Mind Technology Inc (MIND) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the MIND Technology Second Quarter Fiscal 2024 Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加 MIND Technology 2024 財年第二季電話會議。 （操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

It's now my pleasure to introduce your host, Ken Dennard. Thank you. You may begin.

現在我很高興介紹你們的主持人肯·丹納德。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator.

謝謝你，接線生。

Good morning, and welcome to the MIND Technology Fiscal 2024 Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. We appreciate you joining us today. With me are Rob Capps, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Mark Cox, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

早上好，歡迎參加 MIND Technology 2024 財年第二季財報電話會議。我們感謝您今天加入我們。與我在一起的有總裁兼執行長 Rob Capps；以及副總裁兼財務長馬克·考克斯。

Before I turn the call over to Rob, I have a few items to cover. If you'd like to listen to a replay of today's call, it will be available for 90 days via webcast by going to the Investor Relations section of the company's website at mind-technology.com or via telephonic recorded instant replay until September 21. Information on how to access these replay features was provided in yesterday's earnings release. Information on this call speaks only as of today, Thursday, September 14, 2023, and therefore, you are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate at the time of any replay listening or transcript reading.

在將電話轉給 Rob 之前，我有幾件事需要說明。如果您想收聽今天電話會議的重播，您可以在90 天內透過網路廣播收聽該內容，方法是造訪該公司網站Mind-technology.com 的投資者關係部分，或透過電話錄音即時重播，直到9 月21日為止。昨天的財報中提供了有關如何存取這些重播功能的資訊。本次電話會議的資訊僅截至今天（2023 年 9 月 14 日星期四），因此，建議您在重播或閱讀文字記錄時，時間敏感的資訊可能不再準確。

Before we begin, let me remind you that certain statements made by management during this call may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and include known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which the company is unable to predict or control, that may cause the company's actual future results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by these statements. These risks and uncertainties include the risk factors disclosed by the company from time to time in its SEC filings, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2023.

在我們開始之前，讓我提醒您，管理層在本次電話會議中所做的某些陳述可能構成1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述是基於管理層當前的預期，包括已知的未知的風險、不確定性和其他因素，其中許多是公司無法預測或控制的，可能導致公司未來的實際結果或業績與這些陳述明示或暗示的任何未來結果或業績存在重大差異。這些風險和不確定性包括公司在 SEC 文件中不時揭露的風險因素，包括截至 2023 年 1 月 31 日的年度 10-K 表格年度報告。

Furthermore, as we start this call, please also refer to the statement regarding forward-looking statements incorporated in our news release issued yesterday, and please note that the contents of our conference call this morning are covered by these statements.

此外，在我們開始本次電話會議時，請另參閱我們昨天發布的新聞稿中包含的有關前瞻性陳述的聲明，並請注意，我們今天上午的電話會議的內容已包含在這些聲明中。

And now, with that behind me, I'd like to turn the call over to Rob Capps. Rob?

現在，一切都已經過去了，我想把電話轉給羅布·卡普斯。搶？

Okay. Thanks, Ken.

好的。謝謝，肯。

Now as I believe you all know, in August, we took a significant step with the sale of our client unit. Today, I'd like to begin by discussing that transaction and the rationale for it before discussing our second quarter 2024 results as well as our current view of market conditions. Mark will then provide a more detailed update on our financials. I'll then wrap things up with some remarks about our outlook.

現在，我相信你們都知道，八月份，我們在出售客戶部門方面邁出了重要一步。今天，我想先討論該交易及其理由，然後再討論我們 2024 年第二季的業績以及我們目前對市場狀況的看法。然後，馬克將提供有關我們財務狀況的更詳細的最新資訊。然後我將用一些關於我們的前景的評論來結束這一切。

With the strengthening outlook for our Seamap unit, that we'll discuss further in a moment, we thought it was important to streamline MIND's operations and address the financial requirements associated with our growing business. When the opportunity to sell client arose, we saw an opportunity to achieve both those objectives. Our Klein business unit was responsible for approximately $3.1 million in revenue during the first 6 months of this fiscal year, but contributed an operating loss of about $911,000. On a pro forma basis, had the sale taken place at the beginning of the year, MIND would have reported a positive pretax income as opposed to the $1.2 million loss we reported. This further demonstrates the basis for our decision to part ways with the client business unit and focus our attention on other operations.

