EHang Holdings Ltd (EH) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to EHang's Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, we are recording today's call. I will now turn the call over to Anne Ji, EHang's Senior Director of Investor Relations. Ms. Anne, you may begin.

Hello, everyone. Thank you all for joining us on today's conference call to discuss the Company's financial results for the second quarter of 2023. The earnings release is available on the company's IR website. Please note the conference call is being recorded and audio replay will be posted on the Company's IR website.

On the call today, we have Mr. Huazhi Hu, our Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Xin Fang, Chief Operating Officer; and Mr. Richard Liu, Chief Financial Officer. The management team will successively give prepared remarks. Remarks delivered in Chinese will be followed by English translations. All translation is for convenience purpose only. In the case of any discrepancy, management's statement in the original language will prevail. A Q&A session will follow afterwards.

Before we continue, please note that today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. As such, the Company's actual results may be materially different from the expectations expressed today. Further information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties is included in the Company's public filings with the SEC. The company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable law. Also, please note that all numbers presented are in RMB and are for the second quarter of 2023, unless stated otherwise.

With that, let me now turn the call over to our CEO, Mr. Huazhi Hu. Please go ahead, Mr. Hu.

[Interpreted] Below is the English translation of Mr. Hu's remarks.

Hello, everyone. Thank you all for joining our conference call today. Today, I'm thrilled to share an exciting news with you about our type certification of EH216-S Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System, that we have successfully completed all of the planned tests and trial flights in the last phase of demonstration and verification of compliance, and also completed the definitive Type Certification Flight Test by the CAAC. This is the last milestone before obtaining the type certificate, and also the result of the unwavering efforts of EHang team.

Since the time when CAAC officially accepted the EH216-S TC application in January 2021, our unyielding efforts have spanned over 30 months. Throughout this journey, we have overcome various challenges and finally successfully completed all of the substantive tasks. Ranging from battery, environment, material, strength, electronics, software, data link to ground control station, we have sufficiently proved that EH216-S meets the safety standards and airworthiness requirements by the CAAC, through scientific approaches, multi-angle demonstrations, rigorous testing, and continuous optimizations.

This marks a significant achievement not only for EHang, but also indicates an unprecedented advancement in airworthiness certification for the entire eVTOL industry. Furthermore, unlike other ongoing TC projects of piloted eVTOL aircraft, to our knowledge, ours is the world's first TC program for an unmanned aerial vehicle.

I would like to express my gratitude to the CAAC's officials and the review team as well as the Company's airworthiness certification team for their unwavering efforts and persevering spirits. It is their professionalism, exceptional technological expertise and collaborations that have led us to our impressive achievement today. Also, I would like to thank our investors and so many supporters for their patience throughout the process. I believe the remaining procedures will be finished very soon before the official authorization of the type certificate. It will pave the way for our commercial operations in the next stage.

In the second quarter, taking into consideration of internal and external advices, we managed our product deliveries in a controlled manner before the upcoming type certificate. 5 units of EH216-S AAV products were delivered in Q2. Total revenues were RMB10 million. Gross margin stayed around 60%. I believe we will have an excellent financial performance after the certification.

During the certification period, we secured a round of US$23 million strategic investment in July, following the US$10 million strategic investment from Qingdao West Coast New Area in the first quarter of this year. This has further enhanced our liquidity.

Finally, I'm glad to take this opportunity to announce that Conor Yang, a director of the Company's board and Chairman of the Audit Committee, will take over the position of CFO of the Company, effective on September 1. He served as the CFO at several listed companies, including AirMedia, Dangdang, Tuniu, etc. And he also serves as a director at several well-known companies such as iQiyi, Tongcheng Travel, etc. Conor has more than 30 years of extensive experience in financial management, investor relations, capital markets and corporate governance. During the 3 years he served as a director of our board, he has profound understanding and confidence in the Company. We warmly welcome Conor to join our management team. I believe he will definitely take EHang into a new level. Richard Liu has tendered his resignation from the CFO position due to his personal reasons, which will be effective at the end of August, but he will serve as a senior advisor to the Company--contributing his expertise to our continued success. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the management team, I would like to thank Richard for his tremendous contributions to EHang's development during his 8-year tenure with us.

