Comtech Telecommunications Corp (CMTL) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to Comtech's fiscal year Q4 2024 earnings conference call. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today, Thursday, October 31, 2024. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mrs. Maria Ceriello with Comtech. Please go ahead, Maria.

歡迎參加 Comtech 2024 年第四季財報電話會議。謹此提醒，本次會議將於今天（2024 年 10 月 31 日，星期四）進行錄製。請繼續，瑪麗亞。

Thank you, operator, and thanks to our investors for taking the time to dial in today. Welcome to Comtech Telecommunications Corp's conference call for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024. Today, I'm here with Comtech's President and Chief Executive Officer, John Ratigan; we're also joined today by Mike Bondi, Comtech's CFO.

謝謝您，接線員，也感謝我們的投資人今天抽空撥通電話。歡迎參加 Comtech 電信公司 2024 財年第四季的電話會議。今天，Comtech 財務長 Mike Bondi 也加入了我們的行列。

Before we get started today, please note we have a detailed discussion of the quarter in our shareholder letter available on our website. Certain information presented in this call will include, but not be limited to, information relating to the future performance and financial condition of the company, the company's plans, objectives and business outlook and the plans, objectives and business outlook of the company's management.

在我們今天開始之前，請注意我們在我們網站上的股東信中詳細討論了本季度。本次電話會議中提供的某些資訊將包括但不限於與公司未來業績和財務狀況、公司計劃、目標和業務前景以及公司管理層的計劃、目標和業務前景相關的資訊。

The company's assumptions regarding such performance, business outlook and plans are forward-looking in nature and always involve significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from such forward-looking information. Any forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by cautionary statements contained in the company's SEC filings.

本公司對此類業績、業務前景和計劃的假設本質上是前瞻性的，並且始終涉及重大風險和不確定性。實際結果可能與此類前瞻性資訊有重大差異。任何前瞻性陳述均受到該公司提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中包含的警告性陳述的全面限制。

Now, I'm pleased to introduce Comtech's President and CEO, John Ratigan. John?

現在，我很高興向大家介紹 Comtech 的總裁兼執行長 John Ratigan。約翰？

Thanks, Maria, and thanks, everyone, for taking the time to join us today. I began last quarter's call acknowledging that, I was relatively new to the role of Comtech's CEO. And as I'm sure everyone on this call saw from our filings yesterday, it looks like I'll be able to use this line again. I could not be more excited about our Board of Directors appointing me as President and CEO.

謝謝瑪麗亞，也謝謝大家今天抽空加入我們。在上個季度的電話會議中，我承認自己對 Comtech 執行長的角色還比較陌生。我確信參加這次電話會議的每個人都從我們昨天的文件中看到了這一點，看來我將能夠再次使用這條線路。對於董事會任命我擔任總裁兼首席執行官，我感到非常興奮。

Let me start by saying we're going to be taking a different approach to our earnings calls going forward. We released our shareholder letter earlier today, and filed our 10-K yesterday after the close. All of the key financial metrics and discussions surrounding our financial and operating performance are included in those materials.

首先我要說的是，我們將在未來的財報電話會議上採取不同的方法。我們今天稍早發布了股東信函，並在昨天收盤後提交了 10-K 報表。所有關鍵財務指標以及圍繞我們的財務和營運績效的討論都包含在這些資料中。

I know, there's a lot to talk about. So instead of repeating already available information, we plan to spend more time on Q&A rather than prepared remarks. That being said, there are some important themes I want to address today before we open the call up for your questions.

我知道，有很多話要談。因此，我們計劃花更多的時間在問答上，而不是準備好的評論上，而不是重複現有的資訊。話雖這麼說，在我們開始徵集大家提問之前，我今天想先談談一些重要的主題。

I'll acknowledge that Comtech has been through an extraordinary series of changes over the course of the past year. However, from my vantage point, the Comtech I see today rests on a strong foundation. We have best-in-class technology, great people, and a tremendous opportunity to drive profitable growth in our large and growing end markets. What we need is focus, operational discipline and execution, and I'm excited to help lead the company on that journey.

我承認 Comtech 在過去的一年裡經歷了一系列非凡的變化。然而，從我的角度來看，我今天看到的 Comtech 有著堅實的基礎。我們擁有一流的技術、優秀的人才和巨大的機會來推動我們龐大且不斷成長的終端市場的獲利成長。我們需要的是專注、營運紀律和執行力，我很高興能夠幫助領導公司踏上這趟旅程。

For the last few months, Comtech's Board and leadership team have been developing and executing against the transformation strategy that we believe will deliver the best outcome for our customers, our people and our shareholders. As you know, a process is underway to identify strategic alternatives for our terrestrial and wireless networks business.

