Rocket Lab Corp (RKLB) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Adam, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I'd like to welcome everyone to the Rocket Lab Q2 2023 Earnings Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session.(Operator Instructions) I'd now like to turn the call over to Colin Canfield, Investor Relations Manager. Please go ahead.

感謝您的耐心等待。我叫亞當，今天將擔任您的會議主持人。現在，我歡迎大家參加 Rocket Lab 2023 年第二季財報電話會議。所有線路已靜音，以防止任何背景噪音。演講者發言結束後，將進行問答環節。 （接線員指示）現在，我想將電話轉給投資者關係經理科林·坎菲爾德。請開始。

Thank you, Adam. Hello, everyone. We're glad to have you join us today for today's conference call to discuss Rocket Lab's Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results. Before we begin the call, I'd like to remind you that our remarks may contain forward-looking statements that relate to the future performance of the company, and these statements are intended to qualify for the safe harbor protection from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.

謝謝，亞當。大家好。很高興您今天能參加我們的電話會議，討論 Rocket Lab 2023 年第二季的財務表現。在開始電話會議之前，我想提醒您，我們的評論可能包含與公司未來業績相關的前瞻性陳述，這些陳述旨在符合《私人證券訴訟改革法案》規定的安全港責任保護規定。

Any such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and factors that could influence our results are highlighted in today's press release, and others are contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such statements are based upon information available to the company as of the date hereof and are subject to change for future developments. Except as required by law, the company does not undertake any obligation to update these statements.

任何此類聲明均不構成對未來業績的保證，可能影響我們業績的因素已在今天的新聞稿中重點提及，其他因素則載於我們提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中。此類聲明基於本公司截至本新聞稿發布之日掌握的信息，並可能因未來發展而發生變化。除法律要求外，本公司不承擔更新這些聲明的任何義務。

Our remarks and press release today may also contain non-GAAP financial measures with the meaning of Regulation G enacted by the SEC. Included in such release and our supplemental materials are reconciliations of these historical non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. This call is also being webcast. Although due to technical difficulties with our conference call provider, we will post a copy of the presentation on our website at a later time.

我們今天的發言和新聞稿可能包含美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 頒布的 G 條例所定義的非公認會計準則 (non-GAAP) 財務指標。本新聞稿和我們的補充資料中包含這些歷史非公認會計準則 (non-GAAP) 財務指標與根據公認會計準則 (GAAP) 計算的可比較財務指標的對帳表。本次電話會議也將進行網路直播。由於我們的電話會議服務提供者出現技術故障，我們將稍後在網站上發布簡報的副本。

Our presenters today are Rocket Lab Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Beck; and Chief Financial Officer, Adam Spice. After our prepared comments, we will take questions. And now let me turn the call over to Mr. Beck.

今天的主持人是 Rocket Lab 創辦人兼執行長 Peter Beck 和財務長 Adam Spice。在我們準備好的發言之後，我們將回答提問。現在，請 Beck 先生發言。

Thanks very much, Colin, and welcome, everybody, and thank you for joining us. Today's presentation will go over our key business accomplishments for the second quarter of 2023 as well as further achievements we've made since the end of the quarter. Adam will then take us through our financial results for the second quarter before covering the financial outlook for Q3 2023. After that, we'll take questions and finish today's call with the nearer-term conferences will be attending.

非常感謝，科林，歡迎大家，感謝你們的參與。今天的演講將回顧我們在2023年第二季度取得的關鍵業務成就，以及自本季末以來的進一步成就。亞當將為我們介紹第二季的財務業績，並展望2023年第三季的財務前景。之後，我們將回答大家的提問，並在今天的電話會議結束時，介紹近期將要參加的會議。

All right, on to what we achieved in the second quarter for the year. Starting with our launch business. In May, we successfully launched both NASA Tropic missions. And in June, we launched our inaugural Hypersonics mission from NASA. NASA selected us to launch Tropic in November late last year after the initial launch provider was enabled to meet the mission and schedule requirements. Within 6 months of the contract award, we had successfully launched both missions, enabling these critical store monitoring satellites to get into orbit and time for the hurricane season. We're incredibly proud to deliver mission success for NASA once again and further demonstrate the reliability and proven capability that Elektron delivers to our civil and defense customers.

好的，接下來我們來談談我們今年第二季所取得的成就。首先是我們的發射業務。今年5月，我們成功發射了NASA的兩次Tropic任務。 6月，我們發射了NASA的首個高超音速任務。在最初的發射供應商能夠滿足任務和進度要求後，NASA在去年11月選擇我們發射Tropic任務。在合約授予後的6個月內，我們成功發射了兩次任務，使這些關鍵的儲存監測衛星能夠進入軌道，並及時趕上颶風季節。我們非常自豪能夠再次為NASA成功完成任務，並進一步證明了Elektron為民用和國防客戶提供的可靠性和久經考驗的性能。

We also followed up the 2 Tropic missions with a successful haste mission, paced as our hypersonic suborbital testbed variant electron, and it fills a very real and urgent need for our government customers. The acceleration of hypersonic system technology development is a significant national priority, but testing opportunities remain limited, particularly in real flight scenarios beyond wind tunnels. With the taste launch completed in June from LCI and Wallops, Virginia, we unlocked a new critical national capability, enabling rapid and cost-effective hypersonic testing. We're incredibly excited about what that brings for our customers as well as the additional total addressable market that looks to grow rapidly ahead of strategic and civil needs.

在兩次「熱帶」任務之後，我們也成功地進行了一次快速任務，作為我們高超音速亞軌道試驗平台的電子版本，它滿足了我們政府客戶非常現實和迫切的需求。加速高超音速系統技術發展是國家的重要優先事項，但測試機會仍然有限，尤其是在風洞之外的真實飛行場景中。隨著6月在LCI和維吉尼亞州瓦洛普斯完成試射，我們解鎖了一項新的、至關重要的國家能力，從而能夠快速且經濟高效地進行高超音速測試。我們對這將為我們的客戶帶來什麼以及額外的潛在市場感到無比興奮，該市場預計將在戰略和民用需求之前快速成長。

All this while leveraging our existing electric architecture and continued R&D investment in our kick-stage capabilities. Expanded propulsion manufacturing capability. So we're also excited about our acquisition of Virgin Orbit's 144,000 square foot Long Beach facility leased production lease and production equipment, which were already hard work configuring for our committees and Rutherford production. Overall, we estimate that the $16.1 million price paid for this would have represented around $100 million of value versus having to purchase new while approximately $80 million derived from acquired machinery and equipment and the remaining $20 million from the tenant leasehold improvements. We believe this asset purchase enables significant savings for Neutron and supports future scaling as we work toward the first launch.

所有這些都充分利用了我們現有的電力架構，並持續投入研發力量，提升了推進器製造能力。此外，我們也對收購維珍軌道公司位於長灘、佔地14.4萬平方英尺的設施感到興奮，這些設施租賃的生產設備，對於我們的委員會和盧瑟福火箭的生產來說，配置這些設備已經是一項艱鉅的任務。整體而言，我們估計，這筆1,610萬美元的收購價格，其價值約為1億美元，而購買新設備的成本約為8,000萬美元，其中約2,000萬美元來自購置的機器設備，其餘2,000萬美元來自租戶租賃物業的改良。我們相信，這項資產收購將為中子星公司節省大量成本，並支持我們未來在首次發射過程中的規模擴張。

Neutron testing. Speaking of Neutron, we want to highlight some of the major development testing and construction milestones we've reached for Neutron and its infrastructure. You may have noticed we recently released some updated renders for Neutron, which created some online buzz around design changes. These include adapted landing legs for optimized per barge lending to increase launch availability as well as the adoption of Neutron's hungry hippo faring from 4 sections to 2, allowing the simple mechanism.

中子測試。說到中子，我們想重點介紹一下我們在中子及其基礎設施方面取得的一些重大開發測試和建設里程碑。您可能已經注意到，我們最近發布了一些中子更新的渲染圖，這些設計變更在網路上引起了一些熱議。這些變更包括：改進的登陸支架，優化了每艘駁船的出借量，以提高發射可用性；以及將中子「飢餓河馬」式船體從4節減少到2節，從而簡化了機制。

These design changes were actually made some months ago as part of our testing analysis program and some direct-to-customer feedback. But the artwork really just hasn't kept up with pace with the real vehicle. So we have recently updated these for everybody to see. We've had some significant milestones in Neutron production and in testing in this quarter, including completion of the second stage qualification tank and testing in preparation for the cryogenic test campaign in the third quarter. This work is progressing at pace, thanks to our extensive experience with carbon composites throughout the Electron program, so we have a strong head start on structures.

這些設計變更實際上是幾個月前根據測試分析計劃和一些直接面向客戶的回饋做出的。但設計圖確實跟不上實車的步伐。所以我們最近更新了這些圖，供大家查看。本季度，我們在中子號火箭的生產和測試方面取得了一些重要的里程碑，包括完成了第二級鑑定罐的測試，並為第三季度的低溫測試活動做好了準備。由於我們在電子火箭專案中累積的豐富的碳複合材料經驗，這項工作正在快速推進，因此我們在結構方面擁有良好的開端。

In parallel, Earthworks at Launch Complex 3 and Wallops, Virginia have commenced enabling paired construction to commit Q3. Once complete, Neutron should enjoy all the benefits that come with launching from a pad that benefits from a clear line of sight to future launches and has significantly less congestion relative to the Cape and close proximity to key government customers.

