Fuel Tech Inc (FTEK) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Fuel Tech Inc fourth quarter and full year 2023 financial results call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Devin Sullivan, Managing Director of The Equity Group. You may begin.

您好，歡迎參加 Fuel Tech Inc 第四季和 2023 年全年財務業績電話會議。（操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。現在我想將會議轉交給主持人，The Equity Group 董事總經理 Devin Sullivan。你可以開始了。

Thank you, Melissa. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for Fuel Tech's 2023 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results Conference Call. Yesterday after the close, we issued a copy of the release, which is available at the Company's website, w. w. w. dot FTYK. dot com. Our speakers for today will be Vincent Arnone, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Ellen Albrecht, the Company's Chief Financial Officer. After prepared remarks, we will open the call for questions from our analysts and investors.

謝謝你，梅麗莎。大家早安，感謝您今天參加 Fuel Tech 2023 年第四季和全年財務業績電話會議。昨天收盤後，我們發布了一份新聞稿副本，可在公司網站上取得。 w。 w。點 FTYK。 .com。今天的演講者是董事長、總裁兼執行長 Vincent Arnone；以及公司財務長 Ellen Albrecht。在準備好發言後，我們將開始向分析師和投資人提問。

Before turning things over to Vince, I'd like to remind everyone that matters discussed on this call, except for historical information, are forward-looking statements as defined in Section 21 E, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended, which are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and reflect Fuel Tech's current expectations regarding future growth, results of operations, cash flows, performance and business prospects and opportunities as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to our company's management. Fuel-tech has tried to identify forward-looking statements by using words such as anticipate, believe, plan, expect, estimate, intend, will and similar expressions.

在將事情交給Vince 之前，我想提醒大家，本次電話會議中討論的事項（除歷史資訊外）均為1934 年《證券交易法》修訂案第21 E 條中定義的前瞻性陳述，這些陳述由根據1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的安全港條款，反映了Fuel Tech 目前對未來增長、經營業績、現金流量、業績和業務前景和機會的預期，以及我們所做的假設和目前可獲得的資訊公司的管理階層。Fuel-tech 試圖透過使用「預期」、「相信」、「計劃」、「期望」、「估計」、「打算」、「意願」和類似表達等詞語來識別前瞻性陳述。

But these words are not exclusive means of identifying forward-looking statements. These statements are based on information currently available to Fuel Tech and are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors, including but not limited to those discussed in Fuel Tech's annual report on Form 10 K in Item 1A under the caption Risk Factors and subsequent filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended, which could cause Fuel Tech's actual growth, results of operations, financial conditions, cash flows, performance and business prospects and opportunities differ materially from those expressed in or implied by these statements. Fuel Tech undertakes no obligation to update such factors or to publicly announce the results of any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future events, developments or changed circumstances or for any other reason, investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in the Company's filings with the SEC.

但這些詞語並不是識別前瞻性陳述的唯一方式。這些陳述基於Fuel Tech 目前掌握的信息，並受到各種風險、不確定性和其他因素的影響，包括但不限於Fuel Tech 年度報告10 K 表第1A 項中「風險因素」標題下討論的內容以及隨後提交的文件根據經修訂的1934 年證券交易法，這可能導致Fuel Tech 的實際增長、經營業績、財務狀況、現金流、業績以及業務前景和機會與這些聲明中明示或暗示的內容存在重大差異。Fuel Tech 沒有義務更新此類因素或公開宣布本文中包含的任何前瞻性陳述的結果，以反映未來事件、發展或情況變化或出於任何其他原因，請投資者註意，所有前瞻性陳述均涉及風險和風險。不確定性，包括公司向 SEC 提交的文件中詳細說明的不確定性。

With that said, I'd now like to turn the call over to Vincent Arnone. Vince, please go ahead.

話雖如此，我現在想將電話轉給 Vincent Arnone。文斯，請繼續。

Thank you, Devin, and good morning, and I'd like to thank everyone for joining us on the call today. We were pleased with our business progress along several fronts. In 2023, total revenue of $27.1 million was within our previous guidance range and represented our highest annual revenue level since 2019.

謝謝德文，早安，我要感謝大家今天加入我們的電話會議。我們對多個方面的業務進展感到滿意。2023 年，總收入為 2,710 萬美元，在我們先前的指導範圍內，代表了我們自 2019 年以來的最高年度收入水準。

Our APC business segment performed well, reflecting more than $8.3 million of new project awards during the year, and we ended the year with a backlog of $7.5 million at December 31, 2023. Further, we were pleased to announce the additional $2.1 million in new contract awards yesterday we completed a successful trial of our Dissolved Gas Infusion technology in an aquaculture setting, and we believe that we are well positioned to commercialize DGI. in 2024 and lastly, we continued to maintain a conservative cost profile with SG&A expenses up modestly from 2022 levels and ended the year in a strong financial position with $33.4 million in cash investments and no long-term debt.

我們的 APC 業務部門表現良好，年內新項目獎勵超過 830 萬美元，截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日，我們的積壓金額為 750 萬美元。此外，我們很高興地宣布昨天獲得了額外 210 萬美元的新合同，我們在水產養殖環境中成功完成了溶解氣體注入技術的試驗，我們相信我們已經做好了 DGI 商業化的準備。最後，我們繼續保持保守的成本狀況，SG&A 費用較 2022 年的水平小幅上升，並以 3,340 萬美元的現金投資和無長期債務的方式在年底實現了強勁的財務狀況。

We are most heartened by the progress we have made in our DGI. business initiative in 2023 last month, we announced the publication of a white paper that details the benefits of deploying DGI. for oxygen injection at a shrimp farm in the United States as a reminder, our DGI. technology involves the efficient transfer of high concentrations of gas and dual into a body of water through a patented stature rater and a patent-pending injection array to drive chemical or biological reactions such as for wastewater treatment, odor control and pH adjustment or for process improvements in industrial applications or in this case, aquaculture specifically the use of DGII. dislocation increased shrimp production compared to traditional aeration methods and contributed to likely health improvements.

我們對 DGI 所取得的進展感到非常鼓舞。上個月，為了實現 2023 年業務計劃，我們宣布發布一份白皮書，詳細介紹了部署 DGI 的好處。提醒一下，我們的 DGI 在美國的一個養蝦場注射氧氣。該技術涉及透過專利的高度評估器和正在申請專利的注射陣列將高濃度的氣體和雙氣體有效轉移到水體中，以驅動化學或生物反應，例如廢水處理、氣味控制和 pH 值調節或製程改進在工業應用或水產養殖中，特別是使用DGII。與傳統的曝氣方法相比，錯位增加了蝦子的產量，並可能有助於改善健康狀況。

Demand for shrimp is increasing globally and inland shrimp farming is an important source to help meet the growing demand in a safe and sustainable manner while reducing over fishing of the marine environment and lowering the overall carbon footprint by reducing transportation costs by deploying VGI. producers now have an opportunity to improve stock health and yields while achieving more efficient operations immediately adjacent to their customer locations.

