(MVST) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to Microvast first-quarter 2023 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) The conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the conference over to Monica Gould, Investor Relations for Microvast. Please go ahead.

謝謝你的支持。這是會議接線員。歡迎來到 Microvast 2023 年第一季度財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）會議正在錄製中。 （操作員說明）我現在想將會議轉交給 Microvast 投資者關係部的 Monica Gould。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and thank you for joining us today. Joining me on today's call are Mr. Yang Wu, Founder Chairman, President, and CEO; Sascha Kelterborn, Chief Revenue Officer; and Craig Webster, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝接線員，也感謝您今天加入我們。與我一起參加今天電話會議的還有創始人董事長、總裁兼首席執行官楊武先生； Sascha Kelterborn，首席營收官；和首席財務官 Craig Webster。

Ahead of this call, Microvast issued its first-quarter 2023 earnings press release, which can be found on the Investor Relations section of the company's website at ir.microvast.com. In addition, we have posted a slide presentation to accompany management's prepared remarks.

在此電話會議之前，Microvast 發布了 2023 年第一季度收益新聞稿，可在公司網站 ir.microvast.com 的投資者關係部分找到。此外，我們還發布了一張幻燈片演示文稿，以配合管理層準備好的評論。

As a reminder, please note that we will be making forward-looking statements on this call. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and reflect our views only as of today. They should not be relied upon as representative of views as of any subsequent date, and we undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events.

提醒一下，請注意我們將在此次電話會議上發表前瞻性陳述。這些陳述基於當前的預期和假設，僅反映我們截至今日的觀點。不應依賴它們作為任何後續日期的觀點代表，並且我們沒有義務根據新信息或未來事件修改或公開發布對這些前瞻性陳述的任何修訂結果。

These statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. For further discussion of the material risks and other important factors that could affect our financial results, please refer to our filings with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 10-K filed on March 16, 2023, and the 10-Q filed earlier today.

這些陳述受各種風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與預期存在重大差異。有關可能影響我們財務業績的重大風險和其他重要因素的進一步討論，請參閱我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，包括我們於 2023 年 3 月 16 日提交的 10-K 表格年度報告和早些時候提交的 10-Q今天。

In addition, during today's call, we may discuss non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted gross profit, adjusted net loss, and adjusted EBITDA, which we believe are useful as supplemental measures of Microvast's performance.

此外，在今天的電話會議中，我們可能會討論非 GAAP 財務指標，包括調整後的毛利、調整後的淨虧損和調整後的 EBITDA，我們認為這些指標可作為 Microvast 業績的補充指標。

These non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to and not as a substitute for or in isolation from GAAP results. These non-GAAP measures have been reconciled to their most comparable GAAP metric in the tables included at the end of our press release. The webcast replay of this call will also be available on the Investor Relations section of our company website.

這些非 GAAP 措施應作為 GAAP 結果的補充，而不是替代或孤立於 GAAP 結果。這些非 GAAP 措施已與我們新聞稿末尾表格中最具可比性的 GAAP 指標進行了協調。本次電話會議的網絡直播重播也將在我們公司網站的投資者關係部分提供。

And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to Yang Wu for opening remarks.

說到這裡，我想把電話轉給楊武做開場白。

Thank you, Monica, and thank you all for joining us today. I would like to start off with a high-level overview of the quarter before providing some operational highlights. I will then turn the call over to Sascha Kelterborn, our Chief Revenue Officer, who will discuss some of our key wins in the quarter, followed by Craig Webster, our Chief Financial Officer, who will discuss our financials in more detail.

謝謝你，莫妮卡，感謝大家今天加入我們。在提供一些運營亮點之前，我想首先對該季度進行一個高級概述。然後我會將電話轉給我們的首席營收官 Sascha Kelterborn，他將討論我們在本季度取得的一些關鍵勝利，然後是我們的首席財務官 Craig Webster，他將更詳細地討論我們的財務狀況。

I will then address our outlook for Q2 and the full-year 2023 before opening the call up to your questions. Everyone, please turn to Slide 4 as I cover a few highlights from the first quarter. We posted 28.1% revenue growth in Q1 2023, delivering revenue of $47 million. This exceeded our expectations as our European commercial vehicle customers began initial production and as supply chain issues began to abate.

然後，在開始回答您的問題之前，我將討論我們對第二季度和 2023 年全年的展望。大家請翻到幻燈片 4，因為我介紹了第一季度的一些亮點。我們在 2023 年第一季度實現了 28.1% 的收入增長，實現了 4700 萬美元的收入。這超出了我們的預期，因為我們的歐洲商用車客戶開始了初始生產並且供應鏈問題開始緩解。

We achieved a double-digit gross margin with a more than 8 percentage point year-over-year increase. We ended the first quarter with a record backlog of $486.7 million, driving by a healthy order intake of $62.7 million, led by significant ramp in sales to European customers.

