Luna Innovations Inc (LUNA) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is Krista and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the third quarter 2023 Luna Innovations' earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

早安.我叫克里斯塔，今天我將擔任你們的會議接線生。現在，我歡迎大家參加 Luna Innovations 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）

I would now like to turn the call over to Allison Woody, Senior Director of Administration. Allison, you may begin your conference.

我現在想將電話轉給高級行政總監艾莉森·伍迪 (Allison Woody)。艾莉森，你可以開始你的會議了。

Good morning and thank you for joining us today. This morning we issued our Q3 2023 earnings press release. As always, you can find the release and supplemental presentation posted to the Investor Relations section of our website. If you do not have a copy of the release or the supplemental materials, please check our website at lunainc.com. We will also post a replay of this call to our website.

早安，感謝您今天加入我們。今天早上，我們發布了 2023 年第三季財報新聞稿。像往常一樣，您可以在我們網站的投資者關係部分找到發布的新聞稿和補充簡報。如果您沒有該新聞稿或補充資料的副本，請造訪我們的網站 lunainc.com。我們也將在我們的網站上發布本次通話的重播。

Some of our comments and discussions today are based on non-GAAP measures. These adjusted numbers exclude the effect of certain non-cash expenses and other items. The adjusted results are a supplement to the GAAP financial statements. Luna believes the presentation and exclusion of these items is useful to focus on what we deem to be a more reliable indicator of ongoing operating performance.

我們今天的一些評論和討論是基於非公認會計準則衡量標準。這些調整後的數字不包括某些非現金支出和其他項目的影響。調整後的業績是對 GAAP 財務報表的補充。 Luna 認為，這些項目的呈現和排除有助於關注我們認為更可靠的持續營運績效指標。

Before we proceed with our presentation today, let us remind you that statements made on this conference call as well as in our public filings, releases and websites which are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to changes at any time, including but not limited to statements about our expectations regarding future operating results or the ongoing prospects of the company. Actual results may differ materially as a result of a variety of factors.

在我們繼續今天的演講之前，讓我們提醒您，本次電話會議以及我們的公開文件、新聞稿和網站中的非歷史事實的陳述可能是前瞻性陳述，涉及風險和不確定性，並可能受到以下因素的影響：隨時更改，包括但不限於有關我們對未來營運業績或公司持續前景的預期的聲明。由於多種因素的影響，實際結果可能會存在重大差異。

More complete information regarding forward-looking statements, risks and uncertainties is available in the company's SEC filings, which can be found on the SEC website and our website. We disclaim any obligation to update any such factors, or to announce publicly the results of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments, except as required by law.

有關前瞻性陳述、風險和不確定性的更完整資訊可在公司向 SEC 提交的文件中找到，這些文件可以在 SEC 網站和我們的網站上找到。我們不承擔更新任何此類因素的義務，或公開宣布對任何前瞻性陳述進行任何修訂的結果以反映未來事件或發展的義務，除非法律要求。

After our prepared remarks, Scott Graeff, our President and Chief Executive Officer; George Gomez-Quintero, our Chief Financial Officer; and Brian Soller, our Chief Technology Officer will be available to take your questions.

在我們準備好的演講之後，我們的總裁兼執行長 Scott Graeff； George Gomez-Quintero，我們的財務長；我們的技術長 Brian Soller 將隨時回答您的問題。

And at this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Scott.

此時，我想將電話轉給史考特。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I'm pleased to be here today to discuss our third quarter results. As Allison mentioned, in addition to Brian Soller, our new CFO, George Gomez-Quintero has joined me for the call today. George joined our team nearly a month ago, replacing Gene Nestro.

大家早安，感謝您今天加入我們。我很高興今天在這裡討論我們的第三季業績。正如 Allison 所提到的，除了 Brian Soller 之外，我們的新任財務長 George Gomez-Quintero 也參加了今天的電話會議。喬治大約一個月前加入我們的團隊，接替吉恩·內斯特羅。

I want to start by thanking Gene for his contributions to Luna. Under his leadership, we established a scalable foundation by making the necessary investments to improve infrastructure, processes and systems. These moves have put us in a strong position to be able to continue to drive both organic and acquisitive growth.