全球對蝦的需求不斷增加，內陸蝦養殖是幫助以安全和可持續的方式滿足不斷增長的需求的重要來源，同時減少對海洋環境的過度捕撈，並透過部署VGI 降低運輸成本來降低整體碳足跡。生產商現在有機會改善庫存狀況和產量，同時在緊鄰客戶地點的地方實現更有效率的營運。

ṁAt present, we are utilizing DGI. to deploy oxygen into bodies of water. However, we believe that DGI. can be applicable for other gases as well, such as CO2 and ozone DGI.'s benefits include the precise control of dissolved oxygen levels for all process applications and ability to extend plant capacity without major capital expansion or capital outlay, odor reduction and minimal bubble formation for extended residence time. We believe that DGI. can be applied across several end markets, including pulp and paper, food and beverage, chemical and petrochemical water and wastewater treatment, horticulture and aquaculture. As a follow up to the publication of our DGI. white paper, we presented our technology and favorable findings from our Aquaculture demonstration at the aquaculture America 2024 conference last month.

目前，我們正在使用DGI。將氧氣釋放到水體中。不過，我們相信DGI。也可適用於其他氣體，例如 CO2 和臭氧 DGI。其優點包括精確控制所有製程應用的溶解氧水平，能夠在不進行重大資本擴張或資本支出的情況下擴大工廠產能，減少氣味並最小化氣泡形成延長停留時間。我們相信DGI。可應用於多個終端市場，包括紙漿和造紙、食品和飲料、化學和石化水和廢水處理、園藝和水產養殖。作為 DGI 發布的後續行動。在白皮書中，我們在上個月的 2024 年美國水產養殖會議上展示了我們的技術和水產養殖演示的有利結果。

This annual conference provides members and participants with the opportunity to stay current with technical advancements and inspect the latest in products and services in the aquaculture industry in recent months, in part, driven by the interest generated after publishing and presenting our demonstration results, we have received a notable increase in inquiries regarding our DGI. technology from potential customers in multiple end markets, including municipal odor control, pH control for emissive, municipal and industrial applications, agricultural applications, and additional aquaculture applications. We are currently in negotiations with potential customers regarding on-site demonstrations of DGIN., and we are targeting to sign our first commercial contract for DGI. in 2024.

這次年度會議為會員和參與者提供了了解近幾個月來水產養殖業最新技術進步和檢查最新產品和服務的機會，部分原因是由於發布和展示我們的演示結果後產生的興趣，我們已經有關我們DGI 的詢問顯著增加。來自多個終端市場潛在客戶的技術，包括市政氣味控制、排放 pH 值控制、市政和工業應用、農業應用以及其他水產養殖應用。目前我們正在與潛在客戶就DGIN的現場演示進行談判，我們的目標是簽署我們的第一份DGI商業合約。 2024年。

Lastly, to further expedite the introduction of DGI. into end markets. We have recently hired a former water and wastewater treatment executive on a consulting basis. This individual is well experienced in the application of Dissolved Gas Technologies, and we look forward to his contributions over these next several months.

最後，進一步加快DGI的推出。進入終端市場。我們最近以諮詢方式聘請了一位前水和廢水處理主管。此人在溶解氣體技術的應用方面經驗豐富，我們期待他在接下來的幾個月中做出貢獻。

Let's now please spend a few minutes discussing our fuel cam and APC business segments. As we had expected. Revenues for our fuel cam segment declined from 2022 levels due to the effects of warmer weather across the U.S., which impacted overall demand and related unit dispatch However, segment gross margin was essentially unchanged for the year and remain at historical levels. Our base fuel cam unit count remains intact as we enter 2024 and for the first time in a few years. I'm very pleased to say that we are currently pursuing multiple additional fuel CAM development opportunities, which could provide incremental revenue contribution in 2024 and beyond. These opportunities are for both coal and biomass fired boilers for 2024, excluding any material incremental revenue from new new business development activities, we would expect that fuel cam revenue would remain at parity with 2023.

現在請花幾分鐘時間討論我們的燃油凸輪和 APC 業務部門。正如我們所預料的。由於美國天氣變暖影響了整體需求和相關單位的調度，我們的燃油凸輪細分市場的收入較2022 年水平有所下降，但該細分市場的毛利率今年基本保持不變，仍處於歷史水平。進入 2024 年，我們的基礎燃油凸輪裝置數量保持不變，這是幾年來的第一次。我很高興地說，我們目前正在尋求多個額外的燃油 CAM 開發機會，這可以在 2024 年及以後提供增量收入貢獻。這些機會適用於 2024 年的燃煤和生質鍋爐，不包括新業務開發活動帶來的任何實質增量收入，我們預計燃油凸輪收入將與 2023 年保持持平。

With respect to international opportunities for the fuel cam segment, we continue to follow the opportunity to expand the provision of our chemical technology in Mexico be our partner in that country to address the emissions created by the burning of high sulfur fuel oil, which is being undertaken without the necessary environmental remediation and at the expense of the health of surrounding communities in 2023, we executed a two year extension to the program that we currently have in place at one facility with the upcoming presidential election in Mexico in June of this year, we believe that political pressure is at additional facilities in this country. Our partner is currently in discussions with the state-owned utility, CFE regarding the application of our technology at several units.

關於燃油凸輪細分市場的國際機遇，我們將繼續抓住機遇，擴大在墨西哥的化學技術供應，成為我們在該國的合作夥伴，以解決高硫燃油燃燒產生的排放問題，這一問題正在得到解決。在沒有進行必要的環境整治的情況下，並以犧牲週邊社區的健康為代價，我們在2023 年將目前在一處設施實施的計劃延長了兩年，以應對今年6 月墨西哥即將舉行的總統選舉，我們認為，該國的其他設施面臨政治壓力。我們的合作夥伴目前正在與國有公用事業公司 CFE 就我們的技術在多個單位的應用進行討論。

Now turning over to our APC segment. We benefited in 2023 from the continued adoption of our Ultra SCRSNCR. and FTC. emissions control solutions at natural gas and coal-fired units in the US, Europe, South Africa and the Pacific Rim independence of the potential impact of favorable regulatory outcomes, which I will discuss here shortly.

現在轉到我們的 APC 部分。2023 年，我們受惠於 Ultra SCRSNCR 的持續採用。和聯邦貿易委員會。美國、歐洲、南非和環太平洋地區天然氣和燃煤機組的排放控制解決方案獨立於有利監管結果的潛在影響，我很快就會在這裡討論。

We remain well positioned to take advantage of current industrial end market trends, which include plant capacity expansion across several industries incentivized use of small turbines to replace traditional, less clean power generation, the development of the bio carbon industry, the continued emphasis on the carbonated Answerthink decarbonization on a global basis. And the focus on using our Ultra System has a safe source of ammonia for SCRs at hospitals and universities across the US.

