inc (CASA) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to the Casa Systems Q4 2022 Earnings Conference Call and webcast. (Operator Instructions). As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎來到 Casa Systems 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議和網絡直播。 （操作員說明）。提醒一下，這次會議正在錄製中。

It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Dennis Dailey, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, Dennis.

現在我很高興將電話轉給投資者關係總監 Dennis Dailey。請繼續，丹尼斯。

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon, everyone. Casa Systems released results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022 ended December 31, 2022, this afternoon after the market closed. If you did not receive a copy of our earnings press release, you may obtain it from the Investor Relations section of our website at investors.casa.systems.com.

謝謝接線員，大家下午好。 Casa Systems 在今天下午收市後發布了截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的 2022 財年第四季度業績。如果您沒有收到我們的收益新聞稿副本，您可以從我們網站 investors.casa.systems.com 的投資者關係部分獲取。

With me on today's call are Jerry Guo, our Chief Executive Officer; and Ed Durkin, our Chief Financial Officer. This call is being webcast and will be archived on the Investor Relations section of our website.

和我一起參加今天電話會議的有我們的首席執行官 Jerry Guo；和我們的首席財務官 Ed Durkin。此電話會議正在進行網絡直播，並將存檔在我們網站的投資者關係部分。

Before I turn the call over to Jerry, I'd like to note that today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements based on the business environment as we currently see it, and as such, it does include certain risks and uncertainties. Please refer to our press release and our SEC filings for more information on the specific risk factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the projections described in today's discussion.

在我將電話轉給 Jerry 之前，我想指出，今天的討論將包含基於我們目前所見商業環境的前瞻性陳述，因此，它確實包含某些風險和不確定性。請參閱我們的新聞稿和提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件，了解有關可能導致我們的實際結果與今天討論中描述的預測存在重大差異的具體風險因素的更多信息。

Any forward-looking statements that we make on this call or in the earnings release are based upon information we believe as of today and undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events. In addition to U.S. GAAP reporting, we report certain financial measures that do not conform to generally accepted accounting principles.

我們在本次電話會議或收益發布中所做的任何前瞻性陳述均基於我們認為截至今天的信息，並且不承擔因新信息或未來事件而更新這些陳述的義務。除了美國公認會計原則報告外，我們還報告了某些不符合公認會計原則的財務指標。

During the call, we may use non-GAAP measures if we believe it is useful to investors or believe it will be helpful to investors to better understand our performance or business trends.

在電話會議期間，如果我們認為對投資者有用或相信這將有助於投資者更好地了解我們的業績或業務趨勢，我們可能會使用非 GAAP 措施。

And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to Jerry. Jerry?

有了這個，我想把電話轉給傑瑞。傑瑞？

Thank you, Dennis, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today on our call. As Dennis mentioned, we issued a press release announcing our fourth quarter and year-end 2022 financial results, which Ed will cover in more detail later.

謝謝丹尼斯，大家下午好。感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議。正如丹尼斯提到的，我們發布了一份新聞稿，宣布了我們第四季度和 2022 年底的財務業績，埃德將在稍後詳細介紹。

It was a good quarter for Casa with substantial sequential growth and a return to GAAP net income and positive net adjusted EBITDA results, as Ed will cover in more detail. And I am very pleased with these results and our renewed momentum.

對於 Casa 來說，這是一個良好的季度，連續增長顯著，並恢復了 GAAP 淨收入和調整後淨 EBITDA 結果為正，正如 Ed 將更詳細地介紹的那樣。我對這些結果和我們新的勢頭感到非常高興。

With the 2022 now behind us, there is much work to be done to accelerate our growth and return to profitability. And we believe 2023 will be a critical year for Casa as we bring our innovative solutions to the market in a cash and capital-efficient manner. We are continuing to make tremendous progress on our transformation towards software and the cloud.

2022 年已經過去，要加速我們的增長並恢復盈利，還有很多工作要做。我們相信 2023 年對 Casa 來說將是關鍵的一年，因為我們將以現金和資本高效的方式將我們的創新解決方案推向市場。我們在向軟件和雲轉型方面繼續取得巨大進展。

Our backlog entering the year is strong. Our balance sheet deferred revenue is up, and we have a solid sales pipeline across our cable, CAD, cloud and RAN product lines with many new Tier 1 CSP late-stage sales discussions and negotiations.

我們今年的積壓工作量很大。我們的資產負債表遞延收入增加了，我們的電纜、CAD、雲和 RAN 產品線都有穩固的銷售渠道，有許多新的一級 CSP 後期銷售討論和談判。

We are also seeing growing demand for our fixed wireless access and fiber extension deployments across multiple geographies. Furthermore, we expect to deliver shipments of our latest Apex 4G/5G enterprise small cell later this year as part of a multiyear contract with a Tier 1 CSP.

我們還看到對我們跨多個地區的固定無線接入和光纖擴展部署的需求不斷增長。此外，我們預計將在今年晚些時候交付我們最新的 Apex 4G/5G 企業小型基站，作為與一級 CSP 簽訂的多年合同的一部分。

With respect to our cloud-native 5G core and edge portfolio, Casa's technology powered YTL win of the Ookla Speedtest Award for Yes 5G network in Malaysia, representing a significant validation of our capabilities.

在我們的雲原生 5G 核心和邊緣產品組合方面，Casa 的技術為 YTL 贏得了馬來西亞 YES 5G 網絡的 Ookla Speedtest 獎，這是對我們能力的重大驗證。

Casa was also part of several recent customer announcements, including Telenor's recent 5G deployments and Orange's unveiling of Europe's first experimental end-to-end 5G assay network, Pikeo.