隨著 Seamap 部門前景的增強（我們稍後將進一步討論），我們認為簡化 MIND 的營運並解決與我們不斷成長的業務相關的財務要求非常重要。當銷售客戶的機會出現時，我們看到了實現這兩個目標的機會。我們的 Klein 業務部門在本財年的前 6 個月內貢獻了約 310 萬美元的收入，但產生了約 911,000 美元的營運虧損。根據預計，如果出售發生在年初，MIND 將會報告正的稅前收入，而不是我們報告的 120 萬美元的損失。這進一步證明了我們決定與客戶業務部門分道揚鑣、將注意力集中在其他業務上的依據。

As we've previously disclosed, consideration from the sale was $11.5 million in cash. We used a portion of these proceeds to repay the $3.75 million term loan from earlier this year. After transaction cost and the loan repayments, the net proceeds available to us amounted to about $7.3 million. An added benefit from the sale is the licensing arrangement and collaboration agreement with the buyer, General Oceans. This provides an important opportunity to realize value from our Spectral Ai software suite, which MIND retains. Through this arrangement, we hope to realize recurring licensing revenue while continuing to enhance Spectral Ai imported to applications beyond side scan sonar.

正如我們之前所披露的，此次出售的代價為 1150 萬美元現金。我們用這些收益的一部分來償還今年稍早的 375 萬美元定期貸款。扣除交易成本和貸款償還後，我們可獲得的淨收益約為 730 萬美元。此次出售的另一個好處是與買方 General Oceans 的授權安排和合作協議。這為實現 MIND 保留的 Spectral Ai 軟體套件的價值提供了重要機會。透過這種安排，我們希望實現經常性授權收入，同時繼續增強導入到側掃聲納以外的應用中的 Spectral AI。

Our second quarter results came in roughly in line with our expectations. Revenues dropped off a bit sequentially due to the scheduling of deliveries. That was largely anticipated. This activity is not unusual, and I'll remind you that revenues often fluctuate in our business from time to time for a variety of reasons that are often out of our control. We continue to believe that MIND is exceptionally well positioned to capitalize on the favorable market dynamics to achieve a sustainable top line improvement long term.

我們第二季的業績大致符合我們的預期。由於交貨時間安排，收入環比略有下降。這在很大程度上是預料之中的。這種活動並不罕見，我要提醒您的是，由於各種我們無法控制的原因，我們的業務收入經常會不時波動。我們仍然相信，MIND 處於非常有利的地位，能夠利用有利的市場動態，實現長期可持續的營收改善。

As of July 31, our backlog of firm orders for Seamap stood at $17 million. Subsequent to quarter end, we received additional orders totaling approximately $5.4 million. And we also have confidence that in coming weeks, we'll be in a position to announce additional sizable orders that we feel are imminent. These booked and pending orders involve a variety of products, including GunLink Source controllers, BuoyLink positioning systems and SeaLink streamer systems. We believe this continued positive backlog trend is indicative of the favorable market conditions and the differentiation of our Seamap product lines. We remain confident that this momentum will carry throughout the remainder of our fiscal 2024 and beyond.

截至 7 月 31 日，我們積壓的 Seamap 確定訂單已達 1,700 萬美元。季度末後，我們收到了總計約 540 萬美元的額外訂單。我們也有信心在未來幾週內，我們將能夠宣布我們認為迫在眉睫的額外大規模訂單。這些預訂和待處理訂單涉及多種產品，包括 GunLink Source 控制器、BuoyLink 定位系統和 SeaLink 拖纜系統。我們相信這種持續的積極積壓趨勢顯示了有利的市場條件和我們 Seamap 產品線的差異化。我們仍然相信，這種勢頭將持續到 2024 財年剩餘時間及以後。

We believe the current market environment is advantageous for MIND. Each of our 3 key markets, exploration, defense and survey, are loaded with opportunity. With our operations now streamlined and focused, we are better positioned than ever before to deploy our product lines into a variety of end markets, and our team continues to develop new and innovative ways to adapt and implement our technologies to meet the needs of our customers.

我們認為目前的市場環境對 MIND 有利。我們的 3 個主要市場（勘探、國防和勘探）都充滿機會。現在，我們的營運更加精簡和集中，我們比以往任何時候都更有能力將我們的產品線部署到各種終端市場，並且我們的團隊不斷開發新的創新方法來適應和實施我們的技術，以滿足客戶的需求。

In addition to traditional energy-related opportunities, we're seeing new alternative applications for the Seamap technologies, including offshore wind farms and other green energy projects. There's also a growing opportunity for MIND to provide seismic streamer repair services, not only for SeaLink streamers, but also for products manufactured by others. Within the maritime defense and security market, we continue to believe that our Sea Serpent passive array system, which is derived from our commercially developed SeaLink system, is a significant and economical solution for a variety of demanding applications within the space. We intend to continue leveraging the favorable macroeconomic trends, the differentiation and versatility of our product lines, and a sustained customer demand and interest that we're seeing to drive robust order activity and growth in our book of business in the near term.