首先我要感謝 Gene 對 Luna 的貢獻。在他的領導下，我們透過進行必要的投資來改善基礎設施、流程和系統，建立了可擴展的基礎。這些舉措使我們處於有利地位，能夠繼續推動有機成長和收購成長。

I'm thrilled to welcome George to the team. He brings to Luna a deep operational focus and significant experience in FP&A, investor relations, treasury, procurement and credit and collections. He has had a wide range of experience in public companies, and he has built and developed strong finance teams of all sizes. These experiences will be critical as we continue our pursuit of opportunities that will enable us to further expand our global footprint and elevate our international presence. You've heard me say before that our leadership talent is the linchpin in driving our strategy and capturing the abundance of opportunity with which Luna is presented and we are well on our way.

我很高興歡迎喬治加入球隊。他為 Luna 帶來了深度營運重點以及 FP&A、投資者關係、財務、採購、信貸和收款方面的豐富經驗。他在上市公司擁有豐富的經驗，並建立和發展了各種規模的強大財務團隊。這些經驗對於我們繼續尋求機會至關重要，這些機會將使我們能夠進一步擴大我們的全球足跡並提升我們的國際影響力。您之前曾聽我說過，我們的領導能力是推動我們策略和抓住 Luna 所面臨的大量機會的關鍵，我們正在順利前進。

In addition to George, you'll remember that we hired Eva Hartmann, our Senior Vice President of HR, almost a year ago. And more recently, Thomas Oldemeyer, our Senior Vice President and Managing Director of EMEA. These have been strategic moves to bolster our senior leadership team and with seasoned professionals who have demonstrated success in international operations and growth across technical environments.

除了喬治之外，您還會記得大約一年前我們還聘請了人力資源高級副總裁伊娃·哈特曼 (Eva Hartmann)。最近，我們的高級副總裁兼歐洲、中東和非洲地區董事總經理 Thomas Oldemeyer 也加入了進來。這些都是策略性舉措，旨在加強我們的高階領導團隊和經驗豐富的專業人士，他們在國際營運和跨技術環境的成長方面取得了成功。

As you know, we've made incredible strides in expanding our global footprint via acquisitions in the last several years. I've mentioned before that we now have more than 1/3 of our employees outside the United States and more than half of our revenue was generated outside the U.S. In a timeframe where we've been very purposeful about driving growth, improving infrastructure and streamlining operations, we've also been incredibly intentional about putting the right people in the right roles to support that work. We continue to be strategic about the team who will achieve the targets we've outlined.

如您所知，過去幾年我們透過收購在擴大全球足跡方面取得了令人難以置信的進步。我之前提到過，我們現在有超過 1/3 的員工在美國境外，超過一半的收入是在美國境外產生的。在簡化營運的同時，我們也非常有意地將合適的人放在合適的角色上來支持這項工作。我們繼續對將實現我們概述的目標的團隊保持策略性。

With that reflection on our leadership, let's turn our attention now to Luna's third quarter performance. Q3 was a solid quarter for us in spite of macro headwinds that are affecting businesses across geographies and industries. The headwinds were a continuation of some of the dynamics we saw in Q2, and they impacted us similarly to many other businesses you've already heard report for the quarter.

在反思我們的領導力之後，現在讓我們將注意力轉向 Luna 第三季的表現。儘管宏觀阻力正在影響跨地區和跨行業的業務，但第三季對我們來說是一個穩健的季度。這些不利因素是我們在第二季度看到的一些動態的延續，它們對我們的影響與您已經聽到的本季度報告中的許多其他企業類似。

We had a tough comp this quarter but continued to build momentum. While some challenges hung over from last quarter, we bounced back where we said we would. I will provide some more color in a moment, but overall, our sensing business was pressured, particularly in contract research and terahertz. I would characterize most of the pressure as timing and slower sales cycles, even though we saw some significant wins in this business. Our communications test business had a strong quarter, driven in part by a few recoveries from last quarter.

本季我們的業績比較艱難，但仍在持續增強勢頭。儘管上季度仍存在一些挑戰，但我們已經恢復了預期。我稍後會提供更多信息，但總體而言，我們的感測業務面臨壓力，特別是在合約研究和太赫茲領域。儘管我們在這項業務中取得了一些重大勝利，但我將大部分壓力歸結為時機和銷售週期放緩。我們的通訊測試業務季度表現強勁，部分原因是上個季度的一些復甦。

So let's turn to some of the specifics of Q3. For the third quarter of 2023, we recorded total revenue of $30.7 million, an increase of 5% compared to the prior year period. Our gross margin was 57%. Adjusted EBITDA was $4.2 million compared to $4.5 million in the comparable quarter last year. Our adjusted earnings per share for the quarter was $0.07. As I mentioned, our sensing vertical experienced pressure this quarter. And as a result, revenue was down 6% year-over-year. This was largely driven by tough terahertz comparisons.

