Laser Photonics Corp (LASE) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning and welcome to the Laser Photonics First Quarter 2023 [financial] Results Webcast. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this event is being recorded.

早安，歡迎來到雷射光子學 2023 年第一季[財務]結果網路廣播。 （操作員說明）請注意，該事件正在被記錄。

I will now turn the call over to Brian Siegel, Senior Managing Director of Haydenir. Thank you, sir. You may begin.

我現在將把電話轉給 Haydenir 高級董事總經理 Brian Siegel。謝謝你，先生。你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator. With me today are Wayne Tupuola, Laser Photonics CEO; Peter Evans, who recently joined us as President; and Bill Campbell, who just joined us as CFO. Wayne will introduce the company and its opportunity to disrupt the market for corrosion control and other applications; Peter will discuss the strategy and the plan for this year; and then Bill will review the financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023.

謝謝你，接線生。今天與我在一起的有 Laser Photonics 執行長 Wayne Tupuola； Peter Evans，最近加入我們擔任總裁；比爾坎貝爾 (Bill Campbell) 剛剛加入我們擔任財務長。韋恩將介紹該公司及其顛覆腐蝕控制和其他應用市場的機會； Peter將討論今年的策略和計劃；然後 Bill 將審查截至 2023 年 3 月 31 日的季度的財務表現。

Any forward-looking statements made during this conference call, whether general or specific in nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those which the company anticipates. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the specific risks and uncertainties discussed in the reports that we file periodically with the SEC. Laser Photonics assumes no obligation to either update any forward-looking statements that we have made or may make or to update the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we forecast.

本次電話會議期間所做的任何前瞻性陳述，無論是一般性的還是具體的，都受到風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與公司預期有重大差異。這些風險和不確定性包括但不限於我們定期向 SEC 提交的報告中討論的具體風險和不確定性。 Laser Photonics 沒有義務更新我們已經做出或可能做出的任何前瞻性陳述，也沒有義務更新可能導致實際結果與我們預測的結果有重大差異的因素。

I will now turn the call over to Wayne, Laser Photonics Chief Executive Officer.

我現在將把電話轉給雷射光子學執行長韋恩。

Thank you, Brian. Good afternoon, everyone. We reported a solid quarter in Q1 with year-over-year growth of 35%. This growth was led by solid performance across all of our product lines, especially in our high-power laser cleaning processing applications and affordable entry-level systems. We attribute this growth to our continued investment in sales and marketing and capitalizing on our existing and newly installed customer base.We are also making investments in R&D to develop world-class products that meet the demands of our customers in industrial, automotive, MRO and nuclear facility decommissioning markets.

謝謝你，布萊恩。大家下午好。我們報告第一季業績強勁，年增 35%。這一增長是由我們所有產品線的穩定表現帶動的，特別是在我們的高功率雷射清潔加工應用和經濟實惠的入門級系統中。我們將這一成長歸功於我們對銷售和行銷的持續投資，以及對現有和新客戶群的利用。我們也對研發進行投資，以開發世界一流的產品，以滿足工業、汽車、MRO 和核設施退役市場。

Moving to our growth investments, which, as we said on our recent fourth quarter earnings call, would negatively impact profits this year. From a personnel perspective, we brought on Peter and Bill, 2 C-level executives with proven success in relevant verticals at larger companies. We also expanded our marketing department to 13 people to support anticipated growth and added 4 outside sales professionals to target the DoD, automotive and energy industries and strategic geographic areas. Furthermore, we are building an AI and big data team, which will primarily focus on targeting specific end users, such as plant managers, department managers and chief engineers, from selected industries and verticals, including the automotive, aeronautical and maritime sectors, to enhance lead creation while decreasing customer acquisition costs.