In addition, we have also welcomed Mr. Wing Kee Lau as a new independent director to the Board, and also as the Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee. Mr. Lau has over 30 years of experience and expertise in financial management and accounting, and has served as CFO and finance executives of various listed companies and industry-leading companies, including RoboSense, Perfect World, Ogilvy & Mather, etc. He also has 10 years of auditing experience at PwC. I look forward to working together with Conor and Mr. Lau to take EHang into a new stage.

Next, I will hand over the call to our Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Xin Fang. Thank you.

[Interpreted] Below is the English translation of Mr. Fang's remarks.

Thank you, Mr. Hu, and hello, everyone.

During the second quarter, as we continue to make progress in the final stages of EH216-S type certification, we have also been actively exploring new business opportunities and cooperation on both domestic and international fronts, so as to establish a solid groundwork for the upcoming post-certification operations.

After the initial signing of a corporation framework agreement with Xiyu Tourism, a Shenzhen-listed leading tourism enterprise in China, in March of this year, our collaboration moved forward in the second quarter. We have established a joint venture with Xiyu Tourism and delivered the first batch of 5 units of EH216-S AAVs to this joint venture. The customer plans to develop low-altitude tourism and sightseeing projects with EHang AAVs in the Heavenly Lake of Tianshan, a national 5A-class tourist attraction, and other scenic areas in Northwestern China, and plans to operate a minimum of 120 units of AAVs within the next 5 years.

Moreover, Shenzhen, positioned as a pivotal "gateway" for propelling China's innovative low-altitude economy, has committed to shaping itself into a national low-altitude economy development demonstration city. Against this backdrop, in July we inked a Memorandum of Understanding for a strategic partnership with the government of Bao'an District, which is Shenzhen's aviation hub. This collaboration is dedicated to jointly establishing the first UAM Operation Demonstration Center, named "the Wings of the Bay Area" at OH Bay, one of Bao'an's cultural and tourism landmarks. We plan to develop the first eVTOL commercial route, initiate the operation of EH216-S after obtaining its certificate, and launch aerial tourism and sightseeing experience services. As a company in the Greater Bay Area, our cooperation with Shenzhen Bao'an will serve as a crucial step in our post-certification operational plans.

We are pleased to see that in June of this year, the State Council of China officially issued the Interim Measures for Flight Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, the first special administrative regulation of its kind in China. This will greatly propel the robust growth of the UAV industry while expanding the market opportunities of the low-altitude economy market. It will also lay a good foundation for the commercial operations of our EH216-S after obtaining the certificate.

As the EH216-S type certification project is approaching the final line, our "100 Air Mobility Route Initiative" trial operations have also achieved fruitful results. Along with our customers and partners, we have developed a total of 20 trial operation sites across 18 cities in China within the 2 years by the end of July this year. More than 9,300 safety-secured operational trial flights for low-altitude tourism and arial sightseeing have been conducted by EH216-S at these sites, which will pave the way for our commercial operations after the certification.

Following obtaining the certificate of EH216-S, we will deliver the existing domestic order pipelines in a proper order, which have accumulated to more than 100 units.

In the global market, we maintained a proactive engagement within the UAM industry in Asia and Europe, cultivating potential customers and partners while conducting AAV test and demonstration flights.

In April of this year, EHang was inducted as a member of Japan's Public-Private Committee for Advanced Air Mobility. In June, we have successfully completed test flights of EH216-S in Okinawa, marking Japan's first island-hopping flights by an unmanned eVTOL.