除了傳統的能源相關機會外，我們還看到 Seamap 技術的新替代應用，包括離岸風電場和其他綠色能源項目。 MIND 提供地震拖纜維修服務的機會也越來越多，不僅針對 SeaLink 拖纜，也針對其他公司製造的產品。在海事防禦和安全市場中，我們仍然相信，我們的 Sea Serpent 被動陣列系統源自於我們商業開發的 SeaLink 系統，是適用於太空中各種要求苛刻的應用的重要且經濟的解決方案。我們打算繼續利用有利的宏觀經濟趨勢、我們產品線的差異化和多功能性以及持續的客戶需求和興趣，我們認為這些因素將在短期內推動強勁的訂單活動和業務成長。

Now I know many of you are interested in our plans regarding dividends on our preferred stock. On our liquidity position, it is much improved. We are continuing to evaluate the working capital requirements associated with our growing backlog of business. Accordingly, at this point, we have not made a decision regarding accrued or ongoing dividends. We will, of course, update you once any decisions are made.

現在我知道你們中的許多人對我們有關優先股股息的計劃感興趣。就我們的流動性狀況而言，情況有了很大改善。我們正在繼續評估與不斷增加的積壓業務相關的營運資金需求。因此，目前我們尚未就應計或持續股息做出決定。當然，一旦做出任何決定，我們都會向您通報最新情況。

As many of you are aware, we held our Annual Shareholder Meeting on August 30. Included on the agenda was the proposal for the approval of a reverse stock split that would enable us to regain compliance with the NASDAQ listing standards. Our shareholders approved this proposal. This was an important and necessary first step, and NASDAQ has granted us until November 15 to regain compliance with a minimum bid price requirement. We're now going through the internal mechanics of implementing the reverse split and will provide an update on the specific framework as things evolve.

正如你們許多人所知，我們於 8 月 30 日舉行了年度股東大會。議程中包括批准反向股票分割的提案，這將使我們能夠重新遵守納斯達克上市標準。我們的股東批准了這項提議。這是重要且必要的第一步，納斯達克已允許我們在 11 月 15 日之前重新遵守最低投標價格要求。我們現在正在研究實現反向分割的內部機制，並將隨著事情的發展提供特定框架的更新。

Now, I'll let Mark walk you through our second quarter financial results in a bit more detail before I come back.

現在，在我回來之前，我將讓馬克向您詳細介紹我們第二季的財務表現。

Thanks, Rob, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝羅布，大家早安。

As Rob mentioned earlier, revenues from continuing operations totaled approximately $8.8 million in the quarter, which was roughly in line with the revenues of $8.7 million in the same period a year ago. Our Seamap segment delivered revenue of approximately $7.6 million during the quarter, which we believe is largely indicative of the continued strength that we're seeing in the exploration and alternative energy markets. Gross profit during the second quarter was approximately $3.3 million, which was marginally down when compared to gross profit of $3.5 million in the prior year period. This represents a gross profit margin of 37% for the quarter, a 330 basis point decrease when compared to the same period a year ago.

正如 Rob 先前提到的，本季持續營運收入總計約為 880 萬美元，與去年同期的 870 萬美元收入大致持平。我們的 Seamap 部門在本季實現了約 760 萬美元的收入，我們認為這在很大程度上表明了我們在勘探和替代能源市場中看到的持續強勁勢頭。第二季的毛利約為330萬美元，與去年同期的毛利350萬美元相比略有下降。這意味著該季度的毛利率為 37%，與去年同期相比下降了 330 個基點。

Gross profit margins for the Seamap segment were up approximately 300 basis points year-over-year, while current period gross profit margins in the Klein segment declined significantly from the prior year period. Decline in gross profit margins for the Klein segment was due to sales of higher-margin multibeam sonar systems in the prior year period, not recurring in the second quarter of fiscal 2024. Our general and administrative expenses were approximately $3.5 million for the second quarter, which were down slightly when compared to the $3.9 million from the first quarter and $3.8 million for the same period a year ago. The improvement over the prior year period is mainly due to reductions in executive level headcount as well as other cost management initiatives that we've implemented. Our research and development expense for the second quarter was $842,000, which was up slightly both sequentially and when compared to the year ago period.