轉向我們的成長投資，正如我們在最近的第四季財報電話會議上所說，這將對今年的利潤產生負面影響。從人事角度來看，我們聘請了彼得和比爾這兩位 C 級主管，他們在大公司的相關垂直領域取得了成功。我們還將行銷部門擴大到 13 人，以支持預期的成長，並增加了 4 名外部銷售專業人員，以瞄準國防部、汽車和能源產業以及戰略地理區域。此外，我們正在建立一個人工智慧和大數據團隊，該團隊將主要針對來自特定行業和垂直領域（包括汽車、航空和海事領域）的特定最終用戶，例如工廠經理、部門經理和總工程師，以增強創造潛在客戶，同時降低客戶獲取成本。

For R&D, we maintain several programs and activities to improve our technology and processes to enhance performance to reduce the cost of our laser cleaning systems. In Q1, we increased R&D investments to stay ahead of our competition. We equip our application center with state-of-the-art laser blasters and develop new complementary technologies, such as remote particle removal for energy transmission power lines and infrastructure projects, maintenance, repair and construction. Moving forward, we intend to make further investments in R&D to innovate and guarantee the company's long-term future.

在研發方面，我們維持多項計畫和活動來改善我們的技術和流程，以提高效能，從而降低雷射清潔系統的成本。第一季度，我們增加了研發投資，以保持競爭優勢。我們為我們的應用中心配備最先進的雷射爆破機，並開發新的補充技術，例如用於能源傳輸電力線和基礎設施項目、維護、修理和施工的遠端顆粒去除。展望未來，我們打算進一步投資研發，以創新並確保公司的長期未來。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to our President, Mr. Peter Evans, for a detailed review of our sales and marketing efforts.

現在我想將電話轉給我們的總裁彼得·埃文斯先生，請他詳細審查我們的銷售和行銷工作。

Thank you, Wayne. As I mentioned last month on our fourth quarter earnings call, our strategic plan for the next 12 to 24 months turn around 2 key areas: sales, customer support and [dealer] distribution channels. Starting with sales personnel, we are looking to recruit senior key account managers that are proven hunters and closers with deep vertical experience and existing contacts with key decision-makers at current and potential customers. To accomplish this, we have brought on a number of leading search firms that specialize in our key verticals, from automotive, DoD, shipbuilding maritime, aerospace, energy, manufacturing, oil and gas, heavy-duty industries like over-the-road type vehicles, agriculture and construction. I believe this will provide efficient coverage to optimize opportunities while still exercising financial prudence.

謝謝你，韋恩。正如我上個月在第四季度財報電話會議上提到的，我們未來 12 至 24 個月的策略計劃將圍繞兩個關鍵領域：銷售、客戶支援和[經銷商]分銷管道。從銷售人員開始，我們希望招募高級大客戶經理，他們是經過驗證的獵手和終結者，具有深厚的垂直經驗以及與當前和潛在客戶的關鍵決策者的現有聯繫。為了實現這一目標，我們聘請了多家領先的獵人頭公司，專門從事我們的關鍵垂直行業，包括汽車、國防部、造船海事、航空航太、能源、製造、石油和天然氣、重型行業（如公路型）車輛、農業和建築。我相信這將提供有效的覆蓋範圍以優化機會，同時仍保持財務審慎。

This quarter, I'm happy to say that we brought on 2 senior account managers to focus on DoD and government customers. We also added an account manager in the automotive space and one in energy. Our plan is to continue to grow our team of account managers across our key verticals and geographies. Additionally, we want to double the number of inside salespeople from the current team of 4 to 8 persons. Further, we plan to hire and integrate a strong customer service group to support our broader sales team.

本季度，我很高興地說，我們聘請了 2 位高級客戶經理來專注於國防部和政府客戶。我們也增加了一位汽車領域的客戶經理和一位能源領域的客戶經理。我們的計劃是繼續擴大我們在關鍵垂直領域和地區的客戶經理團隊。此外，我們希望將內部銷售人員的數量從目前的 4 人團隊增加一倍至 8 人。此外，我們計劃僱用並整合一支強大的客戶服務團隊來支援我們更廣泛的銷售團隊。

Finally, we plan to invest in and expand our distribution and partner networks. We recently spoke to investors for the first time about our Service Partner Network or SPN. We are very proud to support American entrepreneurs in creating MRO service businesses using our CleanTech technologies. Through the SPN, we help them secure equipment financing, if necessary, to purchase one or more CleanTech systems and then provide warm or hot leads and other support to help them establish their businesses. The key benefits are accelerated market penetration through the establishment of services -- service businesses using our CleanTech systems. SPN members will also go out and do demos at our potential customers that can be -- that can drive incremental sales, and the potential to identify and penetrate smaller industries and customers that we may not have been identified by our existing sales efforts.