我們實現了兩位數的毛利率，同比增長超過 8 個百分點。第一季度結束時，我們以創紀錄的 4.867 億美元積壓訂單結束，這得益於 6270 萬美元的健康訂單接收，這主要得益於對歐洲客戶的銷售額大幅增長。

Our most significant achievement in Q1 was the completion of our Phase 3.1 expansion in Huzhou, China, which started the trial production of the 53.5-amp power cell. We continue to increase our production rate in line with delivery schedules provided by our customers, especially in the US and Europe.

我們在第一季度取得的最重大成就是在中國湖州完成了 3.1 期擴建，開始了 53.5 安培電池的試生產。我們繼續根據客戶提供的交貨時間表提高生產率，尤其是在美國和歐洲。

We estimate that this initial 2-gigawatt hour of cell module and pack capacity gives us that incremental $500 million in revenue potential. As you can see from our backlog numbers, there is already significant customer demand for our new product and over 50% of the full-year capacity at Huzhou is already contracted.

我們估計，最初的 2 吉瓦時電池模塊和電池組容量為我們帶來了 5 億美元的增量收入潛力。從我們的積壓訂單數量可以看出，客戶對我們新產品的需求已經很大，湖州全年產能的 50% 以上已經簽約。

We expect customer orders and deliveries to get increasingly strong as the year progresses and for that to be broad based across the US, Europe, China, and Asia Pacific regions. With the Huzhou expansion now completed, our remaining capacity expansion plans for the year are centered on our new US facility in Clarksville, Tennessee. This will initially have an annual capacity of 2 gigawatt hours. It is in full construction mode with start of production targeted for Q4 of this year.

我們預計，隨著時間的推移，客戶訂單和交付量將越來越強勁，並且遍及美國、歐洲、中國和亞太地區。隨著湖州擴建現已完成，我們今年剩餘的產能擴張計劃將集中在我們位於田納西州克拉克斯維爾的新美國工廠。這最初的年產能為 2 吉瓦時。它正處於全面建設模式，計劃於今年第四季度投產。

We would also like to provide a quick update on the Mexico ESS container assembly hub we mentioned on our Q4 2022 earnings call. We have leased a new facility in Mexicali, which is very close to the US border. And we are currently working on installing a container assembly line. We expect to ship -- to finish at 4.3-megawatt hour containers directly from our Mexicali facility starting in Q3 to customer project sites in the US with many of those being located in the southwest Sun Belt.

我們還想提供有關我們在 2022 年第四季度財報電話會議上提到的墨西哥 ESS 容器組裝中心的快速更新。我們在非常靠近美國邊境的墨西卡利租用了一個新設施。我們目前正在安裝一條集裝箱裝配線。我們預計從第三季度開始直接從我們的墨西卡利工廠運送 4.3 兆瓦時的集裝箱到美國的客戶項目現場，其中許多位於西南太陽帶。

I would now like to turn the call over to our Chief Revenue Officer, Sascha Kelterborn, who will discuss some of our key wins and achievements in the quarter.

我現在想把電話轉給我們的首席營收官 Sascha Kelterborn，他將討論我們在本季度的一些關鍵勝利和成就。

Thank you, Mr. Wu, and thank you for all joining us today. First, I would like to provide a little bit more color on our backlog. Our record, $486.7 million backlog includes orders from more than 80 customers representing a wide array of commercial vehicle platforms, many of which are or will be multi-year projects. Approximately 22% of our backlog is for European customers and 69% for US, including ESS projects. This gives us confidence that we will see significant growth in both regions over the coming quarters.

謝謝吳先生，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。首先，我想為我們的積壓工作提供更多顏色。我們創紀錄的 4.867 億美元積壓訂單包括來自 80 多個客戶的訂單，這些客戶代表廣泛的商用車平台，其中許多是或將是多年期項目。我們大約 22% 的積壓訂單用於歐洲客戶，69% 用於美國客戶，包括 ESS 項目。這使我們有信心在未來幾個季度看到這兩個地區的顯著增長。

Now please turn to Slide 7 as I cover a few highlights from the first quarter. Following our initial contract announcement in January of last year, we were very pleased to sign significant new orders with IVECO, one of our largest customers, for our new 53.5-ampere hour battery pack, which will power their new Crossway low-entry, city, and intercity bus platforms.