同時，位於3號發射中心和維吉尼亞州瓦洛普斯的土方工程已啟動，以便進行配套建設，以完成第三季的發射任務。一旦完工，中子號將享受到從發射台發射的所有優勢，該發射台擁有清晰的發射視線，並且相對於科德角發射台，擁堵程度顯著降低，並且靠近重要的政府客戶。

The propulsion team is also on schedule to deliver the first full-scale print of our committee trust chamber. And we're running a successful campaign of pre-beta tests at Purdue University. These milestones keep us on track for delivering the first complete qualification engine by the end of this year. In parallel, we're building avionics hardware and successfully testing it in hardware in the loop simulation.

推進團隊也按計畫交付了委員會信託艙的首批全尺寸列印件。我們正在普渡大學成功進行預beta測試。這些里程碑使我們預計在今年年底前交付首台完整的合格引擎。同時，我們正在建立航空電子硬件，並在硬體在環仿真中成功測試。

All of these achievements put us in a good position to meet some key milestones by the second half of this year, including the completion of the second stage qualification test campaign. We're also targeting the completion of the first stage qualification tank and test as well as the first or Committee's development engine and test campaign at our propulsion complex within Stennis. We're still working towards getting something on the pad by 2024, and we'll continue to provide updates as we progress through the year and the next.

所有這些成就使我們預計在今年下半年實現一些關鍵里程碑，包括完成第二級鑑定測試。我們還計劃在斯坦尼斯號火箭的推進系統完成第一級鑑定油箱和測試，以及第一台或委員會的開發發動機和測試。我們仍在努力爭取在2024年前將火箭送上發射台，並將在今年和明年持續更新進展。

Space Systems team also recently delivered a really significant milestone in the second quarter in the form of successfully operating the latest Rocket lab design and built spacecraft on orbit. This is one of our newest spacecraft platforms. Our high payload volume space graph is designed for short- to mid-duration missions in a lower orbit. This was the first of 4 space crafts that we're on contract to build and operate for Varda space to enable in-space manufacturing, a highly bespoke and complex spacecraft designed for reentry, which is a real capability and something we're really proud to bring to the bucket.

太空系統團隊最近在第二季也取得了一個非常重要的里程碑，成功在軌道上運行了火箭實驗室最新設計和建造的太空船。這是我們最新的太空船平台之一。我們的高有效載荷空間圖專為低軌道的短程至中途任務而設計。這是我們與瓦爾達航太公司（Varda Space）簽訂合約建造和營運的四艘太空船中的第一艘，旨在實現太空製造。這是一款高度客製化且複雜的太空船，專為再入大氣層而設計，這是一種真正的能力，我們非常自豪能夠將其帶入太空。

The spacecraft hosts a mini pharmaceutical lab that successfully grew crystals commonly used in drug treatments for HIV. When the airspace manufacturing is now -- with the in-space manufacturing now complete, the capture is anticipated to return to earth in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, are the next 2 spacecraft of VARDA are an advanced production and test ready for the follow-up vision soon. All of these spacecraft feature components and software from across our space systems businesses, including solar panels, star trackers, radios, and abling us to produce them affordably at pace. It's also a demonstration of our business model as an end-to-end space company to both build and operate satellites on orbit.

該航天器搭載一個微型製藥實驗室，成功培育出常用於治療愛滋病毒藥物的晶體。隨著太空製造的完成，預計該太空船將在未來幾週內返回地球。同時，VARDA 的後兩艘太空船已準備好進行先進的生產和測試，即將投入後續的研發。所有這些太空船都配備了我們航太系統業務的組件和軟體，包括太陽能電池板、星體追蹤器、無線電設備，使我們能夠以經濟實惠的速度生產它們。這也展示了我們作為一家端到端航太公司的商業模式，即在軌建造和營運衛星。

And finally, development is progressing well for our twin spacecraft mission to Mars for NASA. For the ESCAPADE mission, we're developing 2 bespoke spacecraft to study Mass magnetosphere next year. And this quarter, we completed the qualification spacecraft ahead of an extensive test and qualification campaign. We now want to take the time to highlight some of our accomplishments so far in Q3, successful launch of NASA, Telesat and Spire. We have started the quarter strong with a successful rideshare mission for -- from Launch Complex 1, deploying satellites for NASA, Spire, and Telesat. We're on the brink now of our 40th Electron launch and on track to complete 3 more this quarter and 15 overall this year.

最後，我們為NASA發射的雙發火星太空船任務進展順利。對於ESCAPADE任務，我們正在開發兩艘客製化太空船，用於明年研究質量磁層。本季度，我們完成了太空船的鑑定工作，並進行了廣泛的測試和鑑定工作。現在，我們想重點介紹我們在第三季迄今為止的一些成就，包括成功發射NASA、Telesat和Spire。本季開始，我們成功地從1號發射台發射了NASA、Spire和Telesat的衛星，並成功進行了一次共乘發射。我們即將進行第40次Electron火箭發射，並預計在本季完成另外3次發射，全年完成15次發射。

Now regarding our Capella launch, we have the nightlife. We continue to take an abundance of caution as we continue our track record of the most reliable small rocket. At present, the team is working through some unusual data from one of the engine sensors for that mission. But of course, these things happen with launch vehicles from time to time. We have a very straightforward path to resolution, and we'll reschedule the launch later this month. So no big deal there.

現在說說我們的卡佩拉火箭發射，我們有夜生活。我們將繼續保持最可靠小型火箭的記錄，因此我們仍然非常謹慎。目前，該團隊正在處理該任務中一個引擎感測器的一些異常數據。當然，運載火箭偶爾也會發生這種情況。我們有非常直接的解決方法，並將在本月晚些時候重新安排發射。所以這沒什麼大不了的。

One of those missions of course, was a recovery mission. This launch was an important one as we used it to prove out any new waterproofing technologies and a new marine retrieval system for extracting electrons from the ocean. I'm pleased to report that the new system works exceptionally well and electrons splashed down in the disconsition we've seen it yet. We continue to operationalize Electron reusability with the first re-flight of a recovered engine scheduled for the second half of this year, from where we will schedule the first re-flight of a full-stage booster.

當然，其中一項任務是回收任務。這次發射意義重大，因為我們用它來驗證新的防水技術以及用於從海洋中提取電子的新型海洋回收系統。我很高興地報告，新系統運作良好，電子濺落到我們目前尚未發現的異常狀態。我們將繼續推進電子火箭的可重複使用性，回收引擎的首次再飛行計劃於今年下半年進行，屆時我們將安排全級助推器的首次再飛行。

Signed 10 new electron launches. So electron continues to be the preferred dedicated small launch option, demonstrated by continued and growing demand launches. Since we reported earnings in May, we have signed deals for a total of 10 new dedicated launches, including block buys from return government and commercial users. This really is a testament to Electron's reliability, frequent launch cadence, and in particular, the high degree of control over arbit that we can give to Constellation operators, which is something they just cannot get on a large rideshare mission. And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to our Chief Financial Officer, Adam Spice. Adam?

簽署了10個新的Electron火箭發射協議。因此，Electron火箭仍是首選的小型專用火箭發射方案，持續成長的發射需求就是明證。自5月公佈業績以來，我們已簽署了總計10個新的專用火箭發射協議，其中包括來自政府和商業用戶的大量購買。這充分證明了Electron火箭的可靠性、頻繁的發射節奏，尤其是我們能夠賦予星座運營商高度的仲裁控制權，而這是他們在大型共乘任務中無法獲得的。接下來，我想將電話交給我們的財務長亞當·斯派斯。亞當？

Thanks, Pete. Second quarter 2023 revenue was $62 million, which was above the midpoint of our prior guidance of $60 million to $63 million. Second quarter 2023 revenue reflects sequential growth of 13% and the result of 3 successful launches and a return to growth for our Space Systems business. Our Launch Services segment delivered revenue of $22.5 million in the quarter from 3 launches, which was consistent with our prior guidance of $23 million. The resulting average revenue per launch stepped up nearly $1 million to $7.5 million, consistent with our target average selling price for 2023.

謝謝，Pete。 2023年第二季營收為6,200萬美元，高於我們先前6,000萬至6,300萬美元的預期中位數。 2023年第二季營收季增13%，這得益於三次成功發射以及我們太空系統業務的恢復成長。我們的發射服務部門在本季透過三次發射實現了2,250萬美元的收入，與我們先前2,300萬美元的預期一致。由此產生的每次發射平均收入增加了近100萬美元，達到750萬美元，與我們2023年的目標平均售價一致。

Our Space Systems segment delivered $39.6 million in the quarter, which was up 12% sequentially and near the high end of our prior guidance range of $37 million to $40 million, driven by healthy growth in our satellite bus, solar, and separation systems businesses. Our backlog increased by $40.1 million to $534.3 million in the second quarter. We continue to see strength in our launch business, driven by returning launch customers with multi-launch requirements, haste-related missions, and manifesting launches from other failed or struggling launch providers. Additionally, our Space Systems backlog increased with the addition of a new satellite design and build program and strong component bookings, particularly for our software and solar businesses.