Casa 也是最近幾項客戶公告的一部分，包括 Telenor 最近的 5G 部署和 Orange 推出歐洲首個實驗性端到端 5G 檢測網絡 Pikeo。

Adding to this news, our multiyear $140 million TCV partnership with Verizon that was announced in April 2022 to provide our 5G cloud-native software to power Verizon's public mobile edge computing service offering remains on track with Casa leading all the key 2022 co-deliveries and milestones called for in our contract with Verizon.

除此之外，我們於 2022 年 4 月宣布與 Verizon 建立多年 1.4 億美元的 TCV 合作夥伴關係，以提供我們的 5G 雲原生軟件來為 Verizon 的公共移動邊緣計算服務產品提供支持，Casa 將引領所有關鍵的 2022 年共同交付和我們與 Verizon 的合同中要求的里程碑。

Our team was delighted to spend time with our customers and showcase our technology at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona a few weeks ago, where our innovative 5G core technology was on full display. Several of our key partners made significant announcements regarding their work with Casa, including Google's simplified cloud native network functions deployment with a native [core benefits] networking and network function optimizer. And IBM's work with Casa Enea to build a complete private 5G solution that's more scalable, dynamically adjustable, reliable and secure.

我們的團隊很高興與我們的客戶共度時光，並在幾週前於巴塞羅那舉行的最近的世界移動通信大會上展示了我們的技術，我們的創新 5G 核心技術在會上得到了全面展示。我們的幾個主要合作夥伴就他們與 Casa 的合作發布了重要公告，包括谷歌簡化的雲原生網絡功能部署以及原生 [核心優勢] 網絡和網絡功能優化器。 IBM 與 Casa Enea 合作構建了一個完整的私有 5G 解決方案，該解決方案更具可擴展性、動態可調性、可靠性和安全性。

I'd also like to highlight Intel's vBNG 1 terabit per second throughput success, which was also announced at Mobile World Congress. This remarkable achievement demonstrate Casa's ability to deliver 1 terabit per second on one server, resulting in better performance that requires less power and less space. With this technology providers will be able to offer services at edge that meet their performance standards and to more cost effectively expand into markets with a new Fiber-to-the-Home services.

我還想強調英特爾 vBNG 每秒 1 太比特吞吐量的成功，這也在世界移動通信大會上宣布。這一非凡的成就證明了 Casa 能夠在一台服務器上提供每秒 1 太比特的速度，從而在需要更少的功率和空間的情況下獲得更好的性能。有了這項技術，供應商將能夠提供滿足其性能標準的邊緣服務，並以更具成本效益的方式通過新的光纖到戶服務擴展到市場。

Adding to our momentum, our technology was featured in several demonstrations from our key partners, including AWS with [Totogi's] monetizable NPN Solution. Orange's Pikeo 5G core that I mentioned earlier, and continued work on NPN Solutions. This was an incredible showing for Casa, and we're honored to work with such important partners around the world to drive the next level of innovation.

增加我們的動力，我們的技術在我們的主要合作夥伴的幾個演示中得到了體現，包括 AWS 和 [Totogi 的] 可貨幣化的 NPN 解決方案。我之前提到的 Orange 的 Pikeo 5G 核心，並繼續致力於 NPN 解決方案。這對 Casa 來說是一次令人難以置信的展示，我們很榮幸能與世界各地如此重要的合作夥伴合作，推動更高水平的創新。

Finally, we also announced today that Scott Bruckner, Casa's former Chief Financial Officer, will be joining the Board of Directors to help guide the company through its next chapter. Scott has made important contributions to Casa in the past as the former CFO, and he brings a deep understanding of the company's business strategy and major customers. We look forward to the experience and expertise that Scott will bring to the Board.

最後，我們今天還宣布，Casa 的前首席財務官斯科特布魯克納 (Scott Bruckner) 將加入董事會，幫助指導公司開啟新的篇章。斯科特過去作為前首席財務官為 Casa 做出了重要貢獻，他對公司的業務戰略和主要客戶有著深刻的理解。我們期待 Scott 為董事會帶來的經驗和專業知識。

With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Casa's Chief Financial Officer, Ed Durkin, for his comments on the company's performance in the fourth quarter and the full year and our 2023 outlook. Ed?

有了這個，我現在想把電話轉給 Casa 的首席財務官 Ed Durkin，聽取他對公司第四季度和全年業績以及我們 2023 年展望的評論。埃德？

Yes. Thank you, Jerry, and good afternoon, everyone. As you know, we shared our preliminary revenue results publicly in late January, and we're very pleased that we've modestly exceeded the high end of our revenue guidance based on a strong quarter for cable revenues and the continued improvement in the supply chain and demand for our fixed wireless and fiber extension products.

是的。謝謝杰瑞，大家下午好。如您所知，我們在 1 月下旬公開了我們的初步收入結果，我們非常高興我們已經略微超過了基於有線電視收入強勁季度和供應鏈持續改善的收入指導的高端以及對我們的固定無線和光纖擴展產品的需求。

And the headlines for the quarter that our fourth quarter revenues came in at $84.4 million. We had positive GAAP net income of $1.2 million for the quarter, and we had positive net adjusted EBITDA of $5.2 million during Q4.

本季度的頭條新聞是我們第四季度的收入為 8440 萬美元。我們本季度的 GAAP 淨收入為 120 萬美元，第四季度調整後的 EBITDA 淨額為 520 萬美元。

Before I cover our Q4 financial results and our December 22 successful resolution of a customer warranty dispute and provide an update on the status of our Term Loan B efforts in more detail, I first wanted to address the challenges we faced over the past few quarters and addressed 2023 high-level guidance.