我們仍然處於有利地位，可以利用當前工業終端市場的趨勢，其中包括多個行業的工廠產能擴張、激勵使用小型渦輪機取代傳統的、不太清潔的發電、生物碳產業的發展、對碳酸化的持續重視。Answerthink 在全球範圍內脫碳。我們的 Ultra 系統的重點是為美國各地的醫院和大學提供用於 SCR 的安全氨源。

On the regulatory front, we continue to monitor progress related to the adoption of the US EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Control rule to meet the Good Neighbor requirements of the Clean Air Act, which we believe can be a potential catalyst for APC growth in 2024 and for the remainder of this decade, as utility and industrial customers explore ways to further reduce NOx emissions, we have, in fact, received and responded to several requests for budgetary proposals as customers prepare to address the upcoming compliance requirements as part of their capital budgeting requirements for 2024 and beyond.

在監管方面，我們將繼續監測美國環保署跨州空氣污染控制規則的通過進展，以滿足《清潔空氣法案》的睦鄰要求，我們相信這可能成為 2024 年 APC 增長的潛在催化劑在本十年的剩餘在時間裡，隨著公用事業和工業客戶探索進一步減少氮氧化物排放的方法，我們實際上已經收到並回覆了多項預算提案請求，因為客戶準備將即將到來的合規要求作為其資本的一部分2024 年及以後的預算需求。

As discussed on previous calls, the rule currently obligates 23 states to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides from power plants and certain industrial facilities to limit their impact on downwind states. The ultimate timing of the effectiveness of the rule is uncertain because several upcoming effective states and sources have challenged the efficacy of EPA's proposed regulation in multiple cohorts and stays of the effectiveness of their of the rule have been issued for many of which states last month. Oral arguments were presented to the Supreme Court by both parties, and we will closely monitor the potential impact of the Supreme Court's ruling on whether to stay the rule for all states when it is issued later this year.

正如先前電話會議中討論的那樣，該規則目前要求 23 個州減少發電廠和某些工業設施的氮氧化物排放，以限制其對順風州的影響。該規則生效的最終時間尚不確定，因為幾個即將生效的州和消息來源對EPA 提議的監管措施在多個群體中的有效性提出了質疑，並且上個月對其中許多州發布了暫緩該規則有效性的規定。雙方都向最高法院提出了口頭辯論，我們將密切關注最高法院在今年稍後發布的裁決是否對所有州保留該規則的潛在影響。

In addition to the Good Neighbor rule, we are also watching the progress of EPA's rule for large municipal waste can Buster's, which is independent of the Good Neighbor rule this route. This rule reduces nitrogen oxide emissions requirements for large municipal waste combustor units. Fuel Tech has had a long history of assisting this industry in meeting their compliance requirements. And we have had discussions with customers in this segment to support them in their compliance planning. The municipal waste combustor rule is currently in a public comment period with compliance deadlines expected sometime in the next three years based on our effective backlog at year end, the business development activities we are pursuing and our previously noted expectations for geochem.

除了「睦鄰規則」之外，我們還關注 EPA 對大型城市垃圾罐 Buster's 規則的進展，該規則獨立於這條路線的「睦鄰規則」。該規則降低了大型城市垃圾燃燒裝置的氮氧化物排放要求。Fuel Tech 長期以來致力於協助該行業滿足合規要求。我們與該領域的客戶進行了討論，以支援他們的合規規劃。城市廢棄物燃燒器規則目前正處於公眾意見徵詢期，根據我們年底的有效積壓、我們正在進行的業務發展活動以及我們之前提到的對地球化學的期望，預計合規期限將在未來三年內的某個時間。

We expect that total revenues for 2024 will exceed the total revenues recognized in 2023 of $27.1 million, and we will provide further guidance as we move throughout 2024. This base case outlook excludes any material contributions from DGI. as we are still in the early stages of commercial commercialization. Any significant contributions to APC from the above referenced EPA regulations and the impact of material business development activities for fuel costs.

我們預計 2024 年的總收入將超過 2023 年確認的總收入 2,710 萬美元，並且我們將在 2024 年全年提供進一步的指導。此基本情境展望不包括 DGI 的任何實質貢獻。因為我們仍處於商業化的早期階段。上述 EPA 法規對 APC 的任何重大貢獻以及材料業務開發活動對燃料成本的影響。

Now in closing, I want to take to thank the Fuel Tech team for their contributions to the improvement of our business in 2023. It is their continued hard work, passion and dedication that drive our ability to be successful. Additionally, I thank our shareholders for their continued support. We expect that 2024 will be an important year in the growth and evolution of Fuel Tech, and we look forward to keeping everyone apprised of our progress with that asset.

最後，我要感謝 Fuel Tech 團隊為我們 2023 年業務的改善所做的貢獻。正是他們持續的辛勤工作、熱情和奉獻精神推動我們取得成功。此外，我感謝股東的持續支持。我們預計 2024 年將是燃料技術發展和演變的重要一年，我們期待讓所有人了解我們在該資產方面的進展。

I would now like to turn the call over to Ellen to talk about our financial statements. Ellen, please go ahead.

我現在想把電話轉給艾倫，討論我們的財務報表。艾倫，請繼續。

Thank you, Vince, and good morning, everyone. The primary takeaways from 2023 were improved. Total revenue margin maintenance, a continuing focus on cost containment within the larger framework of building out our DGI. business and a remarkably resilient balance sheet that allowed us to enter 2024 in a strong and secure financial position.

謝謝你，文斯，大家早安。2023 年的主要成果得到了改進。維持總收入利潤率，在建構 DGI 的更大框架內持續關注成本控制。業務和非常有彈性的資產負債表使我們能夠以強大而安全的財務狀況進入 2024 年。

We accomplished all of this while navigating some industry headwinds in our two primary business segments. I'll start off today by reviewing our fourth quarter results for the quarter, consolidated revenues declined to $6.3 million from $7 million in last year's fourth quarter, reflecting declines in both the APC and FUEL chemical segments. From the prior year period.

我們在實現這一切的同時，在兩個主要業務領域克服了一些行業逆風。我今天首先回顧我們第四季的業績，綜合收入從去年第四季的 700 萬美元下降到 630 萬美元，反映出 APC 和 FUEL 化學品部門的下滑。從上一年期間開始。

Apc segment revenue marginally decreased to $2.8 million from $2.9 million due to due primarily to the timing of execution on projects and services during the quarter, fuel can segment revenue declined from $4.1 million to $3.6 million, mainly due to an expected decrease in dispatch electrical generation demand from the very high levels experienced in 2022 and changes in product and fuel usage.

APC 部門收入從290 萬美元小幅下降至280 萬美元，這主要是由於本季度專案和服務的執行時間表所致；燃料罐部門收入從410 萬美元下降至360 萬美元，主要是由於調度發電預計減少2022 年的高水準需求以及產品和燃料使用的變化。

Consolidated gross margins for 2023 fourth quarter was 51% of revenues a significant increase from 43% in the fourth quarter of 2022, reflecting increased APC segment gross margin of 55%, up from 35% in the same quarter a year ago. This higher gross margin for APC can be attributed to a change in projects and product mix. European segment gross margin remained essentially unchanged at 48%, consistent with historical performance.