我們的太空系統部門本季實現了3,960萬美元的營收，季增12%，接近我們先前3,700萬美元至4,000萬美元的預期區間上限，這得益於衛星平台、太陽能和分離系統業務的健康成長。第二季度，我們的訂單積壓增加了4,010萬美元，達到5.343億美元。我們的發射業務持續保持強勁勢頭，這得益於擁有多發射需求、緊急任務的發射客戶回歸，以及其他失敗或陷入困境的發射供應商的發射任務。此外，隨著新衛星設計和建造項目的加入以及強勁的零件訂單（尤其是軟體和太陽能業務），我們的太空系統訂單積壓有所增加。

Now turning to gross margin. GAAP gross margin for the first quarter was 23.5%, above the high end of our guidance range of 14% to 16%. Non-GAAP gross margin for the second quarter was 31.8%, which was also well above our guidance range of 22% to 24%. GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin improvements relative to our Q1 2023 results and Q2 2023 guidance reflect the release of a $4.1 million loss reserve associated with the expiration of a legacy launch contract, an increase in average lot selling price and a favorable mix within our solar and software businesses. Adjusting for this, non-GAAP gross margin would have been 25.2%, modestly above the high end of our previous guidance range.

現在談談毛利率。第一季 GAAP 毛利率為 23.5%，高於我們 14% 至 16% 的指引區間上限。第二季非 GAAP 毛利率為 31.8%，也遠高於我們 22% 至 24% 的指引區間。相對於 2023 年第一季業績和第二季指引，GAAP 和非 GAAP 毛利率的改善反映了與遺留發射合約到期相關的 410 萬美元損失準備金的釋放、平均批量銷售價格的上漲以及太陽能和軟體業務的良好組合。經此調整後，非 GAAP 毛利率將達到 25.2%，略高於我們先前指引區間的上限。

We ended Q2 with a production-related headcount of 767 or up 10% from the prior quarter. Turning to operating expenses. GAAP operating expenses for the second quarter of 2023 were $59.8 million, above the high end of our guidance range of $55 million to $57 million. Non-GAAP operating expenses for the second quarter were $43.4 million, which was modestly above our guidance range of $41 million to $43 million. The increases in both GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses versus the first quarter of 2023 were primarily driven by higher staff costs related to new hires and our annual merit review and related compensation step-ups, material purchases supporting new Tron and Space Systems developments and facilities, and other ongoing expenses related to the Virgin Orbit asset acquisition.

截至第二季度，我們生產相關員工總數為 767 人，較上一季成長 10%。談到營運費用。 2023 年第二季的 GAAP 營運費用為 5,980 萬美元，高於我們 5,500 萬至 5,700 萬美元的指導範圍上限。第二季的非 GAAP 營運費用為 4,340 萬美元，略高於我們 4,100 萬至 4,300 萬美元的指引範圍。與 2023 年第一季相比，GAAP 和非 GAAP 營運費用均有所增加，主要原因是與新員工相關的員工成本增加以及我們的年度績效評估和相關薪酬遞增、支持新 Tron 和 Space Systems 開發和設施的材料採購，以及與 Virgin Orbit 資產收購相關的其他持續費用。

In R&D specifically, GAAP expenses were up $7.1 million quarter-on-quarter as we continue to aggressively ramp our neutron development efforts through new hires, large materials purchases, and outside professional services related to our space systems development programs. In addition to these areas contributing to sequential increases, we also recognized increases in stock-based compensation and were impacted by the absence of ERC tax credits that were recognized in the prior quarter. Non-GAAP expenses were up $4.9 million quarter-on-quarter, driven similarly as GAAP expenses by staff costs, outside professional services, and materials-related purchases.

具體而言，在研發方面，GAAP 支出較上季成長 710 萬美元，這得益於我們持續積極推動中子研發工作，包括招募新員工、採購大量材料以及與航太系統開發專案相關的外部專業服務。除這些領域貢獻的環比增長外，我們還確認了股票薪酬的增加，並受到上一季確認的 ERC 稅收抵免缺失的影響。非 GAAP 支出較上季增加 490 萬美元，與 GAAP 支出類似，主要受員工成本、外部專業服務和材料相關採購的影響。

Q2 ending R&D head count was 518, representing an increase of 62 from 456 heads from the prior quarter. In SG&A, GAAP expenses increased slightly by $200,000 quarter-on-quarter due to changes in contingent consideration related to our PSC acquisition attributable to a higher average stock price in the quarter, higher M&A costs associated with the Virgin Orbit asset acquisition and nonrecurring ERC tax credits that were recorded in Q1, all of which were partially offset by a reduction in outside service expenses associated with year-end audit and compliance work. Non-GAAP SG&A expenses decreased by $1.7 million, owing primarily to the decrease in audit and compliance-related expenses.

第二季末研發人員總數為518人，較上一季的456人增加62人。銷售、一般及行政管理（SG&A）方面，GAAP費用環比小幅增加20萬美元，原因是本季度平均股價上漲導致與PSC收購相關的或有對價發生變化，與維珍軌道資產收購相關的併購成本增加，以及第一季度記錄的非經常性企業資源管制（ERC）稅收抵免，所有這些變化被年末審計與合規工作的外部服務費用的外部服務變化相關。非GAAP銷售、一般及行政管理費用減少170萬美元，主要原因是審計與合規相關費用的減少。

Q2 ending SG&A head count was 228, representing an increase of 9% from the prior quarter. In summary, total second-quarter ending headcount was 1,513, up 81 heads from the prior quarter. Cash consumed from operations was $6.1 million in the second quarter of 2023 compared to $25.4 million in the first quarter of 2023. The sequential improvement of $19.3 million was driven primarily by strength in cash collections. Purchase of property, equipment, and capitalized software licenses decreased from $12.7 million in Q1 of 2023 to $10.6 million in Q2 of 2023. The sequential decline was due to the timing of receipts for Neutron and Photon capital purchases.

第二季末銷售、一般及行政管理（SG&A）員工總數為228人，較上一季增加9%。總而言之，第二季末員工總數為1,513人，較上一季增加81人。 2023年第二季營運現金消耗為610萬美元，而2023年第一季為2,540萬美元。季增1,930萬美元，主要得益於現金回款強勁。物業、設備和資本化軟體許可證的購買金額從2023年第一季的1,270萬美元下降至2023年第二季的1,060萬美元。環比下降是由於Neutron和Photon資本購買的收款時間不同。

Overall, non-GAAP free cash flow, defined as GAAP operating cash flow reduced by purchases of property, equipment, and capitalized software in the second quarter of 2023, was a use of $16.6 million compared to $38.1 million in the first quarter of 2023. We -- when including our $16.1 million acquisition of select Virgin orbit assets, which were primarily PP&E, non-GAAP free cash flow was a use of $37.8 million. The ending balance of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and marketable securities was $419 million at the end of the second quarter of 2023.

整體而言，2023年第二季非公認會計準則自由現金流量（定義為公認會計準則營運現金流量減去購置物業、設備和資本化軟體後的金額）為1,660萬美元，而2023年第一季為3,810萬美元。若計入我們斥資1,610萬美元收購部分維珍軌道資產（主要為廠房、設備及設備 (PP&E)）的影響，非公認會計準則自由現金流為3,780萬美元。 2023年第二季末，現金、現金等價物、限制性現金及有價證券的期末餘額為4.19億美元。

And with that, let's turn to our guidance for the third quarter of 2023. We expect revenue in the third quarter to range between $73 million and $77 million, which reflects $43 million to $47 million of contribution from Space Systems and $30 million from launch services, which assumes 4 launches. As referenced earlier, based on our manifested launch backlog, we continue to expect 15 launches in 2023 and our average selling price to support our current target pricing as we progress through the remainder of 2023. We expect third quarter GAAP gross margin to range between 21% to 23% and non-GAAP gross margin to range between 28% to 30%.

接下來，讓我們來看看 2023 年第三季的業績指引。我們預計第三季營收將在 7,300 萬美元至 7,700 萬美元之間，其中太空系統貢獻 4,300 萬美元至 4,700 萬美元，發射服務貢獻 3,000 萬美元（假設發射 4 次）。如前所述，根據我們已確認的發射積壓訂單，我們預計 2023 年將有 15 次發射，並且我們的平均售價將在 2023 年剩餘時間內支援當前的目標定價。我們預計第三季 GAAP 毛利率將在 21% 至 23% 之間，非 GAAP 毛利率將在 28% 至 30% 之間。

These forecasted GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin improvements reflect continued efficiency improvements and greater fixed cost absorption and average launch selling price improvements. We expect third-quarter GAAP operating expenses to range between $51 million and $53 million and non-GAAP operating expenses to range between $38 million and $40 million. The quarter-on-quarter decreases are driven primarily by the expected realization of a final $14 million contra R&D credit related to our Neutron upper-stage development agreement with the U.S. base force, partially offset by continued step-up in staff costs, prototyping, and material spend supporting Neutron and Photon development programs. We expect third-quarter GAAP and non-GAAP net interest expenses to be $0.5 million. We expect third-quarter adjusted EBITDA loss to range between $10 million and $14 million and basic shares outstanding to be approximately 484 million shares. And with that, we'll hand the call over to the operator for questions.