在我介紹我們的第四季度財務業績和我們在 12 月 22 日成功解決客戶保修糾紛並更詳細地提供我們定期貸款 B 工作的最新狀態之前，我首先想解決我們在過去幾個季度面臨的挑戰和解決了 2023 年的高級別指導。

And as most of you know, we suspended our full year guidance early in 2022 as there were too many uncertainties around supply chain and business dynamics in general. I am pleased to say that in our press release today, we reinstated full year guidance for 2023, and it calls for top line growth and a return to positive net adjusted EBITDA results.

正如你們大多數人所知，我們在 2022 年初暫停了全年指導，因為總體上供應鍊和業務動態存在太多不確定性。我很高興地說，在我們今天的新聞稿中，我們恢復了 2023 年的全年指導，它要求實現收入增長並恢復正的調整後 EBITDA 結果。

We've set our annual 2023 revenue guidance at a range of $300 million to $325 million and positive net adjusted EBITDA for the full year. We do believe revenue for the year will be somewhat back-end weighted to the -- due to several factors, including the timing of our backlog shipments, supply chain consideration, anticipated timing of closing of deals in our sales pipeline, revenue recognition related to deferred revenue on the balance sheet as well as the shipment of our 4G/5G enterprise small cell radios in the second half of 2023 pursuant to close supply contracts we now have.

我們已將 2023 年的年度收入指引設定在 3 億至 3.25 億美元的範圍內，全年調整後的 EBITDA 淨額為正。我們確實相信今年的收入將在某種程度上偏重於——由於幾個因素，包括我們積壓發貨的時間、供應鏈考慮、我們銷售渠道中交易完成的預期時間、與以下方面相關的收入確認資產負債表上的遞延收入以及 4G/5G 企業小型蜂窩無線電根據我們現在簽訂的供應合同在 2023 年下半年的出貨量。

As also mentioned in our earnings release, we have recently been made aware of the decision by a major North American cable customer that they will not be proceeding with Casa in their initial rollout for the cable infrastructure upgrade project. Although we will continue to receive maintenance revenue associated with that customer for 2023, we assume no future product revenues from their cable broadband infrastructure upgrade project in our 2023 guidance, which I just covered.

正如我們在收益報告中提到的那樣，我們最近獲悉北美一家主要有線電視客戶的決定，他們將不會在有線電視基礎設施升級項目的初始部署中繼續使用 Casa。儘管我們將在 2023 年繼續獲得與該客戶相關的維護收入，但在我剛剛介紹的 2023 年指南中，我們假設他們的有線寬帶基礎設施升級項目不會帶來未來的產品收入。

And although we were surprised and disappointed by this news, this was not attributable to any cost cable product issues. As disclosed in our January 31 release, we have several successful virtual CCAP RPD solutions in production deployments today. And during Q4, we were also awarded a large virtual CCAP deal with a major European cable MSO with initial delivery expected later in 2023. And we are focused on providing -- continuing to provide best-in-class solutions to cable MSOs globally, just like we've done for the past 20 years.

儘管我們對此消息感到驚訝和失望，但這並不是因為任何成本電纜產品問題。正如我們在 1 月 31 日發布的版本中所披露的那樣，我們今天在生產部署中擁有多個成功的虛擬 CCAP RPD 解決方案。在第四季度，我們還獲得了與歐洲一家主要有線 MSO 的大型虛擬 CCAP 交易，預計將於 2023 年晚些時候首次交付。我們專注於提供——繼續為全球有線 MSO 提供一流的解決方案，只是就像我們過去 20 年所做的那樣。

So with those preferences and comments, let's now turn to our fourth quarter financial performance in more detail. And given the depth of discussions we provided on prior calls in 2022 regarding the 2021 end-of-life decision for one access device product by 1 North American CSP tied to an E91 regulatory change, not a Casa product issue, which was the major reason for the revenue decline in 2022 versus 2021, I'll primarily be comparing our Q4 2022 results to those of Q3 2022.

因此，有了這些偏好和評論，現在讓我們更詳細地談談我們第四季度的財務業績。考慮到我們在 2022 年之前的電話會議上就 1 家北美 CSP 做出的一種接入設備產品的 2021 年報廢決定進行了深入討論，這與 E91 法規變更有關，而不是 Casa 產品問題，這是主要原因對於 2022 年與 2021 年相比的收入下降，我主要將我們 2022 年第四季度的結果與 2022 年第三季度的結果進行比較。

So getting into the quarter, and as noted earlier, revenue came in at $84.4 million, which is above the high end of our preliminary range of 83% to 84% that we provided on January 31. We also achieved positive quarterly GAAP net income and net adjusted EBITDA results of $5.2 million.

因此，進入本季度，如前所述，收入為 8440 萬美元，高於我們在 1 月 31 日提供的 83% 至 84% 的初步範圍的高端。我們還實現了正的季度 GAAP 淨收入和淨調整後 EBITDA 結果為 520 萬美元。

Breaking down revenues across product lines, Q4 wireless revenue was $24.3 million, which was up approximately 14% from 21.4% in Q3. Q4 cable revenues were $43.9 million, up 45% from $30.2 million in Q3 due to strong end of year expansion purchases from our existing customer base in Europe and APAC. And Q4 telco revenue, which includes our vBNG router and fixed wireless access products was $16.2 million, up 6% from $15.3 million in Q3.