在過去的幾個月裡，Comtech 的董事會和領導團隊一直在製定和執行轉型策略，我們相信該策略將為我們的客戶、員工和股東帶來最佳結果。如您所知，我們正在製定一項流程，以確定我們的地面和無線網路業務的策略替代方案。

We believe this is the best way to unlock the value of this business while simplifying our capital structure. We are simultaneously taking a hard look at each of our businesses and product lines to ensure we have the best portfolio to meet our customers' needs and protect and grow our top and bottom lines.

我們相信這是釋放該業務價值同時簡化我們資本結構的最佳方式。我們同時認真審視我們的每項業務和產品線，以確保我們擁有最佳的產品組合來滿足客戶的需求，並保護和提高我們的收入和利潤。

Looking ahead, the Comtech I see, which is the Comtech, I believe our customers, our people and our shareholders want is a pure-play satellite and space communications company ready to serve end markets that are themselves at the beginning of their own technology-driven transformation cycles.

展望未來，我看到的Comtech，也就是Comtech，我相信我們的客戶、我們的員工和我們的股東想要的是一家純粹的衛星和太空通訊公司，準備好為終端市場提供服務，而這些市場本身也處於自己的技術起步階段──驅動轉型週期。

This is the area that I focused on throughout my career and the opportunity these markets represent right now is the reason I joined the company. It's why I've been clear in dozens of conversations with our shareholders and our Board that as difficult as the current operating environment has been and as tough as the challenges ahead may be, I am committed to Comtech.

這是我整個職業生涯所關注的領域，這些市場現在所代表的機會是我加入公司的原因。這就是為什麼我在與股東和董事會的數十次對話中明確表示，儘管當前的營運環境非常困難，未來的挑戰也可能非常嚴峻，但我仍致力於 Comtech。

I made a commitment to be direct in my communications with our shareholders too, so I'll be blunt. Our financial performance for the fourth quarter was below expectations. Importantly, our results were not a function of missed or lost market opportunities. Comtech's technologies, products and solutions continue to be in demand from our customers, validated by our record funded backlog of almost $800 million. This, to me, is a critical and direct reflection from our customers that Comtech has a defensible, highly competitive position in the market.

我也承諾與股東進行直接溝通，所以我會直言不諱。我們第四季的財務表現低於預期。重要的是，我們的結果並不是錯過或失去市場機會的結果。我們的客戶對 Comtech 的技術、產品和解決方案持續有需求，我們創紀錄的近 8 億美元的積壓資金證明了這一點。對我來說，這是我們客戶的關鍵而直接的反映，表明 Comtech 在市場上擁有穩固的、高度競爭的地位。

However, in our fiscal fourth quarter, a number of individual factors combined to put pressure on our margins. You will see from our filings that while both of our businesses performed roughly in line with revenue expectations, Satellite and Space, in particular, experienced a decline in adjusted EBITDA margins.

然而，在我們的第四財季，許多個別因素綜合起來給我們的利潤率帶來了壓力。您將從我們的文件中看到，雖然我們的兩項業務的表現大致符合收入預期，但衛星和太空業務的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率尤其下降。

Several quarters of balance sheet-related headwinds impacting manufacturing and deliveries combined with cost growth on cutting-edge nonrecurring engineering-related programs that are nearing completion, our profitability was negatively impacted.

幾個季度與資產負債表相關的不利因素影響了製造和交付，加上即將完成的尖端非經常性工程相關項目的成本增長，我們的盈利能力受到了負面影響。

We also experienced a delay in the timing of a receipt of a large troposcatter-related foreign military sales order. The timing and amount of such orders are often difficult to predict due to various factors, including political influences and defense spending budgets. Taken together, the impact on segment profitability was significant. As I mentioned, for more detail on this, I'd encourage you to review our shareholder letter and SEC filings.

我們也遇到了收到與對流層散射相關的大型外國軍售訂單的時間延遲的情況。由於政治影響和國防支出預算等多種因素，此類訂單的時間和金額往往難以預測。總而言之，對部門獲利能力的影響是巨大的。正如我所提到的，有關這方面的更多詳細信息，我鼓勵您查看我們的股東信和 SEC 文件。

Stepping back and as I wrote in our shareholder letter, the close of our fiscal 2024 fourth quarter provides an opportunity to reflect on both the progress the company has made over the past year as well as a reminder of how much remains to be done to build the Comtech our customers, our people and our shareholders want.

退一步來說，正如我在股東信中所寫的那樣，2024 財年第四季度的結束提供了一個機會來反思公司在過去一年中取得的進展，並提醒我們還有多少工作要做。我們的客戶、我們的員工和我們的股東想要的Comtech。

With our transformation strategy defined in place and well underway, I believe we'll get there. We have a lot of work to do, but from my perspective, we're engaging in that work from a position of strength. Time and again, customers turn to Comtech to solve their most challenging communications problems.

隨著我們的轉型策略的製定和順利實施，我相信我們會實現這一目標。我們還有很多工作要做，但從我的角度來看，我們正在以優勢地位從事這項工作。客戶一次又一次地求助於 Comtech 來解決他們最具挑戰性的通訊問題。

Now, let me turn to the operator to address your questions.