Seamap 業務的毛利率年增約 300 個基點，而 Klein 業務的本期毛利率較去年同期大幅下降。 Klein 部門毛利率下降的原因是去年期間銷售利潤率較高的多波束聲納系統，但在2024 財年第二季不再出現這種情況。我們第二季的一般和管理費用約為350 萬美元，與第一季的 390 萬美元和去年同期的 380 萬美元相比略有下降。與上年同期相比的改善主要是由於高階主管人員數量的減少以及我們實施的其他成本管理措施。我們第二季的研發費用為 842,000 美元，較上季和去年同期均略有成長。

Consistent with prior periods, these costs are largely directed towards our strategic initiatives, including synthetic aperture sonar and passive sonar array. Operating loss for the second quarter was approximately $1.5 million, which was essentially in line with a loss of approximately $1.6 million in the second quarter of 2023. Our second quarter adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $687,000 compared to a loss of approximately $1 million in the second quarter last year. As of July 31, 2023, we had working capital of approximately $13 million and cash of $494,000. After factoring in net proceeds from the client sale in August, our liquidity position has significantly improved. As Rob noted in his opening comments upon the closing of the Klein sale, we also repaid and eliminated our high-cost debt that we incurred earlier this year, and MIND is once again debt-free.

與前期一致，這些成本主要用於我們的策略舉措，包括合成孔徑聲納和被動聲納陣列。第二季營運虧損約為 150 萬美元，與 2023 年第二季約 160 萬美元的虧損基本一致。第二季調整後 EBITDA 虧損 687,000 美元，而去年同期虧損約 100 萬美元。去年第二季。截至 2023 年 7 月 31 日，我們的營運資金約為 1,300 萬美元，現金為 494,000 美元。考慮到八月客戶出售的淨收益後，我們的流動性狀況已顯著改善。正如 Rob 在 Klein 出售結束時的開場評論中指出的那樣，我們還償還並消除了今年早些時候產生的高成本債務，MIND 再次擺脫了債務。

I'll now pass it back over to Rob for some concluding comments.

現在我將把它傳回給 Rob 以獲得一些結論性意見。

Thanks, Mark.

謝謝，馬克。

We're more excited than ever for the future of MIND Technology. We've taken the necessary steps to streamline our operations, and as we sit here today, we are a more focused and efficient company. We think the opportunities for our Seamap unit are significant. The [coupling] of favorable market conditions and our differentiated and virtual product offerings is a recipe for long-term success. We're seeing greater customer interest and engagement and historical highs in order flow, which contributes to our high expectations for meaningful and sustained growth. We're confident that MIND is headed in the right direction. We look forward to building on the solid foundation that we've constructed to date. Our Seamap technologies continue to gain traction with customers globally for a variety of end uses, and our team has done a great job adapting our technologies to meet the evolving needs of our customers.

我們對 MIND Technology 的未來比以往任何時候都更加興奮。我們已經採取了必要的措施來簡化我們的運營，當我們今天坐在這裡時，我們是一家更專注和高效的公司。我們認為我們的 Seamap 部門的機會是巨大的。有利的市場條件與我們的差異化虛擬產品的[結合]是長期成功的秘訣。我們看到客戶的興趣和參與度越來越高，訂單流也創歷史新高，這讓我們對有意義和持續的成長抱有很高的期望。我們相信 MIND 正朝著正確的方向前進。我們期待在迄今為止所建立的堅實基礎上再接再厲。我們的 Seamap 技術不斷吸引全球客戶的各種最終用途，我們的團隊在調整我們的技術以滿足客戶不斷變化的需求方面做得非常出色。

As we look forward to the back half of the year and into fiscal 2025, we intend to capitalize on this positive momentum to drive improvements in our financials. We experienced this quarter and have traditionally seen, there will likely be revenue variation between quarters due to a variety of challenges and unforeseen circumstances as well as simple customer delivery requirements. With that said, we do believe that the general trend will be 1 of increased revenue. The favorable market trends, robust customer interest and growth of our backlog continues to give us confidence that sustainable higher level revenue is achievable. We've worked hard and taken the necessary steps to position MIND as a leading producer of differentiated marine technology products, and we're excited about what the future holds.

展望今年下半年和 2025 財年，我們打算利用這一積極勢頭來推動我們財務狀況的改善。我們經歷了本季度，並且傳統上看到，由於各種挑戰和不可預見的情況以及簡單的客戶交付要求，季度之間的收入可能會發生變化。話雖如此，我們確實相信總趨勢將是收入增加。有利的市場趨勢、強勁的客戶興趣以及我們積壓訂單的成長繼續讓我們有信心實現可持續的更高水平的收入。我們努力工作並採取了必要的措施，將 MIND 定位為差異化海洋技術產品的領先生產商，我們對未來感到興奮。

As of today, we're debt free. We have a much improved balance sheet and liquidity position. We intend to continue capitalizing on the favorable market conditions, strong customer interest and engagement and robust order flow to achieve improved results, which we believe will generate meaningful shareholder value going forward.