現在請轉到幻燈片 7，因為我介紹了第一季度的一些亮點。在我們於去年 1 月宣布最初的合同後，我們很高興與我們最大的客戶之一依維柯簽訂了重要的新訂單，購買我們的新 53.5 安時電池組，這將為他們的新 Crossway 低門檻城市提供動力和城際巴士站台。

Our high-energy density battery packs on the bus ranges from 400 to 466 kilowatt hours, depending on operators' mission requirements, and they set new standards in terms of energy density and charging capacity. Furthermore, it will provide the Crossway with up to 10 years of battery life.

我們在公交車上的高能量密度電池組從 400 到 466 千瓦時不等，具體取決於運營商的任務要求，它們在能量密度和充電容量方面樹立了新標準。此外，它將為 Crossway 提供長達 10 年的電池壽命。

We received an order for over 350 units of our 17.5-ampere hour battery pack from XCMG, a leading global OEM of construction equipment for their hybrid truck. We also received major orders from Gaussin for their US business, where we supply our new 53.5-hour battery packs to their full electric logistic vehicles.

我們從徐工集團收到了 350 多個 17.5 安時電池組的訂單，徐工集團是全球領先的混合動力卡車建築設備原始設備製造商。我們還收到了來自 Gaussin 的美國業務的大訂單，我們為他們的全電動物流車輛提供新的 53.5 小時電池組。

On the back of our announcement earlier this year was REE. We began SOP delivery of our 53.5-hour pack, which will power the company's full electric P7 skateboard platform. The P7 is the industry flattest EV platform, and it's suitable for applications such as commercial trucks, school buses, walk-in vans, and delivery box trucks.

在我們今年早些時候宣布的背後是 REE。我們開始 SOP 交付我們的 53.5 小時電池組，這將為公司的全電動 P7 滑板平台提供動力。 P7是業界最扁平的EV平台，適用於商用卡車、校車、步入式貨車、貨箱車等應用。

And lastly, we start SOP deliveries of our 21-ampere hour battery pack to CAMC, this Chinese leading heavy-duty truck OEM for their 49-ton tractor. Our initial order calls for the delivery of more than 50 system units. We continue to expect order volumes to increase over the course of 2023 as we ramp up production of our 53.5-ampere hour cells on our new fully automated line in Huzhou to meet customer commitments.

最後，我們開始向 CAMC 交付我們的 21 安培小時電池組，這家中國領先的重型卡車 OEM 用於其 49 噸拖拉機。我們的初始訂單要求交付 50 多個系統單元。我們繼續預計訂單量將在 2023 年期間增加，因為我們將在湖州新建的全自動生產線上提高 53.5 安培小時電池的產量，以滿足客戶的承諾。

Please turn to Slide 8, which highlights the significant growth in our European commercial vehicle business. Our European revenue almost tripled year over year in the first quarter and accounted to 22% of our total revenue, up from 7% of revenue a year ago. This growth was driven by the initial ramp of several customer projects, some of which I mentioned earlier and [aided] by an improving supply chain.

請轉到幻燈片 8，其中突出顯示了我們歐洲商用車業務的顯著增長。第一季度，我們在歐洲的收入幾乎同比增長兩倍，占我們總收入的 22%，高於一年前的 7%。這種增長是由幾個客戶項目的初始增長推動的，其中一些我之前提到過，並得到了改進供應鏈的[幫助]。

Going forward, we expect government-led initiatives such as European Green Deal, EU's plan to ban combustion engine vehicle sales by 2035, along with US IRA initiatives continuing to be a significant driver of electrification initiatives. For example, on the commercial vehicle side, a total of 27 governments have already pledged to achieve 100% zero-emission bus and truck sales by 2040.

展望未來，我們預計政府主導的舉措（例如歐洲綠色協議、歐盟計劃到 2035 年禁止內燃機汽車銷售）以及美國 IRA 舉措將繼續成為電氣化舉措的重要推動力。例如，在商用車方面，共有 27 個政府已經承諾到 2040 年實現 100% 零排放的公共汽車和卡車銷售。

With that, I will turn now the call over to Craig to review our financial performance.

有了這個，我現在將把電話轉給克雷格來審查我們的財務業績。

Thank you, Sascha. I'll spend the next few minutes discussing our Q1 2023 financial results. Please turn to slide 10, and I will summarize the main line items from our Q1 P&L. First off, we recorded our highest-ever Q1 revenue of $47 million, an increase of 28.1% from $36.7 million in Q1 2022. The year-over-year growth was primarily driven by increase in deliveries to our European customer base as Sascha just covered.

謝謝你，薩沙。接下來的幾分鐘，我將討論我們 2023 年第一季度的財務業績。請轉到幻燈片 10，我將總結第一季度損益表中的主要項目。首先，我們錄得有史以來最高的第一季度收入 4700 萬美元，比 2022 年第一季度的 3670 萬美元增長 28.1%。同比增長主要是由於 Sascha 剛剛提到的對歐洲客戶群交付量的增加.