現在請接線生解答您的疑問。

(Operator Instructions) Greg Burns with Sidoti company.

（操作員說明）Greg Burns 與 Sidoti 公司。

Good afternoon. The strategic review process for the terrestrial business, can you maybe give us a little bit more color on the timing of when you expect that to be completed? What kind of process is being run? Is it open? Or are you dealing directly with specific interested parties?

午安.對於地面業務的策略審查流程，您能否給我們更多關於您預計何時完成的時間表？正在運行什麼樣的進程？開放了嗎？或者您直接與特定的利害關係人打交道？

And then assuming some transaction is completed, what do you foresee the capital structure of the stand-alone satellite business looking like? Do you expect to buy back all the debt and call the preferreds and be left with a clean balance sheet? Thank you.

然後假設某些交易完成，您預期獨立衛星業務的資本結構會是什麼樣子？您是否希望回購所有債務並贖回優先股並留下乾淨的資產負債表？謝謝。

Hey, Greg, thanks for the question. So the process has been ongoing for quite some time. It will be dictated in the public. It will be public documents surrounding the whole thing. It's been a methodical process that we've been running actually for quite a while now. We're making sure that we proceed through this with great diligence on both sides of these equations.

嘿，格雷格，謝謝你的提問。所以這個過程已經持續了相當長一段時間了。這將由公眾決定。這將是圍繞整個事情的公開文件。這是一個有條不紊的過程，我們實際上已經運行了一段時間了。我們確保我們在這些等式的兩邊都非常勤奮地完成這個任務。

We continue to entertain various factions that want to come forth and take a look at this. And the second part of your question, I believe, dealt with what do we anticipate the cost structure to look like after the divestiture?

我們繼續歡迎各派別站出來看看這個問題。我認為，你問題的第二部分涉及我們預期剝離後的成本結構會是什麼樣子？

And certainly I think we can all take a look as well as the loans. Certainly, as we divest of that part of the business, the cost structure will have to be reduced in order to accommodate the smaller business that we will be at the time of that divestiture.

當然，我認為我們都可以看看貸款。當然，當我們剝離這部分業務時，成本結構必須降低，以適應剝離時規模較小的業務。

The other question had to do with was the third part of that question was?

另一個問題與該問題的第三部分有關？

The capital structure. Do you expect to be able to pay, like, is your goal to pay down all the debt and buy back or call the preferreds?

資本結構。您是否期望能夠支付，例如，您的目標是償還所有債務並回購或贖回優先股嗎？

Yeah. It would be anticipated certainly that we would pay off the loans and do the same thing with the preferred, if possible.

是的。如果可能的話，我們肯定會償還貸款，並對優先股做同樣的事情。

Okay. Greg, on that point too, I would just add to what John is saying. Certainly, we're not going to speculate about valuation and things of those -- related to those matters. But certainly, our view is with the liquidation of our unbilled and a transaction like that, we would look to simplify our balance sheet.

好的。格雷格，在這一點上，我也想補充約翰所說的內容。當然，我們不會猜測估值以及與這些問題相關的事情。但當然，我們的觀點是，透過清算我們的未開票和類似的交易，我們會尋求簡化我們的資產負債表。

Okay. Could you just talk a little bit more about the margin headwinds that impacts this quarter? What was driving that from an operational perspective? And what you're doing going forward to avoid these types of situations where you run into these cost overruns and issues like this in the future?

好的。您能否多談談影響本季的利潤率不利因素？從營運角度來看，是什麼推動了這個趨勢？您今後將採取哪些措施來避免將來遇到成本超支和此類問題的情況？

Let me take your first part of the call and we're going to split up the answer probably, Greg. In terms of the Q4 performance and some of the adjustments that John was referring to in his opening remarks, we're going through, especially in our Satellite and Space segment, a few NRE development jobs that will lead to production.

讓我接聽電話的第一部分，我們可能會分開回答，格雷格。就第四季度的表現和約翰在開場白中提到的一些調整而言，我們正在經歷一些 NRE 開發工作，特別是在我們的衛星和太空領域，這些工作將導致生產。

Those jobs, as John said, are progressing. And along the way, these are cutting-edge technologies. And in the fourth quarter, as we did a hard scrub of those, we made sure that the EACs properly reflected the cost estimates. I would say, we believe that the noise is behind us on that front.

正如約翰所說，這些工作正在取得進展。一路走來，這些都是尖端技術。在第四季度，當我們對這些進行嚴格清理時，我們確保 EAC 正確反映了成本估算。我想說的是，我們相信這方面的噪音已經過去了。

But these are development jobs. We want to get it right to set our production up for the future. So in terms of the fourth quarter performance, we took our lumps. And certainly, each quarter end, we'll be looking at those. But I'd say Q4, we did a hard scrub.