最後，我們計劃投資並擴大我們的分銷和合作夥伴網絡。最近，我們首次與投資者討論了我們的服務合作夥伴網路（SPN）。我們非常自豪能夠支持美國企業家利用我們的清潔技術創建 MRO 服務業務。透過 SPN，我們幫助他們獲得設備融資，如有必要，購買一套或多套清潔技術系統，然後提供熱線或熱門線索以及其他支持，幫助他們建立業務。主要好處是透過建立服務（使用我們的清潔技術系統的服務業務）加速市場滲透。 SPN 成員也將出去向我們的潛在客戶進行演示，這可以推動增量銷售，以及識別和滲透我們現有銷售工作可能無法識別的較小行業和客戶的潛力。

As you saw over the past few weeks, we have received orders from our SPN members. What's great about this is that as members expand their business within their territories, they will need to buy additional systems. So it's a win-win proposition. Today, we have 15 members, up from 12 at year-end 2022, and we are looking to grow this number significantly over the next 12 to 24 months. To accomplish this, we will need to put in place a dedicated team to support these members.

正如您在過去幾週看到的，我們收到了來自 SPN 會員的訂單。這樣做的好處是，隨著成員在其領土內擴展業務，他們將需要購買額外的系統。所以這是一個雙贏的提議。如今，我們有 15 名成員，而 2022 年底我們有 12 名成員，我們希望在未來 12 到 24 個月內大幅增加這一數字。為了實現這一目標，我們需要建立一個專門的團隊來支持這些成員。

Finally, we are in the early stages of building a strategic global dealer distributor network. This network will focus on well-connected, experienced partners with a strong financial base.

最後，我們正處於建立策略性全球經銷商分銷網絡的早期階段。該網絡將重點關注人脈廣泛、經驗豐富、財務基礎雄厚的合作夥伴。

Now I'd like to review the expectations or targets we recently set for these initiatives. For our key account manager, our goal is to fill these roles as quickly as possible. To date, we have hired 4 of the 7 identified positions. By hitting this goal, we will give these new team members approximately 6 months in 2023 to become productive and bring in revenue. I expect these sales to come from low-risk, high-yield businesses that our experienced hires would have immediate access to through prior experience and relationships. I also expect additional sales will be realized from our increased inside sales efforts.

現在我想回顧一下我們最近為這些舉措設定的期望或目標。對於我們的大客戶經理，我們的目標是盡快填補這些職位。到目前為止，我們已經聘用了 7 個已確定職位中的 4 個。透過實現這一目標，我們將在 2023 年為這些新團隊成員提供約 6 個月的時間來提高生產力並帶來收入。我預期這些銷售將來自低風險、高收益的業務，我們經驗豐富的員工可以透過先前的經驗和關係立即獲得這些業務。我還預計我們加大內部銷售力道將實現額外的銷售額。

Beyond this year, we expect to continue to build the pipeline for our more highly engineered systems, which have a 6- to 12-month sales cycle and will therefore help drive sales growth in 2024 and 2025.

今年之後，我們預計將繼續為我們設計程度更高的系統建立管道，這些系統的銷售週期為 6 至 12 個月，因此將有助於推動 2024 年和 2025 年的銷售成長。

With respect to setting up our SPN and dealer distributor network, our efforts in 2023 will be spent vetting potential members and partners. And therefore, any sales through these channels will be incremental to our growth rate.

在建立我們的 SPN 和經銷商分銷網絡方面，我們 2023 年的努力將用於審查潛在的會員和合作夥伴。因此，透過這些管道的任何銷售都將增加我們的成長率。

In summary, in 2023, we fully expect to report higher revenues versus 2022 from the initiatives I've outlined. Of course, it will be an investment year with the goal of positioning the company to drive accelerated sales growth over the next several years, and I'm excited about the opportunity to create significant value for our shareholders.