按產品線劃分收入，第四季度無線收入為 2430 萬美元，比第三季度的 21.4% 增長約 14%。第 4 季度有線電視收入為 4390 萬美元，比第 3 季度的 3020 萬美元增長 45%，這歸功於我們在歐洲和亞太地區現有客戶群的強勁年終擴張採購。包括我們的 vBNG 路由器和固定無線接入產品在內的第四季度電信收入為 1620 萬美元，比第三季度的 1530 萬美元增長 6%。

Finally, we entered 2023 with approximately $153 million in backlog product and service orders, including 2023 scheduled Verizon 5G MEC contract billings, bringing our total backlog on balance sheet deferred revenue and the remaining $96 million of future billings under the Verizon contract in 2024 and beyond to approximately $286 million.

最後，我們進入 2023 年時積壓了大約 1.53 億美元的產品和服務訂單，包括 2023 年預定的 Verizon 5G MEC 合同賬單，使我們在資產負債表遞延收入上的總積壓訂單以及 2024 年及以後 Verizon 合同下剩餘的 9600 萬美元未來賬單增至約 2.86 億美元。

Further, we have approximately $55 million of closed contracted business for our 4G/5G enterprise small cell radios with a major North American mobile network operator, where we get POs on an annual as ordered basis, which is not included in the backlog and deferred revenue numbers I just mentioned.

此外，我們與北美一家主要移動網絡運營商的 4G/5G 企業小型蜂窩無線電有大約 5500 萬美元的已關閉合同業務，我們每年按訂單獲得 PO，這不包括在積壓和遞延收入中我剛才提到的數字。

And finally, and as Jerry mentioned, our Verizon partnership continues to progress very well. We've achieved all milestones in the fourth quarter that were required to achieve and this important partnership goes very, very well.

最後，正如 Jerry 提到的，我們與 Verizon 的合作夥伴關係繼續進展順利。我們已經在第四季度實現了所有需要實現的里程碑，這一重要的合作夥伴關係進展得非常非常順利。

Given the improvements we're seeing in the supply chain, we believe a significant majority of our backlog entering 2023 will ship in 2023, assuming there's no unanticipated deterioration in supply chain commitments in the future.

鑑於我們在供應鏈中看到的改進，我們認為進入 2023 年的大部分積壓訂單將在 2023 年發貨，前提是未來供應鏈承諾不會出現意外惡化。

Moving to gross profit. GAAP gross profit in the quarter came in at $36 million or 42.6% of revenue. This includes an additional inventory obsolescence charge of $10.4 million in the quarter related to older cable inventory and some access device inventory with these Q4 additional reserves based on a prudent consideration of all factors related to inventory at year-end. And excluding the Q4 inventory obsolescence charges, gross profit would have been approximately $46.4 million or 55% of revenue.

轉向毛利。本季度的 GAAP 毛利潤為 3600 萬美元，佔收入的 42.6%。這包括本季度與舊電纜庫存相關的額外庫存過時費用 1040 萬美元，以及一些接入設備庫存，這些第四季度額外儲備是基於對年底庫存相關所有因素的審慎考慮。不包括第四季度庫存過時費用，毛利潤約為 4640 萬美元或收入的 55%。

Turning now to operating expenses. GAAP operating expenses for the quarter came in at $37.9 million, down 15% from the prior quarter. The savings are related to various year-end adjustments, including adjustments to our cost structure implemented during 2022 and reductions in the company's variable compensation program given 2022 annual performance, net of some other Q4 charges, which impacted operating expense.

現在轉向運營費用。本季度的 GAAP 運營費用為 3790 萬美元，比上一季度下降 15%。節餘與各種年終調整有關，包括我們在 2022 年期間實施的成本結構調整，以及根據 2022 年年度業績減少公司可變薪酬計劃，扣除其他一些第四季度費用，這影響了運營費用。

Our GAAP operating loss for the quarter is $1.9 million. This is obviously influenced and impacted by the $10.4 million inventory obsolescence charges in the quarter.

我們本季度的 GAAP 營業虧損為 190 萬美元。這顯然受到本季度 1040 萬美元的庫存過時費用的影響和影響。

Finally, related to our Q4 P&L, our net income for the quarter was $1.2 million or $0.01 per diluted share versus a net loss of $31.2 million in Q3 2022. On a non-GAAP basis, we earned $5.3 million in net income or $0.05 per share and reported net adjusted EBITDA of $5.2 million, all as reflected in the schedules to the press release.

最後，與我們第四季度的損益相關，我們本季度的淨收入為 120 萬美元或每股攤薄收益 0.01 美元，而 2022 年第三季度的淨虧損為 3120 萬美元。在非公認會計原則的基礎上，我們獲得了 530 萬美元的淨收入或每股 0.05 美元份額和報告的淨調整後 EBITDA 為 520 萬美元，所有這些都反映在新聞稿的時間表中。

Switching now to the customer warranty settlement matter. As you may recall from Q3, our net loss for Q3 increased due to a $12.8 million charge related to a warranty matter, related to a failed replacement units for one of our products. This failure was attributed to an unauthorized part substitution by a supplier.

現在切換到客戶保修結算事宜。您可能還記得第三季度，我們第三季度的淨虧損增加，原因是與保修事宜相關的 1280 萬美元費用，與我們其中一款產品的更換部件失敗有關。此故障歸因於供應商未經授權的零件替換。

We're very happy to announce that this customer dispute has been amicably resolved and settled with the customer in December 2022 with no material changes to the warranty settlement charge of $12.8 million recorded in Q3. We made our first cash payment under the settlement just prior to year-end and the remaining $9.5 million due will be paid in equal installments over the next 3 years.