到今天為止，我們已經沒有債務了。我們的資產負債表和流動性狀況有了很大改善。我們打算繼續利用有利的市場條件、強烈的客戶興趣和參與度以及強勁的訂單流來實現更好的業績，我們相信這將在未來產生有意義的股東價值。

And with that, operator, we can now open the call for questions.

接線員，現在我們可以開始提問了。

We will now be conducting a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions)

我們現在將進行問答環節。 （操作員說明）

Our first question comes from the line of Tyson Bauer with KC Capital.

我們的第一個問題來自泰森鮑爾 (Tyson Bauer) 與 KC Capital 的對話。

Do you happen to have, just a bookkeeping question right off the bat, kind of the cash balance of where you were as of this morning or last night?

您是否碰巧有一個簿記問題，即您今天早上或昨晚的現金餘額？

I mean, yes. I'm not sure if I want to talk about that specifically. But again, if you look at where we were at the end of the quarter, $0.5 million or so, we've added $7 million or so from the sales, so that's going to give you a sense of magnitude.

我的意思是，是的。我不確定我是否想具體談談這一點。但同樣，如果你看看我們在季度末的情況，大約 50 萬美元，我們的銷售額增加了 700 萬美元左右，所以這會給你一種規模感。

Okay. And then have you had cash conversion? Obviously, you had some significant accounts receivable with the lower revenue, so I'm guessing just that timetable of converting those receivables to cash?

好的。然後你有現金轉換嗎？顯然，您有一些收入較低的重要應收帳款，所以我猜測將這些應收帳款轉換為現金的時間表？

Yes. I mean that -- we'll certainly continue to do that. But also remember, we have a large backlog that we are starting to build, so there's ongoing needs there as well. So this is a combination of things.

是的。我的意思是——我們肯定會繼續這樣做。但也要記住，我們有大量的積壓工作正在開始建設，所以那裡也有持續的需求。所以這是一個綜合因素。

Okay. If we look at the first 6 months in Seamap, approximately $18 million. You're talking about some kind of revenue growth as we go forward. I'm guessing you're basing that off that $18 million for Seamap. That would imply a lease of $36 million for the year, if you have any kind of growth between $36 million and $40 million depending on shipment timings and some other things that can throw a monkey wrench into that. But as of right now, is that kind of the view that you have, is between $36 million to $40 million of revenue?

好的。如果我們看一下 Seamap 的前 6 個月，大約是 1800 萬美元。你正在談論我們前進時的某種收入成長。我猜你是根據 Seamap 的 1800 萬美元來計算的。這意味著今年的租金為 3600 萬美元，如果你的增長在 3600 萬美元到 4000 萬美元之間，具體取決於發貨時間和其他一些可能會造成麻煩的因素。但截至目前，您的看法是，收入在 3,600 萬美元到 4,000 萬美元之間嗎？

Again, not wanting to get too specific, but I think again, as far as a sense of magnitude, you're headed in the right direction. I think the interesting thing is we have that history for the first 6 months that I think, more importantly, if you look at our backlog activity, it gives us visibility for the balance of the year and into next year as well, which is very important for lots of reasons.

再說一次，我不想說得太具體，但我再次認為，就規模感而言，你正朝著正確的方向前進。我認為有趣的是，我們在前6 個月都有這樣的歷史，我認為，更重要的是，如果你看看我們的積壓活動，它使我們能夠了解今年的餘額以及明年的情況，這非常重要出於很多原因很重要。

But you mentioned that the thing that we have to keep in mind is lots of things can happen that cause a particular shipment or 2 to slide from 1 way or another. So these -- some of these are sizable orders, a few million dollars. So it only takes 1 or 2 of those to have an impact. So just everyone needs to keep that in mind, but the general trend is not different from what you described.

但您提到，我們必須記住的事情是，可能會發生很多事情，導致某一批或兩批特定的貨物從一種或另一種方式滑落。所以這些——其中一些是相當大的訂單，幾百萬美元。因此，只需要其中的一兩個就能產生影響力。所以大家需要記住這一點，但整體趨勢和你描述的沒有什麼不同。

Okay. And the margins typically on Seamap, at least historically, have been closer to, on the growth side, what, 50-plus percent or 50% depending on what kind of capacity utilization and what kind of -- how many you're actually being able to produce and deliver?

好的。至少從歷史上看，Seamap 上的利潤率在成長方面更接近 50% 以上或 50%，具體取決於容量利用率的類型以及實際的容量利用率。能夠生產和交付嗎？

Yes. Maybe not quite that. I'd say in the high 40s, just kind of where we've seen things historically. We have a reasonable inflow or throughput to the operation.

是的。也許不完全是這樣。我想說的是 40 多歲，就像我們歷史上看到的那樣。我們的營運有合理的流入或吞吐量。

Since we do have visibility going forward, that gives us some opportunities, we think, to be a bit more aggressive in some of our procurement activities as well as in some of our production operations, so we're hopeful to be able to improve that somewhat. But it's really been in the high 40s historically.

