Nauticus Robotics Inc (KITT) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's Nauticus Robotics 2024 Q1 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this call is being recorded, and I will be standing by if you should need any assistance.

大家好，歡迎參加今天的 Nauticus Robotics 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意，此通話正在錄音，如果您需要任何協助，我將隨時待命。

It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Kristin Moorman, Special Project Lead.

現在我很高興將會議交給特別專案負責人 Kristin Moorman。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Joining me today and participating in the call are John Gibson, CEO and President; Vicki Hay, Interim CFO; Nick Bigney, General Counsel; and other members of our leadership team.

謝謝大家，大家早安。今天加入我並參加電話會議的是執行長兼總裁 John Gibson； Vicki Hay，臨時財務長；尼克·比格尼，總法律顧問；以及我們領導團隊的其他成員。

On today's call, we will first provide prepared remarks concerning our operations and financial results. Following that, we will answer questions. We have now released our results for the first quarter of 2024, which are available on our website. In addition, today's call is being webcast, and a replay will be available on our website shortly following the conclusion of the call.

在今天的電話會議上，我們將首先提供有關我們的營運和財務表現的準備好的評論。接下來，我們將回答問題。我們現已發布 2024 年第一季的業績，可在我們的網站上查看。此外，今天的電話會議正在網路直播，電話會議結束後不久將在我們的網站上提供重播。

Please note that comments we make on today's call regarding projections or our expectations for future events are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control.

請注意，我們在今天的電話會議上發表的有關預測或對未來事件的期望的評論均為前瞻性陳述。前瞻性陳述受到許多風險和不確定性的影響，其中許多風險和不確定性超出了我們的控制範圍。

These risks and uncertainties can cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. We advise listeners to review our earnings release and the risk factors discussed in our filings with the SEC. Also, please refer to the reconciliations provided in our earnings press release as we may discuss non-GAAP metrics on this call.

這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與我們目前的預期有重大差異。我們建議聽眾查看我們的財報以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中討論的風險因素。另外，請參閱我們的收益新聞稿中提供的調整表，因為我們可能會在本次電話會議上討論非 GAAP 指標。

I will now turn it over to John.

我現在將把它交給約翰。

Well, good morning. Thank you, Kristin, and thank you all for joining us for our conference call. I'm extremely excited about the company but is -- it's my style. I tend to go straight into a couple of challenges that the company faces, and then we're going to switch over to the excitement of the pipeline of opportunities that are building around Aquanaut toolkit.

嗯，早安。謝謝克里斯汀，也謝謝大家參加我們的電話會議。我對這家公司感到非常興奮，但這就是我的風格。我傾向於直接討論公司面臨的幾個挑戰，然後我們將轉向圍繞 Aquanaut 工具包構建的一系列令人興奮的機會。

Now our listing makes us both unique and valuable. (inaudible) has to be a limited partner and a venture capital fund, which requires a $0.25 million minimum to participate. We offer an opportunity to invest directly in an emerging high-growth technology business serving the ocean market with anticipated CAGRs in the ocean market ranging from 8% to 15% for offshore drilling and win, respectively, through the year 2030 with a talented team and an AUV ready to start generating revenue from the industrial, environmental, commercial and defense sectors. Nauticus is a high-risk investment, but with the potential to generate returns greater than the market.

現在，我們的上市使我們既獨特又有價值。 （聽不清楚）必須是有限合夥人和創投基金，至少需要 25 萬美元才能參與。我們提供直接投資服務於海洋市場的新興高成長技術業務的機會，預計到 2030 年，海洋市場的海上鑽探複合年增長率將達到 8% 至 15%，並憑藉一支才華橫溢的團隊和準備開始從工業、環境、商業和國防領域創造收入的AUV。Nauticus 是一項高風險投資，但有可能產生高於市場的回報。

Now while we are public, we more closely resemble an emerging growth company seeking a B round of funding. We're a technology play in the emerging blue economy with a very unique product that satisfies the needs of our customers to reduce costs, reduce emissions, reduce labor requirements, improve safety, and, most importantly, gather vast quantities of subsea data to enable the sustainable development of the ocean.

現在，當我們上市時，我們更像是一家尋求 B 輪融資的新興成長型公司。我們是新興藍色經濟中的一家技術公司，擁有非常獨特的產品，可以滿足客戶降低成本、減少排放、減少勞動力需求、提高安全性的需求，最重要的是，收集大量海底數據，以實現海洋的可持續發展。

We have fantastic products coming into a strong market this year. We are shifting from being dependent upon defense to being entrenched in the industrial, commercial, and environmental sectors as well. We're building a company to attract, buy, and hold investors.