那麼讓我們來看看第三季的一些細節。 2023 年第三季度，我們的總營收為 3,070 萬美元，比去年同期成長 5%。我們的毛利率是 57%。調整後 EBITDA 為 420 萬美元，去年同期為 450 萬美元。本季調整後每股收益為 0.07 美元。正如我所提到的，我們的感測垂直領域本季經歷了壓力。結果，收入比去年同期下降了 6%。這主要是由嚴格的太赫茲比較驅動的。

After several consecutive quarters of double and triple-digit growth, we saw a Q3 decline in revenue on a year-over-year basis due to timing of deliveries related to several large orders on backlog. Our outlook for terahertz is incredibly strong. Bookings and backlog are robust and the future of the product line is bright. Product revenue was essentially flat year-over-year with mixed performance between product lines and markets.

在連續幾季實現兩位數和三位數成長之後，我們看到第三季的營收年減，原因是與幾個積壓的大訂單相關的交貨時間。我們對太赫茲的前景非常樂觀。預訂和積壓訂單強勁，該產品線的未來一片光明。產品收入與去年同期基本持平，產品線和市場之間的表現參差不齊。

Notably, sales of our ODiSI high-resolution sensing product reached record levels this quarter. The 72% year-over-year growth in this product line was driven by strong demand and a contract for a large infrastructure project requiring multiple systems. I continue to feel optimistic about the breadth of applications for our fiber sensing solutions as evidenced by multiple significant wins this quarter. We were awarded a multiyear fiber optic monitoring service contract on a transcontinental natural gas pipeline where our solution will help ensure gas supply from a former Soviet Republic to the EU.

值得注意的是，我們的 ODiSI 高解析度感測產品的銷售本季達到了創紀錄的水平。該產品線年增 72%，是由強勁需求和需要多個系統的大型基礎設施項目合約推動的。我仍然對我們的光纖感測解決方案的應用廣度感到樂觀，本季的多項重大勝利就證明了這一點。我們獲得了一份跨大陸天然氣管道的多年光纖監控服務合同，我們的解決方案將有助於確保從前蘇聯共和國向歐盟的天然氣供應。

Luna's distributed fiber optic monitoring system provides early warning and highly accurate localization on issues such as intrusions on the pipeline right-of-way, gas leaks and other potential threats, such as dragging anchors from passing boats. As another part of the project, Luna's distributed fiber optic monitoring system will provide perimeter security for the pipelines above-ground facilities, such as compressor stations and other in-line facilities that can be vulnerable.

Luna 的分散式光纖監控系統針對管道通行權入侵、氣體洩漏和其他潛在威脅（例如拖曳過往船隻的錨）等問題提供早期預警和高精度定位。作為該專案的另一部分，Luna 的分散式光纖監控系統將為地上管道設施（例如壓縮機站和其他易受攻擊的線上設施）提供週邊安全。

We also secured multiple sales of earthquake monitoring DAS instruments to seismic labs on the West Coast and to the U.S. government. We now have more than $1.5 million in new orders for DAS and DTS systems for pipeline monitoring from the largest energy company in the UAE. We renewed a global supply partnership agreement with one of the world's largest multinational conglomerates for critical infrastructure monitoring. The agreement covers supply of linear heat detection, perimeter security, pipeline monitoring and mining product lines to infrastructure operators around the world. More to come on this as our details get finalized.

我們也向西岸的地震實驗室和美國政府多次銷售地震監測 DAS 儀器。我們現在從阿聯酋最大的能源公司獲得了價值超過 150 萬美元的管道監控的 DAS 和 DTS 系統新訂單。我們與世界上最大的跨國集團之一續簽了關鍵基礎設施監控全球供應合作夥伴協議。該協議涵蓋向世界各地的基礎設施營運商提供線性熱探測、周界安全、管道監控和採礦產品線。當我們的細節最終確定後，還會有更多內容。

We also recently deployed the successful application of fiber optic sensing-based traffic monitoring for the State of Utah Department of Transportation, where Luna is providing accurate and timely information regarding the average traffic speed, detecting slow or stop traffic and estimating journey times between set locations. We won this project jointly with our partner, Dura-Line, a leading conduit manufacturer. We also amassed multiple additional awards totaling over $1 million for power cable monitoring systems throughout the world. This application continues to be a significant driver of growth.