但這些都是開發工作。我們希望正確地為未來做好生產準備。因此，就第四季的業績而言，我們遇到了困難。當然，每季末我們都會關注這些。但我想說的是，第四季度，我們進行了一次嚴格的擦洗。

Yeah. I would also add, Greg, that we are probably -- we have a high percentage of what I would call development jobs, especially in Chandler right now in our amplifiers and modems part of the business, where we've got a substantial amount of revenue coming from our development projects. And intrinsically, those projects are not the highest gross margin. Where the margin comes back into play is when they move into production.

是的。我還要補充一點，格雷格，我們可能 - 我們有很高比例的我所說的開發工作，特別是在錢德勒，現在我們的放大器和調製解調器業務部分，我們有大量的來自我們的開發項目的收入。從本質上講，這些項目並不是毛利率最高的。當它們投入生產時，利潤就會重新發揮作用。

And we're certainly hopeful that that is going to occur over the -- well, at various times, we've got EDMs with the Army that will be longer, but we've got other things like the A3M with the Army Air Force anti-jam modem that should move into production sooner. So as we cycle those off of the development stage of those projects, we will -- the margins -- we'll see the margins improve.

我們當然希望這種情況能夠在——嗯，在不同的時期，我們與陸軍合作的 EDM 會更長，但我們與陸軍空軍合作的還有其他東西，比如 A3M抗干擾調製解調器應該盡快投入生產。因此，當我們將這些項目從這些項目的開發階段中剔除時，我們將看到利潤率有所改善。

Okay. And then I guess, looking forward, I guess, you had to take some bridge financing to get you through this quarter. You have some movement on the unbilled receivables. Like what's your line of sight on kind of converting those unbilled receivables? And I guess, your ability to -- going into the first quarter to maybe it's going to depend on a transaction with the terrestrial business. But if nothing is done, are you going to be able to generate enough cash or satisfy your obligations without taking on additional financing?

好的。然後我想，展望未來，我想，你必須採取一些過橋融資才能度過這個季度。您的未開立發票應收帳款有一些變動。您對轉換這些未開立發票應收帳款有何看法？我想，進入第一季度，你的能力可能將取決於與地面業務的交易。但如果什麼都不做，你是否能夠產生足夠的現金或履行你的義務而不需要額外的融資？

Yeah, Greg, on that front, as you saw in the footnote for the receivables, we did have a very nice reduction in the unbilled. I know, total receivables still are at an elevated level, but you can see both on our commercial and our government programs, a shift into the build arena. So we're clicking off the task that we need to do to invoice our customer and receive payment.

是的，格雷格，在這方面，正如您在應收帳款腳註中看到的那樣，我們確實在未開票方面有了很大的減少。我知道，應收帳款總額仍然處於較高水平，但您可以在我們的商業和政府計劃中看到向建築領域的轉變。因此，我們正在完成向客戶開立發票並接收付款所需的任務。

We did see a reduction. We expect to continue to see that reduction as we complete the deliveries on the Army and the Marines' next-gen triple programs. We're in the throes of making those deliveries as we speak. So we do expect that cadence to continue and provide further liquidity to the situation. But yeah, that we do expect a decrease, no change in our thinking on that.

我們確實看到了減少。我們預計，隨著我們完成陸軍和海軍陸戰隊下一代三重項目的交付，這種減少將繼續出現。就在我們說話的時候，我們正處於交付這些貨物的痛苦之中。因此，我們確實預計這種節奏將繼續下去，並為局勢提供進一步的流動性。但是，是的，我們確實預計會減少，但我們對此的想法不會改變。

Okay, thank you. That's great.

好的，謝謝。那太棒了。

Joe Gomes, Noble Capital Markets

喬‧戈麥斯，諾布爾資本市場

Good evening. Thanks for taking my questions. I wanted to start out in your prepared remarks or in the shareholder letter, I guess I should say, you do talk about -- and Mike, you touched about it briefly about in the fourth quarter, how you scrubbed some of these estimates to complete different products.

晚安.感謝您回答我的問題。我想在您準備好的講話或股東信中開始，我想我應該說，您確實談到了 - 麥克，您在第四季度簡要談到了這一點，您如何刪除其中一些估計以完成不同的產品。

And I'm just wondering how much -- or what was the delta from what you originally had estimated as to now after this complete scrub, what is the change there? I mean, how big of a -- because it sounds like it was a pretty big change in your estimates. And I'm just trying to get some more color on that.

我只是想知道在這次徹底的清理之後，與您最初估計的增量相比是多少，或者說增量是多少，有什麼變化？我的意思是，有多大——因為聽起來你的估計發生了很大的變化。我只是想對此有更多的了解。

Yeah. Good question, Joe. I don't think I'll put a specific number on the various programs and our investments that we're making in these programs with, aside with our customer. I would just say that it was more than one contract, but it was contained to the development contracts. And, in terms of our fourth quarter performance, you know, as John did mention is prepared remarks and in the shareholder letter, we were also tracking a fairly large troposcatter order destined for an end customer overseas, and those are very difficult to predict.