今年我們有出色的產品進入強勁的市場。我們正在從依賴國防轉向紮根於工業、商業和環境領域。我們正在建立一家公司來吸引、購買和持有投資者。

Now the first issue. We need for you to vote yes on the reverse split, item number 3 of the special meeting being hosted on May 20, 2024. We want to remain listed. There are two requirements: bid price and market cap. We have until July 27, 2024, to cure having a bid price below $1. We have until August 13, 2024, to cure the market cap being less than $35 million.

現在第一個問題。我們需要您對 2024 年 5 月 20 日召開的特別會議的第 3 項反向分割投下贊成票。我們希望繼續留在名單上。有兩個要求：買入價和市值。我們必須在 2024 年 7 月 27 日之前解決出價低於 1 美元的問題。我們必須在 2024 年 8 月 13 日之前解決市值低於 3500 萬美元的問題。

Let's address the bid price being over $1 first. We believe we are on track to be daily revenue generating in Q3 2024 with the Aquanaut. We have numerous blue-chip customers ready to put Aquanaut to work. Operating margins for Aquanaut should be strong because we conducted an aggressive cost management strategy over the last several months.

讓我們先解決出價超過 1 美元的問題。我們相信，我們有望透過 Aquanaut 在 2024 年第三季實現每日創收。我們有眾多藍籌客戶準備好讓 Aquanaut 投入使用。Aquanaut 的營運利潤率應該很高，因為我們在過去幾個月中實施了積極的成本管理策略。

With revenue, we believe the share price will recover. However, timing is critical to make July 22, 2024. We cannot control the overall market, the weather, elections, interest rates, inflation, et cetera, and hence, we need to prepare for what we can control.

隨著營收的增加，我們相信股價將會回升。然而，確定 2024 年 7 月 22 日這一時間點至關重要。我們無法控制整個市場、天氣、選舉、利率、通貨膨脹等等，因此，我們需要為我們可以控制的事情做好準備。

So what are we doing that we can control? Well, we're preparing a request for a six-month extension to get in compliance with the bid price being over $1. There's no guarantee that the extension will be granted, but we plan to be ready to submit. To enhance our chances of getting above $1, we intend to keep you well informed via 8-Ks and press releases as we convert existing contracts, contracts to revenue, and secure new contracts.

那我們在做什麼我們可以控制的呢？嗯，我們正在準備延期六個月的請求，以符合超過 1 美元的出價。無法保證延期會獲得批准，但我們計劃準備好提交。為了增加我們獲得超過 1 美元的機會，我們打算在我們將現有合約、合約轉化為收入以及獲得新合約時，透過 8-K 和新聞稿讓您充分了解情況。

We have previously announced contracts with Shell, Petrobras, and Equinor. All three remain committed to deploying the Aquanaut as soon as we complete our certification. We have found ways with several customers to expand the potential scope of work beyond the announced contracts.

我們先前已宣布與殼牌、巴西國家石油公司和 Equinor 簽訂合約。一旦我們完成認證，這三者仍然致力於部署 Aquanaut。我們已經與多家客戶找到了方法，將潛在的工作範圍擴大到已宣布的合約之外。

We're confident enough in the near-term completion of the final certification that we currently have a vessel on standby in the Gulf of Mexico to get us to location for daily revenue-generating work. We believe being revenue-generating will immediately improve our share price.

我們對近期完成最終認證充滿信心，目前我們在墨西哥灣有一艘待命的船隻，可以讓我們到達日常創收工作的地點。我們相信創收將立即提高我們的股價。

How much it improves has uncertainty and is very difficult to model. What we do know is our recommendation for a reverse share split can solve this problem and is 100% within our control. Voting yes on the reverse split, item number 3 of the special meeting, allows us to get back into compliance on the bid price being above $1. Please vote yes.

它改善了多少具有不確定性並且很難建模。我們所知道的是，我們建議的反向股權分割可以解決這個問題，並且 100% 在我們的控制範圍內。對反向分割（特別會議的第 3 項）投下贊成票，使我們能夠重新遵守高於 1 美元的出價。請投贊成票。

I do not like recommending this vote. I understand reverse splits typically are done as the last resort, typically result in a share price reduction of 10%-plus following the action. At this time, we're recommending the split because it is within our control. It can cure the bid price compliance issue with Nasdaq. And unlike typical situations, it's a needed bridge to get the company to generating daily commercial revenue and not an ask based upon a company that's failing, but an ask from a company that is emerging.