我們最近也為猶他州交通部成功部署了基於光纖感測的交通監控，Luna 提供有關平均交通速度的準確及時的資訊、檢測緩慢或停止的交通並估計設定位置之間的行程時間。我們與合作夥伴 Dura-Line（領先的導管製造商）共同贏得了該專案。我們也為世界各地的電力電纜監控系統贏得了多項額外獎項，總金額超過 100 萬美元。該應用程式仍然是成長的重要推動力。

Quarterly performance in our communications test business was solid. We realized 26% year-over-year growth in the segment. As I mentioned earlier in the call, we saw some recovery from the headwinds we experienced in this segment in Q2. Revenue for our laser module business remains strong. Performance in this business line is primarily driven by OEM sales of our RIO lasers into LiDAR and sensing systems. We continued deliveries of our Phoenix laser system to Intuitive Surgical against the $14 million order placed late last year.

我們的通訊測試業務的季度業績表現穩健。我們在該領域實現了 26% 的同比增長。正如我之前在電話會議中提到的，我們看到第二季度該領域經歷的不利因素有所恢復。我們的雷射模組業務收入依然強勁。該業務線的業績主要是由我們的 RIO 雷射器向 LiDAR 和感測系統的 OEM 銷售所推動的。根據去年年底下達的 1,400 萬美元訂單，我們繼續向 Intuitive Surgical 交付 Phoenix 雷射系統。

We also continue to realize strong sales of our polarization control modules to emerging photonics applications. We're pleased to share that we've secured significant wins with new OEM customers in defense systems, quantum computing and medical applications.

我們也繼續實現我們的偏振控制模組在新興光子學應用中的強勁銷售。我們很高興與大家分享，我們在國防系統、量子計算和醫療應用領域與新 OEM 客戶取得了重大勝利。

Finally, I hope you saw our announcement last week about the large contract secured in support of a major technology providers hyperscale data center. Our technology will help the provider more accurately assess the performance of transceivers in their data centers as they work to reduce power consumption and data interruptions in those centers.

最後，我希望您看到我們上週發布的關於為支援主要技術提供者超大規模資料中心而獲得的大合約的公告。我們的技術將幫助提供者更準確地評估其資料中心收發器的效能，因為他們致力於減少這些中心的功耗和資料中斷。

Let me now turn to our outlook. As we keep hearing from others, Luna too continues to see a less predictable and more challenging macro environment. That said, we know that Luna's solutions are a superior way for many industries to address critical issues. While I continue to be very optimistic about our future, you undoubtedly saw the downward revision to our revenue range. Obviously, I'm disappointed this is the direction we went, and although the change is not indicative of any degradation in the demand for our solutions, it does represent a change to what we see closing, getting delivered and installed before year-end.

現在讓我談談我們的前景。正如我們不斷聽到其他人的消息一樣，Luna 也繼續看到一個更不可預測且更具挑戰性的宏觀環境。也就是說，我們知道 Luna 的解決方案是許多行業解決關鍵問題的優越方法。雖然我仍然對我們的未來非常樂觀，但毫無疑問，您看到了我們收入範圍的向下修正。顯然，我對這就是我們前進的方向感到失望，儘管這一變化並不表明對我們解決方案的需求有任何下降，但它確實代表了我們所看到的在年底前完成交付和安裝的情況的變化。

About a month ago, as we were preparing to announce George's hire, I spent a good deal of time with our operations and sales leaders. Based on what customers were telling us, we were comfortable reiterating our guidance. But in the last couple of weeks, we've had certain customers tap the brakes on some of their projects. We're still moving forward, we're just doing it more slowly.

大約一個月前，當我們準備宣布僱用喬治時，我花了很多時間與我們的營運和銷售領導者交談。根據客戶告訴我們的情況，我們很樂意重申我們的指導。但在過去的幾周里，我們的某些客戶停止了他們的一些專案。我們仍在前進，只是進展得更慢。

As a result of these dynamics, we're revising our top line guidance to total revenue of $120 million to $125 million, but we are maintaining our adjusted EBITDA range at the same level at which has been all year, and that is adjusted EBITDA of $14 million to $18 million.

由於這些動態，我們正在將總收入指引修改為 1.2 億美元至 1.25 億美元，但我們將調整後的 EBITDA 範圍維持在全年的同一水平，調整後的 EBITDA 為1400萬至1800萬美元。

I want to make an additional comment about the size of the revenue range, given that we're in the last quarter of our fiscal year. By now, you are likely aware that some of our sales include large project-based orders. We have many of these transactions included in our backlog and the timing of delivery and installations largely controlled by our customers. Therefore, the revenue recognition can swing from one period to the next. This means that even with just 6 weeks left to go in the year, revenue could shift into next year and is why we are keeping a broad revenue range.