2023 年第四季的綜合毛利率佔營收的 51%，較 2022 年第四季的 43% 大幅成長，反映出 APC 部門毛利率增加至 55%，高於去年同期的 35%。APC 毛利率的提高可歸因於項目和產品組合的變化。歐洲業務毛利率基本維持在 48% 不變，與歷史表現一致。

Consolidated APC segment backlog at December 31, 2023 was $7.5 million, up from a backlog of $5.6 million at September 30, 2023 and down slightly from backlog of $8.2 million at December 31, 2022. Backlog on December 31, 2023 included $2.6 million of domestically delivered project backlog and $4.9 million of foreign deliver project backlog as compared to the $3.7 million of domestic project backlog and the $4.5 million of international project backlog at December 31, 2022, we expect that $7.4 million of the current consolidated backlog will be recognized in the next 12 months.

截至2023年12月31日，合併APC部門積壓訂單為750萬美元，高於2023年9月30日積壓訂單560萬美元，略低於2022年12月31日積壓訂單820萬美元。2023 年12 月31 日的未交付訂單包括260 萬美元的國內交付項目未交付訂單和490 萬美元的國外交付項目未交付訂單，而截至2022 年12 月31 日的國內項目未交付訂單量為370萬美元，國際項目未交付訂單量為450 萬美元，我們預計7.4 美元目前合併積壓的 100 萬美元將在未來 12 個月內確認。

SG&A expenses increased to $3.7 million from $3.1 million in last year's fourth quarter, reflecting the timing of employee and employee related expenses. As a percentage of revenue, SG&A in the 2023 fourth quarter increased to 58% from 44% in the 2022 fourth quarter.

SG&A 費用從去年第四季的 310 萬美元增加到 370 萬美元，反映了員工和員工相關費用的時間表。SG&A佔營收的百分比從2022年第四季的44%增加至2023年第四季的58%。

Research and development expenses for the fourth quarter rose to $367,000 from $179,000 in the same period a year ago, mainly attributed to continued investments in water treatment technology and more specifically our DGI. technology. Our operating loss was [$801,000] compared to $250,000 in last year's fourth quarter, reflecting a reduction in overall revenue, a shift in margin contribution from product mix. We continue to take advantage of the favorable interest rate environment and as of December 31, 2023, have invested more than $30 million in held-to-maturity debt securities and money market funds.

第四季的研發費用從去年同期的 179,000 美元增至 367,000 美元，這主要歸功於對水處理技術，更具體地說是我們的 DGI 的持續投資。技術。與去年第四季的 25 萬美元相比，我們的營運虧損為 [801,000 美元]，反映出整體收入的減少以及產品組合利潤貢獻的變化。我們繼續利用有利的利率環境，截至2023年12月31日，已投資超過3,000萬美元於持有至到期債務證券和貨幣市場基金。

This generated $322,000 of interest income in the fourth quarter and $1.3 million of interest income for 2023, up from just $200,000 in Q1 in 2022. Our net loss for the quarter was $539,000 or $0.02 per share compared to a net loss of $402,000 or $0.01 per share in the same period one year ago. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $646,000 compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $263,000 in the same period.

這在第四季度產生了 322,000 美元的利息收入，並在 2023 年產生了 130 萬美元的利息收入，而 2022 年第一季僅為 20 萬美元。我們本季的淨虧損為 539,000 美元，即每股 0.02 美元，而一年前同期的淨虧損為 402,000 美元，即每股 0.01 美元。調整後 EBITDA 虧損為 646,000 美元，而同期調整後 EBITDA 虧損為 263,000 美元。

Moving to results for the full year 2023, consolidated revenue rose to $27.1 million from $26.9 million in 2022, reflecting a 27% increase in our APC segment revenues, offset by a 17% decline in the fuel consultants. As previously mentioned, the increase in APC segment revenue is attributed to the timing of project execution and new orders and a 50% increase in our ancillary product line.

轉向 2023 年全年業績，合併收入從 2022 年的 2,690 萬美元增至 2,710 萬美元，反映出我們的 APC 部門收入增長了 27%，但被燃料顧問收入下降 17% 所抵消。如前所述，APC 部門收入的成長歸因於專案執行和新訂單的時機以及我們的輔助產品線 50% 的成長。

Revenue fuel can segment revenue decreased decreased for the year was driven by decreased unit dispatch demand and unforeseen plant outages experienced in the second quarter of 2023. Consolidated gross margin remained flat at 43% compared to last year, reflecting an increase in the APC segment gross margin offset by a slight decrease in the fuel can gross margin. Apc segment gross margin was primarily growth, was primarily due to product and project.

燃料罐部門收入下降是由於單位調度需求減少以及 2023 年第二季度發生的不可預見的工廠停駛造成的。與去年相比，綜合毛利率持平於 43%，反映出 APC 部門毛利率的成長被燃料罐毛利率的小幅下降所抵銷。APC部門毛利率主要成長，主要歸功於產品和專案。

SG&A expenses for 2023 increased by 4% to $12.8 million from $12.3 million in 2022, which fell within the low end of the forecasted range. We continue to prioritize our strategic investments in resources to support current and upcoming business initiatives while maintaining prudent cost controls.

2023 年的銷售、一般行政費用 (SG&A) 支出從 2022 年的 1,230 萬美元增加 4% 至 1,280 萬美元，處於預測範圍的下限內。我們繼續優先考慮對資源的策略性投資，以支援當前和即將到來的業務計劃，同時保持審慎的成本控制。

For 2024, we expect SG&A expenses today, it's between $13 million and 13.5 million. Research and development expenses were $1.5 million for 2023 compared to $895,000 in 2022. As Vince discussed, our investment in commercializing our DGI. technology is a primary focus for the Company. Strategic expenditures in this area will continue throughout 2024 operating loss was $2.7 million for the 2023 compared to a loss of $1.5 million in 2022, reflecting the change in mix of segment revenue and higher operating expense.

對於 2024 年，我們預計 SG&A 費用目前在 1300 萬至 1350 萬美元之間。2023 年的研發費用為 150 萬美元，而 2022 年為 895,000 美元。正如 Vince 所討論的，我們對 DGI 商業化的投資。技術是公司的首要關注點。該領域的策略支出將持續到 2024 年，2023 年的營運虧損為 270 萬美元，而 2022 年的虧損為 150 萬美元，反映了部門收入和營運支出增加的組合變化。

Net loss for 2022, that was $1.5 million or $0.05 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $1.4 million or $0.05 per share in 2022. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $2 million in 2023 compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of 909,200 in 2022. We generated nearly $700,000 in cash from operations in 2023 as compared to a use of cash of $4.1 million in 2022.