Our gross margin rose to 10.3% in Q1 2023 compared to 0% in Q1 2022. After adjusting for non-cash settled share-based compensation expense in cost of sales, adjusted gross margin increased to 13.5% in Q1 2023 compared to 5.2% in Q1 2022, an 8.3 percentage point improvement. The increase in gross margin was largely due to production efficiencies, a more favorable product mix, and one-off service fees for R&D.

我們的毛利率從 2022 年第一季度的 0% 上升到 2023 年第一季度的 10.3%。在調整銷售成本中的非現金結算的基於股份的補償費用後，調整後的毛利率從 2023 年第一季度的 5.2% 上升到 2023 年第一季度的 13.5% 2022 年第一季度，提高 8.3 個百分點。毛利率的增長主要是由於生產效率、更有利的產品組合以及研發的一次性服務費。

Operating expenses were $36.2 million in Q1 2023 compared to $43.4 million in Q1 2022. Similar to previous quarter as the largest contributor to the decrease in operating expenses was the decline in our share-based compensation expense, which totaled $16.4 million in the quarter compared to $26.2 million in Q1 2022.

2023 年第一季度的運營費用為 3620 萬美元，而 2022 年第一季度為 4340 萬美元。與上一季度相似，運營費用減少的最大原因是我們的股權補償費用下降，與上一季度相比，該季度總計 1640 萬美元2022 年第一季度為 2620 萬美元。

After adjusting for non-cash SBC expense and SG&A, our adjusted operating expense in Q1 2023 was $19.8 million compared to $31.1 million in Q1 2022. GAAP net loss was $29.6 million in Q1 2023 compared to net loss of $43.8 million in Q1 2022. After adjusting for non-cash SBC expense and changes in fair value of our warrant liability, adjusted net loss was $11.7 million in Q1 2023 compared to an adjusted net loss of $29.1 million in Q1 2022.

在對非現金 SBC 費用和 SG&A 進行調整後，我們 2023 年第一季度的調整後運營費用為 1980 萬美元，而 2022 年第一季度為 3110 萬美元。2023 年第一季度的 GAAP 淨虧損為 2960 萬美元，而 2022 年第一季度為淨虧損 4380 萬美元。根據非現金 SBC 費用和我們認股權證負債的公允價值變化進行調整後，2023 年第一季度調整後淨虧損為 1170 萬美元，而 2022 年第一季度調整後淨虧損為 2910 萬美元。

You can see the impacts of these adjustments in Slide 11, and reconciliations of these non-GAAP metrics to the most comparable GAAP metrics are included in the tables at the end of our earnings press release.

您可以在幻燈片 11 中看到這些調整的影響，這些非 GAAP 指標與最具可比性的 GAAP 指標的對賬包含在我們的收益新聞稿末尾的表格中。

Slide 12 shows the geographic breakdown of our revenue for Q1 2023 compared to the prior-year period. As you can see, our European business showed a strong 270% year-over-year increase and accounted for 22% of our revenue, up from just 7% a year ago as our key customers began serial production of their vehicle.

幻燈片 12 顯示了我們 2023 年第一季度與去年同期相比收入的地域細分。如您所見，我們的歐洲業務同比增長 270%，占我們收入的 22%，高於一年前的 7%，因為我們的主要客戶開始批量生產他們的車輛。

As we outlined last quarter, a large percentage of our commercial vehicle backlog is from European customers for launching electrified models for the first time. We continue to expect volume growth in our European segment, especially for the 53.5-amp power cell as customers expand production.

正如我們在上個季度概述的那樣，我們商用車積壓訂單中的很大一部分來自歐洲客戶，他們是首次推出電動車型。隨著客戶擴大生產，我們繼續預計歐洲市場的銷量增長，尤其是 53.5 安培電池。

Our US revenue increased 52% year over year. We continue to expect US revenue to rise this year as we begin deliveries on our 1.2-gigawatt hour ESS project in the second half of the year. In 2024 and beyond, we expect US revenue growth to remain strong as we begin to meet opportunities in the US market from our Clarksville facility.

我們在美國的收入同比增長 52%。隨著我們在今年下半年開始交付 1.2 吉瓦時的 ESS 項目，我們繼續預計今年美國的收入會增加。在 2024 年及以後，我們預計美國收入增長將保持強勁，因為我們開始從我們的克拉克斯維爾工廠迎接美國市場的機會。

Once online, we expect Clarksville to have high-capacity utilization based on current and anticipated orders. We should be in a position sooner rather than later this year, where we will need to start planning for additional capacity. As you know, our investment decisions to further expand capacity are always predicated on confirmed customer orders.