這些預測的 GAAP 和非 GAAP 毛利率改善反映了持續的效率提升、更大的固定成本吸收以及平均發射售價的改善。我們預計第三季 GAAP 營運費用在 5,100 萬美元至 5,300 萬美元之間，非 GAAP 營運費用在 3,800 萬美元至 4,000 萬美元之間。環比下降的主要原因是，我們預計將實現與美國基地部隊簽訂的「中子」火箭上級開發協議相關的 1,400 萬美元最終研發抵扣額，但部分抵消了支持「中子」和「光子」開發項目的員工成本、原型設計和材料支出的持續增加。我們預計第三季 GAAP 和非 GAAP 淨利息支出為 50 萬美元。我們預計第三季調整後 EBITDA 虧損在 1,000 萬美元至 1,400 萬美元之間，基本流通股約為 4.84 億股。至此，我們將把電話轉給接線員，以便您解答疑問。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Erik Rasmussen with Stifel.

（操作員指示）您的第一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Erik Rasmussen。

Nice job on the margins. I just wanted to dig into the guidance a little bit. You're guiding to $73 million to $77 million. Launch seems to be in line. You got full launches there. But Space Systems at 43% to 47% seems a little bit light versus what we were expecting. And I think sort of what we were expecting out of the second half. Could you maybe just break down where the sort of the disconnect is? How should we be thinking about the second half overall versus the first half? And is this related to the MDA ramping may be slower than expected?

利潤率方面做得很好。我只是想稍微深入一下指導。你們的指導金額是7300萬到7700萬美元。發射業務似乎符合預期，發射任務也全部完成。但太空系統業務的43%到47%的佔比似乎比我們的預期略低。我認為這也符合我們對下半年的期待。能否具體分析一下這種脫節在哪裡？我們該如何看待下半年與上半年的整體狀況？這是否與飛彈防禦局（MDA）的增幅可能低於預期有關？

Yes, I'll take a shot at that and then Pete can weigh if you want to. So Erik, yes, the -- like you point out, Launch is pretty much on target. With regards to the contribution from Space Systems, there is a bit of a timing issue with regard to being able to recognize revenue over certain programs on the satellite manufacturer side of the house. I don't think it's all that unusual given the early stage of these contracts that we're executing on. So we have a very stringent process for how we are able to recognize revenue over the period of the contract. So there's nothing that's changed as far as the magnitude of the size of the opportunity or really that much of a time shift. But it's probably about kind of a half-quarter light of what we were expecting as far as a contribution from those programs that we're ramping. But we expect to make up a lot of that ground in the fourth quarter.

是的，我會嘗試一下，然後Pete可以權衡一下，如果你想的話。 Erik，是的，正如你所指出的，Launch專案基本上達到了預期目標。關於Space Systems的貢獻，在衛星製造商方面，確認某些項目的收入存在一些時間問題。考慮到我們正在執行的這些合約還處於早期階段，我認為這並不罕見。因此，我們對如何在合約期間確認收入有著非常嚴格的流程。因此，就機會規模或時間變化而言，沒有任何變化。但就我們正在推進的那些專案的貢獻而言，這可能只比我們預期的少了半個季度。但我們預計第四季將彌補大部分損失。

Okay. So you feel sort of pretty comfortable, a little bit steeper ramp even further in Q4 versus Q3 in terms of the Space Systems business.

好的。所以你感覺相當舒服，就空間系統業務而言，第四季與第三季相比成長幅度更大一些。

Yes, absolutely.

是的，絕對是。

Great. And then I saw some of the new -- some of the announcements after the close, the haste. Maybe just digging into that, you signed a new deal to launch mission starts, I guess, for some time in '24. Do you have a specific award or contract behind this? Or are these deals going to sort of be one-offs?

太好了。然後我看到了一些新消息——一些在交易結束後發布的公告，很匆忙。或許深入研究一下，你簽署了一份新的協議，我想是在2024年某個時候啟動任務。這背後有具體的獎勵或合約嗎？還是這些交易是一次性的？

Yes, Erik. So we have -- we kind of have a multiple kinds of relationships with multiple customers on this front. And the way these contracts are sort of developed. It's fairly classified kind of work. So it's difficult to give too much kind of insight into some of those. But suffice to say, we see a healthy pipeline of these kinds of missions sitting there.

是的，埃里克。所以我們在這方面與多位客戶建立了多種合作關係。這些合約的簽訂方式也相當保密。因此，很難透露太多細節。但可以肯定的是，我們看到了一系列此類任務的良好進展。

Your next question comes from the line of Suji Desilva with ROTH MKM.

您的下一個問題來自 ROTH MKM 的 Suji Desilva。

Peter. So just to understand how the recovery effort is going. I know you're going to do some more milestones and I read, I think the launch is 41 to 45. Can you just describe the next steps and when this can become operational in terms of helping with the cost structure for the launches?

彼得。只是想了解一下恢復工作的進度。我知道你會設定更多里程碑，我讀到過，我認為發射時間是41到45天。能描述一下接下來的步驟嗎？以及什麼時候可以投入使用，以便調整發射的成本結構？

Yes, Suji. So what we're balancing here is incrementally kind of adding learnings, but not interrupting production. So instead of doing one big block change as vehicles, as you pointed out, 41 and 45 come down the line. Each of them have a kind of learnings and changes incorporated into them. So I would say the last vehicle we brought down -- we added a whole bunch of waterproofing technologies. The next vehicle goes to the next step down at the Powerpack, we've changed a whole bunch of things like umbilical hatches and things like that.

是的，Suji。所以我們在這裡要平衡的是逐步累積經驗，但不會中斷生產。正如你所指出的，41號和45號車輛的量產並非一次性進行大規模改造，而是逐步進行。每輛車都融入了不同的經驗和改進。所以，我想說，我們上一輛車——我們增加了一大堆防水技術。下一輛車將進入Powerpack的下一個階段，我們改變了一大堆東西，像是臍帶艙口之類的。

And we learned a lot from this last mission, I would say we probably validated more than we learned. But it's rolling into fairly operational since, I would say, right now. And if you look on our production line about every third rocket is a silver one with a red strike for recovery. So it's pretty much been operationalized from a production standpoint. I'd say there's still some more to go from the marine recovery, but on the last mission, we spaced it down within 400 meters of the target. So the guys had it within sort of 15 to 20 minutes. They had to buy the boat. So that kind of worked well. So yes -- but I think the last kind of major upgrade is on 45 and then hopefully, at that point, it is just business as usual.

我們從上次任務中學到了很多，我想說，我們驗證的可能比學到的更多。但從現在開始，它已經相當接近投入營運了。如果你看看我們的生產線，大約每三枚火箭中就有一枚是銀色的，上面有一個紅色的回收標誌。所以從生產的角度來看，它基本上已經投入了營運。我想說，海上回收還需要一些時間，但在上次任務中，我們把它的落點控制在距離目標400公尺以內。所以，工作人員在15到20分鐘內就找到了它。他們不得不購買這艘船。所以效果還不錯。所以是的——但我認為最後一次重大升級是在45號，然後希望到那時，一切都恢復正常了。

Yes. And Suji, when it comes to your question with regards to what that's doing for our cost, I mean we've definitely taken an incremental view of let's validate our assumptions each step of the way with these recovery tests. So as we mentioned before, we'll do a reflown engine, and then we'll do more refund engines, then we'll do -- look to eventually obviously refly an entire booster. And when we get to that point, then we believe the savings that we kind of articulated, even if you got and go back to our Investor Day, which is now almost 2 years ago, we think are still very valid as far as what we can bring as far as cost reduction and margin improvement for this electron program.

是的。 Suji，關於你關於這對我們的成本有何影響的問題，我的意思是，我們確實採取了漸進式的思路，透過這些恢復測試，一步步驗證我們的假設。正如我們之前提到的，我們會進行一次重新飛行的發動機，然後我們會進行更多重新飛行的發動機，最後，我們當然會考慮重新飛行整個助推器。當我們達到那個目標時，我們相信，即使回到我們投資者日（差不多兩年前）時提到的節省，我們認為就我們為這個電子項目帶來的成本降低和利潤提升而言，這些節省仍然非常有效。

All right. And then my other question is on a new Trian, it sounds like you're making good progress towards '24 here, obviously, the Virgin Orbit acquisition. Can you talk about the OpEx and the shape of it in support of Neutron? Is there sort of a kind of a peak quarter? Are we getting close to that? Or is that going to be a continued kind of steady spend to bring Neutron up? Just curious how that shapes out.

好的。我的另一個問題是關於新的Trian，聽起來你們在2024年收購維珍軌道（Virgin Orbit）方面進展順利。可以談談營運支出（OpEx）以及支援Neutron的營運支出狀況嗎？這季度會不會達到高峰？我們快要達到峰值了嗎？還是會持續穩定的支出來支持Neutron？我只是好奇最終會如何發展。

Yes. It's like anything with the rocket development program, it's very hard to be too precise with when certain expenses are going to hit and certain milestones are going to be achieved. But as you said, we definitely are making steady progress against an anticipated launch at the end of 2024. And I would say that we'll continue to see kind of a march up in expenses related to Neutron. With the exception of the Q3, which we talked about in our guide, where we have this $14 million contra R&D credit that's certainly helping the P&L. But once you get through Q3, there will be, again, a significant step-up that will start to look like more of a sequential kind of increasing trend on spend for Neutron. And we don't see the spend peaking on Neutron till probably either, I'd say, as we certainly get much, much closer to the inaugural launch. So think about kind of the Q3 time frame next year, where you'll probably see spending peak.