Recently, our EH216 series AAVs successfully completed test flights in Israel and Belgium, extending our eVTOL flight footprints to as many as 14 countries around the world.

We are confident that as our operational scale and flight numbers steadily grow, an increasing number of regulators, customers and passengers will know more about and appreciate EHang's unique AAV technologies and products, enabling more people to enjoy a safe, autonomous, eco-friendly, and efficient air mobility experience. It will drive industrial innovations and changes, and create more value for the society.

Next, I will turn the call over to our CFO, Richard. Thanks.

Thank you, Xin. Hello, everyone. Before I go into details, please note that all numbers presented are in RMB and are for the second quarter of 2023, unless stated otherwise. All percentage changes are on a quarter-over-quarter basis unless otherwise specified. Detailed analyses are contained in our earnings press release, which is available on our IR website. I will now highlight some of the key points here.

In Q2, the total revenues were RMB10 million, compared with RMB22.2 million in Q1, primarily from the delivery of 5 units of EH216-S to the joint venture with a Shenzhen-listed leading tourism operator in China, Xiyu Tourism. In light that the TC process of EH216-S is approaching the end, some deliveries have been extended to be post TC per customers' requests.

Gross margin stayed at a high level, 60.2% in Q2, a slight decrease of 3.7 percentage points from 63.9% in Q1. Despite this minor fluctuation, our gross margin continued to be notably higher than the players of other types of electric transportation vehicles such as those electric car companies. This is largely attributed to our unique advantages in the global UAM and eVTOL industries.

In Q2, our adjusted operating expenses which are operating expenses excluding share-based compensation expenses, were RMB58.1 million, compared with RMB50.1 million in Q1. The change was mainly because of increased expenditures related to the conforming aircraft and compliance tests in the final demonstration and verification phase of the EH216-S type certification process, increased marketing activities to enhance our brand awareness, additional provisions for some long-aging accounts receivable, etc.

As a result, our adjusted operating loss in Q2 was RMB51.3 million, compared with RMB34.3 million in Q1. Adjusted net loss was RMB51.8 million, compared with RMB33.6 million in Q1.

Furthermore, we have kept optimizing our balance sheet with a prudent approach to cash and liquidity management. As of the end of Q2, we had RMB160.7 million of cash, cash equivalents and restricted short-term deposits. In July, we have further strengthened our liquidity with a US$23 million equity investment via a private placement from some long-term strategic investors. The funding will help enhance our liquidity and provide vital support for our execution of the post-certification commercial plans in our next phase of growth. This brings our cash reserve to RMB320.6 million as of the end of July.

At last, as Huazhi mentioned earlier, today is my last time joining the earnings conference call as the Company's CFO. I would like to sincerely thank the Board, Huazhi and the investment communities for all your trust and support in the past 8 years. It has been my great honor to be part of the force to drive EHang from an innovative technology startup into an industry leading listed company in the past 8 years.

I believe Conor is an ideal successor as CFO to take EHang to a new stage. I will continue to serve as a senior advisor to the Company, and wish the Company a continued greater success.

That concludes our prepared remarks. Let's now open the call for questions.

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Verena Jeng with Goldman Sachs.

My first question is about the timeline for the TC because we have finished all of the testing. Just wondering how long it will take for the production cycle? And after we get the TC, how soon that we can expect the full production of our factory? Thank you.

This is Richard. Thank you for your question. Basically, our team have been continuing working with the CAAC expert team very closely to finish the remaining procedures, which are expected to be completed soon, and the TC will be issued accordingly. Once the TC is issued, this TC is expected to be the first of its kind in the eVTOL industry. In terms of timing, we will make an announcement at that time. Please stay tuned. In respect of production post-TC, as you know that we have a production facility in Yunfu City. We see initial annual capacity of 600 units of EH216 Series products. Basically, after we obtained the TC, those capacities will be utilized to support the post-TC deliveries in the future.