一旦上線，我們預計 Clarksville 將根據當前和預期的訂單實現高產能利用率。我們應該在今年儘早而不是晚些時候，我們將需要開始規劃額外的產能。如您所知，我們進一步擴大產能的投資決策始終基於已確認的客戶訂單。

Turning to Slide 13, we ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalent, restricted cash, and short-term investments of $285.8 million. Net cash used in operating activities during the quarter was $11.2 million, which was primarily due to our operating loss.

轉到幻燈片 13，我們在本季度結束時擁有 2.858 億美元的現金、現金等價物、受限現金和短期投資。本季度用於經營活動的淨現金為 1120 萬美元，這主要是由於我們的經營虧損。

Negative free cash flow of $47.1 million was mostly as a result of our CapEx spend on Huzhou 3.1 and [Clarksville 1.8] in Q1 2023, which totaled $31.4 million. We also had capital expenditures totaling $4.5 million for improvements to our existing facilities and ongoing R&D projects.

4710 萬美元的負自由現金流主要是由於我們在 2023 年第一季度在湖州 3.1 和 [Clarksville 1.8] 上的資本支出支出總額為 3140 萬美元。我們還有總計 450 萬美元的資本支出，用於改進我們現有的設施和正在進行的研發項目。

With Huzhou 3.1 now completed, we will be drawing down on the remaining balance of around $67 million from our project finance facilities to meet final milestone payments to our contractors and equipment suppliers. We believe that all remaining payments will be satisfied from that facility.

隨著湖州 3.1 現已竣工，我們將從項目融資設施中提取約 6700 萬美元的餘額，以支付給承包商和設備供應商的最終里程碑付款。我們相信所有剩餘的付款都將從該設施中得到滿足。

We closed the quarter with record backlog of $486.7 million, up from $410.5 million in the fourth quarter. The 19% sequential growth in our backlog was driven by commercial vehicle projects in Europe. This once again underpins our strong conviction in our full-year guidance and our belief that 2023 is just the start of a number of high-growth years for Microvast.

我們以創紀錄的 4.867 億美元積壓結束了本季度，高於第四季度的 4.105 億美元。我們積壓訂單的連續增長 19% 是由歐洲的商用車項目推動的。這再次鞏固了我們對全年指引的堅定信念，以及我們相信 2023 年只是 Microvast 多個高增長年份的開始。

This sales growth is already allowing us to access more financing options. In Q1, we added a $17 million credit line, $9.5 million of which remains undrawn. As sales continue to increase quarter over quarter, we expect to add additional working-capital credit line, and our current estimate is that we would add a further $20 million to $30 million by the end of Q2.

這種銷售增長已經使我們能夠獲得更多的融資選擇。在第一季度，我們增加了 1700 萬美元的信貸額度，其中 950 萬美元尚未提取。隨著銷售額繼續逐季增長，我們預計將增加額外的營運資金信貸額度，我們目前的估計是到第二季度末我們將再增加 2000 萬至 3000 萬美元。

Looking ahead, we estimate our full-year capital expenditures will remain in the range of $180 million to $210 million and will primarily be used for ongoing construction in Clarksville. As we have mentioned before, we believe Clarksville can easily support some modest debt financing. The growth in backlog, the additional margin and cash flow uplift from IRA, and our proven experience in bringing online capacity will clearly resonate with lenders.

展望未來，我們估計全年資本支出將保持在 1.8 億美元至 2.1 億美元之間，並將主要用於克拉克斯維爾正在進行的建設。正如我們之前提到的，我們相信克拉克斯維爾可以輕鬆支持一些適度的債務融資。積壓的增長、來自 IRA 的額外利潤和現金流的提升，以及我們在提供在線能力方面的成熟經驗，顯然會引起貸方的共鳴。

With that, I will turn it back over to Mr. Wu to review our outlook.

有了這個，我會把它轉回給吳先生來回顧我們的前景。

Thanks, Craig. Please turn to Slide 15. As a result of our outperformance in the first quarter, we are raising our annual revenue guidance for the full year from a range of $336 million to $358 million, representing year-over-year revenue growth, 65% to 75%, to a range of $348 million to $368 million, reflecting growth of 70% to 80%.

謝謝，克雷格。請轉到幻燈片 15。由於我們在第一季度的出色表現，我們將全年的年度收入指導從 3.36 億美元提高到 3.58 億美元，這意味著收入同比增長 65% 至75%，介於 3.48 億美元至 3.68 億美元之間，反映了 70% 至 80% 的增長。

For the second quarter, we expect the revenue to be in the range of $63 million to $67 million, up slightly from Q2 a year ago at the midpoint, driven by the continued ramp of our European commercial vehicle projects as well as orders from customers in Asia Pacific.