我們很高興地宣布，該客戶糾紛已於 2022 年 12 月與客戶友好解決並達成和解，第三季度記錄的 1280 萬美元保修結算費用沒有發生重大變化。我們在年底前根據和解協議支付了第一筆現金，剩餘的 950 萬美元將在未來 3 年內等額支付。

Given the initial potential exposure was approximately $56 million, as disclosed in our Q2 2022 10-Q, we're very pleased with this final amical outcome with this important customer. And related to this, we also implemented new QA control procedures with the supplier and will be receiving increased future product discounts from the supplier based on the settlement we consummated with the supplier in March 2023, which will further improve the net economics to Casa for this now resolved matter.

鑑於我們在 2022 年第二季度 10-Q 中披露的初始潛在風險約為 5600 萬美元，我們對與這個重要客戶的最終友好結果感到非常滿意。與此相關，我們還與供應商實施了新的 QA 控製程序，並將根據我們在 2023 年 3 月與供應商達成的和解協議，從供應商處獲得更多的未來產品折扣，這將進一步提高 Casa 的淨經濟效益現在解決了問題。

Turning briefly to our balance sheet. We ended the year with cash, cash equivalents and a small amount of restricted cash of $129.4 million. I would also like to note that none cash is held on deposit with SVB, Signature Bank or any of the smaller regional banks as we've used the Bank of America as our primary bank for years.

簡要地轉向我們的資產負債表。我們以現金、現金等價物和少量 1.294 億美元的受限制現金結束了這一年。我還想指出，沒有現金存放在 SVB、Signature Bank 或任何較小的地區性銀行，因為我們多年來一直將美國銀行作為我們的主要銀行。

Our cash balance at December 31 was down $67 million compared to September 30, but this was primarily due to a $50 million reduction in our Term Loan B debt, which we retired in Q4 at a discount, given rise to a $2.8 million gain on debt extinguishment in the quarter. And this cash level also included the cash payment under the warranty matter I just mentioned and operating cash burn for the quarter, given we had relatively low levels of receivables entering Q4 of approximately $49 million, which is not the case as we finished 2022.

與 9 月 30 日相比，我們在 12 月 31 日的現金餘額減少了 6700 萬美元，但這主要是由於我們在第四季度以折扣價退還的定期貸款 B 債務減少了 5000 萬美元，從而產生了 280 萬美元的債務收益季度內滅火。這一現金水平還包括我剛才提到的保修事項下的現金支付和本季度的運營現金消耗，因為我們進入第四季度的應收賬款水平相對較低，約為 4900 萬美元，而到 2022 年結束時情況並非如此。

And we ended 2022 on the receivable side with strong accounts receivable balance of approximately $75 million, which is up more than 50% from the prior quarter and which bodes well for Q1 cash flow as we enter 2023.

截至 2022 年，我們在應收賬款方面的應收賬款餘額強勁，約為 7500 萬美元，比上一季度增長 50% 以上，這預示著我們進入 2023 年時的第一季度現金流量是個好兆頭。

Looking down the balance sheet, you'll see our Term Loan B debt, which is due in December of 2023 has moved from long term on our balance sheet to cover it as we had yet to complete an extension of this maturity at year-end. And turning to this topic Term Loan B, I'm very pleased to say we have engaged J.P. Morgan as our banker, and we are actively working with the talented JPM team to explore options to address and extend the Term Loan B well before the late December 2023 maturity date.

向下看資產負債表，您會看到我們將於 2023 年 12 月到期的定期貸款 B 債務已從我們的資產負債表上的長期轉移到覆蓋它，因為我們尚未在年底完成該期限的延期.談到定期貸款 B，我很高興地說我們已聘請摩根大通作為我們的銀行家，我們正在積極與才華橫溢的摩根大通團隊合作，探索解決和延長定期貸款 B 的方案，儘早2023 年 12 月到期。

I also want to acknowledge that given this current maturity is about 9 months away, it does bring into question going concern considerations. But again, we're working hard on this with J.P. Morgan and plan to quickly address it well before Q4 2023.

我還想承認，鑑於目前的成熟期大約還有 9 個月，這確實會讓人質疑持續經營的考慮因素。但同樣，我們正在與摩根大通一起努力解決這個問題，併計劃在 2023 年第四季度之前迅速解決這個問題。

And as also mentioned in the press release, we are prioritizing return to growth and profitability in 2023 and beyond, and we are actively reviewing our cost structure, like any well-run company focused on profitability and cash and capital efficient operating results to ensure that we meet or exceed our 2023 financial goals and complete the transformation that Jerry has started over the past many quarters.

正如新聞稿中還提到的，我們正在優先考慮在 2023 年及以後恢復增長和盈利能力，並且我們正在積極審查我們的成本結構，就像任何專注於盈利能力以及現金和資本效率運營結果的運營良好的公司一樣，以確保我們達到或超過了 2023 年的財務目標，並完成了 Jerry 在過去多個季度開始的轉型。

So with that, I will now turn the call back over to Jerry for some closing remarks before questions. Jerry?

因此，我現在將把電話轉回給 Jerry，以便在提問前做一些結束語。傑瑞？

Thank you, Ed. As you read in our earnings release today, I announced my retirement as Casa Systems' Chairman, President and the CEO, effective March 17.

謝謝你，埃德。正如您在今天的收益報告中所讀到的那樣，我宣布從 3 月 17 日起退休，擔任 Casa Systems 董事長、總裁兼首席執行官。

I'm very excited about the future of Casa, but I've been working for over 2 decades and now it is a good time to make a transition and for me to step away from my daily operational role. I will be involved as a Board member and a major shareholder going forward.