我不喜歡推薦這次投票。據我所知，反向分割通常是最後的手段，通常會導致股價下跌 10% 以上。目前，我們建議進行拆分，因為它在我們的控制範圍內。它可以解決納斯達克的投標價格合規問題。與典型情況不同的是，這是讓公司產生日常商業收入所需的橋樑，而不是基於失敗的公司的要求，而是來自新興公司的要求。

Our second issue, the reverse split does not cure the market cap compliance issue with Nasdaq. We do believe with the cure of the bid price with the reverse split, we can successfully gain an extension of six months from August 13, 2024, to cure the market cap shortfall. We believe the increase in services revenue from leasing Aquanaut in the third quarter will help close the gap on market cap.

我們的第二個問題，反向分割並不能解決納斯達克的市值合規問題。我們確實相信，透過反向分割來解決買入價問題，我們可以成功獲得自 2024 年 8 月 13 日起六個月的延期，以解決市值缺口。我們認為，第三季租賃 Aquanaut 帶來的服務收入增加將有助於縮小市值差距。

We could cure the market cap issue without curing the bid price issue, however, at a share price of over $0.60, and that would still leave us out of compliance on the bid price. Again, the reasoning for asking for the vote on the reverse split is that we need to get in compliance with the bid price as well.

然而，如果股價超過 0.60 美元，我們可以在不解決收購價格問題的情況下解決市值問題，但這仍然會使我們無法遵守收購價格。同樣，要求對反向分割進行投票的原因是我們也需要遵守出價。

Now that we're through with compliance, let's focus on revenue. Things are looking strong in the second half of 2024. That's the reason I'm super excited about the future.

現在我們已經完成了合規性工作，接下來讓我們專注於收入。2024 年下半年，情況看起來會很強勁。這就是我對未來感到非常興奮的原因。

And for our operational and business development update, I'd like to turn it over to Jorge, or if you're in Brazil, Georgie.

對於我們的營運和業務發展更新，我想將其交給 Jorge，或者如果您在巴西，請交給 Georgie。

Thank you very much, John. I appreciate that.

非常感謝你，約翰。我很感激。

I'm pleased to report positive developments regarding Aquanaut vehicle and ToolKITT. We have secured strong support from our existing customers and are actively collaborating to facilitate Aquanaut's commercial project eligibility in Q3 of 2024.

我很高興地報告 Aquanaut 車輛和 ToolKITT 方面的積極進展。我們已經獲得了現有客戶的大力支持，並正在積極合作，以促進 Aquanaut 在 2024 年第三季獲得商業專案資格。

The Aquanaut vehicle, in conjunction with our ToolKITT software suite, addresses a significant unmet need within the market. The integrated solution offers a compelling value proposition by simultaneously reducing operational costs and minimizing environmental impact. I have recently met with several prospective clients, and we are actively cultivating a promising sales pipeline. This pipeline includes six potential long-term blue-chip customers across diverse industry segments, encompassing environmental services, oil and gas operations, and technology companies.

Aquanaut 車輛與我們的 ToolKITT 軟體套件相結合，解決了市場上未滿足的重大需求。此整合解決方案可同時降低營運成本並最大限度地減少對環境的影響，從而提供令人信服的價值主張。我最近會見了幾位潛在客戶，我們正在積極培養有前景的銷售管道。該管道包括六個潛在的長期藍籌客戶，涉及不同的行業領域，包括環境服務、石油和天然氣營運以及科技公司。

Finally, certification of Aquanaut in 2024 presents a strategic opportunity to secure budget for the remainder of the year and lay groundwork for continued accelerated growth in 2025. We will continue to collaborate with existing customers to expedite the Aquanaut certification process. We're also actively quantifying the cost savings and environmental benefits of the Aquanaut vehicle and ToolKITT software to further solidify its value proposition.

最後，2024 年 Aquanaut 的認證提供了一個策略機遇，可以確保今年剩餘時間的預算，並為 2025 年的持續加速成長奠定基礎。我們將繼續與現有客戶合作，加速 Aquanaut 認證流程。我們也積極量化 Aquanaut 車輛和 ToolKITT 軟體的成本節約和環境效益，以進一步鞏固其價值主張。

Back to you, John.

回到你身上，約翰。

Well, I appreciate that, Jorge. Now this update reflects a very positive trajectory for our company. And it underlies a robust market demand for our products and positions our company for significant commercial expansion with our products, both software and Aquanaut.