總之，我們完全期望透過我所概述的舉措，在 2023 年實現比 2022 年更高的收入。當然，這將是一個投資年，目標是讓公司在未來幾年推動銷售加速成長，我很高興有機會為我們的股東創造巨大的價值。

Now I'll turn it over to Bill for his discussion of our first quarter financial results.

現在我將把它交給比爾討論我們第一季的財務表現。

Thank you, Peter, and welcome, everybody. Our first quarter revenue increased by 2% to $1.24 million. While this number was up slightly both year-over-year and sequentially, as Wayne and Peter communicated, we expect this growth rate to accelerate as market awareness of our capabilities and resources devoted to sales and marketing increase.

謝謝你，彼得，歡迎大家。我們第一季的營收成長了 2%，達到 124 萬美元。儘管這一數字同比和環比均略有上升，但正如韋恩和彼得所說，隨著市場對我們致力於銷售和行銷的能力和資源的認識不斷增強，我們預計這一增長率將會加快。

Our gross margin on those Q1 sales increased by 500 basis points to approximately 80% as our mix was more heavily weighted toward our higher-margin CleanTech systems. Our GAAP operating loss in Q1 was $1.2 million versus operating income of $0.4 million last year. About $1 million of this loss was attributable to noncash stock issuance costs related to our IPO and both cash and noncash costs related to the severance agreement for our former CFO, both of which were settled in April, and therefore, needed to be marked to market and accrued at the end of the quarter.

我們第一季銷售的毛利率增加了 500 個基點，達到約 80%，因為我們的產品組合更重視利潤率較高的清潔技術系統。我們第一季的 GAAP 營運虧損為 120 萬美元，而去年的營運收入為 40 萬美元。其中約100 萬美元的損失歸因於與我們IPO 相關的非現金股票發行成本以及與我們前任首席財務官的遣散協議相關的現金和非現金成本，兩者均已於4 月份解決，因此需要按市價計價並於季末累計。

Beyond these noncash and onetime costs, the most significant change in our operating structure was the increase in sales and marketing resources, NASDAQ and SEC compliance costs and rent for [our] new facility. The other loss of $200,000 represented a bad debt reserve for a prior year sale.

除了這些非現金和一次性成本之外，我們營運結構中最重大的變化是銷售和行銷資源、納斯達克和美國證券交易委員會合規成本以及[我們的]新設施租金的增加。另外 20 萬美元的損失是去年銷售的壞帳準備金。

GAAP net loss was $1.4 million, and loss per share was $0.18. Non-GAAP net loss and net loss per share was $0.4 million and $0.05, which excluded the $1 million in previously referenced operating expenses.

GAAP 淨虧損為 140 萬美元，每股虧損為 0.18 美元。非 GAAP 淨虧損和每股淨虧損分別為 40 萬美元和 0.05 美元，其中不包括先前提到的 100 萬美元營運費用。

From the balance sheet and cash flow perspective, we finished the quarter with $10.8 million in cash and no debt. This balance represents a $1.4 million decline during Q1, resulting from our operating activities. Net working capital remained fairly constant.

從資產負債表和現金流的角度來看，本季末我們擁有 1,080 萬美元現金，沒有債務。由於我們的經營活動，這一餘額在第一季減少了 140 萬美元。淨營運資本維持相當穩定。

Now I'd like to provide some commentary about the full year 2023. We believe our gross margin percentage may decline from the 80% in Q1 based mostly on mix shifts. However, our gross margin percentage should still exceed the prior year's 58%.

現在我想對 2023 年全年做出一些評論。我們認為，我們的毛利率可能會從第一季的 80% 下降，這主要是由於組合的變化。不過，我們的毛利率仍應超過去年的58%。

Looking at operating expenses, given our continued growth investments in sales and marketing and expanding our distribution channel, we expect these costs to further rise throughout the rest of the calendar year. In Q2, we expect to see an offset to operating expenses of approximately $0.6 million related to the referenced mark-to-market stock update. This offset represents the change in our stock price from the end of Q1 to when the shares were actually settled in April. We will adjust this out from our non-GAAP numbers for Q2.