2022 年淨虧損為 150 萬美元，即稀釋後每股虧損 0.05 美元，而 2022 年淨虧損為 140 萬美元，即每股虧損 0.05 美元。2023 年調整後 EBITDA 損失為 200 萬美元，而 2022 年調整後 EBITDA 損失為 909,200 美元。2023 年，我們從營運中產生了近 70 萬美元的現金，而 2022 年的現金使用量為 410 萬美元。

Lastly, moving to the balance sheet. Our financial condition remains strong. As of December 31st, 2023, we had cash and cash equivalents of $17.6 million and short and long-term investments totaling $15.8 million in 2023. Our largest use of cash was the incremental investment of $6 million in debt securities to drive a sustainable long-term financial profile.

最後，轉向資產負債表。我們的財務狀況依然強勁。截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日，我們的現金和現金等價物為 1,760 萬美元，2023 年的短期和長期投資總額為 1,580 萬美元。我們最大的現金用途是 600 萬美元的債務證券增量投資，以推動可持續的長期財務狀況。

Working capital was $32.6 million or $1.8 per share. Stockholders' equity was $43.7 million or $1.44 per share. And the come, the Company continues to have no outstanding debt. We remain confident in our ability in our ability to fuel our growth initiatives, pursue new product and market opportunities and maintain our strong financial position, which we view as important as an important competitive advantage.

營運資金為 3,260 萬美元，即每股 1.8 美元。股東權益為 4,370 萬美元，即每股 1.44 美元。目前，公司仍然沒有未償債務。我們對推動成長計劃、尋求新產品和市場機會以及保持強勁的財務狀況的能力仍然充滿信心，我們認為這與重要的競爭優勢一樣重要。

To reiterate Vince's earlier comments. We are pleased with our results and remain optimistic about our opportunities in 2024 and beyond.

重申文斯之前的評論。我們對我們的成果感到滿意，並對 2024 年及以後的機會保持樂觀。

I'll turn the call back over to Vince.

我會把電話轉回給文斯。

Ellen, thank you very much.

艾倫，非常感謝你。

Operator, I think it's time to open the line for calls now. Thank you.

接線員，我想現在是開放呼叫線路的時候了。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Amit Dayal, H.C. Wainwright.

（操作員說明）Amit Dayal, H.C.溫賴特。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝大家，大家早安。

Good morning.

早安.

I mean home Havens, so it looks like this is going to be a big focus for this year. My one question is, are these potential customers finding out about DGI. or can you just give us a sense of, you know, what you guys are doing in terms of just getting in front of these this audience.

我指的是家庭避風港，所以看起來這將成為今年的一大焦點。我的一個問題是，這些潛在客戶是否了解 DGI。或者您能否讓我們了解您在這些觀眾面前所做的事情。

All right. So we over this past six months, we have definitely enhanced our marketing efforts. And as I just noted, our presentation at the ag America was actually our first presentation at a water and wastewater treatment conference, and we receive from very favorable impact from the result of that body of work. So my comment would be we are increasing our exposure to end markets. We really needed to have something to go ahead and put out there publicly that we can support part of our market reach out in the successful demonstration that we did have the ag application afforded us the opportunity to start to go a little bit more public with DGI. and its capabilities.

好的。因此，在過去的六個月裡，我們確實加強了行銷力度。正如我剛才指出的，我們在 ag America 上的演講實際上是我們在水和廢水處理會議上的第一次演講，我們從該工作成果中獲得了非常有利的影響。所以我的評論是我們正在增加對終端市場的接觸。我們確實需要有一些東西可以繼續進行並公開發布，我們可以支持我們的部分市場拓展，成功地證明了我們確實擁有 AG 應用程序，為我們提供了開始與 DGI 更加公開的機會。及其能力。

And so my expectation is that is going to continue. We are going to have more of a call it a public face for for DGI., but it also needs to continue to be supported by by specific favorable actions from end results of that of that technology, if you will. So we are going to do additional demonstrations. We are going to do white papers on those additional demonstrations and put those results out publicly as well.

所以我的期望是這種情況將會持續下去。我們將更多地將其稱為 DGI 的公眾形象，但如果您願意的話，它也需要繼續得到該技術最終結果的具體有利行動的支持。所以我們將做更多的演示。我們將針對這些額外的演示編寫白皮書，並將這些結果公開分佈。

So again, high-level answer, we are going to be out there more publicly with DGI. in 2024 and beyond.

再次強調，高層回答，我們將與 DGI 進行更公開的交流。 2024 年及以後。

Understood. Thank you. And then the OpEx guidance you provided for the year, does that already include some of the marketing and sort of regional business development efforts or will that potentially be a little bit more additional costs to your E&O arm, more normal sort of operating activities?

明白了。謝謝。然後，您今年提供的營運支出指導是否已經包括一些行銷和區域業務開發工作，或者這是否可能會為您的 E&O 部門帶來更多額外成本，更正常的營運活動？

Yes, right now, the range that Alan provided [$13 million] to [$13.5 million] does include a nice uptick in additional spending related to the DGI. marketing efforts. And as we've discussed, our investment in DGIO. with this past handful of years on we we've been very measured in how we've been investing as we see the opportunity to invest based on successes, and we'll go ahead and enhance that investment in those activities.

是的，目前，艾倫提供的 [1300 萬美元] 到 [1350 萬美元] 的範圍確實包括與 DGI 相關的額外支出的大幅增長。行銷努力。正如我們所討論的，我們對 DGIO 的投資。在過去的幾年裡，我們對投資方式非常謹慎，因為我們看到了基於成功的投資機會，我們將繼續加強對這些活動的投資。

So right now, I would tell you that the range Alan gave does include a nice increase in expenditures for for DGI. marketing efforts. If we feel as though we need to do more prospectively, we will share that with you on future calls.

所以現在，我想告訴你，艾倫給出的範圍確實包括 DGI 支出的大幅增加。行銷努力。如果我們覺得我們需要前瞻性地做更多的事情，我們將在以後的電話會議中與您分享。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Understood. And maybe just last one on those UPC and fuel can businesses should we expect the second half to be stronger for those segments are sort of evenly spread throughout the year? It looks like just from the press release and some of your commentary, maybe the second half looks like it could be either more Harmony heavier in terms of revenue versus first half of the year?

明白了。也許只是關於 UPC 和燃料罐業務的最後一個，我們是否應該預期下半年會更強勁，因為這些細分市場在全年中分佈均勻？僅從新聞稿和您的一些評論來看，也許下半年的收入可能比上半年更重？

As a general statement, I would say, yes, that is correct.

作為一般性聲明，我會說，是的，這是正確的。

Based upon the way we see things right now, we would expect a stronger second half than first half of the year.

根據我們目前看待事物的方式，我們預計下半年會比上半年更強勁。

Okay.

好的。

So that's online and so on given other questions offline.

這是在線的，等等，線下還有其他問題。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, Amit.

謝謝，阿米特。

(Operator Instructions) William Bremer with Vanquish Capital Market partners.