鑑於我們正處於財政年度的最後一個季度，我想對收入範圍的規模進行補充評論。到目前為止，您可能已經意識到我們的一些銷售包括基於項目的大型訂單。我們的積壓訂單中包含許多此類交易，並且交付和安裝的時間很大程度上由我們的客戶控制。因此，收入確認可以從一個期間轉移到下一期間。這意味著，即使今年只剩下 6 週時間，收入也可能會轉移到明年，這就是我們維持廣泛收入範圍的原因。

With that overview, let me turn the call over to George for his remarks on the quarter's financials.

有了這樣的概述，讓我把電話轉給喬治，請他對本季的財務狀況發表評論。

Thank you, Scott, and good morning, everyone. I'm excited to be here today as the newest member of Luna's team. As I got to know Scott and the rest of Luna's leadership, I grew increasingly impressed with their vision, intellect and commitment to solving complex problems for very demanding customers.

謝謝你，斯科特，大家早安。我很高興今天作為 Luna 團隊的最新成員來到這裡。隨著我逐漸了解 Scott 和 Luna 的其他領導層，他們的遠見、才智以及為要求極高的客戶解決複雜問題的承諾給我留下了越來越深刻的印象。

Luna's solutions address the needs of global customers in multiple verticals and the breadth of opportunity represents significant potential for value creation. I am looking forward to meeting many of you in the months to come and to partnering with Scott and the team to drive Luna's growth and shareholder value creation.

Luna 的解決方案可滿足全球客戶在多個垂直領域的需求，而廣泛的機會代表了價值創造的巨大潛力。我期待在未來幾個月與你們中的許多人見面，並與 Scott 和團隊合作，推動 Luna 的成長和股東價值的創造。

Now let me provide some additional detail on our Q3 results. Third quarter revenue was $30.7 million, an increase of 5% year-over-year. The increase was driven largely by strong performance from our comms test business, specifically a rebound in sales to our government and defense customers as that business continues to recover from the headwinds we mentioned last quarter.

現在讓我提供有關第三季業績的一些額外細節。第三季營收為3,070萬美元，較去年同期成長5%。這一成長主要是由於我們的通訊測試業務的強勁表現，特別是我們的政府和國防客戶的銷售反彈，因為該業務繼續從我們上季度提到的逆風中恢復。

Gross margin of 57% for the 3 months ended September 30, 2023, was 62 basis points below prior year. The decrease in gross margin was driven primarily by product mix. Operating expenses were $16.5 million, an increase of 7%. Sequentially, OpEx was actually down 3.5%, reflecting some of the cost efficiency initiatives, management initiated as part of our One Luna strategy.

截至 2023 年 9 月 30 日的三個月毛利率為 57%，比去年同期低 62 個基點。毛利率下降主要是產品組合所致。營運費用為 1,650 萬美元，成長 7%。隨後，營運支出實際上下降了 3.5%，反映了管理層作為 One Luna 策略的一部分發起的一些成本效率舉措。

Operating income was $1.2 million for the 3 months ended September 30 compared to operating income of $1.5 million for the prior year period. The company had net income of $461,000 compared to net income of $1.2 million in the prior year period and adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $4.2 million compared to $4.5 million for the prior year period.

截至 9 月 30 日的三個月營業收入為 120 萬美元，而去年同期營業收入為 150 萬美元。該公司淨利潤為 461,000 美元，去年同期淨利潤為 120 萬美元，本季調整後 EBITDA 為 420 萬美元，去年同期為 450 萬美元。

Turning our attention to the balance sheet. We ended the quarter with $6 million of cash and cash equivalents compared to $6 million at December 31, 2022. However, importantly, cash increased nearly $3 million sequentially. Our working capital was $65.2 million at the end of the quarter compared to $54.2 million at the end of 2022. The increase was primarily due to increases in accounts receivable and inventory.

將我們的注意力轉向資產負債表。截至本季末，我們的現金和現金等價物為 600 萬美元，而 2022 年 12 月 31 日為 600 萬美元。本季末我們的營運資本為 6,520 萬美元，而 2022 年末為 5,420 萬美元。

I want to make a few additional comments about these changes. In the third quarter, accounts receivable increased $6 million versus year-end 2022 as we had a disproportionately large number of units that shipped at the end of September, leaving no time to collect before the quarter cut off. Inventory increased $6.7 million versus December 31, 2022. We are still dealing with supply chain challenges. So when certain inputs become available, we purchased the number we anticipate needing.