考慮到營運費用，鑑於我們在銷售和行銷方面的持續成長投資以及擴大分銷管道，我們預計這些成本在今年剩餘時間內將進一步上升。在第二季度，我們預計將看到與參考的按市值計價的股票更新相關的營運費用抵消約 60 萬美元。這一抵消代表了從第一季末到四月股票實際結算時我們股價的變化。我們將從第二季的非 GAAP 數據中調整這一點。

That concludes the prepared remarks for today. We can now move to questions.

今天準備好的發言就到此結束。我們現在可以開始提問了。

(Operator Instructions) Okay. There are no phone questions. Do you have any questions?

（操作員指示）好的。沒有電話問題。你有任何問題嗎？

Yes. There are some questions online. The first -- this is for Bill. Could you elaborate on the nonrecurring events that have affected results? Should we expect any more of these in Q2? And then there's a couple of follow-ups.

是的。網路上有一些疑問。第一個——這是給比爾的。能否詳細說明影響結果的非重複事件？我們是否應該在第二季期待更多這樣的事情？然後還有一些後續行動。

Yes. Thank you, (inaudible), and thank you for the questions. There were 2 nonrecurring events identified that were recognized in Q1. The first one involves the continuance of our IPO costs, and that was based upon it being a stock-based payment and had to go mark-to-market at the end of the quarter. The second one had to do with the severance for our former CFO and, as referenced, that the total cost flows in Q1 approximated $1 million. And as indicated in the call and as disclosed in our 10-K, that will be partially reversed approximately $0.6 million in Q2 as we sold those transactions on April 17 and the [mark-to-market] resulted in a reversal of some of those expenses. There were no further nonrecurring items, and there have been none since the end of the quarter.

是的。謝謝您（聽不清楚），也謝謝您提出的問題。第一季確認了 2 個非重複事件。第一個涉及我們的首次公開募股成本的持續，這是基於它是基於股票的支付，並且必須在季度末按市值計價。第二個與我們前財務長的遣散費有關，正如所提到的，第一季的總成本流量約為 100 萬美元。正如電話會議中和我們的10-K 中所披露的那樣，由於我們在4 月17 日出售了這些交易，並且[按市價計價] 導致其中一些交易被逆轉，因此第二季度將部分逆轉約60萬美元。花費。沒有更多的非經常性項目，並且自本季末以來也沒有任何非經常性項目。

Great. You mentioned in a news article towards the end of last year that you expected revenue between $7 million and $10 million for 2023. Does this projection still hold?

偉大的。您在去年年底的一篇新聞文章中提到，您預計 2023 年的收入將在 700 萬至 1000 萬美元之間。這個預測仍然成立嗎？

This is Peter. Yes, this projection still holds. We're very encouraged with our hiring process, both in marketing and sales, and we see us going in a very positive direction.

這是彼得。是的，這個預測仍然成立。我們對行銷和銷售方面的招募流程感到非常鼓舞，我們看到我們正朝著非常積極的方向發展。

Great. And then, Bill, do you see yourselves being able to turn a profit this year?

偉大的。那麼，比爾，您認為今年能夠扭虧為盈嗎？

Again, there's 3 main factors that are involved. The first one obviously being the top line, and Peter gave the indication along those lines. The second most significant variable is the gross margin percent. And as we indicated, we anticipated being between the 80% that we experienced in Q1 and the 58% that we experienced last year. The third item involves how quickly we start to ramp up some of the other expenses in anticipation of the increased revenue. After each of those items, I do expect with time, yes, our profitability will be increasing. So the target that we have would be to achieve profitability by the end of the year. But we are not formally providing any guidance or specific numbers at this time.

同樣，涉及 3 個主要因素。第一個顯然是頂行，彼得也按照這些行給了指示。第二個最重要的變數是毛利率。正如我們所指出的，我們預計這一比例將介於第一季的 80% 和去年的 58% 之間。第三項涉及我們在預期收入增加的情況下開始增加其他一些費用的速度。在完成這些項目之後，我確實預計隨著時間的推移，我們的盈利能力將會增加。因此，我們的目標是在年底前實現盈利。但我們目前尚未正式提供任何指導或具體數字。

Great. Regarding the buybacks, did you buyback any stock this quarter? And what is your plan for the rest of the year?