是的。好問題，喬。除了我們的客戶之外，我認為我不會給出各種計劃以及我們在這些計劃中進行的投資的具體數字。我只想說，這不僅僅是一份合同，但它包含在開發合約中。而且，就我們第四季度的業績而言，正如約翰在股東信中提到的那樣，我們還跟踪了一份相當大的對流層散射訂單，該訂單發往海外最終客戶，而這些訂單非常難以預測。

So we had line of sight to that. It shifted out, came out of the quarter. So on top of the adjustments we were making, that hitting also in the -- late in the quarter and working through that, they added up to a pretty sizable, as John said, significant impact to the fourth quarter. But we're going through these reviews. We're also trying to think about the estimates to complete to getting us done. So hopefully, the team did a good job in getting that all behind us.

所以我們看到了這一點。它向外移動，從季度中出來。因此，除了我們正在進行的調整之外，在本季末也進行了調整，並透過這些調整，正如約翰所說，它們對第四季產生了相當大的重大影響。但我們正在審查這些評論。我們還在嘗試考慮完成任務所需的估計。因此，希望團隊能夠出色地完成這一切。

Okay. Thanks for that. And the TFSR contract, I was under the impression that you had finally got the approval to go ahead, but reading through the K last night, it appears that, that contract is still under protest. So just maybe give us a little more color on where that stands? When do you think you're actually going to get the opportunity to start fulfilling that contract and we can start seeing the impact of that on the results here?

好的。謝謝你。至於 TFSR 合同，我的印像是你終於獲得了批准繼續進行，但昨晚讀了 K，看來該合約仍在抗議中。那麼也許可以給我們更多的資訊來說明這一點？您認為您什麼時候真正有機會開始履行該合同，我們可以開始看到它對結果的影響？

Yeah, Joe, I wish I had a great answer for you, but I don't. That has clearly extended way beyond any protest that I've ever been involved in. Every time it is re-awarded, a new protest is filed. Every time you file a new protest, it's got to be on something that is not previously been protested.

是的，喬，我希望我能為你提供一個很好的答案，但我沒有。這顯然超出了我參與過的任何抗議活動。每次您提出新的抗議時，都必須針對以前未曾抗議過的事情。

And it goes through the GAO on that. And we are -- we remain hopeful, right? And I see almost -- biweekly, there's an update on it, but it has not yet been full and final determination to end the protest. I wish I had a better answer for you because then I'd have a better answer for us. We're hopeful that it's soon, but there are no guarantees on it.

美國政府問責局（GAO）對此進行了處理。我們仍然充滿希望，對嗎？我幾乎每兩週都會看到一次更新，但尚未完全確定結束抗議活動的最終決定。我希望我能為您提供更好的答案，因為這樣我就能為我們提供更好的答案。我們希望很快就能實現，但不能保證。

Okay, thanks. And then just, if I'm looking at your R&D expenses, as a percent of revenues, you were 4.5% in '24, which was down from 8.8% in '23, which was down from 10.8% in '22. Are we underinvesting in R&D here at this point in time? Or is this we've completed some big programs that are R&D related and we're comfortable at this 4.5% of revenue level? Because it is a pretty big substantial decline over the past three years in terms of the amount of R&D that is being spent.

好的，謝謝。然後，如果我看看你的研發費用佔收入的百分比，你在 24 年佔 4.5%，低於 23 年的 8.8%，又低於 22 年的 10.8%。目前我們對研發的投資是否不足？或者我們已經完成了一些與研發相關的大型項目，並且我們對 4.5% 的收入水準感到滿意？因為過去三年的研發支出大幅下降。

Yeah, Joe, I'll take the first part and then hand it off to John. I think what's important to also note is that the stated R&D expense on the P&L is just one line. We also have R&D that sits in cost of sales. And I'd point you to upfront in the K, we talk about the trend in our R&D coming down. But at the same time, you have the customer funded going up substantially from $10 million to almost $19 million over the course of the last three years.

是的，喬，我將承擔第一部分，然後將其交給約翰。我認為還要注意的是，損益表中規定的研發費用只是一行。我們的研發也屬於銷售成本。我想向您指出，在 K 中，我們討論了研發下降的趨勢。但同時，在過去三年中，客戶資助的資金從 1,000 萬美元大幅增加到近 1,900 萬美元。

So I think it's part of our initiatives to have the customer help pay for some of the development. So you don't see it as reported R&D, you see it part of revenues and cost of sales. And as John mentioned, these jobs inherently generally have lower margins, but we're also getting part of the bill footed by the customer.

因此，我認為讓客戶幫助支付部分開發費用是我們舉措的一部分。因此，您不會將其視為報告的研發，而是將其視為收入和銷售成本的一部分。正如約翰所提到的，這些工作本質上利潤率較低，但我們也得到了客戶支付的部分費用。

And also, we had spent some time this year prioritizing our resources going through our transformation to focus on now the programs we think that have the highest margin potential and ones that will unlock sales as opposed to trying to feed legacy programs that maybe don't have the right ROI on it.