我對 Casa 的未來感到非常興奮，但我已經工作了 2 多年，現在是過渡的好時機，讓我離開我的日常運營角色。今後我將作為董事會成員和大股東參與其中。

I would like to thank my co-founders, current and past coworkers, customers and partners and all other Casa's stakeholders for truly amazing 20 years. I'm very proud of what we have accomplished over the past 2 decades.

我要感謝我的聯合創始人、現任和過去的同事、客戶和合作夥伴以及 Casa 的所有其他利益相關者，感謝他們 20 年來的輝煌成就。我為我們在過去 2 年中取得的成就感到非常自豪。

The search for my successor is underway. In the meantime, I will assist Ed Durkin, our Interim CEO and fantastic CFO to drive the transformation of Casa and achieve our 2023 goals.

正在尋找我的繼任者。與此同時，我將協助我們的臨時首席執行官兼出色的首席財務官 Ed Durkin 推動 Casa 的轉型並實現我們的 2023 年目標。

I would now like to turn the call back to Ed for his final thoughts.

我現在想把電話轉回給埃德，聽取他的最後想法。

Thank you, Jerry. Before we conclude, I would like to profoundly thank Jerry for his truly tireless 20 years of dedicated service to Casa. He founded the company over 20 years ago, grew it from a small start-up to a public company with 1,000 global employees. And installed base of marquee customers, and it's truly impressive what he has been able to build. It's been an honor and pleasure working with him for the past year. I do hope we get them richly deserved downtime with Lucy, is family and beautiful granddaughters.

謝謝你，傑里。在我們結束之前，我要衷心感謝 Jerry 20 年來為 Casa 所做的真正不懈的奉獻。他在 20 多年前創立了這家公司，將其從一家小型初創公司發展成為一家擁有 1,000 名全球員工的上市公司。並擁有龐大的客戶群，他所打造的產品確實令人印象深刻。在過去的一年裡與他一起工作是一種榮幸和愉快。我確實希望我們能與露西、家人和漂亮的孫女一起度過他們應得的休息時間。

And in my role as new interim CEO, I'm looking forward to working closely with Jerry and the Board as we execute on our 2023 business plans and deliver on renewed growth and profitability. And we also appreciate the continued support of and interest in Casa by all on this call, and we look forward to sharing additional progress on our transformation in 2023.

作為新任臨時首席執行官，我期待著與 Jerry 和董事會密切合作，執行我們的 2023 年業務計劃並實現新的增長和盈利能力。我們也感謝所有人在這次電話會議上對 Casa 的持續支持和興趣，我們期待在 2023 年分享我們轉型的更多進展。

With that quick notice sincere thanks and well wishes to my friend, Jerry, I will now turn it over to the operator to open the line for questions. Operator?

帶著對我的朋友傑里的真誠感謝和良好祝愿，我現在將其轉交給接線員以打開問題熱線。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question today is coming from Simon Leopold from Raymond James.

（操作員說明）我們今天的第一個問題來自 Raymond James 的 Simon Leopold。

A couple of things I wanted to check on. The operating expenses were quite a bit lower in the fourth quarter. And I know you mentioned in the prepared remarks the adjustment of variable comp, but I just wanted to confirm whether or not there were any headcount cuts. And really what I'm getting at is how should we think about operating expenses as we go through 2023.

我想檢查幾件事。第四季度的運營費用要低得多。我知道你在準備好的評論中提到了可變補償的調整，但我只是想確認是否有裁員。我真正要說的是，到 2023 年我們應該如何考慮運營費用。

Good question, Simon. Look, during Q3 and Q4, we did make some modest cost reductions to the business. We also had some Q4 charges that increased operating expenses. I think the majority of the savings were driven by changes to the variable bonus program, which is an annual event based on annual performance. So that was the main driver. But we can certainly provide more guidance on this on our next call as to normalized operating expenses going forward after we get through some planning that Jerry and I and the Board are doing now.

好問題，西蒙。看，在第三季度和第四季度，我們確實對業務進行了一些適度的成本削減。我們還有一些第四季度的費用增加了運營費用。我認為大部分節省是由可變獎金計劃的變化推動的，該計劃是基於年度績效的年度活動。所以這是主要的驅動力。但是，在我們完成 Jerry 和我以及董事會現在正在做的一些計劃之後，我們當然可以在下次電話會議上就此提供更多指導，以了解未來的標準化運營費用。

And then you sort of gave us a lot of qualitative comments around some of the business trends. And it sounds to me you're most constructive on the wireless business still. And looking for some sense of how you envision the business mix within that full year revenue forecast, what's sort of strongest and what's maybe the weakest part of the business? I'm guessing cable's the weakest and wireless is the strongest, but just want to get a better understanding of how you see it?

然後你就一些商業趨勢給了我們很多定性評論。在我看來，您對無線業務仍然最具建設性。並了解您如何在全年收入預測中設想業務組合，業務中最強的部分是什麼，業務中最薄弱的部分是什麼？我猜電纜最弱，無線最強，但只是想更好地了解您的看法？

Yes. So another good question, Simon. Thank you. The business has really good fundamentals across all of our product lines to include cable CAD, cloud and RAN with each contributing to top line results into 2023. Cloud, which includes our 5G core and mobile edge computing software, our vBNG routing software and our security gateway software we'll have the fastest growth rate over 2022 as compared to the others. But cable, CAD and 4G/5G small cell radios also will deliver in 2023 as well. But cloud will be the fastest-growing segment.