對於第二季度，我們預計收入將在 6300 萬美元至 6700 萬美元之間，較去年第二季度的中點略有增長，這主要得益於我們歐洲商用車項目的持續增長以及來自客戶的訂單亞太地區。

With a strong and a growing backlog, we continue to have good visibility into 2023, driven by European commercial vehicle projects entering the production phase and the ramp up for our energy storage business. We are seeing strong demand for our products globally and expect that our momentum will continue as customer volumes ramps throughout the year and beyond.

由於積壓量很大且不斷增加，在歐洲商用車項目進入生產階段以及我們的儲能業務增長的推動下，我們對 2023 年繼續保持良好的預見性。我們看到全球對我們產品的強勁需求，並預計隨著全年及以後客戶數量的增加，我們的勢頭將持續下去。

On last quarter's call, I noted that execution will remain critical to our ability to achieve our targets. We are very pleased with the progress we made in the first quarter, accelerating both revenue and backlog growth, completing our capacity expansion project in Huzhou, and in driving substantial gross margin improvement.

在上個季度的電話會議上，我指出，執行對於我們實現目標的能力仍然至關重要。我們對第一季度取得的進展感到非常高興，收入和積壓訂單的增長都在加快，完成了我們在湖州的產能擴張項目，並推動了毛利率的大幅提高。

We continue to expect that the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to be important legislation, advancing clean-energy initiatives and helping our reduced carbon emissions in the US while creating even more exciting direct and indirect business opportunities for Microvast going forward.

我們繼續期望 2022 年的通貨膨脹減少法案成為重要的立法，推進清潔能源計劃並幫助我們減少美國的碳排放，同時為 Microvast 創造更多令人興奮的直接和間接商業機會。

Our global Microvast team, our focused-oriented culture, and our ability to execute has been and will be a comparative advantage of Microvast, and I would like to personally thank the Microvast team for their tireless work and commitment to our mission before turning the call back over to the operator to start the Q&A session.

我們的全球 Microvast 團隊、我們以專注為導向的文化以及我們的執行能力已經並將成為 Microvast 的比較優勢，我個人要感謝 Microvast 團隊在接聽電話之前所做的不懈努力和對我們使命的承諾回到接線員處開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Colin Rusch, Oppenheimer.

（操作員說明）Colin Rusch，Oppenheimer。

Thanks so much, guys, and congrats on the gross margin improvement here. I wanted to dig into that just another layer deeper. Can you talk a little bit about the yield trends you're seeing on the capacity as you ramp up the 53.5-amp hour cells and your ability to drive some incremental margin as you get up to some of the higher revenue levels?

非常感謝，伙計們，並祝賀這裡的毛利率有所提高。我想深入研究另一層。你能談談你在增加 53.5 安培小時電池時看到的產量趨勢，以及你在達到一些更高的收入水平時推動一些增量利潤的能力嗎？

Craig, do you want to answer this question, or do you want me to answer this question?

克雷格，你是想回答這個問題，還是想讓我回答這個問題？

I'll take it. Colin, good to hear your voice. Yes, what we're expecting to see later in the year as we move from Q1 was not fully automated production lines. We were not getting big volume discounts on 53.5. So as we move forward in later into the year, we're going to be producing off -- this is a fully automated line, volume discounts, high utilization. And we expect that to feed through to gross margin improvement, particularly Q3, Q4 because that's when the production schedules have gotten customers really kick in this year.

我要買它。科林，很高興聽到你的聲音。是的，我們期望在今年晚些時候從第一季度開始看到的不是完全自動化的生產線。我們沒有在 53.5 上獲得大量折扣。因此，隨著我們進入今年晚些時候，我們將開始生產——這是一條全自動生產線，批量折扣，高利用率。我們預計這將促進毛利率的提高，尤其是第三季度、第四季度，因為那是今年客戶真正開始關註生產計劃的時候。

Excellent. And then, with the US facility, can you talk a little bit about equipment procurement and any sort of headwinds or progress that you're making in terms of buying that equipment and getting it into the country?

出色的。然後，對於美國工廠，您能否談談設備採購以及您在購買該設備並將其運往該國方面所取得的任何逆風或進展？

Thanks, Colin. This is -- I can answer this question. The US facility actually is 100% a mirror with China, the equipment, the same supplier, same system, just the different certification. US require UL certification. And that's why you we're slightly behind of China equipment installation.