嗯，我很感激，豪爾赫。現在，這次更新反映了我們公司非常積極的發展軌跡。它奠定了對我們產品的強勁市場需求的基礎，並使我們公司能夠透過我們的產品（軟體和 Aquanaut）實現重大商業擴張。

You may have noticed that Jorge did not, however, mentioned our work in the defense sector. Nauticus has a long history of defense revenues. And as I mentioned on our previous earnings call, we intend to seek work in the defense sector to the extent that it is profitable and a fit for us.

然而，您可能已經注意到，豪爾赫並沒有提到我們在國防部門的工作。Nauticus 擁有悠久的國防收入歷史。正如我在先前的財報電話會議上提到的，我們打算在國防部門尋找有利可圖且適合我們的工作。

However, because both of our size and the nature of defense spending, our revenue from defense can be uneven and sporadic. And so we've chosen to transition to a daily revenue commercial model, and we think that's a really important change for our company.

然而，由於我們的規模和國防支出的性質，我們的國防收入可能不平衡且零散。因此，我們選擇過渡到每日收入商業模式，我們認為這對我們公司來說是一個非常重要的變化。

Now with that, I'm going to turn it over to Vicki to walk you through our financial results. Vicki?

現在，我將把它交給 Vicki，讓您了解我們的財務表現。維姬？

Thanks, John, and good morning. I am pleased to be presenting our Q1 financial results.

謝謝，約翰，早安。我很高興介紹我們第一季的財務表現。

Revenue for the first quarter was $500,000, which is down $2.4 million from the same period last year and down $600,000 from the prior quarter. Revenue recognized in the first quarter is a combination of continuing government revenue, along with the start of our commercial revenue relating to the Aquanaut vehicle.

第一季營收為50萬美元，比去年同期減少240萬美元，比上一季減少60萬美元。第一季確認的收入是持續政府收入以及與 Aquanaut 車輛相關的商業收入的組合。

Operating expenses for the first quarter were $6.0 million, which is a $2.6 million decrease from Q1 '23 and a sequential decrease of $29.3 million. The fourth-quarter results included a $25.3 million impairment and a $2.5 million expense loss on contract. However, when considering both of these factors, we are seeing a reduction on term costs and expenses by $1.4 million or 18% compared to Q4 '23.

第一季的營運費用為 600 萬美元，比 23 年第一季減少 260 萬美元，季減 2,930 萬美元。第四季業績包括 2,530 萬美元的減損和 250 萬美元的合約費用損失。然而，在考慮這兩個因素時，我們發現與 23 年第 4 季相比，期限成本和費用減少了 140 萬美元，即 18%。

G&A costs for the first quarter were $3.4 million, which includes a non-cash stock compensation expense of $0.5 million and non-recurring legal fees of $0.4 million. This is a bit $1.8 million decrease compared to the same period in '23, and a reduction of $300,000 sequentially. We continue our focus to further reduce G&A throughout the remainder of '24 to meet our target of $8.3 million for '24 cash G&A previously disclosed.

第一季的一般管理費用為 340 萬美元，其中包括 50 萬美元的非現金股票補償費用和 40 萬美元的非經常性法律費用。與 2023 年同期相比，減少了 180 萬美元，比上一季減少了 30 萬美元。我們將繼續致力於在 24 年剩餘時間內進一步減少 G&A，以實現先前揭露的 24 年現金 G&A 830 萬美元的目標。

Net income for the quarter was $414,000. This is a $14.6 million increase from Q1 '23 and $40.0 million increase from the fourth quarter of 2023. The net income number includes an $8.3 million gain in fair value of warrant liabilities for the first quarter.

該季度淨利潤為 414,000 美元。這比 23 年第一季增加了 1,460 萬美元，比 2023 年第四季增加了 4,000 萬美元。淨利潤包括第一季認股權證負債公允價值收益 830 萬美元。

Adjusted net loss for the first quarter was $7.4 million compared to a loss of $8.8 million for the prior quarter and a loss of $10.7 million in the same period prior year. As you can see from these results, we are seeing the benefits of cost-cutting initiatives that we embarked on in Q4 2023.

第一季調整後淨虧損為 740 萬美元，上一季虧損 880 萬美元，去年同期虧損 1,070 萬美元。從這些結果可以看出，我們看到了 2023 年第四季開始的成本削減措施的好處。

Cash at the end of Q1 '24 was $6.2 million compared to $0.8 million at the end of 2023. The higher balance in cash was the result of $11.7 million net cash received from $13.3 million of funding received in January. Per our debt covenants, we are required to have $5.7 million cash at the end of the first quarter, which we exceeded by $0.5 million. During April, we also received an extra $1 million of funding from current investors.