我想對這些變化提出一些補充意見。第三季度，應收帳款較 2022 年底增加了 600 萬美元，因為我們在 9 月底發貨的設備數量過多，導致在季度截止前沒有時間收款。與 2022 年 12 月 31 日相比，庫存增加了 670 萬美元。因此，當某些投入可用時，我們購買了我們預計需要的數量。

We've been talking about the higher levels of inventory consistently for the past year. As we've discussed, we are focused on improving inventory turns and are confident we will be able to do so. In addition, I think it's instructive to look at the sequential change in inventory, which shows roughly a 3% increase. We are working hard to ensure we are only holding the inventory we absolutely need.

去年我們一直在談論庫存水準較高的問題。正如我們所討論的，我們專注於提高庫存週轉率，並且有信心能夠做到這一點。此外，我認為查看庫存的連續變化是有啟發性的，庫存增加了約 3%。我們正在努力確保我們只持有我們絕對需要的庫存。

Our total debt outstanding was $31.9 million compared to December 31, 2022 amount of $23.2 million. The increase was primarily due to a $12 million drawdown of the revolver, offset by a reduction in the term loans. Overall, we had a solid quarter despite the tough comparisons resulting from the significant COVID rebound in the third quarter of fiscal year 2022.

我們的未償債務總額為 3,190 萬美元，而 2022 年 12 月 31 日為 2,320 萬美元。這一增長主要是由於左輪手槍提取了 1200 萬美元，但被定期貸款的減少所抵消。總體而言，儘管 2022 財年第三季新冠肺炎疫情大幅反彈導致了艱難的比較，但我們的季度表現依然穩健。

I've now been at Luna for 1 month, and I'm even more excited about the company's potential than I was during the interview process. I have already been to the U.K. and Germany to meet our teams there. We have some terrific assets, and I look forward to continuing to dig in and help Luna achieve the potential I know it has.

我現在已經在 Luna 工作了 1 個月，我對公司的潛力比面試時更興奮。我已經去過英國和德國，與我們在那裡的團隊會面。我們擁有一些很棒的資產，我期待著繼續挖掘並幫助 Luna 實現我所知道的潛力。

With that, I will turn the call back over to Scott for his concluding thoughts.

至此，我將把電話轉回給史考特，聽聽他的結論性想法。

Thank you, George. Before we open the call for your questions, I want to take this opportunity to emphasize our belief in being as transparent as possible about the events we see unfolding and their impact on the business. While we've seen real pressure from evolving macroeconomic headwinds, we want you to know that we're making real-time changes to ensure that we're able to continue to deliver shareholder value. We remain bullish in our vision and the long-term results we've outlined.

謝謝你，喬治。在我們開始詢問您的問題之前，我想藉此機會強調我們的信念，即我們對正在發生的事件及其對業務的影響盡可能透明。雖然我們看到了不斷變化的宏觀經濟逆風帶來的真正壓力，但我們希望您知道我們正在做出即時改變，以確保我們能夠繼續提供股東價值。我們仍然看好我們的願景和我們概述的長期成果。

Now Brian, George and I would be happy to take questions about today's presentation. So Krista, please open the call for Q&A.

現在，布萊恩、喬治和我很樂意回答有關今天演示的問題。克里斯塔，請打開問答電話。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of David Kang from B. Riley.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 B. Riley 的 David Kang。

First question regarding fourth quarter. Actually, I'm more interested in next year since we already know fourth quarter outlook. How should we think about next year? Should we expect still double-digit growth or maybe in the first half, maybe starting slowly and kind of a stronger second half? Any color on next year outlook?

關於第四季的第一個問題。事實上，我對明年更感興趣，因為我們已經知道第四季的前景。我們該如何思考明年？我們是否應該預期仍將實現兩位數的成長，或者也許在上半年，也許會緩慢開始，下半年會更加強勁？明年的前景有什麼顏色嗎？

Yes, I think we continue to feel the way that we always have on 2024. I think what's out there and the comments that we have made on 2024 continue to stay the same. We see these things that have pushed pushing into Q4 and 2024. So we don't see anything changing from what we already have out there, Dave, that we've talked about with everyone in regards to 2024.

是的，我認為我們在 2024 年的感受仍然一如既往。我們看到這些事情已經推動了第四季和 2024 年的發展。

Got it. And then Comtest, great to see a quick recovery. Just wondering how sustainable that is.