（操作員說明）William Bremer 與 Vanquish Capital Market 合作夥伴。

Good morning, Vince.

早上好，文斯。

Hey, good morning, Will, how are you.

嘿，早上好，威爾，你好嗎？

I want to specifically target your the Air Pollution Control segment, the APC segment on regarding our product offering, how would you read that?

我想專門針對您的空氣污染控制部門、APC 部門提供有關我們產品的信息，您對此有何看法？

I think our product offering for these technologies is best in class for what we put out into the marketplace for SNCR and SCR technologies and Ultra as well on their best in class. We actually for Ultra there is there is no competitive product in the marketplace today domestically.

我認為我們為這些技術提供的產品是我們在 SNCR 和 SCR 技術以及 Ultra 市場上推出的同類產品中最好的。其實我們Ultra目前國內市場還沒有有競爭力的產品。

I completely agree with you. I mean, it does. I've been with and having a material stake in this company for north of seven years. My concern is on the sales front and the bookings on your your Senior VP of sales has been with you over 25 years. I mean, 25 years is a enormous amount of time. You've voiced about the regulatory front, the EPA and the good neighbors there, Jempy a major catalyst for us going forward. At what point does the Board have to make a change here to start bringing in some competent individuals to ramp up the sales utilize the balance sheet and hire some executive VPs to go after the submissions opportunity that's in front of us.

我完全同意你的看法。我的意思是，確實如此。我在這家公司工作了七年多了，並持有該公司的大量股份。我關心的是銷售方面，您的高級銷售副總裁的預訂已經陪伴您超過 25 年了。我的意思是，25 年是一段很長的時間。您談到了監管方面、美國環保署和那裡的好鄰居，Jempy 是我們前進的主要催化劑。董事會在什麼時候必須在這裡做出改變，開始引入一些有能力的個人來利用資產負債表來提高銷售額，並聘請一些執行副總裁來抓住我們面前的提交機會。

So to specifically address your question, Fuel Tech as a company has a lot of longer-term longer tenured employees. I'm in 24 years myself. And so I would put myself into the category has a lot of well experienced folks with Fuel Tech that I believe are still doing a pretty darn good job.

因此，為了具體解決您的問題，Fuel Tech 作為一家公司擁有許多長期任職的長期員工。我自己也已經24歲了。因此，我將自己歸類為擁有許多經驗豐富的燃料技術人員的類別，我相信他們仍然做得非常好。

Okay. So specifically on the APC side of the equation, as you note on what's potentially out there related to regulatory opportunities, I'll tell you right now that there is no one that is better positioned to capitalize on those opportunities.

好的。因此，特別是在等式的 APC 方面，當您注意到與監管機會相關的潛在內容時，我現在就告訴您，沒有人能夠更好地利用這些機會。

Should the regulatory requirement. The UM does officially put in place in a way that drives business because I can tell you right now, I've seen the proposals and work that we've put out to the utility customer base in this country that supports the work that we would be doing if we had a firm regulation in place. So I have every confidence in the world bill and you and I have discussed this previously with the team that we have in place. And I am Chairman of the Board, so I'll speak on behalf of the Board as well.

應監理要求。UM 確實以推動業務的方式正式實施，因為我現在可以告訴你，我已經看到了我們向這個國家的公用事業客戶群提出的提案和工作，這些提案和工作支持我們將要開展的工作如果我們有嚴格的監管，我們就會這樣做。所以我對世界法案充滿信心，你和我之前已經與我們現有的團隊討論過這個問題。我是董事會主席，所以我也將代表董事會發言。

We're confident are there potentially out there for us if that wasn't the case, will we be making dramatic changes?

我們相信我們有潛力，如果情況並非如此，我們會做出巨大的改變嗎？

Simple, is that simple as that?

簡單，就這麼簡單嗎？

I hope you're right.

我希望你是對的。

I haven't seen a book to burn ratio over 1.5 years in this segment?

我還沒看過這個細分市場超過1.5年的圖書燒錢率？

I don't disagree with you.

我不同意你的觀點。

There are the end markets, particularly on the utility segment, have have been a little shallow over these past several years. Fortunately, we've been supported by industrial market activity, which in the absence of anything that happens regulatorily, that, that base business level is still going to be there for us prospectively on the upside that we're talking about, and I think we're very well positioned to capture the upside.

在過去的幾年裡，終端市場，特別是公用事業領域的市場，一直有點淺。幸運的是，我們得到了工業市場活動的支持，在監管方面沒有發生任何事情的情況下，基本業務水平仍然會為我們帶來預期的好處，我認為我們處於非常有利的位置，可以捕捉到上漲的機會。

My second question, other than yourself, stepping in pretty much every year consistently and I appreciate that as well as my fellow shareholders. I have not seen any forecast for open-market purchases from anyone else on the board for years for your CFO, your division heads, et cetera, what if the company is making a change and we're selling below a tangible book as you articulated, and we are flushed with cash.

我的第二個問題，除了你自己之外，幾乎每年都會持續介入，我和我的股東們都對此表示讚賞。多年來，我沒有看到董事會其他任何人對你的首席財務官、部門負責人等進行公開市場採購的預測，如果公司正在做出改變，而我們的銷售低於你所闡述的有形書籍，該怎麼辦？ ，我們現金充裕。

Okay.

好的。

When is the management team going to step forward here and align themselves with current shareholders.

管理團隊什麼時候才能站出來與現有股東保持一致。

And it's a it's a good point, Will on as you stated, I've been out there buying of there's been at least one other high-level officer of the company that has been out there buying over these past few years, we only have three reportable employees that we form for as we sit here today. So there is some other activity that the public world does not see relative to purchases.

這是一個很好的觀點，威爾，正如你所說，我一直在外面購買，在過去的幾年裡，公司至少有一位其他高級管理人員一直在外面購買，我們只有我們今天坐在這裡為三名值得報告的員工組成。因此，還有一些其他與購買相關的活動是公眾看不到的。

All I can say is that it's difficult for me to go ahead and mandate that whether it be the Board or the leadership team on difficult to mandate that they take their personal situations and and further invest in Fuel Tech, the Board and the employees of this team are already well invested in Fuel-Tech. I can definitely make that statement honestly, and clearly on I think you'll see some additional purchases from the leadership team and or board in the future. I just can't tell you when, but I can tell you from my perspective, I have been a supporter and I will continue to be a supporter from that perspective.

我只能說，我很難繼續要求無論是董事會還是領導團隊都很難要求他們根據個人情況進一步投資於 Fuel Tech、董事會和員工。團隊已經在燃料技術方面進行了大量投資。我絕對可以誠實地、明確地發表這一聲明，我認為您將來會看到領導團隊和/或董事會進行一些額外的購買。我只是不能告訴你什麼時候，但我可以從我的角度告訴你，我一直是個支持者，從這個角度來看我將繼續成為一個支持者。

Thank you for that. I truly do. I would welcome to see some additional sales hires, and I think that would be a good use of capital versus a dividend or share repurchase agreement. I think we need to drive top line sales. The restructuring has been performed over the last few years, and now it's a time to grow the top line. So I would echo and my fellow shareholders and I would hope the Board and yourself decide to start hiring some additional sales personnel and the ones that aren't producing as to go at this point.