此外，我們今年花了一些時間優先考慮我們的資源，以進行轉型，現在將重點放在我們認為具有最高利潤潛力和能夠釋放銷售的項目上，而不是試圖提供可能不會的遺留項目擁有正確的投資報酬率。

I don't know if there's anything else you want to add.

不知道你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Yeah. So I obviously concur with Mike on that. So as I indicated during my remarks and certainly the way that we're operating now, we've got quite a few development projects underway in our facilities and many of those are customer funded. So instead of dramatically increasing our total cost of engineering expense, obviously, we're trying to utilize the valuable resources we have in the best way we can.

是的。所以我顯然同意麥克的觀點。正如我在演講中指出的，當然還有我們現在的運作方式，我們的設施中正在進行相當多的開發項目，其中許多是客戶資助的。因此，顯然，我們並沒有大幅增加工程費用的總成本，而是試圖以最好的方式利用我們所擁有的寶貴資源。

Especially, as those projects move from the development phase into the production phase, I don't want to be trying to replace or have to get rid of that engineering talent, so. I'm comfortable with what we're doing now. And as you may or may not remember, I don't know how closely you follow us, but we recently introduced the digital common ground series of satellite modems that we'll bring out over the course of the next year.

特別是，當這些項目從開發階段進入生產階段時，我不想試圖取代或必須擺脫那些工程人才，所以。我對我們現在所做的感到很滿意。您可能還記得，也可能不記得，我不知道您對我們的關注有多密切，但我們最近推出了數位通用地面系列衛星調變解調器，我們將在明年推出。

And that is a major R&D project that we're undergoing along. That one is a similar project to the Army modem that we're building, which are both fully digital modems. So we are spending money. We know how important that is. But I think we've got the right balance.

這是我們正在進行的一個重大研發項目。這個專案與我們正在建造的陸軍調變解調器類似，都是全數位調變解調器。所以我們是花錢的。我們知道這有多重要。但我認為我們已經取得了適當的平衡。

Okay, great. Thanks, sir. I'll get back in queue.

好的，太好了。謝謝，先生。我會回到隊列中。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Mike Crawford, B. Riley Securities.

（操作員指示）Mike Crawford，B. Riley Securities。

Thank you, B. Riley Securities So absent further EACs, given that Q1 ends today, what type of revenue and gross margin should we expect in terms of a range for this quarterly period that ends today?

謝謝 B. Riley Securities 那麼，鑑於第一季今天結束，如果沒有進一步的 EAC，我們應該預期今天結束的本季的收入和毛利率範圍是怎樣的？

Yeah. So what we expect for Q1 is the revenue to stay about the same as it was in Q4, and we expect -- we are expecting certainly greater EBITDA than we achieved in Q4. We're not prepared to give a range on that, but we're prepared to say that we're going to have greater EBITDA than we had in Q4.

是的。因此，我們預計第一季的營收將與第四季保持大致相同，我們預計 EBITDA 肯定會比第四季實現的更高。我們不准備給出一個範圍，但我們準備說我們的 EBITDA 將會比第四季更高。

And Mike, I would add to what John is saying is keeping in mind, you referenced the EACs, put that aside, but we also just announced a strategy to transform our business with -- yeah, and we also had just announced the wind down of Basingstoke. And while that's substantially done, we still have a few more things to get done, and that's tracking very nicely according to our plan.

麥克，我想補充約翰所說的，請記住，你提到了 EAC，把它放在一邊，但我們也剛剛宣布了一項業務轉型戰略——是的，我們也剛剛宣布了業務轉型貝辛斯托克。雖然這已經基本完成，但我們還有一些事情要做，而且根據我們的計劃，這一切進展得很好。

But those things create some uncertainty on the bottom line. I think, as John said, on the top line, I think we have decent visibility right now. We still have to close the books and go through that process. But certainly, when it comes to bottom line performance, I want to just kind of talk in terms of non-Basingstoke because that's a little bit of an unknown as we go through our restructuring there.

但這些事情為底線帶來了一些不確定性。我認為，正如約翰所說，在最重要的方面，我認為我們現在有不錯的能見度。我們仍然需要結帳並完成這個過程。但當然，當談到底線表現時，我只想談談非貝辛斯托克的情況，因為當我們在那裡進行重組時，這有點未知。

And with these $124 million of unbilled or so that remain at July, what level should we look for those to decline to in this period that ends today? And what is the rough composition of those like versus troposcatter versus maybe software delivered to wireless carriers, et cetera?

7 月仍有 1.24 億美元左右的未開票金額，我們應該尋找在今天結束的這段時間內這些金額下降到什麼水平？與對流層散射與交付給無線營運商的軟體等相比，這些的大致組成是什麼？

Yes, I'll take that. (multiple speakers) So in terms of our liquidation plan, I would first point you to the footnote that breaks out the unbilled. And you could see the distribution between T&W, which is more software development and customer acceptance versus satellite and space, which is more let's get the products out and delivered, so we can invoice that milestone.