是的。另一個好問題，西蒙。謝謝。該業務在我們所有的產品線中都擁有非常好的基礎，包括有線 CAD、雲和 RAN，它們都為 2023 年的收入做出了貢獻。雲，包括我們的 5G 核心和移動邊緣計算軟件、我們的 vBNG 路由軟件和我們的安全與其他網關軟件相比，我們將在 2022 年擁有最快的增長率。但電纜、CAD 和 4G/5G 小型蜂窩無線電也將在 2023 年交付。但云將是增長最快的部分。

And then in regards to the cable customer you called out, is this a customer that had in the past reach significance of being a 10% reportable customer? Just trying to get a sense of the significance of that comment regarding the North American cable customer?

然後關於你提到的有線電視客戶，這個客戶在過去是否達到了 10% 可報告客戶的重要性？只是想了解有關北美有線電視客戶的評論的重要性？

Yes. This was a significant cable customer from the past. And we received news or not being deployed in their initial rollout in 2023, but we will continue to work this major account, and we'll see what transpires. We did get a virtual CCAP award from a major European MSO because one of our competitors failed to deliver. So we'll see what happens. But this was a larger cable -- North American cable customer, to your question.

是的。這是過去的重要有線電視客戶。我們收到了有關在 2023 年首次推出時未部署的消息，但我們將繼續處理這個主要客戶，我們將拭目以待。我們確實從一家主要的歐洲 MSO 獲得了虛擬 CCAP 獎，因為我們的一個競爭對手未能交付。所以我們將看看會發生什麼。但對於您的問題，這是一條更大的電纜——北美電纜客戶。

And just to clarify, the fourth quarter strength in cable, was that in any way related to this customer? I know you mentioned Europe and Asia Pacific contributing to cable. But I also know often when a customer is winding down a relationship, they may do sort of last time buys. Wondering if that contributed to that strength of cable in the fourth quarter?

澄清一下，有線電視的第四季度實力，是否與該客戶有任何關係？我知道你提到了歐洲和亞太地區對有線電視的貢獻。但我也知道，當客戶結束一段關係時，他們可能會做最後一次購買。想知道這是否有助於第四季度電纜的強度？

That did not contribute, Simon, to the strength in Q4. This was balance strong growth across all the geos and this North American customer and had nothing to do with those strong results.

西蒙，這對第四季度的實力沒有貢獻。這是平衡所有地區和這個北美客戶的強勁增長，與這些強勁的結果無關。

The next question is coming from Tim Savageaux from Northland Capital Markets.

下一個問題來自 Northland Capital Markets 的 Tim Savageaux。

Following on the cable discussion. I mean it looks like I have chartered at 13% of revenues year-to-date. I mean, assuming they're somewhere in the mid-teens for the year. Given your guidance for next year, do you expect the cable segment to be able to grow based on other or run rate business? Or are you making any particular assumption about declines of that major North American customer that maybe will restrain growth in cable? I have a couple of follow-ups.

在電纜討論之後。我的意思是看起來我已經獲得了今年迄今為止收入的 13%。我的意思是，假設他們今年在十幾歲左右。鑑於您對明年的指導，您預計有線電視部門是否能夠基於其他或運行率業務增長？或者您是否對北美主要客戶的減少做出任何可能會抑制有線電視增長的特定假設？我有幾個後續行動。

Yes. So again we have a global installed base of top cable MSOs. All of them are satisfied customers with high CSAT. As it relates to this North American customer we mentioned, we are contracted for a set amount of annual maintenance support revenue, which is in our plan. It's contracted and guaranteed. We did not include any product revenues from this major North American customer in our 2023 plan.

是的。因此，我們再次擁有全球頂級有線 MSO 的安裝基礎。他們都是具有高 CSAT 的滿意客戶。由於它與我們提到的這個北美客戶有關，我們簽訂了一定數量的年度維護支持收入合同，這在我們的計劃中。它有合同和保證。我們沒有在我們的 2023 年計劃中包括來自這個主要北美客戶的任何產品收入。

So to the extent we have success there later in the year, that would be upside. I think our cable business in 2023 versus 2022 can grow modestly on the strength of the many other cable MSO customers we have globally as well as our new and expanded virtual CCAP RPD cable next-gen product offering. So I think cable will be a modest growth line of business for us with no dependency on this major North American customer.

因此，如果我們在今年晚些時候在那裡取得成功，那將是有利的。我認為我們的電纜業務在 2023 年與 2022 年相比可以溫和增長，這得益於我們在全球擁有的許多其他電纜 MSO 客戶以及我們新的和擴展的虛擬 CCAP RPD 電纜下一代產品。所以我認為有線電視對我們來說將是一個適度增長的業務線，而不依賴於這個主要的北美客戶。

And I just missed the backlog. I wonder if you might mind repeating that exiting the year, deferred revenue numbers?

我只是錯過了積壓。我想知道您是否介意重複當年的遞延收入數字？

Sure things. So we entered 2023 with $153 million in backlog product and service orders, including the contracted 2023 billings under the Verizon 5G mobile edge computing contract. And that brings our total backlog, deferred revenue and the remaining $96 million of future billings under the Verizon MEC contract for 2024 and beyond to roughly $286 million.

確定的事情。因此，我們進入 2023 年時積壓了 1.53 億美元的產品和服務訂單，其中包括 Verizon 5G 移動邊緣計算合同下的 2023 年合同賬單。這使我們在 2024 年及以後的 Verizon MEC 合同下的總積壓、遞延收入和剩餘的 9600 萬美元未來賬單達到約 2.86 億美元。

In addition, we have approximately $55 million of closed contracted business for our 4G/5G enterprise small cell radios with a major North American network operator, which we closed in Q3. And under that new contract, we get POs on an annual as ordered basis so -- and as such, we don't include it in the backlog and deferred revenue numbers I just mentioned, so that is incremental.