知道了。然後是 Comtest，很高興看到他的快速康復。只是想知道這有多可持續。

I'm sorry, I didn't understand that. Could you say again?

抱歉，我不明白。你能再說一次嗎？

Yes. Comtest sounds like it rebounded last quarter. Is it a sustainable recovery or it was just a couple of orders kind of making it appear to be a quick recovery?

是的。 Comtest 聽起來上季有所反彈。這是一個可持續的復甦，還是只是幾個訂單讓它看起來是一個快速的復甦？

Yes. No, Brian, do you want to --

是的。不，布萊恩，你想——

Yes. We talked about this last time that we saw that headwinds in that segment would persist maybe through the middle end part of the year. We saw a nice kick back up to normal levels in Q3, and we continue to have good visibility into the next few quarters, and we believe that will be a sustainable come back rather than just kind of a one-off.

是的。我們上次討論過這一點，我們看到該領域的逆風可能會持續到今年年中。我們在第三季度看到了恢復到正常水平的良好表現，並且我們對接下來的幾個季度繼續有良好的預見性，我們相信這將是一次可持續的回歸，而不僅僅是一次性的。

Got it. And my last question is on terahertz. Just an update on the EV battery testing opportunity and update on the capacity expansion plans.

知道了。我的最後一個問題是關於太赫茲的。只是電動車電池測試機會的最新情況和產能擴張計劃的最新情況。

Yes, that continues to remain strong, Dave. What we have is a tough comp. In Q3 of last year, we had a big delivery to a big customer and -- but we continue to work through that. A lot of that is already in backlog. It's just a matter of when that gets delivered. But that continues to be strong across multiple customers and most notably with a very large customer. And Brian, I don't know if you want to add to any of that.

是的，戴夫，這種勢頭仍然強勁。我們擁有的是一個艱難的陣容。去年第三季度，我們向一位大客戶交付了大量產品，但我們仍在繼續努力解決這個問題。其中很多已經積壓。這只是何時交付的問題。但對於多個客戶來說，這種情況仍然很強勁，尤其是對於一個非常大的客戶。布萊恩，我不知道你是否想補充其中的任何內容。

Yes. I mean the order book is strong. The backlog is strong. We look to finish the year on a high note for that product. And the capacity build-out is on track and looking for another strong year next year.

是的。我的意思是訂單很強。積壓情況很嚴重。我們希望該產品能夠以高調結束這一年。產能建設已步入正軌，明年將迎來另一個強勁的一年。

Can you remind us your capacity -- actually quantify. I remember it was like a 4x capacity expansion. Is that correct?

你能否提醒我們你的能力——實際上是量化的。我記得這就像 4 倍的容量擴展。這是正確的嗎？

That's correct.

這是正確的。

Yes, 4.

是的，4。

Yes. Our capacity, yes.

是的。我們的能力，是的。

Your next question comes from the line of Paul Essi from William K. Woodruff.

您的下一個問題來自 William K. Woodruff 的 Paul Essi。

I wanted to talk a little bit more about the balance sheet. You've got, correct me if I'm wrong, about $35 million in credit lines and you're up to $32 million. How much do you expect to be able to squeeze out of your working capital in the third -- sorry, in the fourth quarter and then first quarter next year?

我想多談談資產負債表。如果我錯了，請糾正我，你有大約 3500 萬美元的信貸額度，而你的信用額度高達 3200 萬美元。您預計第三季度（對不起，第四季度，然後是明年第一季）能夠從您的營運資金中擠出多少？

Yes. Good question, Paul. We continue to see, as we've said, first half of the year is a little bit more difficult on us. And the second half is really harvesting. You saw us harvest about $3 million in Q3. And I think you'll continue to see -- we don't see -- OpEx is going to hold pretty steady, and we will be able to leverage off that. So, with -- what we see is much larger revenue in Q4, that will fall through. So we should again see a strong Q4 as it relates to cash generation and working capital.

是的。好問題，保羅。正如我們所說，我們繼續看到今年上半年對我們來說有點困難。而下半年就真的是收穫了。您看到我們在第三季收穫了約 300 萬美元。我認為你會繼續看到——我們沒有看到——營運支出將保持相當穩定，我們將能夠利用這一點。因此，我們看到第四季的收入要大得多，這一點將會落空。因此，我們應該再次看到第四季度的強勁表現，因為它與現金產生和營運資本有關。

Yes, George, I don't know if you want to add anything.

是的，喬治，我不知道你是否想補充什麼。

I think that covers it.