謝謝，科林。這是——我可以回答這個問題。美國工廠實際上是中國的 100% 鏡像，設備，相同的供應商，相同的系統，只是不同的認證。美國需要UL認證。這就是為什麼我們在中國設備安裝方面略微落後。

And with the maturity of China-side operation experiencing installation experience, we overcome all the problems in China, and we think the US is going to be much smoother. And also, we send the US crude to China for the operation and the installation training as well. That's why I expect US is going to be much, much smoother, and we're still on the track -- on the plan to build this factory before end of this year. That's our plan. It still remains.

而隨著中方操作體驗安裝經驗的成熟，我們克服了中國的所有問題，我們認為美國會順利很多。此外，我們還將美國原油運往中國進行操作和安裝培訓。這就是為什麼我預計美國會更加順利，而且我們仍在軌道上——計劃在今年年底之前建造這家工廠。那是我們的計劃。它仍然存在。

Excellent. And then just a final one on the sales process, it's great to have the backlog number out here, and I appreciate that. But I'm curious about your ability to move customers through the sales pipeline and close incremental POs for the balance of this year.

出色的。然後是關於銷售流程的最後一個，很高興在這裡有積壓數量，我很感激。但我很好奇您在今年餘下時間通過銷售渠道吸引客戶並關閉增量 PO 的能力。

I assume some of that backlog is for 2024, but I just want to get a sense of how much book-and-ship business you've got and how those customers are moving through the pipeline.

我假設其中一些積壓訂單是針對 2024 年的，但我只想了解您擁有多少預訂和發貨業務，以及這些客戶如何通過管道移動。

Yes --

是的 -

Can I take this question?

我可以接受這個問題嗎？

Okay.

好的。

Okay. Well, Colin, great to hear you. Generally speaking, the backlog we have is probably for 2023, 2024. And mainly, we will -- we have ongoing tests, ongoing customer's testing of new battery solutions. So -- and they will be in -- there will be backlog increases within this year for sure.

好的。好吧，科林，很高興聽到你的聲音。一般來說，我們的積壓訂單可能是 2023 年、2024 年。主要是，我們將進行持續測試，持續進行客戶對新電池解決方案的測試。所以 - 他們將會 - 今年肯定會有積壓增加。

So we started with a lot of testing already in 2022, if you -- as you probably remember, and we did have to go to a certain test sometimes by bigger customers through summer and winter test. And this will show effects in Q3 and Q4 for sure on the backlog side.

所以我們已經在 2022 年開始進行大量測試，如果你——你可能還記得，我們有時確實必須通過夏季和冬季測試由更大的客戶進行某些測試。這肯定會在第 3 季度和第 4 季度顯示積壓方面的影響。

Thanks very much.

非常感謝。

Amit Dayal, H.C. Wainwright.

Amit Dayal, H.C.溫賴特。

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. Good to see the execution come through. Just on the CapEx, guys, is this $35 million primarily targeting towards the Clarksville facility?

謝謝，大家下午好。很高興看到執行通過。就資本支出而言，伙計們，這 3500 萬美元是否主要用於克拉克斯維爾工廠？

Amit, that's right. I mean, all the spend going forward now is Clarksville. So as you saw in the slides, Huzhou was done. We've got remaining milestone payments to contractors, but they will get funded from the undrawn facility. And then, what's really good about Clarksville is the level of engagement that we're getting from customers, which you're seeing feed through into that backlog increase.

阿米特，沒錯。我的意思是，現在所有的支出都在克拉克斯維爾。所以正如你在幻燈片中看到的那樣，湖州完蛋了。我們已經向承包商支付了剩餘的里程碑付款，但他們將從未提取的貸款中獲得資金。然後，Clarksville 真正好的地方在於我們從客戶那裡獲得的參與度，您看到這會影響到積壓的增加。

And then, in terms of lenders, there's a lot of lender interest because what we're proving out is that we can grow the backlog. The backlog in the US gets the IRA credits and the benefit of them actually seeing that we're experienced at this.

然後，就貸方而言，有很多貸方的興趣，因為我們正在證明的是我們可以增加積壓。美國的積壓工作獲得了 IRA 信貸，他們實際上看到我們在這方面有經驗。

So we closed the Huzhou capacity expansion. And per Colin's question on equipment, it's the exact same equipment coming into the US, which we've just shown that we can bring it to ramp phase. So it's very de-risked, and it puts us in a really strong position [to close] the [quarter] in the close of the year.

所以我們關閉了湖州產能擴張。根據科林關於設備的問題，這是進入美國的完全相同的設備，我們剛剛展示了我們可以將其帶入斜坡階段。因此，它的風險非常低，這使我們處於非常有利的地位，可以在年底 [關閉] [季度]。

We had a cash balance. We're really raising capital on the [debt side] of the balance sheet. We don't have be in the equity market, and we're able to do that because we're clearly growing revenues and growing backlog this year.