是的。就像火箭開發案的其他事情一樣，很難精確地確定某些支出何時會達到，某些里程碑何時會實現。但正如您所說，我們確實正在穩步推進，目標是在2024年底發射。我想說，我們將繼續看到與「中子」相關的支出呈現上升趨勢。除了我們在指南中提到的第三季度，我們有1400萬美元的研發抵扣額，這無疑有助於改善損益表。但一旦度過第三季度，中子項目的支出將再次顯著成長，看起來更像是一種連續成長的趨勢。我想說，我們預期中子項目的支出可能也要到那時才會達到峰值，因為我們肯定離首次發射越來越近了。所以，想想明年第三季度，你可能會看到支出達到高峰。

And of course, there's going to be a difference between kind of what hits your P&L versus your CapEx because those are all things that kind of move at different times. So I think you'll just see a continued progression of investment in Neutron that shouldn't be too out of school, but I think it's hard to say that try to pick which quarter that spend is going to peak at from both the P&L spend and also from a CapEx perspective.

當然，損益表和資本支出的影響因素會有所不同，因為它們在不同時期都會改變。所以我認為你會看到對 Neutron 的投資持續成長，這應該不會太離譜，但我認為很難從損益表支出和資本支出的角度來判斷哪個季度的支出會達到高峰。

Your next question comes from the line of Kristine Liwag with Morgan Stanley.

您的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的克里斯汀·利瓦格 (Kristine Liwag)。

Maybe talking about pricing. In the past few years, we've seen so many aspirational space companies try their hand at launch and a few of them have closed doors already. So with the environment still pretty tight regarding no capacity, can you talk about like the pricing difference for these bookings that you have for 2024 with the new BlackSky contract that you announced and how that compares to previous launch costs? And then also when you put that together and as launch costs are coming down as you get economies of scale, like when do we -- when should we expect to see gross margin breakeven at launch? It seems like that should be coming up pretty soon.

也許可以談談定價。過去幾年，我們看到許多雄心勃勃的太空公司嘗試發射，其中一些已經關門大吉。目前環境仍然相當緊張，缺乏運力，您能否談談，您宣布的2024年新BlackSky合約與這些預訂之間的價格差異，以及與之前的發射成本相比如何？此外，如果將這些因素綜合起來，隨著發射成本下降，規模經濟效應逐漸顯現，我們什麼時候——什麼時候應該預期發射時毛利率能夠達到損益平衡？看起來這應該很快就會實現。

Pete, do you want to speak to the overall pricing environment, then I can talk to the margin question.

皮特，你想談談整體定價環境嗎，然後我可以談談利潤問題。

Yes, sure, sure. Thanks, Kristine. Yes, look, I mean, you've read the tea leaves exactly right. I mean as many launch companies kind of aspirationally don't achieve, then it certainly created a tightness in the market. I will say that we've been pretty consistent with our pricing all the time. We've never done kind of unnatural things where we just dropped the pricing to take the oxygen out of the room. And we've seen a number of providers drive that approach. And of course, you can't build a successful business. So our pricing has been fairly steady with respect to that.

是的，當然，當然。謝謝，克里斯汀。是的，你看，我的意思是，你完全看對了。我的意思是，許多新創公司的雄心壯志最終都未能實現，這無疑造成了市場供應緊張。我想說的是，我們的定價一直都相當穩定。我們從未做過那種不自然的事情，例如為了給市場「斷供」而突然降價。我們也看到很多供應商都採取了這種做法。當然，你不可能一蹴可幾地建立一個成功的企業。所以，就這一點而言，我們的定價一直相當穩定。

And we feel it represents really wonderful value for what you get. People always compare us to a rise mission, but really the only accurate comparison is to a small dedicated launch. And currently, the only other small dedicated launch that's available is probably a minotaur at some $30 million or $40 million. So Electron at $7.5 million is it represents good value. And we've never needed to erode our pricing on that product and still maintain really good sales traction.

我們覺得它物超所值。人們總是把我們比作「崛起」任務，但實際上唯一準確的類比是小型專用發射。目前，唯一可用的小型專用發射可能只有價值3000萬或4000萬美元的「牛頭怪」火箭。所以，750萬美元的「電子」火箭性價比很高。我們從未降低過這款產品的定價，但仍保持著良好的銷售動能。

Kristine, when it comes to your questions on the profitability kind of benchmark for Electron. So we've been pretty consistent in -- when we see 2 launches per month, that's where we really get to the economies of scale and the fixed cost absorption that we need to kind of increment our way towards our target of a 50% non-GAAP gross margin for Electron. It requires a few things to happen. Of course, you need the cadence that I mentioned, so 2 launches per month. We need our annual cost reductions on BOM and production efficiency. We need also the savings from the recovery program that we were talking about earlier. And all of those kind of things are still very much in focus. Nothing has really shifted from that.

Kristine，關於你關於 Electron 獲利能力基準的問題，我向你保證。我們一直保持著相當穩定的狀態——當每月發布 2 款產品時，我們才真正實現了規模經濟和固定成本吸收，從而逐步實現 Electron 50% 非 GAAP 毛利率的目標。這需要一些條件。當然，你需要我提到的節奏，也就是每月發布 2 款產品。我們需要每年在 BOM 和生產效率方面降低成本。我們還需要之前提到的恢復計劃帶來的節省。所有這些仍然是我們關注的重點。目前情況並沒有發生任何改變。

I would say the one thing is we've already turned GAAP gross margin positive on the electron launch platform. We don't really -- we don't report below the gross margin line. So it's hard to give a lot of clarity on, for example, what the contribution margin looks like now that we're in positive gross margin territory on Electron. But needless to say, everything seems to be progressing in a way that is very much consistent with what we thought profitability should look like for this platform. And we really are starting to see a lot of efficiencies in the business. And I think probably the most encouraging is the way that we've been able to pivot a lot of the previously dedicated production resources over to support Neutron and Space Systems. So again, I think the learning curve is definitely one that we've got well in hand. I think really the next big step for the margin enhancement really remains to be the recovery program, which, as Pete mentioned earlier, is well in hand as well. So hopefully, that answers your question on margin.

我想說的是，我們已經將 Electron 發射平台的 GAAP 毛利率轉為正值。我們不會報告低於毛利率線的表現。因此，很難明確地說明，例如，既然 Electron 的毛利率已經達到正值，那麼貢獻利潤率會如何。但毋庸置疑，一切進展似乎都與我們預想的該平台的獲利能力非常一致。我們確實開始看到業務效率的大幅提升。我認為最令人鼓舞的可能是，我們已經能夠將大量先前專用的生產資源轉移到支援 Neutron 和 Space Systems 上。所以，我再次強調，我認為我們已經很好地掌握了學習曲線。我認為提高利潤率的下一個重要步驟仍然是恢復計劃，正如 Pete 之前提到的，該計劃也進展順利。希望以上內容能解答您關於利潤率的問題。

Maybe I could ask the technology question. Late last month, NASA and DARPA announced an award to Market and BWXT to test nuclear propulsion and space. I mean, Peter, maybe it's still a very early stage, but I was curious to get your thoughts on how much of a change-changer nuclear propulsion could be in terms of increased feed efficiency and how viable is that to the Rocket Lab story. Where do you see its role for the company, if any?

也許我可以問一下技術方面的問題。上個月底，NASA 和 DARPA 宣布授予 Market 和 BWXT 公司一項合同，用於測試核推進和太空技術。彼得，也許現在還處於非常早期的階段，但我很好奇，您認為核推進技術在提高燃料效率方面能帶來多大的變革，以及這對 Rocket Lab 來說有多大的可行性。您認為核子推進技術對 Rocket Lab 來說有什麼作用？

Yes. Look, I'm a great fan of neutral propulsion in space nuclear propulsion because it's -- really, if you think about it historically, chemical propulsion, we haven't really improved a whole lot since the early '60s. So we reached kind of chemical equilibrium quite some time ago. So there needs to be a major advancement if we truly want to kind of be citizens of the solar system. So I think propulsion is one of those things that can really transform that.

是的。你看，我非常支持太空核推進中的中性推進，因為——說實話，如果你回顧歷史，化學推進自60年代初以來就沒什麼進步了。所以我們很久以前就達到了某種化學平衡。所以，如果我們真的想成為太陽系的公民，就需要有重大進展。所以我認為推進技術是真正能夠改變這個現狀的技術之一。

So I'm very bullish on it. Now it's deeply complex and of course, the most challenging bit is getting it to all but in the first place. There's a significant challenge with that. But once in all, but it's a really great technique. We're not -- we don't have any active programs internally developing any of that technology, but I do think it's a technology to watch, and we'll certainly be watching it.

所以我對此非常看好。現在它非常複雜，當然，最具挑戰性的部分是如何讓它普及到所有人。這其中存在著巨大的挑戰。但總而言之，它確實是一項非常棒的技術。我們目前內部沒有任何正在開發這項技術的計劃，但我確實認為它是一項值得關注的技術，我們一定會持續關注。

Your next question comes from the line of Cai von Rumohr with Cowen.