謝謝你。我確實如此。我很高興看到一些額外的銷售人員，而且我認為與股息或股票回購協議相比，這將是對資本的良好利用。我認為我們需要推動營收成長。過去幾年進行了重組，現在是增加收入的時候了。因此，我會附和我的股東們，我希望董事會和您自己決定開始僱用一些額外的銷售人員以及目前尚未生產的人員。

Understood, Will, I appreciate your commentary as always, and I can I can tell you that we review on every one of this company on an annual basis relative to performance. But as I said, I am I am very confident that we are well positioned to take advantage of opportunities on that are going to going to come our way, I think.

明白了，威爾，我一如既往地感謝您的評論，我可以告訴您，我們每年都會對這家公司的每一家公司的業績進行審查。但正如我所說，我非常有信心，我們處於有利位置，可以利用即將到來的機會，我認為。

Well, thank you, Will.

嗯，謝謝你，威爾。

(Operator Instructions) Jim Mcllree, Dawson James.

（操作員說明）Jim Mcllree、Dawson James。

Thank you. Good morning.

謝謝。早安.

Good morning, Jim.

早安，吉姆。

I just wanted to make sure I heard your comment correctly regarding the APC revenue this year. That assumes no impact from a potential favorable Good Neighbor ruling is that correct?

我只是想確保我正確地聽到了您對今年 APC 收入的評論。假設潛在的有利的睦鄰裁決不會產生影響，這是正確的嗎？

That's correct.

這是正確的。

And so it and I know there's a lot of difference and cases are on the ruling, but can you kind of bracket what you think that might do for APC. over a couple of year time period. How big of an impact do you think it might have over over a couple of years?

因此，我知道存在許多差異，案件正在裁決中，但您能否將您認為這可能對 APC 的影響括起來。超過幾年的時間。您認為這在幾年內可能會產生多大的影響？

I'm assuming it's quite favorable on. We went through approximately 9, 10 years ago, a scenario whereby the effectiveness of regulation had a very, very favorable impact on the company as well. But what I can say is this we have $15 million plus in budgetary quotes of the $50 million plus in budgetary quotes out to utilities in this country to help to assist them with compliance for numbers, it's greater than that. And it's on everything can't be done at once obviously.

我認為它相當優惠。大約九、十年前，我們經歷過這樣一種情況：監管的有效性對公司也產生了非常非常有利的影響。但我可以說的是，我們有 1500 萬美元以上的預算報價，其中 5000 萬美元以上的預算報價提供給這個國家的公用事業公司，以幫助他們遵守數字規定，這比這個數字還要大。而且顯然所有事情都不能立即完成。

So this would be implemented over a year, I'll say a three to five year time horizon approximately, but it's a magnitude over on the APC revenue that we've generated over these past three to four years. It's a material impact on our company as I said, it is something that we've dealt with historically. We would love to be able to address those needs again.

因此，這將在一年內實施，我會說大約三到五年的時間範圍，但這比我們在過去三到四年中產生的 APC 收入要高得多。正如我所說，這對我們公司產生了重大影響，這是我們歷史上處理過的問題。我們希望能夠再次滿足這些需求。

Understood. Thank you. That's helpful. And then my second question is on the you talked about the initial DGI. contract this year.

明白了。謝謝。這很有幫助。我的第二個問題是關於你談到的最初的 DGI。今年簽約。

And can you be a little bit more specific on timing first half second half and and just how big can these contracts be these initial contracts?

您能否更具體地說明上半年下半年的時間安排，以及這些初始合約的規模有多大？

Are we talking sub $1 million? Are we talking greater than $1 million?

我們說的是低於 100 萬美元嗎？我們談論的金額是否超過 100 萬美元？

Right.

正確的。

So on your first question on, I would look at second half of the year from a timing perspective.

關於你的第一個問題，我會從時間的角度來看下半年。

And then on your second question, I'd probably expect the the first system sales that we'll see that are they're going to be sub $1 million in not a lot larger than $1 million. Our smaller systems are anywhere on the [$100,000] to [$200,000] range, assuming it would be a capital sale. Some of the larger scale systems are indeed going to potentially exceed $1 million.

關於你的第二個問題，我可能會預計我們將看到的第一個系統銷售額將低於 100 萬美元，但不會超過 100 萬美元。假設是資本出售，我們的小型系統價格在 [100,000 美元] 到 [200,000 美元] 範圍內。一些較大規模的系統確實可能超過 100 萬美元。

Completely depends on the magnitude of some of the process environment that we're looking to treat. But when I look at something commercially happening this year, I think we're probably seeing something more on the smaller side than on the larger side.

這完全取決於我們要處理的某些流程環境的大小。但當我看到今年商業上發生的事情時，我認為我們可能會看到較小的方面比較大的方面更多。

Okay, great. Thank you, and that's it for me.

好的，太好了。謝謝你，我就這樣了。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you, Jim.

謝謝你，吉姆。

(Operator Instructions) Marc Silk, Silk Investment Advisories.

（操作員指令）Marc Silk，絲綢投資顧問公司。

I am good, Mark, how are you doing?

我很好，馬克，你好嗎？

Fine, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

So let's go and say let's stick with the Good Neighbor role is that you said you've seen received a bunch of requests, et cetera. I think mostly from downwind and states are up wind or some?

因此，讓我們繼續說，讓我們繼續扮演「好鄰居」的角色，就是您說您收到了一堆請求，等等。我認為大部分來自順風，而各州是逆風還是有些？

I would say predominantly up wind, but some downwind.

我想說主要是順風，但也有一些順風。

Okay. And predominantly up with a product primarily of wind folks and again, looking at their potential range of outcome, given what way the regulatory rules falls.

好的。主要是主要由風電人員開發的產品，並再次考慮其潛在的結果範圍，考慮到監管規則的適用方式。

Correct.

正確的。

Yes.

是的。

And then so like on the $50 million plus of let's just say potential there.

然後就像 5000 萬美元以上，我們就說那裡的潛力。

I know it could be a lot more.

我知道還可以更多。

Is that is that like a 50-50 mix?

是不是就像 50-50 的混合？

I'd say, Tom, it would be more in favor of wind farm upfront.

我想說，湯姆，這更有利於風電場的前期建設。

Okay.

好的。

Yes.

是的。

And then the MDGI., you talked about the multiple end markets. You mentioned a bunch of things like municipalities, et cetera. And let's say money was an object that you had an unlimited budget, unlimited cash. Where would you aggressively be putting money based on what you've seen up to now? Or is it too early to kind of say, look, this is more of a hypothetical just so we can kind of see where maybe the some the biggest growth can come from over the next few years?