由於我們確實有未來的可見性，這給了我們一些機會，我們認為，在我們的一些採購活動以及我們的一些生產運營中更加積極一些，所以我們希望能夠改進這一點。但從歷史上看，它確實在 40 多歲。

And you have been already previously talking about $1 million reduction in your corporate expenses and your G&A expenses even before you did the Klein. Would you anticipate some additional savings out of that as we go forward and whatever was allocated to Klein on those corporate? What are you anticipating now kind of as a go forward on those G&A expenses? And then a follow-up, your R&D, was that primarily related to Klein or what portion of...

甚至在您進行 Klein 之前，您之前就已經談論過將您的公司開支和 G&A 開支減少 100 萬美元。隨著我們的發展以及分配給克萊恩的這些公司的資金，您是否預計會從中節省一些額外費用？您現在預計這些一般及行政費用會怎樣？然後，你的研發，主要是與克萊恩或…的哪一部分相關。

Yes, not entirely. I tell -- I'm going to defer a little bit here. And when we file our 10-Q later today, we're including some pro forma financials in that 10-Q, which I think will give you some good visibility as to what the impact would have been. We alluded to it in our comments today, but I think that will give you some sense. But essentially, the client R&D goes away, which is a significant portion of our R&D. The direct Klein G&A goes away, and we also think there's some ongoing things we can do to continue to streamline the operation. I haven't quite quantified those yet. That's something we're looking to do to just make things a bit more efficient.

是的，不完全是。我告訴——我要推遲一點。今天晚些時候，當我們提交 10-Q 報告時，我們在 10-Q 報告中包含了一些預計財務數據，我認為這將使您更好地了解影響會產生什麼。我們在今天的評論中提到了這一點，但我認為這會給你一些意義。但本質上，客戶研發消失了，這是我們研發的重要部分。直接的 Klein G&A 消失了，我們也認為我們可以做一些持續的事情來繼續簡化營運。我還沒有完全量化這些。這就是我們希望做的事情，只是為了讓事情變得更有效率。

But again, look at the pro formas in the 10-Q, I think that will give you some good information.

但再次，看看 10-Q 中的準備考試，我認為這會給你一些很好的資訊。

And your interest expense goes away also?

你的利息費用也消失了嗎？

Yes. Absolutely, absolutely. Yes.

是的。絕對，絕對。是的。

And I guess what I'm leading you to is, and just doing the back of the napkin type of numbers, is should your directors choose to pay forward preferred dividends, the financial wherewithal is there. It may be tight initially, but obviously, you'll have the cash balance. You will have the financial wherewithal on ongoing financial operations to pay that if you decide to do so?

我想我要引導你們的是，只是做餐巾紙背面的數字，如果你們的董事選擇支付優先股股息，財務資金就在那裡。最初可能會很緊張，但顯然，你會有現金餘額。如果您決定這樣做，您將有足夠的資金來進行持續的財務運作嗎？

Yes. Again, we're just analyzing the overall situation and trying to understand how we can stabilize the ongoing overhead cost, but also what are the working capital requirements going to be to make sure we don't find ourselves in a position like we were a year ago and -- for a few months, and having to really get by on a shoestring. That's not what we want to do. That hurts the operation.

是的。再說一遍，我們只是在分析整體情況，並試圖了解如何穩定持續的間接費用，但也要了解營運資金要求是多少，以確保我們不會陷入像以前那樣的境地。一年前——幾個月來，不得不靠小本經營過日子。那不是我們想要做的。這對手術有傷害。

So certain things are much improved. Again, you're going to see from the pro formas what the numbers look like, so you can draw your own conclusion. So we're just going to take all that into consideration when we make our decisions.

所以某些事情有了很大的改善。同樣，您將從預估中看到數字是什麼樣的，這樣您就可以得出自己的結論。因此，我們在做出決定時會考慮所有這些因素。

Okay. And that decision likely we'll know in early October, which is the time that you have to decide whether to defer or to at least make that October payment on the preferred?

好的。我們可能會在 10 月初知道這項決定，屆時您必須決定是否推遲或至少支付優先股的 10 月份付款？

Yes, that's correct. That's right.

對，那是正確的。這是正確的。

Okay. And really, off the table right now is the accrued amount because we're not in that position to address that at the time being. So the decision is really whether or not we want to pay what is going forward and being current on the forward, and then at some point in the future, make a decision on what accrued, whether or not you can back pay?