我們有現金餘額。我們實際上是在資產負債表的[債務方面]籌集資金。我們沒有進入股票市場，但我們能夠做到這一點，因為今年我們的收入明顯增加，積壓的訂單也在增加。

Thank you for that. (Technical difficulty) capacity in China? (Technical difficulty)

謝謝你。 （技術難度）中國產能？ （技術難度）

Amit, you're breaking up. Can you repeat the question?

阿米特，你要分手了。你能重複這個問題嗎？

(Technical difficulty)

（技術難度）

No, the line is not good. I can't --

不，線路不好。我不能——

This is the conference operator. Mr. Dayal, I assume you're on a cellphone. Maybe you can get to a window or a clear line of sight and try again?

這是會議接線員。 Dayal 先生，我猜你在用手機。也許你可以走到窗戶或視線清晰的地方再試一次？

Operator, is there anyone else ready for a question?

接線員，還有其他人準備好提問嗎？

I think we've missed Mr. Dayal.

我想我們錯過了 Dayal 先生。

Hi, this is Cassidy from the Investor Relations team. We've gotten some questions that I can pose in the meanwhile, while we wait for him to come back.

嗨，我是投資者關係團隊的卡西迪。在我們等待他回來的同時，我們已經得到了一些我可以提出的問題。

The first is, beyond ESS, what commercial vehicle projects do you have in the US, and when should we expect them to begin to ramp?

首先是，除了 ESS，您在美國有哪些商用車項目，我們應該期望它們什麼時候開始量產？

Cassidy, that's a great question which came from the audience. So generally speaking, we have a couple of upcoming commercial vehicle and special vehicle projects, which are coming, as I mentioned already to Colin, mainly in Q3 and Q4. We are still under NDA, but we think that we will be able to disclose quite soon also the project names with our customer together.

卡西迪，聽眾提出了一個很好的問題。所以總的來說，我們有幾個即將到來的商用車和特種車輛項目，正如我已經向科林提到的那樣，主要是在第三季度和第四季度。我們仍在保密協議中，但我們認為我們很快就能與我們的客戶一起披露項目名稱。

Perfect. And one more that we have received is, can you talk us through what the competitive market is for your 53.5-amp power cell, and where are the competitors versus you in the process of ramp up?

完美的。我們收到的另一個問題是，您能否告訴我們您的 53.5 安培電池的競爭市場是什麼，以及在提升過程中與您相比競爭對手在哪裡？

I can answer this question. The 53.5-amp power cell is dedicated to the commercial vehicle when we designed this, and we developed for over three years. They take a very long time to test and certify this battery. This battery gets to much-longer lifespan. And like a cycle life, this battery is 2 to 3 times longer than the competitors' battery. And it still very remains the very high-energy density to power the commercial vehicle.

我可以回答這個問題。 53.5安培的動力電池，我們設計這個的時候是商用車專用的，我們研發了三年多。他們需要很長時間來測試和認證這種電池。這種電池的使用壽命更長。和循環壽命一樣，這款電池比競爭對手的電池長 2 到 3 倍。它仍然非常高的能量密度為商用車提供動力。

Commercial vehicle needs much longer-life battery, everybody knows it, compared with the passenger car, like 3 times longer distance to drive. That's why this battery is dedicated -- we use this battery to -- [yes], this project, same battery, same module. And it's going to give the system much longer life, which give the much better -- the total investment return.

商用車需要更長壽命的電池，眾所周知，與乘用車相比，行駛距離要長3倍。這就是為什麼這個電池是專用的——我們用這個電池——[是的]，這個項目，同樣的電池，同樣的模塊。而且它會給系統帶來更長的壽命，從而帶來更好的——總投資回報。

Compared with that with competitors, we haven't seen which competitor reached to our performance. We haven't seen it.

與競爭對手相比，我們還沒有看到哪個競爭對手達到了我們的表現。我們還沒有看到它。

Perfect. Thank you, and I'll turn it back to the operator.

完美的。謝謝，我會把它轉回給接線員。

(Operator Instructions) And seeing no further questions, I'll turn it back to Mr. Wu for closing comments.

（操作員說明）看到沒有其他問題，我會把它轉回吳先生以徵求結束意見。

Okay. Thank you all for joining today's meeting. I wish everybody have a good day and a good night, good dream. Thank you.

好的。感謝大家參加今天的會議。我希望每個人都有一個美好的一天，一個美好的夜晚，好夢。謝謝。

That concludes the conference call. Thank you for joining, and have a pleasant evening.

電話會議到此結束。感謝您的加入，祝您度過一個愉快的夜晚。