然後是 MDGI，您談到了多個終端市場。您提到了很多諸如市政當局之類的事情。假設金錢是個物體，你有無限的預算、無限的現金。根據您目前所看到的情況，您會積極地將資金投入到哪裡？或者現在說，看，這更像是一個假設，這樣我們就可以看到未來幾年最大的成長可能來自哪裡？

Right. I to be honest, I would say that it's premature for me to say where we would invest the majority of that capital, assuming we had it we had in pockets, if you will. It's premature to say it's premature to say we're looking for on what I would call near term opportunities for success of the technology to form building blocks for whatever comes prospectively from that, we need to build the success building blocks. The demonstration we did last year was one of those.

正確的。老實說，我想說，現在說我們將大部分資本投資到哪裡還為時過早，假設我們有錢，如果你願意的話。現在說我們正在尋找我所說的技術成功的近期機會來為未來的任何事情形成構建模組還為時過早，我們需要構建成功的構建模組。我們去年所做的演示就是其中之一。

We need more of those and markets to prove out the viability of the technology. And then once we have a little bit more of that information on, we can then better assess where our investment dollars are going to be better spent relative to approaching one end market over another.

我們需要更多的這些和市場來證明技術的可行性。一旦我們掌握了更多的信息，我們就可以更好地評估我們的投資資金將花在哪裡，相對於進入一個終端市場而不是另一個終端市場。

And as far as administrative, the municipalities, what are what are some of the areas they are looking at I know you mentioned it earlier, but I can't read my notes here.

至於行政、市政當局，他們正在關注的一些領域是什麼，我知道你之前提到過，但我在這裡看不到我的筆記。

Question.

問題。

One of the ones we're looking at here near term is actually an odor control application for a unit up for a municipal water lift station on that. That's a huge problem for them. But there there's other applications for municipalities that we'll be able to address as well this one for odor control is an immediate requirement for us.

我們近期關注的其中一個實際上是市政提水站單元的氣味控制應用程式。這對他們來說是一個大問題。但是，我們還可以解決市政當局的其他應用程序，而氣味控制的應用程式是我們的迫切要求。

Great.

偉大的。

Thanks for taking my questions.

感謝您回答我的問題。

Thank you, Mark.

謝謝你，馬克。

Appreciate it.

欣賞它。

(Operator Instructions) Peter Enderlin, MAZ Partners.

（操作員說明）Peter Enderlin，MAZ Partners。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝大家，大家早安。

I guess I just have a couple of questions on. You've mentioned a lot of different opportunities for the GDGI. technology, one that you didn't mention and I don't know if it isn't actually now that or not, and that is related to 3M last June, 3M agreed to pay $10.3 billion over 13 years for the remediation of forever chemicals and drinking water. It's a lot of money, obviously. And so the question is will DGR. could DGI. play a role in that process? I mean I am sure that there are some filtration and other stuff going on to remove those chemicals, but with DGI. enhance that process and is that a valid opportunity?

我想我只是有幾個問題。您提到了 GDGI 的許多不同機會。一項你沒有提到的技術，我不知道現在是否確實如此，這與去年 6 月的 3M 有關，3M 同意在 13 年內支付 103 億美元用於修復永久化學品和飲用水。顯然這是很多錢。所以問題是 DGR 會不會。 DGI 可以嗎？在這個過程中發揮作用？我的意思是，我確信有一些過濾和其他東西可以去除這些化學物質，但是是透過 DGI 進行的。加強這個過程，這是一個有效的機會嗎？

And as we look at it right now, I'm Pete, the DGI. would not have a direct impact on PSP. fossil forever chemicals on it to your point, it's a very, very, very widely watched area today on a global basis and the EPA is coming out with regular regulatory requirements and guidance that that I don't think anyone can achieve at this point in time because no one,has all the answers.

正如我們現在所看到的，我是皮特，DGI。不會對PSP產生直接影響。就你的觀點而言，這是當今全球範圍內非常、非常、非常受到廣泛關注的領域，美國環保署正在製定常規監管要求和指導，我認為目前任何人都無法實現這些要求和指導。時間，因為沒有人能提供所有答案。

It's something we're going to watch closely. Again, to your point, the CFDGI. can help enhance certain, whether it be chemical related processes or otherwise that could address the Forever chemical issue.

這是我們將密切關注的事情。再說一遍，CFDGI。可以幫助增強某些化學相關製程或其他可以解決永久化學問題的製程。

But as of today, it's not something where we're relying on that end market is something that we're focusing on right now, but it is something that will work.

但截至今天，我們現在重點關注的不是終端市場，而是行之有效的東西。

Thank you. And then one for Ellen and that the SG&A expense in the fourth quarter was $3.7 million versus $3.1 million and the press release says it's related to the timing of employee and employee related expenses. And can you just elaborate on that a little bit? Was there anything sort of nonrecurring in there because obviously, if you annualized $3.7 million, it's a lot more than your projected level for this year.

謝謝。Ellen 的另一則消息是，第四季度的 SG&A 費用為 370 萬美元，而第四季度的 SG&A 費用為 310 萬美元，新聞稿稱這與員工和員工相關費用的時間表有關。能詳細說明一下嗎？其中是否有任何非經常性因素，因為顯然，如果您的年化收入為 370 萬美元，這比您今年的預期水平要高得多。

Correct if there were some employee and employee related expenses that last year were spread out over the last six months of the year and in 2023 just happened to all of them. It hit in Q4.

如果去年有一些員工和員工相關費用分攤到當年的最後六個月，而 2023 年發生在所有這些費用上，則正確。它發生在第四季。

Okay.

好的。

So it's nothing's specifically identifiable as nonrecurring just basically as it says, the timing?

因此，基本上沒有什麼可以特別識別為非重複性的，就像它所說的那樣，時間？

Correct.

正確的。

And it's just timimg.

這只是時機。

Okay.

好的。

Thanks a lot.

多謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, there are no other questions at this time, I'll turn the floor back to Mr. Arnault for any final comments.

女士們、先生們，現在沒有其他問題了，我將把發言權轉回給阿諾先生，徵求最後的意見。

Thank you, operator. And once again, I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the call today. I'd like to thank all of our shareholders and of course, on the entirety of the Fuel-Tech employee team from both Alan and I noted 2024 is indeed a critical and pivotal year for Fuel-Tech. And as we move throughout the year, we are excited and we look forward to having further discussions with everyone at a later point in time this year. Thanks to everyone, and have a great day.

謝謝你，接線生。我要再次感謝今天參加電話會議的所有人。我要感謝我們所有的股東，當然，也要感謝艾倫和我的整個 Fuel-Tech 員工團隊，我指出 2024 年確實是 Fuel-Tech 關鍵且關鍵的一年。隨著我們全年的發展，我們感到很興奮，並期待在今年晚些時候與大家進行進一步的討論。謝謝大家，祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you.

謝謝。

This concludes today's call conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。