24 年第一季末的現金為 620 萬美元，而 2023 年末的現金為 80 萬美元。現金餘額增加的原因是 1 月收到的 1,330 萬美元資金中收到了 1,170 萬美元的淨現金。根據我們的債務契約，我們在第一季末需要擁有 570 萬美元的現金，我們超出了 50 萬美元。4 月份，我們也從現有投資者那裡額外獲得了 100 萬美元的資金。

As a company, we are working hard to preserve cash while further reducing costs and gaining efficiencies. The results we are presenting this quarter show a marked improvement from previous quarters, and we expect to continue to see this improve in future quarters as additional savings are realized.

作為一家公司，我們正在努力保留現金，同時進一步降低成本並提高效率。我們本季公佈的結果顯示，與前幾季相比有了顯著改善，隨著更多節省的實現，我們預計在未來幾季將繼續看到這種改善。

I will now pass back over to John.

現在我將轉回約翰。

Thank you, Vicki. We continue to focus on cost here, and we also focus on getting our vehicles in the market and having them generate daily revenue. Now to get them in the market does require the testing and certification. And as I learned when I came here, that's a pretty expensive endeavor.

謝謝你，維基。我們繼續關注成本，我們也專注於將我們的車輛推向市場並讓它們產生日常收入。現在要將它們推向市場確實需要測試和認證。當我來到這裡時我了解到，這是一項相當昂貴的努力。

And we studied that and being focused on cost, we came up with a new arrangement I'm excited to announce today. We'll be working with Florida Atlantic University, and that's going to allow us to reduce our testing and certification cost for our new vehicles that will be going into daily revenue in the market by 90%-plus from what we spent on certifying and testing the first vehicle.

我們研究了這一點，並專注於成本，我們提出了一個新的安排，我今天很高興宣布。我們將與佛羅裡達大西洋大學合作，這將使我們能夠降低新車的測試和認證成本，這些成本將比我們用於認證和測試的支出減少 90% 以上，從而進入市場的日常收入第一輛車。

It's a tremendous improvement in what it cost to test and certify vehicle. What it's also going to do, because Florida Atlantic University is well recognized in AUVs and robotics, it allows us to work with a university where we can create a pipeline of new hires and students and train the next generation of operators that are needed for AUVs. It's very exciting to take that much cost out of a process that's required and to build a strong relationship with a powerful university in this space.

這大大降低了車輛測試和認證的成本。它還將做什麼，因為佛羅裡達大西洋大學在AUV 和機器人技術方面得到了廣泛認可，它使我們能夠與一所大學合作，在那裡我們可以創建新員工和學生的管道，並培訓AUV 所需的下一代操作員。能夠從所需的流程中節省這麼多成本，並與該領域的一所實力雄厚的大學建立牢固的關係，真是令人興奮。

Now with that, operator, that will conclude our remarks for today, and we're prepared to take a few questions.

現在，接線員，我們今天的發言就到此結束，我們準備回答幾個問題。

(Operator Instructions) And it appears that we have no questions. At this time, I will now turn the program back over to our presenters for any additional remarks.

（操作員說明）看來我們沒有問題。此時，我將把節目轉回給我們的主持人，以徵求補充意見。

Well, it's to be the first time I've concluded a call with no questions, and I'll either assume that we answered all of them, or that you're really excited and you're looking for an opportunity to go out and buy a few shares. But we just thank you for participating in the call.

嗯，這是我第一次在沒有任何問題的情況下結束通話，我要么假設我們回答了所有問題，要么假設你真的很興奮並且正在尋找一個出去的機會買幾股。但我們只是感謝您參與此次電話會議。

We're very excited about the commercial team that we put together here at Nauticus over the last several months to augment what is an incredibly strong research, development, and technology group. I think the combination of the two and our focus on cash preservation and cost management give us a really exciting future.

我們對過去幾個月在 Nauticus 組建的商業團隊感到非常興奮，該團隊增強了一個極其強大的研究、開發和技術團隊。我認為兩者的結合以及我們對現金保存和成本管理的關注為我們帶來了一個非常令人興奮的未來。

So thank you so much and we'll look forward to presenting our numbers here on the next call. Take care.

非常感謝您，我們期待在下次通話時在此展示我們的數字。小心。

That concludes today's teleconference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。