您的下一個問題來自 Cowen 的 Cai von Rumohr。

Yes. Thanks so much. So you talk of cost cuts to the bonds, but basically, we're in an inflationary environment folks are seeing supply chain disruptions. Talk to us a little bit about what are you seeing in terms of inflation. And regarding pricing, I mean, it looks like the pricing average price of your launch in the third quarter is going to be pretty much the same as the second. So are you in a period of stability? Or is that just a mix-related issue?

是的，非常感謝。您說的是債券成本削減，但實際上，我們正處於通膨環境中，人們正在經歷供應鏈中斷。請您談談您目前看到的通膨情況。關於定價，我的意思是，看起來你們第三季推出的產品的平均價格將與第二季基本相同。那麼，你們目前處於穩定期嗎？還是這只是一個混合因素導致的問題？

So I would say, Cai, on the inflation side of things and pricing, the pricing that you're seeing in 2023 is a function of agreements that were put in place a year -- for the most part a year or even greater than that in the rearview mirror. We talked about -- we've been pretty consistent about where we see our pricing in 2023. And kind of we have an annual escalation in our pricing assumptions going forward. So obviously, we weren't able to predict inflation 2 years ago when some of these contracts were being entered into or even a year ago. But fortunately, for us, we've been able to get a lot of efficiencies on the production side of things.

所以我想說，蔡，就通膨和定價而言，你在2023年看到的定價取決於一年前簽訂的協議——大部分協議已經簽訂一年，甚至更長。我們之前討論過－我們對2023年定價的預測一直相當一致。而且，我們對未來的定價假設每年都會有所調整。顯然，兩年前，甚至一年前，在簽訂這些合約時，我們都無法預測通膨。但幸運的是，我們在生產方面已經實現了很大的效率提升。

On the supply chain side, we're very vertically integrated. So we're not as exposed as maybe some other companies where they buy so much of their vehicle and subsystems from other providers. And when I say vehicle, obviously, it applies to our Space Systems business as well, particularly when you look at our Photon platforms, and you look at how much of the content is internally sourced. I think we've been pretty, I would say, well insulated compared to others from supply chain shock and inflation-related events. Not to say we're completely immune from it. We certainly see it on the labor side of things.

在供應鏈方面，我們高度垂直整合。因此，我們不像其他一些公司那樣，從其他供應商購買大量運載火箭和子系統。我所說的「運載火箭」顯然也適用於我們的太空系統業務，尤其是考慮到我們的光子平台，以及其中有多少內容是內部採購的。我認為，與其他公司相比，我們相當能夠抵禦供應鏈衝擊和通膨相關事件的影響。當然，我們也不能完全免於其害。在勞動力方面，我們確實看到了一些影響。

We see it on other kinds of things that we purchase from third parties with regards to like rent and utilities and everything else that goes on gases and so forth. But for the most part, just the nature of our kind of vertically integrated business kind of insulates a bit from that. Going forward on pricing, again, knowing now where inflation is and where kind of it's expected to be. We're certainly taking that in consideration on pricing our launch contracts going forward. So I think we cover the bases there as well. But I'll let Pete comment as he sees.

我們在其他從第三方購買的產品上也看到了這一點，例如租金、水電費以及其他與天然氣相關的費用等等。但在大多數情況下，我們這種垂直整合業務的本質在某種程度上與此無關。說到未來的定價，我們再次強調，現在我們知道了通貨膨脹的水平以及預期的通貨膨脹水平。我們肯定會在未來的發射合約定價中考慮到這一點。所以我認為我們也涵蓋了這方面的基礎。但我會讓皮特根據他的看法發表評論。

No, you said exactly what I was going to say, Adam. The way we've kind of typically done stuff in the past, Cai, we'll take a product and we'll put it into production, and we'll spend kind of the minimum required to put that in production. We don't go out and build a giant factory and potful of gear and then go and build a product. What I would generally do is be for the product and then kind of iteratively phase in automation in those kinds of production gains. So local, for example, would have been the very first few are entirely built by hand and then we'll add a little bit more automation until we get to where we are today, where a lot of that process is entirely automated. So that's where we can kind of realize some of these bond savings even in this kind of hideously inflationary environment.

不，亞當，你說的正是我想說的。蔡，我們過去的做法是，先把產品投入生產，再投入生產所需的最低成本。我們不會先蓋一個巨型工廠，配備一堆設備，然後再生產產品。我通常會先生產產品，然後逐步引入自動化，以提升生產效率。比如說，在地化生產最初是完全手動完成的，之後我們會逐漸增加自動化程度，直到達到今天的水平，許多流程都完全自動化。所以，即使在這種惡性通膨的環境下，我們也能節省一些債券成本。

So if your realized prices are basically what you priced a year ago, what should we look for, for next year? Because it looks like you've done a pretty good job in offsetting whatever cost hikes that have been?

那麼，如果你們的實際價格與一年前基本持平，那麼明年我們該關注什麼呢？因為看起來你們在抵銷成本上漲方面做得相當不錯了？

I can take that. So Cai, I would say that when we -- obviously, at this point, we've got quite a bit of our 2024 backlog and a significant portion of 2025, and in some cases, beyond that kind of already in backlog, right? So we've done some anticipatory pricing. Again, with what views of inflation were at the time that we entered those agreements also where we thought our costs were going to trend. Our focus is really on getting to our long-term gross margin targets, and we've been -- we've not been shy about that for either our launch business or our Space Systems businesses. I would say that what we've seen historically, though, is a continual upward margin in our price. If you go back even, say, 3 or 4 years ago, we were at a sticker price of a little under $5 million per launch.

我可以接受。蔡，我想說的是，顯然，目前我們已經積壓了相當一部分2024年的訂單和相當一部分2025年的訂單，在某些情況下，甚至超過了這個數字，對吧？所以我們做了一些預期定價。同樣，我們考慮了當時簽訂這些協議時的通貨膨脹情況，以及我們認為成本趨勢的情況。我們的重點是實現長期毛利率目標，而且我們一直以來——無論是我們的發射業務還是太空系統業務，我們都毫不避諱地追求這一點。不過，我想說的是，從歷史上看，我們的價格一直持續上漲。如果你回顧一下，比如說三、四年前，我們的標價是每次發射略低於500萬美元。

And now you can see what we've printed for Q2 and where we see the rest of the year falling out. So again, I think we see that trend increase. And I think also, as maybe Kristine mentioned earlier on the call, there's been a lot of dropouts from aspirational launch providers. And that just kind of really -- if you also think about the pricing that you're seeing now coming through probably didn't reflect the reality of today where there are fewer people delivering the service than was kind of anticipated. A lot of people were selling on slideware and so forth back when some of these contracts are being negotiated. So as you get a more, I would say, a smaller group of people who've actually been able to deliver frequent, reliable access to space, we believe that's supportive of firming up pricing. And so I think, hopefully, we see that trend continue going forward based on execution alone.

現在您可以看到我們第二季的業績，以及我們預計今年剩餘時間的業績下滑趨勢。所以，我認為我們看到了這種趨勢的增強。而且，正如克里斯汀之前在電話會議上提到的那樣，許多理想的發射服務商已經退出。這真的有點——如果您也考慮一下現在的定價，可能並沒有反映出今天的現實，提供服務的人比預期的要少。在談判這些合約的時候，很多人只是在幻燈片軟體等平台上銷售。所以，我想說，隨著能夠提供頻繁、可靠的太空服務的人越來越少，我們相信這將有利於定價的穩定。因此，我希望看到這種趨勢能夠繼續下去，僅憑執行力就如此。

And then the last one is, what's the split between adjusted gross profit between launch and Space Systems in the third quarter?

最後一個問題是，第三季發射系統和太空系統調整後的毛利分成是多少？

I don't believe we provide that in our guide. We're not getting down to that level of detailed information at this time, Cai.

我覺得我們的指南裡沒有提供這些內容。蔡先生，我們目前還沒深入到這種程度的詳細資料。

Your next question comes from the line of Jason Gursky with Citi.

您的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Jason Gursky。

I want to start with the question on Space Systems and the Globalstar project and some of the rev rec that you talked about there, Adam, can you talk kind of what the status of that program is from a milestone perspective, CDR, or preliminary design review? Just kind of where you are in that process so we can get a sense of what the shape of the curve looks like in the ramp for revenue and Space Systems over the next few quarters.

我想先從太空系統和全球星級計畫的問題開始，以及你之前提到的一些修訂記錄。亞當，你能從里程碑、CDR（初步設計審查）的角度談談這個專案的進展嗎？請問你目前處於哪個階段，這樣我們就能大致了解未來幾季營收和太空系統的成長曲線。

Yes. I'll let Pete talk to the status of the engineering program.

是的。我會讓皮特談談工程專案的進度。

Yes. Sure. Jason. So look, we remain solidly on track to that program. So we've obviously gone through preliminary design review. So that program is marching on track and is as intended. That's on your side. Your customer as well they're kind of staying on track. I mean, it's a joint project. So we will kind of rely on each other. And obviously, there's NDA piece and our piece as well as a global stars piece. So by kind of definition, for us to successfully deliver the milestones, the other partners have to be as well.