偉大的。關於回購，您本季回購過股票嗎？今年剩下的時間有什麼計畫？

Yes. Understood.

是的。明白了。

There have been no stock buybacks during this quarter, nor since quarter close. Thus, there have been none to date. We have secured the Board approval for the buybacks, but we monitor on a daily basis the opportunities that we have. And there has not yet been the determination that we should proceed that stock buyback.

本季以及季度結束後也沒有進行任何股票回購。因此，迄今為止還沒有。我們已獲得董事會批准回購，但我們每天都會監控我們擁有的機會。我們還沒有決定是否應該進行股票回購。

As the gentlemen indicated, Wayne and Peter, we have significant opportunities that we're considering right now, and we want to use the cash wisely.

正如韋恩和彼得先生所說，我們現在正在考慮重大機會，我們希望明智地使用現金。

Okay. And this question is for Wayne or Peter. You've built yourself as a rust removal laser company, and this is a huge vertical. Why is adoption not happening more quickly? And what is preventing that from -- that growth curve from really taking off?

好的。這個問題是問韋恩或彼得的。您已將自己打造成一家雷射除鏽公司，這是一個巨大的垂直行業。為什麼採用速度沒有更快？是什麼阻礙了成長曲線真正起飛？

Yes. Sure, Brian. I'll take that question. Laser blasting or laser cleaning, when we took it to market, we took it as a disruptive technology to replace the abrasive sand blasting market and address the corrosion control problem that both our government and private sectors are facing. And they just started to develop the specs around how to [measure] laser cleaning. It was just published by [both] corrosion control organizations. You have government agencies like MAVC, SOCOM that are looking at these procedures and trying to learn how to incorporate them into their corrosion control programs. So needless to say, we're in the gain and scale model, which involves the adoption of this technology and then the adoption to it. And then from there, we can grow the disruptive technology with this takeoff. So that's kind of why it's a slow move.

是的。當然，布萊恩。我來回答這個問題。雷射噴砂或雷射清洗，當我們將其推向市場時，我們將其視為一種顛覆性技術，以取代磨料噴砂市場並解決我們政府和私營部門面臨的腐蝕控制問題。他們剛開始開發有關如何[測量]雷射清潔的規範。它剛剛由[兩個]腐蝕控制組織發布。 MAVC、SOCOM 等政府機構正在研究這些程序，並試圖了解如何將它們納入腐蝕控制計劃。因此，不用說，我們處於增益和規模模型中，這涉及採用這項技術，然後再採用它。然後從那裡開始，我們可以透過這次起飛來發展顛覆性技術。這就是為什麼這是一個緩慢的舉動。

Obviously, we can't predict when people will make decisions on accepting this. But so far, we've seen positive feedback from it. Some companies have already written white papers on this to address their own process --[in-housing] processes. So that's good news because now they're looking at not only supplying their current facilities, but the other facilities currently, domestically and globally, will be affected by these decisions and discoveries.

顯然，我們無法預測人們何時會做出接受這一點的決定。但到目前為止，我們已經看到了正面的回饋。一些公司已經就此編寫了白皮書來解決他們自己的流程—[內部]流程。所以這是個好消息，因為現在他們不僅考慮供應現有的設施，而且目前國內和全球的其他設施也將受到這些決定和發現的影響。

So that's why it just needs some time, and I think it will take off -- and right now is the time to really get involved with this technology. It's at the early stages, and I think it'll really take off this year and the years to come.

所以這就是為什麼它只需要一些時間，我認為它會起飛——現在是真正參與這項技術的時候了。目前還處於早期階段，我認為今年和未來幾年將會真正起飛。

Great. That's all the questions we have online. So operator, you can close it up.

偉大的。這就是我們在網路上提出的所有問題。所以操作員，你可以關閉它。

Thank you. This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation, and have a wonderful day.

謝謝。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，祝您有美好的一天。