是的，我會接受的。 （多名發言者）因此，就我們的清算計劃而言，我首先向您指出未開票的腳註。你可以看到T&W 之間的分佈，與衛星和太空相比，它更多的是軟體開發和客戶接受度，這更多的是讓我們把產品拿出來並交付，這樣我們就可以為這個里程碑開立發票。

Certainly, the large majority is falling in satellite and space, typical programs we've discussed in the past, like the US Army, next-gen Tropo project, which was about $30 million, and we're well into the deliveries now on that one. Same thing with the larger US Marine Corps order, which we're also making deliveries of all the systems to our prime in support of the Marines program.

當然，絕大多數都落在衛星和太空領域，這是我們過去討論過的典型項目，例如美國陸軍的下一代 Tropo 項目，該項目耗資約 3000 萬美元，我們現在正在順利交付該項目一。美國海軍陸戰隊的更大訂單也是如此，我們也將所有系統交付給我們的主要客戶以支援海軍陸戰隊計劃。

And at this point in time, our deliveries, we are well advanced in the delivery and ramping up to that state where we expect it to be. And if we continue this up, I think it will be invoiced timely and then with typical payment terms for those contracts with the Army probably paying a little bit faster than the Marines just given the nature of the contract.

目前，我們的交付，我們在交付方面已經取得了很大進展，並且正在逐步達到我們預期的狀態。如果我們繼續這樣做，我認為它將及時開立發票，然後根據與陸軍簽訂的合約的典型付款條件，考慮到合約的性質，可能比海軍陸戰隊的付款速度要快一些。

Yeah. And within those contracts, there's some extended payment terms that they put in there, right? It's like a 45 or 60 day capability to pay. But what we saw in Q1 was a steady roll-off as well of that unbilled.

是的。在這些合約中，他們加入了一些延長的付款條款，對嗎？這就像 45 或 60 天的支付能力。但我們在第一季看到的是未開票業務也在穩定下降。

That's good to hear. You're doing a great job getting it delivered. And then just regarding margin, I know you have all of these additional legal and consulting costs associated with the decision to exit the one business, the strategic review, the proxy fight.

很高興聽到這個消息。你在交付方面做得很好。然後就利潤而言，我知道您需要承擔與退出一項業務的決定、策略審查和代理權爭奪相關的所有額外法律和諮詢成本。

But just when you get down to these modem, these digital modem development programs where you're getting kind of paid to develop them by your customers, but is there any reason to think that when you come out the other side of that into production that it's not going to be more close, similar to past margin experience?

但是，當您開始研究這些調變解調器，這些數位調變解調器開發程式時，您的客戶會向您支付開發它們的費用，但是有任何理由認為，當您將其另一端投入生產時，它不會更接近，類似過去的保證金經驗嗎？

No, the production margins are much better than the development margins. The development margins we go through, and that's certainly what we've had the EAC write-down for the fourth quarter, right? So once we start moving into volume is where we shine. That's where we've got the surface mount machine, the factory. We just move it into production, and it becomes a steady kind of business for us, and the margins are much better. We're not -- and I'm not saying that, we're not worried about the margins when it moves into production.

不，生產利潤比開發利潤好得多。我們經歷的開發利潤，這肯定是我們第四季的 EAC 減記，對嗎？因此，一旦我們開始進入批量，這就是我們的閃光點。這就是我們擁有表面貼裝機的工廠。我們只要投入生產，它就成為我們的一項穩定的業務，而且利潤率也好得多。我們不是——我不是這麼說的，我們也不擔心它投入生產時的利潤。

And I think you said A3M first. And maybe is that something that we could expect to start occurring in the second fiscal quarter ended January? Or when should we look for this transformation of that -- production to occur?

我想你首先說的是 A3M。也許我們預計這會在截至一月份的第二財季開始發生？或者我們什麼時候應該尋求生產的這種轉變發生？

Yeah. I think we're winding down the development part of that. And I believe that in the second and third quarters of the year, we'll get a little bit more in the second, and I expect more in the third. But we'll certainly have some substantial revenue in '25 and beyond. Actually, it should go on for quite a number of years.

是的。我認為我們正在逐步結束其中的開發部分。我相信，在今年的第二和第三季度，我們會在第二季度獲得更多，我預計第三季會獲得更多。但我們肯定會在 25 年及以後獲得可觀的收入。事實上，這種情況應該會持續很多年。

Yeah. I'll just end with one final question on different topics. So now that the 10-K is filed, when would you, by statute, need to hold your AGM? And when do you expect to set a date for that?

是的。我將以關於不同主題的最後一個問題結束。那麼，現在 10-K 已提交，根據法規，您什麼時候需要召開年度股東大會？您預計什麼時候為此設定日期？

Yeah. If you're referring to the shareholder meeting and setting a date, we'll be putting out information at the appropriate time. I'm not going to make any comments on it at this time.