此外，我們與一家北美主要網絡運營商簽訂了約 5500 萬美元的 4G/5G 企業小型蜂窩無線電合同業務，我們在第三季度關閉了這些業務。根據這份新合同，我們每年都會根據訂單獲得採購訂單——因此，我們不會將其包括在我剛才提到的積壓和遞延收入數字中，所以這是增量的。

So entering 2023, I think the punchline is we're much better shape as compared to 2022 relative to backlog that can ship in supply chain and contracted deals with major Tier 1 CSPs and we're going to continue to focus on that and again, drive renewed growth and net adjusted EBITDA positive results into 2023.

因此，進入 2023 年，我認為與 2022 年相比，相對於可以在供應鏈中運送的積壓訂單以及與主要一級 CSP 的合同交易，我們的狀態要好得多，我們將繼續關注這一點，推動新的增長和淨調整後的 EBITDA 積極結果進入 2023 年。

And back on the cable side. I mean I assume what you're referring to in terms of the possible second half expectations is kind of the next-gen kind of virtualized Remote PHY oriented aspect of that operator's upgrade plan. Just wondering if you can confirm that? And I know this is a tough one to answer, but I'll ask it anyway. I mean, is there -- had that come through as expected? What would your guidance look like for this year?

回到電纜端。我的意思是，我假設您所指的下半年可能預期是該運營商升級計劃中面向下一代虛擬化 Remote PHY 的方面。只是想知道你是否可以證實這一點？我知道這很難回答，但我還是會問的。我的意思是，有沒有——是否按預期實現了？您今年的指導意見如何？

So we originally had anticipated second half core and RPD Remote PHY business from this. We were surprised when we learned they had decided to go in a different direction. Obviously, our guidance would have been meaningfully higher. We are not giving up on the customer or the customer relationship, but that's the status of it as we stand today, and we want to be transparent and transparent on the matter. Jerry, I don't know if you have any other -- anything else you would add, but I think that's where we stand today.

所以我們原本期待下半年核心和RPD Remote PHY業務由此而來。當我們得知他們決定轉向不同的方向時，我們感到很驚訝。顯然，我們的指導本來會有意義地更高。我們並沒有放棄客戶或客戶關係，但這就是我們今天所處的狀態，我們希望在這件事上保持透明和透明。傑里，我不知道你是否還有其他任何要補充的內容，但我認為這就是我們今天的立場。

Yes, Ed you covered it well. We did have a much higher guidance in our original plan. We revised it to basically reflect a conservative approach at this point.

是的，埃德，你講得很好。我們在最初的計劃中確實有更高的指導。我們對其進行了修改，以基本上反映此時的保守方法。

And last question for me. Pretty impressive gross margin performance even with the charge. But I assume that's heavily influenced by the cable strength and capacity licenses and whatnot in terms of driving that. And so, and that would be a high point for the year. Given your comments on cable, I mean, do you continue to expect sort of an upward direction in gross margins as we head into '23, given you've been in a pretty wide range in '22?

最後一個問題問我。即使收費，毛利率也相當可觀。但我認為這在很大程度上受到電纜強度和容量許可以及驅動方面的影響。所以，這將是今年的一個高點。鑑於你對有線電視的評論，我的意思是，鑑於你在 22 年的範圍相當廣泛，你是否繼續期望我們進入 23 年時毛利率會出現上升趨勢？

So Tim, I think...

所以蒂姆，我想...

Yes. Tim, when you look...

是的。蒂姆，當你看...

I'm sorry, go ahead, Jerry.

對不起，繼續，傑里。

Sorry. So, Tim, when you look at the growth drivers for Casa in 2023, the wireless core, the Packet Core is one of the significant growth drivers and that's pure software. And of course, it's going to help with the margin. And we also have a small cell radio as another growth driver in 2023. It's a mid-margin business. And our cable is going to be a combination of virtual CCAP core and chassis and license sales as well as RPD sales. And they tend to come in at a very good margin, historically, very good, and we don't see a significant difference in the gross margin of cable this year.

對不起。所以，蒂姆，當你看到 Casa 在 2023 年的增長動力時，無線核心，分組核心是重要的增長動力之一，而且是純軟件。當然，這將有助於提高利潤率。我們還有一個小型蜂窩無線電作為 2023 年的另一個增長動力。這是一個中等利潤率的業務。我們的電纜將是虛擬 CCAP 核心和機箱、許可證銷售以及 RPD 銷售的組合。而且它們的利潤率往往非常高，從歷史上看，非常好，我們認為今年有線電視的毛利率沒有顯著差異。

(Operator Instructions) We've reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over for any further or closing comments.

（操作員說明）我們的問答環節已經結束。我想把發言權轉回去征求更多意見或結束意見。

Well, again, I'd like to thank everybody for attending this call, and we look forward to reporting to you the transformation of the company and the management team under Ed, the performance, the management under Ed going forward.

好吧，再次感謝大家參加這次電話會議，我們期待向您報告 Ed 領導下的公司和管理團隊的轉型，以及 Ed 領導下的業績和管理。

Thank you. That does conclude today's teleconference and webcast. You may disconnect your line at this time, and have a wonderful day. We thank you for your participation today.

謝謝。今天的電話會議和網絡廣播到此結束。您可以在此時斷開您的線路，並度過美好的一天。感謝您今天的參與。