I have another follow-up question here for the second half outlook, apart from the TC part, could you also share about the end market demand. For example, for the tourism market recovery, are we still seeing the recovery ongoing for the second half?

Basically, on the demand side, our existing order pipeline has accumulated to more than 100 units in China. And this pipeline is expected to continue to increase. To give you some examples, in our previous press release, we announced our cooperation with Xiyu Tourism and this cooperation will further lead to a potential order demand for about 120 units in the future 5 years. Additionally, our strategic partnership with the Bao'an District of Shenzhen City is not only a very important step for our post-TC commercial operations, but also expected to help generate potential order demands gradually. As far as the tourism market is concerned, the continuing recovery and increasing demands in the tourism market, for sure, are a very key driver for our ongoing revenue growth.

Additionally, our innovative products are more in line with the customer needs in a scenario such as aerial sightseeing and flight experiencing etc., compared to the traditional helicopters. Further, we are about to obtain the TC, which means commercial operation will be soon and since the beginning of this year, more and more cities in China have been issuing preferential policies to promote the development of what is called low-altitude economy and unmanned aerial vehicle applications, which mainly include UAM and eVTOLs, so this has also created a very favorable policy environment to accelerate the development of this new industry.

To further give you an example, the Shenzhen City is a Civil Unmanned Aviation Pilot Zone approved by the CAAC and Shenzhen City has been planning to issue policies such as regulation to promote low-altitude economy industries this year. This is expected to become China's first regulation to support the development of the low-altitude economy sectors and the Shenzhen's measures to support high-quality development of low-altitude economy are expected to provide strong support to the development of the industry. Basically, both initiatives are expected to bolster our operations and revenue growth once we commence our projects in Shenzhen. Further, as a company based in the Greater Bay Area, we have abundant experience and the resources in the area, which will make our collaboration with the local cities more practical and viable.

Next question will come from the line of from Di Wu from TF Securities.

I have 2 questions. The first one is we noticed recently China has published an enforcement stating that certain unmanned aircraft will face an export prohibition. Will there be any implication for our aircraft or hinder the TC process? The second question is can the management team shed more lights on potential application scenario that could be implemented in the near future?

This is Richard again. I will take your question. For your first question, I would like to say, first of all, EHang as an internationally listed company, we have always been strictly following the export related laws and regulations in China and other countries where we do business and adhering to the principle of legality and the compliance in respect of export activities. In the recent new UAV-related export control policy in China basically has no significant impact on our business or our TC process because we have already been complying with the relevant export licensing requirements for export products. It has been going smoothly.

In addition, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce has stated that export control does not mean export prohibition. As long as the UAV products exported are for legitimate civilian uses and the company follows the relevant procedures, it is understood that exporting activities can be conducted normally. We are dedicated to leveraging our innovative technologies and products to serve the people around the world. The company had been taking strict and prudent measures in compliance management and customer restrictions in order to make sure our products are only used for legal civilian uses.

And in respect to your second question, as you know, after our EH216-S get its TC, our first priority will be focusing on the so-called low-altitude tourism market. We will continue to team up with tourism operators and partners as many as possible in China for operations in scenarios like aerial sightseeing, flight experiencing, etc. Location-wise, initial ones, such as the Jishou Aizhai Scenic Area, Hechi Fengshan Scenic Area, the Lake of Heaven of Tianshan Scenic Area, and Shenzhen OH Bay area which we announced previously. Furthermore, we will continue to leverage our EH216 Series product platform to explore other use cases such as aerial logistics, emergency response, medical deliveries, and aerial firefighting etc. Thank you.

No more questions in the queue at this time. Let me turn the call back to Ms. Anne for closing remarks.

Thank you, operator, and thank you all for participating on today's call. If you have further questions, please contact our IR team by e-mail or participate in our following investor events through the calendar information provided on our IR website. We appreciate your interest and look forward to our next earnings call.

Thank you all again. This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a wonderful day.

[Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]