好的。實際上，目前尚未討論應計金額，因為我們目前無法解決這個問題。因此，真正的決定是我們是否願意支付未來的費用以及當前的未來費用，然後在未來的某個時候，就應計費用做出決定，您是否可以償還？

Again, I don't want to comment on that, Tyson. We're -- it's all on the table right now. We're just going to look at the overall situation.

再說一次，我不想對此發表評論，泰森。我們——現在一切都擺在桌面上了。我們只是看看整體情況。

Okay. In your 10-K regarding the reverse split, it appears that even though it is until November 15, you will make a decision or a split, if it were to occur, would occur on the end of October, which the implication is if you have to have 10 days above $1, that would have to occur within the next 4 weeks. So...

好的。在您關於反向分割的 10-K 中，似乎即使要到 11 月 15 日，您仍將做出決定，或者拆分（如果要發生）將在 10 月底發生，這意味著如果您必須有10 天高於1 美元，這必須在接下來的4 週內發生。所以...

You're right about that.

你是對的。

The scenario is that we have a reverse split, 1 for 10, just throwing that out there because that was in the proxy, will occur or would likely occur at the end of October?

情況是，我們有一個反向分割，1 比 10，只是把它扔在那裡，因為它在代理中，會發生還是可能會在 10 月底發生？

That is not an unreasonable assumption.

這並不是一個不合理的假設。

Okay. Oil, $90. Heating oil dropped 40% since July. A lot of tailwinds are building that would be favorable for Seamap. And just to give the listeners a little sense, when your major competitor left the market a year ago, a lot of these decisions on whether or not you get a contract or not is whether the ultimate customer just wants to go ahead and place that order. It's not really a competitive situation where you're going against somebody else as we've seen in years past.

好的。石油，90 美元。取暖油自 7 月以來下跌了 40%。許多有利因素正在形成，這對 Seamap 來說是有利的。只是為了讓聽眾明白一點，當你的主要競爭對手一年前離開市場時，關於你是否獲得合約的許多決定都是最終客戶是否只想繼續下訂單。這並不是像我們過去幾年所看到的那樣，你要與其他人對抗的真正競爭局面。

Yes. As it relates to source controllers, that is definitely the case. We were pretty much the only game in town. We do have some competition for the positioning systems, BuoyLink, and we do have some competition for the streamer systems, but we are focused more on the high resolution, 3-dimensional applications used for survey purposes more than deepwater exploration. So we don't go head-to-head with the deepwater streamer systems.

是的。由於它涉及到來源控制器，情況確實如此。我們幾乎是城裡唯一的遊戲。我們確實在定位系統、BuoyLink 方面存在一些競爭，對於拖纜系統也確實存在一些競爭，但我們更關注用於測量目的的高解析度、3 維應用，而不是深水勘探。因此，我們不會與深水拖纜系統正面交鋒。

So we do have some competition there, but it's pretty thin. It's fair to say.

所以我們確實有一些競爭，但競爭很薄弱。可以說是公平的。

Okay. And yourself and Mark are not on the Board, correct?

好的。你和馬克都不在董事會，對嗎？

I'm on the Board. Mark is not.

我是董事會成員。馬克不是。

You're on the Board. The Board is going to ask for your recommendation, being the CEO, and the CFO's recommendation on outlook and financials. Are you willing to share what you would recommend even though that -- there's only 1 cog in the decision that the Board will make ultimately in regards to the preferred and going forward?

你是董事會成員。董事會將徵求您作為執行長的建議以及財務長對前景和財務狀況的建議。您是否願意分享您的建議，即使董事會最終就首選和未來做出的決定中只有 1 個齒輪？

Yes. No, I don't think we're going to comment on that. The Board as a whole will make that decision, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on that.

是的。不，我認為我們不會對此發表評論。整個董事會將做出該決定，因此我不宜對此發表評論。

Our next question comes from the line of Ross Taylor with ARS Investment Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自 ARS Investment Partners 的 Ross Taylor。

Always hard to follow Tyson since he asks all the good fundamental questions. So Rob, I'm just going to -- I'm going to voice some thoughts here. The preferred is actually pretty damn good paper. In fact, it's really good paper for you guys. And there's no way you can go into the marketplace. You paid off a term loan that was, what, [12.9], I think it was? This preferred is almost 400 bps under that. The fact that you guys and the Board might choose not to pay that off, every time you do that, I mean as an equity holder, I've sat here forever waiting for you guys to get it right. And you're close to getting it right, and I have this feeling you're about the snatch defeat from victory because what if I'm a preferred holder and I get 2 directors, the first thing I'm telling my directors to do, hire a banker.