是的。如果您指的是股東大會並設定日期，我們將在適當的時間發布資訊。我目前不打算對此發表任何評論。

Okay. Alright, thank you very much.

好的。好的，非常感謝。

Thanks Mike.

謝謝邁克。

George Notter, Jefferies.

喬治諾特，傑弗里斯。

Hi there. I'm wondering if you can make any comments on the progress you're making in the potential sale of the terrestrial and wireless business. If I go back from memory, I think there were prior management teams that also, I think, looked at selling these assets. And I guess I'm just trying to handicap the likelihood of getting to a successful sale. I'm wondering how fresh this asset is on the marketplace.

你好呀。我想知道您是否可以對您在地面和無線業務的潛在出售方面取得的進展發表任何評論。如果我回想起來，我認為之前的管理團隊也考慮過出售這些資產。我想我只是想降低成功銷售的可能性。我想知道這種資產在市場上有多新鮮。

So the process has been ongoing. I can't comment a lot on where the process is and when we anticipate that it would come to a conclusion. What we do know with great certainty is that the business -- the T&W business is clearly, as all of you guys know, an undervalued asset in the market. It is an extraordinary business, performing incredibly well for us.

所以這個過程一直持續著。我無法對流程進行到什麼程度以及我們預計何時得出結論發表太多評論。我們非常確定地知道，正如你們所有人所知，T&W 業務顯然是市場上被低估的資產。這是一項非凡的業務，對我們來說表現得非常好。

We've got a great management team in there. They're well received in the market. Their backlog is strong. They are continuing to improve their margins. It is a very attractive business. We feel it's really the only great way to unlock the value of that business for our shareholders. We're certainly trying to drive all the great things out of the business we can, and we certainly see that as a way to do that. But I can't comment further on where we are in that process or speculate on whether we'll be successful or not, but we certainly hope to.

我們有一支優秀的管理團隊。它們在市場上很受歡迎。他們的積壓情況很嚴重。他們正在繼續提高利潤率。這是一項非常有吸引力的業務。我們認為這確實是為我們的股東釋放該業務價值的唯一好方法。我們當然正在盡我們所能地努力將所有偉大的事情從業務中剔除，我們當然認為這是實現這一目標的一種方式。但我無法進一步評論我們在過程中的進展或推測我們是否會成功，但我們當然希望如此。

Got it. Also and then the other one I wanted to -- the Basingstoke facility, can you give us a sense for how much revenue and how much cost structure was associated with that business? Obviously, that will be coming out of the financials, but what would that look like?

知道了。另外，我想要的另一個——貝辛斯托克工廠，您能否讓我們了解與該業務相關的收入和成本結構有多少？顯然，這將從財務數據中得出，但那會是什麼樣子呢？

Yeah. Again, probably won't give a specific number, George, but certainly, it was enough size and scale to -- and get heavy focus from management to invest in that business unit. Just at this point in time, it wasn't coming to fruition. But it definitely is a significant impact on our results for the year, and curtailing that loss going forward. We think it will be a meaningful reduction in expenditures that will significantly improve our bottom line in that segment.

是的。再次強調，喬治可能不會給出具體數字，但可以肯定的是，它有足夠的規模和規模，並得到管理層的高度關注來投資該業務部門。就在這時候，它還沒有實現。但這肯定會對我們今年的業績產生重大影響，並減少未來的損失。我們認為這將是一次有意義的支出削減，將顯著提高我們在該領域的利潤。

Can you tell us how many?

你能告訴我們有多少嗎？

I'm sorry. I'm not going to put a specific number on it.

對不起。我不會給出具體數字。

Got it. Can you tell us how many people are in that business line?

知道了。您能告訴我們該業務線有多少人嗎？

Under five at this point in time, George.

喬治此時還不到五歲。

Under five employees in that business.

該企業的員工不到五名。

It's around down. Was that your question?

已經差不多下來了這是你的問題嗎？

And can you tell us what the was -- in terms of the employment in that business?

您能告訴我們該行業的就業情況嗎？

I think John gave a little color on that.

我認為約翰對此做了一些說明。

I want to say it was about 100.

我想說的是大約100。

Okay, great. Thank you very much.

好的，太好了。非常感謝。

Well, thanks George.

嗯，謝謝喬治。

(Operator Instructions) And there are no further questions on the line at this time. I will turn the program to our speakers for any additional or closing remarks.

（操作員說明） 此時線路上沒有其他問題。我會將節目轉交給我們的發言人，請他們發表補充或結束語。

Yeah. I don't have any further comments. I appreciate everybody taking the time to listen to us this afternoon. And I hope everyone has a happy Halloween, and we will talk again in another quarter.

是的。我沒有任何進一步的評論。我感謝大家今天下午抽出時間來聽我們的演講。我希望大家萬聖節快樂，我們下個季度再聊。

This does conclude today's program. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect.

今天的節目到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接。