我認為這涵蓋了它。

Okay. The other question, this order with the data center win, is this something that has legs? I mean, given everything that's going on with AI, is this kind of a quasi-AI play? And do you see more customers on a larger market out there? Can you give us some color on that?

好的。另一個問題，這個資料中心獲勝的訂單，是不是有腿？我的意思是，考慮到人工智慧正在發生的一切，這是一種準人工智慧遊戲嗎？您是否在更大的市場上看到了更多的客戶？你能為我們提供一些資訊嗎？

Yes, sure. We do believe it has legs. We've made a lot of progress with one relatively significant customer. You saw the announcement this week, and we look to be able to replicate that. With other customers in the space, it has to do with high-speed testing of many, many data sockets, optical sockets in parallel, which is really the key to being able to enable this large-scale deployment, whether it be in any type of hyperscale data center, but certainly, that includes AI data centers. So yes, it's a nice solution from our team in Chino, California that make our polarization management and control modules.

是的，當然。我們確實相信它有腿。我們與一位相對重要的客戶取得了巨大進展。您本週看到了該公告，我們希望能夠複製這一點。對於該領域的其他客戶來說，它與許多資料插座、光纖插座的並行高速測試有關，這確實是能夠實現大規模部署的關鍵，無論是任何類型超大規模資料中心，但當然包括人工智慧資料中心。所以，是的，這是我們加州奇諾團隊製作的偏振管理和控制模組的一個很好的解決方案。

And you guys are out knocking on doors, you have a good sales funnel in that product?

你們正在上門拜訪，你們的產品有良好的銷售管道嗎？

Yes, we do.

是的，我們願意。

Okay. Last question. Maybe an update a little bit on the F-35. How that's going? I know there was a terahertz follow-on order out there somewhere or you're planning on getting it by year-end. Update on that. And then very quickly, where do we stand with the F-22 and Meggitt with the Airbuses? Are we still looking at '25 for the Airbus business?

好的。最後一個問題。也許對 F-35 進行一些更新。怎麼樣？我知道某個地方有太赫茲後續訂單，或者您計劃在年底前收到它。更新一下。然後很快，我們對 F-22 和 Meggitt 的空中巴士飛機的立場如何？我們還在關注 25 世紀的空中巴士業務嗎？

Yes. Let me start with the F-35 question. The F-35, while they do buy terahertz systems for measuring the thickness of the coating being on the outside of the plane, that really is our OBR 6200 that we're spec-ed into, Paul. And yes, we do expect that order in Q4. So that is something that we are expecting and is factored in to what we're guiding. So that is a large order that we have gotten assurance that we will get.

是的。讓我從F-35問題開始。 F-35，雖然他們確實購買了太赫茲系統來測量飛機外部塗層的厚度，但這實際上是我們指定的 OBR 6200，Paul。是的，我們確實預期第四季會有這樣的訂單。所以這是我們所期待的，也是我們指引中考慮的因素。所以這是一個大訂單，我們已經得到保證我們會得到。

So as it relates to expanding into other planes within Northrop Grumman or Lockheed Martin, I know we're making progress on that. Brian, do you want to talk a little bit about the F-22 or C-130 or?

因此，當涉及擴展到諾斯羅普·格魯曼公司或洛克希德·馬丁公司的其他飛機時，我知道我們正在這方面取得進展。 Brian，您想談談 F-22 或 C-130 嗎？

Yes. Sure. So we have -- we are expecting some follow-on orders. We got the first orders for the F-22 this year. And we're doing some customization of the interface for that aircraft to the later part of this year and then with unit deliveries next year. So that's going well. And on the terahertz side related to the F-35 application, those orders have come in as we've discussed for delivery throughout the rest of this year.

是的。當然。所以我們期待一些後續訂單。今年我們收到了第一批 F-22 訂單。我們正在今年下半年對該飛機的介面進行一些定制，然後在明年進行單位交付。所以一切進展順利。在與 F-35 應用相關的太赫茲方面，這些訂單已經收到，正如我們討論的那樣，將在今年剩餘時間內交付。

(Operator Instructions) We have no further questions in our queue at this time. I will now turn the call over to Scott Graeff for closing remarks.

（操作員說明）目前我們的隊列中沒有其他問題。我現在將把電話轉給 Scott Graeff 進行總結發言。

Okay. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. And as always, we appreciate your time. And with that, Krista, we can conclude today's call.

好的。謝謝大家今天加入我們。一如既往，我們感謝您的寶貴時間。克里斯塔，我們就這樣結束今天的電話會議。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接。