是的，當然。傑森。所以，你看，我們仍在穩步推進這個計畫。我們顯然已經完成了初步設計審查。所以這個項目正在按計劃進行，並且符合預期。這對你有利。你的客戶也一樣，他們也基本上保持著正軌。我的意思是，這是一個合作項目。所以我們會互相依賴。當然，這其中有保密協議的部分，我們自己的部分，以及全球明星的部分。所以，從某種意義上來說，為了讓我們成功實現里程碑，其他合作夥伴也必須如此。

But this quarter of revenue that you're not going to get this quarter, is it tight, any particular milestones ahead of us that we might see some announcements on in the future?

但是本季的收入是不會實現的，情況是否緊張，我們未來可能會看到哪些特定的里程碑公告？

I can jump in there. So Jason, I think one of the challenges with the Rev rec under ASC 606 for these programs, there's a lot of different hurdles that you've got to get over and satisfy. And we're -- as a company, we're just as conservative on our accounting as we are and making sure that the launch vehicle is ready to go off. And we've recognized very little revenue historically under the contract with MDA, even not the little bit that's embedded in our Q3. And it's a function of certain parts of the program basically getting allocated to R&D.

我可以插一句。傑森，我認為根據ASC 606，這些專案在Rev rec（修訂版）方面面臨的挑戰之一是，你必須克服並滿足許多不同的障礙。作為一家公司，我們在會計方面非常保守，並確保運載火箭隨時可以發射。我們過去在與MDA的合約中確認的收入很少，甚至連第三季的那點收入都沒有。這是因為專案的某些部分基本上被分配給了研發部門。

And then other elements get allocated to, obviously, the cost of producing the spacecraft themselves. So we are still, up to this point, have been very much in the R&D portion and the real heavy kind of phase where you move into actually assembling spacecraft and pulling inventory and all those things that are required under that, which also tie into your rev rec. Those have really kind of been always back-end loaded. And so I think to Pete's point, I mean, I think all of the technical things are on track and on schedule. And so now it's just a matter of really kind of getting to the point where we're able to recognize the revenue once we get the R&D portion largely behind us, which is kind of where we're at right now. We're kind of right on that cusp as we start to convert from the -- it's kind of hitting the P&L on the OpEx line versus now transitioning to rev rec and seeing the cost of sales come through as well.

然後，其他要素顯然會被分配到太空船本身的生產成本。所以到目前為止，我們仍然處於研發階段，這是一個非常繁重的階段，需要實際組裝太空船、提取庫存以及所有相關的工作，這些工作也與收入收入（rev rec）息息相關。這些工作其實一直都是後端載入的。所以，我想說Pete的觀點，我認為所有技術工作都在按計劃進行。現在，我們只需要在研發部分基本完成後，就能確認收入，而這正是我們現在所處的狀態。我們正處於這個關鍵時刻，開始從營運支出（OpEx）的損益表（P&L）轉向收入收入（rev rec）的轉變，並看到銷售成本也隨之產生。

Okay. That's great. The second question is around capacity for Electron and Neutron. Just kind of curious if you got kind of an update on if the demand was there. How many annual launches do you think you were capacitized to do on the electron? And then, Pete, I think you -- maybe I heard this wrong, but I thought I heard you mention that some of the inventory and equipment that you picked up from Virgin might accelerate the capacitization for lack of a better word on Neutron. So be kind of curious. You get that first launch done on new Torones everything goes swimmingly well. How much annual capacity would you have on the tail end of successfully certifying that launch vehicle?

好的。太好了。第二個問題是關於電子火箭和中子火箭的容量。我有點好奇，您是否了解一下需求狀況。您認為電子火箭每年的發射容量是多少？然後，Pete，我想您——也許我聽錯了，但我好像聽到您提到過，您從維珍公司獲得的一些庫存和設備可能會加速中子火箭的容量提升，因為沒有更好的詞來形容中子火箭。所以請保持好奇。您用新的托羅內火箭完成了第一次發射，一切都很順利。在成功認證該運載火箭後，您的年發射量是多少？

Yes. No, it's a great question. So on Electron, look, we've facilitated the factory to be able to ultimately produce 1 electron a week. So the factories kind of capacity is stated at that. Now in order for us to increase the capacity over today, there's no major piece of CapEx that we need to produce. I mean we have 3 pads operational, and it's really a headcount adjustment on that sense. So there's plenty of capacity there for Electron growth, and we just kind of manage that capacity, and with the launches, we have scheduled during the year, just so that we don't over kind of capacitize ourselves on that seems.

是的，不，這是一個很好的問題。所以就 Electron 而言，我們已經為工廠提供了便利，最終能夠每週生產 1 台 Electron。所以工廠的產能就是這樣。現在，為了提高產能，我們不需要投入大量的資本支出。我的意思是，我們有 3 個生產基地在運營，從這個意義上來說，這實際上是一種人員調整。所以 Electron 有足夠的產能來滿足成長，我們只是在管理這些產能，並根據年內安排的發布計劃，避免產能過剩。

And then with Neutron, we will be following a pretty consistent path that's proven to work well with Neutron as we did with Electron, where we start off with one vehicle, and it's not produced in a full production sense. And then as we produce more, we kind of bootstrap and add more facilities and more automation as we go through. So obviously, being a reusable launch vehicle, the only thing that we have to really produce at volume as a second stage, which is a much smaller and remarkably simple comparatively speaking to the first-stage device. So the cadence to that can move up pretty quickly. The Virgin Orbit acquisition is really a scaling enabler. So knowing that the way we kind of work here at Rocket Labs, we don't go out and just build giant factories and full and for gear and then start building on a rocket. We kind of build on a rocket and then iteratively add those things along the way.

至於 Neutron，我們將遵循一條相當一致的路線，這條路線已被證明對 Neutron 非常有效，就像我們開發 Electron 一樣。我們從一枚火箭開始，它並非完全量產。隨著產量的增加，我們會逐步啟動，增加更多設施和自動化程度。顯然，作為可重複使用的運載火箭，我們唯一需要真正量產的是第二級火箭，它比第一級火箭小得多，也非常簡單。因此，第二級火箭的生產節奏可以很快加快。收購 Virgin Orbit 確實有助於擴大規模。我們了解 Rocket Labs 的工作方式，我們不會先建造大型工廠，配備齊全的裝備，然後再開始製造火箭。我們是在火箭的基礎上進行製造，然後在過程中迭代地添加這些東西。

We found that to be the most capital-efficient way of doing it. The beauty with the Virgin Orbit facility is that we walked in there and it's just capitalized to the roof with equipment. So where that really is going to help us, especially from an engine development perspective or engine production perspective is that a lot of the long lead really expensive capital equipment like very bespoke CNC machines and measuring systems and whatnot. We just all picked up for $16.1 million. So where Virgin Orbit for us is really, really going to shine is on the backside of the project where we need to start producing larger volumes of engines and composite components and such.

我們發現這是最節省資本的方式。維珍軌道工廠的妙處在於，我們一走進去，它就把設備資本化到極致。所以，這真正能幫助我們的地方，尤其是從引擎開發或生產的角度來看，在於許多周期長、成本高昂的資本設備，例如高度客製化的數控工具機、測量系統等等，我們只花了1,610萬美元就買下了它們。所以，對我們來說，維珍軌道真正閃耀的地方在於專案後期，我們需要開始生產更大批量的引擎、複合材料零件等等。

Right. And Adam, one last one, if you don't mind. The balance sheet. Can you talk a little bit about the debt and the plan for that?

好的。亞當，如果你不介意的話，我還有最後一個問題。資產負債表。可以談談債務以及相關的計劃嗎？

Yes. So the debt on the balance sheet is from the $100 million Hercules loan that we took out before going through our leaseback transaction to really, again, derisk that transaction itself. We've been pretty active in looking at ways to access, I would say, more cost-effective forms of capital. I think the capital that we have in the form of that loan has been incredibly flexible. They've been a great partner to us. But that was also taken out of the time when the company was in a very different stage of its development versus where we are now, which we think opens up other options for us. Now that said, when we came public, we raised the amount of capital that we thought we would need to execute our vision on the Space Systems side of the house, plus get Neutron to the pad. We still feel very comfortable that we're in that position.

是的。資產負債表上的債務來自我們在進行回租交易之前獲得的1億美元Hercules貸款，這筆貸款實際上是為了降低交易本身的風險。我們一直在積極尋找更具成本效益的融資方式。我認為，我們以貸款形式獲得的資金非常靈活。他們一直是我們優秀的合作夥伴。但這筆貸款是在公司發展階段與我們現在截然不同的時候提取的，我們認為這為我們開闢了其他選擇。話雖如此，當我們上市時，我們籌集了我們認為在太空系統方面實現願景以及讓中子星發射升空所需的資金。我們對目前的狀況仍然感到非常安心。

We can always choose to go faster or go slower depending on kind of where our capital resources kind of what they look like. But right now, again, we have a long-term road map that we can execute with the capital that we have. But we again, I think there will be opportunities to put more -- replace that piece of capital with more efficient capital because now we're much more mature and established. It has gone current. The loan is payable within 12 months now. I think it comes due on January -- sorry, June 1, I believe, 2024, so obviously, we've got some time, but we're very comfortable with where we're at from a liquidity perspective, and we have a lot more options now at our disposal than we had, again, 2, 3 years ago, and that was taken out.