泰森總是很難追隨他，因為他提出了所有好的基本問題。所以羅布，我要在這裡表達一些想法。首選實際上是非常好的紙張。事實上，這對你們來說確實是一篇很好的論文。而且你沒有辦法進入市場。你還清了一筆定期貸款，什麼，[12.9]，我認為是？該首選值比該值低近 400 bps。事實上，你們和董事會可能會選擇不還清這筆錢，每次你們這樣做時，我的意思是，作為股東，我永遠坐在這裡等待你們把事情做好。你快要做好了，我有這種感覺，你即將從勝利中奪取失敗，因為如果我是優先持有人並且我有兩名董事，我告訴我的董事要做的第一件事會怎樣，聘請銀行家。

And there's no way, even with your plans and your confidence, there is that hesitancy, and you hear in your comments, that makes it impossible for this Board to say no to any deal that, that banker found that would make the preferred holders hold and the equity holders walk away with next to nothing. And so it's important. Let's get that paper off the back of the common holders, it's just -- it's straightforward. It's -- you can't borrow at 9%. And in fact, you should get it going, and that paper is better than going to the bank. I mean eventually, you'll be able to go to the bank and probably borrow in the high single digits at this point in this environment. And it frustrates me, and I just -- I sense that the common holder is just going to be asked to hold a bag and you're going to do a reverse split, get the stock above $1.

即使有你的計劃和你的信心，也沒有辦法，你會在評論中聽到這種猶豫，這使得董事會不可能拒絕任何銀行家發現會使優先持有人持有的交易而股東們幾乎什麼也沒帶走。所以這很重要。讓我們把那張紙從普通持有者的背面拿下來，這很簡單。你不能以 9% 的利率借錢。事實上，你應該把它繼續下去，那張紙比去銀行更好。我的意思是，最終，在這種環境下，你將能夠去銀行並可能藉到高個位數的貸款。這讓我感到沮喪，我只是 - 我感覺普通持有人將被要求持有一個袋子，而你將進行反向分割，使股票價格高於 1 美元。

But in reality, that $8 million, $9 million in value that's attached to the common right now is basically there on the hope that you guys get this thing worked out with the preferred holders. So you are on the Board, and I've known you for a long time, and I know you're a good person and a smart person, and I can't believe that you and this Board are going to let this situation go where you defer the payment again because, as I said, I'm confident, Tyson is a smart guy, and I'm sure some of those preferred holders talk to Tyson. And I'm sure they're pretty confident that this company is worth somewhere between $26 million and $50 million or more. And if it's -- if they sell it at $50 million, the preferred holders walk away with everything, and you can't let that happen. Can you?

但實際上，現在附加在普通股上的 800 萬美元、900 萬美元的價值基本上是希望你們能與優先股持有者解決這個問題。所以你是董事會成員，我認識你很久了，我知道你是一個好人，一個聰明人，我不敢相信你和這個董事會會讓這種情況過去你再次推遲付款，因為正如我所說，我相信泰森是一個聰明的人，而且我確信其中一些優先持有人會與泰森交談。我確信他們非常有信心這家公司的價值在 2,600 萬美元到 5,000 萬美元之間，甚至更多。如果是的話——如果他們以 5000 萬美元的價格出售，優先持有者會帶走一切，你不能讓這種情況發生。你可以嗎？

Okay. Ross, I hear your comments and I take those into consideration. So I hear you.

好的。羅斯，我聽到了你的評論，我會考慮這些。所以我聽到你的聲音了。

Yes. Don't -- I mean, I got to be honest. I don't want to come back to a call having supported you guys for this long and have you guys basically have, for want of $1 million paid to the preferred holders, basically may told the equity holders that they don't have an asset. I waited too long. This has not been a successful investment for me, but we can still snatch victory from the jaws of [ignominy]. So let's do it.

是的。不要——我的意思是，我必須說實話。我不想再打電話給你們支持這麼久了，你們基本上已經擁有了，因為想要向優先股持有人支付 100 萬美元，基本上可能會告訴股東他們沒有資產。我等太久了。這對我來說並不是成功的投資，但我們仍然可以從[恥辱]的嘴裡奪取勝利。那麼就讓我們開始吧。

Okay. I appreciate it, Ross. Thanks. I really appreciate your comments.

好的。我很感激，羅斯。謝謝。我非常感謝您的評論。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our question-and-answer session. I'll turn the floor back to Mr. Capps for any final comments.

女士們先生們，我們的問答環節到此結束。我將把發言權交還給卡普斯先生，徵求最後的意見。

Okay. Thank you, Leslie. Thanks, everyone, for joining us today. I look forward to talking to you at the end of our next quarter. So everyone, have a good day. Thank you.

好的。謝謝你，萊斯利。謝謝大家今天加入我們。我期待在下個季度末與您交談。所以大家，祝大家有美好的一天。謝謝。

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

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。