我們始終可以根據資本資源的狀況選擇加快或放慢速度。但就目前而言，我們有一個長期路線圖，可以利用現有資本來執行。但我認為，我們有機會投入更多資金——用更有效率的資本來取代這部分資本，因為我們現在已經更加成熟和穩定。這筆貸款已經到期。現在貸款可在12個月內償還。我認為它將於2024年1月——抱歉，應該是6月1日——到期。所以顯然，我們還有一些時間，但從流動性的角度來看，我們對目前的狀況非常滿意，而且我們現在擁有比兩三年前更多的選擇，而那筆選擇是被取消的。

Your next question comes from the line of Andre Madrid with Bank of America Securities.

您的下一個問題來自美國銀行證券公司的安德烈馬德里。

Yes. I wanted to follow up on Suji's question actually. Would you guys be able to maybe provide a percent cost reduction that you're targeting through new Electron recovery? And maybe talk a bit more about how this can drive margins on the platform going forward?

是的。實際上，我想跟進一下 Suji 的問題。你們能否透過新的 Electron 恢復功能，實現目標成本降低的百分比？能否再談談這將如何推動平台未來的利潤率？

Yes. So if you look at the total cost of Electron launch vehicle, about 2/3 of the costs are in the first stage, which is obviously where we're focused on the recovery efforts. And if you look at some -- we've made some assumptions about how much rework we require to the stage. Fortunately, each one of these recovery missions that we've done have provided a lot of data for us to kind of confirm those assumptions. The fact that we're going to be flying an engine, a reponed engine later this year, and a lot of other components have already gone kind of similar analysis, and even some of them have gone through flight, is very helpful. So if you look at the total cost that we've been targeting to get an electron launch, including the reused booster on a certain percentage of our missions, which is also a factor that goes into the calculus.

是的。所以，如果你看一下電子火箭運載火箭的總成本，你會發現大約三分之二的成本都花在第一級上，而這顯然也是我們回收工作的重點。如果你看一下——我們對第一級需要多少返工做了一些假設。幸運的是，我們執行的每一次回收任務都提供了大量數據，讓我們能夠驗證這些假設。我們將在今年稍後試飛一台發動機、一台回收的發動機，而且許多其他部件也已經進行了類似的分析，甚至其中一些已經完成試飛，這非常有幫助。所以，如果你看我們為電子火箭發射設定的總成本目標，其中包括在一定比例的任務中重複使用的助推器，這也是計算中的一個因素。

The second stage where we look at bond reductions because that's not recoverable and then the kick stage as well. We've targeted getting the total cost of electron launch down into the, call it, $3 million to $3.5 million per launch. And again, that's all -- a lot of it is tied to a launch cadence of at least 2 launches per month, getting our normal kind of realized on cost reductions realized and then, of course, the benefits from recovering the first stage boosters. So hopefully, that provides you a little bit more color and it addresses your question.

第二階段，我們考慮削減債券，因為這是不可回收的，然後是啟動階段。我們的目標是將電子發射的總成本降低到每次發射300萬到350萬美元。再說一遍，僅此而已——其中很大一部分與每月至少兩次發射的節奏有關，這是為了實現我們通常的成本削減，當然，還有回收第一級助推器帶來的收益。希望以上內容能為您提供一些幫助，並解答您的問題。

Yes. No, definitely. That is very helpful. And then maybe one more, if I may, on Neutron given that we just talked about Electron. I understand the platform is expected to be reasonable and back on the pad, and whatnot. But how should we be thinking about the cost structure there?

是的。當然。這非常有幫助。然後，如果可以的話，我想再補充一點關於 Neutron 的內容，因為我們剛才談到了 Electron。我知道該平台預計價格合理，並且能夠重新投入使用等等。但是我們應該如何考慮那裡的成本結構呢？

Yes, Neutron is pretty similar to Elektron in a reusable sense really. I think the economics pretty much remain the same as just it's an extra 0 probably. But the actual fundamental economics of reuse pretty much pencil out the same. And the target margins are the same. The added advantage, of course, with Neutron is that the more users we get out of the first stage, the better those economics obviously look until you completely amortize the cost of that first stage over and from the repeated uses.

是的，Neutron 在可重複使用方面確實與 Elektron 非常相似。我認為它們的經濟效益基本上相同，可能只是多了一個 0。但實際重複使用的基本經濟效益大致相同。目標利潤率也相同。當然，Neutron 的另一個優勢是，第一階段的使用者越多，其經濟效益就越好，直到重複使用完全攤銷第一階段的成本。

Thank you. Your final question comes from the line of Edison Yu with Deutsche Bank.

謝謝。您的最後一個問題來自德意志銀行的Edison Yu。

A couple of quick ones for me. I think we talked about 20 launches next year. Is that sort of the right way to think about the benefit? And given all the activity -- negative activity for the competition, do we think there's some maybe upside to that?

我想快速問幾個問題。我記得我們討論過明年發射20顆衛星。這樣看待收益是否正確？考慮到所有活動——對競爭對手的負面影響——我們認為這樣做可能有一些好處嗎？

Yes. I think that's certainly what we're planning for internally for a production sense, Edison. And we're kind of on target there. And the thing is, with a lot of the kinds of aspirational launch providers. It wasn't always clear how many launches they actually had under contract, and there's very few of them now left. So yes, I mean, maybe there is. But I think most people have kind of realized who's going to be successful and who's not by now. So I think the majority of the defection has probably occurred.

是的。愛迪生，我認為這確實是我們內在生產層面的規劃。我們在這方面的目標基本上準確。問題是，有很多雄心勃勃的發射供應商。我們並不總是清楚他們到底簽了多少發射合同，現在剩下的已經所剩無幾了。所以，是的，我的意思是，也許還有。但我認為大多數人現在已經意識到誰會成功，誰不會成功。所以我認為大多數的叛逃可能已經發生了。

Understood. And then one on Space Systems. I know there were some difficulties, I think, initially with Solero. What's the latest update on that business? Is that kind of recovering to the trajectory that you guys are expecting?

明白了。然後是關於Space Systems的。我知道Solero最初遇到了一些困難。這項業務的最新消息是什麼？它正在恢復到你們預期的軌道嗎？

Yes. I think we're very happy where that business is going. So I think the team there has done a really great job. And I think that is a good example of kind of a very traditional historic space company coming under the wing of kind of Rocket Lab and us kind of reculturalizing them and the team also very much being up for that and enjoying that. And I think that the result is -- Adam, you can say more. But personally, I'm very happy with the way that's tracking.

是的。我們對這項業務的進展非常滿意。所以我認為那裡的團隊做得非常出色。我認為這是一個很好的例子，一個非常傳統的歷史悠久的太空公司被納入Rocket Lab的麾下，我們對其進行了文化重塑，團隊也非常樂於接受並享受這種轉變。我認為最終結果是——Adam，你可以說得更多。但就我個人而言，我對目前的進展感到非常滿意。

Yes. I would say, Edison, that when we closed that deal, it will be 2 years in January. We set a target for 30% gross margin within that time frame and on a non-GAAP basis. And I would say that we're absolutely still tracking toward that. I think if you'd asked me that question 6 months ago, I think I probably would have said that maybe there's some -- a little bit of schedule risk. It might have taken maybe 2.5 years to 2 years to get there. But it feels like we're in the right place to kind of achieve that in the original time frame that we contemplated. So as Pete said, we've been very, very excited. I mean, it's a great team. We love the -- what that brings to the platform as far as the level of vertical integration for a very key and high percentage total cost of BOM to our platforms. Again, just gives us more control over delivering our solutions to our customers in the time frame and the cost and performance that we need to have. So it's been a very big differentiator. And fortunately, the financials are falling along with that.

是的。我想說，Edison，當我們在一月完成那筆交易時，合約期限是兩年。我們設定的目標是在這個期限內，以非公認會計準則 (Non-GAAP) 為基礎，達到 30% 的毛利率。而且，我們目前仍在朝著這個目標努力。如果你六個月前問我這個問題，我可能會說，可能會有一些進度風險。要實現這個目標可能需要兩年半到兩年的時間。但現在看來，我們正處於一個正確的階段，能夠在最初設定的期限內實現這一目標。正如 Pete 所說，我們非常非常興奮。我的意思是，這是一個很棒的團隊。我們喜歡這為平台帶來的好處，以及垂直整合水平，這降低了我們平台中 BOM 總成本中非常關鍵且佔比很高的部分。再次強調，這讓我們能夠更好地控制在規定的時間內向客戶交付解決方案，並滿足我們所需的成本和效能。所以，這是一個非常顯著的優勢。幸運的是，財務狀況也隨之下滑。

I will now turn the call back over to Colin Canfield for closing remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給科林·坎菲爾德，請他作最後發言。

Okay. Thanks so much. And then just a reminder for everyone on the call today, we actually were able to resolve the technical issue from our call provider to get the slides posted on today's website. We also want to take the opportunity to flag that we'll be presenting at upcoming conferences for Bank of America, Jefferies, and Morgan Stanley during the upcoming months. So look forward to seeing you guys on the road, and thank you all for coming to today's call.

好的，非常感謝。然後，我想提醒一下今天參加電話會議的各位，我們實際上已經解決了電話服務提供者的技術問題，以便將投影片發佈到今天的網站上。我們也想藉此機會提醒大家，我們將在未來幾個月內出席美國銀行、傑富瑞和摩根士丹利的會議。期待與大家見面，感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect.

女士們，先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與。現在可以掛斷電話了。