Rocket Lab Corp (RKLB) 2021 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings. And welcome to the Rocket Lab First Half 2021 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

大家好！歡迎參加 Rocket Lab 2021 年上半年業績電話會議。 （操作員指示）

As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Gideon Massey, Finance Planning and Analyst Manager. Thank you, sir. You may begin.

提醒一下，本次電話會議正在錄音。現在，我很高興介紹主持人，財務規劃和分析經理吉迪恩·梅西 (Gideon Massey)。謝謝，先生。您可以開始了。

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, everyone. And thank you for joining us on today's conference call to discuss Rocket Lab's first half 2021 financial results. Today's call is being hosted by Peter Beck, Founder and CEO; and Adam Spice, Chief Financial Officer. After our prepared comments, we will take questions.

謝謝接線生。大家下午好。感謝大家參加今天的電話會議，討論Rocket Lab 2021年上半年的財務表現。今天的電話會議由創辦人兼執行長Peter Beck和財務長Adam Spice主持。在我們準備好的發言之後，我們將回答提問。

Our comments today include forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable security laws, including statements relating to our guidance for the third and fourth quarter 2021 revenue. Revenue growth expectations in our principal target markets, GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses, tax expenses and effective tax rate and interest and other expense.

我們今天的評論包含適用證券法界定的前瞻性陳述，包括與我們對2021年第三季和第四季收入的預期相關的陳述。我們主要目標市場的收入成長預期、GAAP和非GAAP毛利率、GAAP和非GAAP營運費用、稅費和有效稅率以及利息和其他費用。

In addition, we will make forward-looking statements related to trend opportunities and uncertainties in various products and geographic markets, including, without limitation, statements concerning opportunities arising from our launch service and space systems market and opportunities for improved revenue across our target markets.

此外，我們將就各種產品和地理市場的趨勢機會和不確定性做出前瞻性陳述，包括但不限於有關我們的發射服務和太空系統市場產生的機會以及我們在目標市場提高收入的機會的陳述。

These forward-looking statements include substantial risks and uncertainty includes arising from competition, global trade and export restrictions, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic our dependence on a limited number of customers, average selling price trends and risks that our market and growth opportunities may not develop as we currently expect and that our assumptions concerning these opportunities may prove incorrect.

這些前瞻性陳述包含重大風險和不確定性，包括因競爭、全球貿易和出口限制、COVID-19 疫情的影響、我們對有限數量客戶的依賴、平均售價趨勢以及我們的市場和成長機會可能不會像我們目前預期的那樣發展以及我們對這些機會的假設可能被證明是錯誤的風險。

More information on these and other risks may affect the forward-looking statements is outlined in the Risk Factors section of our recent SEC filings, including our Form 8-K filed on August 25, 2021, and the documents incorporated therein. Any forward-looking statements are made as of today, and Rocket Lab has no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

有關這些風險以及其他可能影響前瞻性陳述的風險的更多信息，請參閱我們近期提交給美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 的文件中「風險因素」部分，包括我們於 2021 年 8 月 25 日提交的 8-K 表格及其包含的文件。所有前瞻性陳述均截至今日為止，Rocket Lab 沒有義務更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述。

The first half 2021 earnings release is available in the Investor Relations section of our website at rocketlabusa.com.

2021 年上半年財報可在我們網站 rocketlabusa.com 的投資者關係部分查閱。

To supplement our unaudited consolidated financial statements presented on a basis consistent with GAAP, we disclose certain non-GAAP financial measures, including gross margin and operating expenses. These supplemental measures exclude the effects of stock-based compensation expense, amortization of purchased intangible assets, other nonrecurring interest and other income expense, net attributable to acquisitions and noncash income tax benefits and expenses.

為了補充我們依照公認會計準則 (GAAP) 編製的未經審計合併財務報表，我們揭露了某些非公認會計準則 (Non-GAAP) 財務指標，包括毛利率和營業費用。這些補充指標不包括股票薪酬費用、購買無形資產攤銷、其他非經常性利息及其他收入費用、歸屬於收購的淨額以及非現金所得稅收益和費用的影響。

We also supplement our unaudited historical statements and forward-looking guidance with the measure of adjusted EBITDA. Investments to EBITDA include share-based compensation, warrant expense related to customers and partners foreign exchange gains or losses, other nonoperating income and loss, excluding interest expense related to debt and other nonrecurring gains or losses. We encourage investors to review the detailed reconciliation of our GAAP and non-GAAP presentations in our investor updated presentation available on our website.

我們也以調整後EBITDA指標補充了未經審計的歷史報表和前瞻性指引。 EBITDA的投資包括股權激勵、與客戶及合作夥伴相關的認股權證費用、外匯損益、其他非營業性損益（不包括與債務相關的利息費用和其他非經常性損益）。我們鼓勵投資人查閱我們網站上投資人更新簡報中GAAP和非GAAP簡報的詳細對帳表。

We do not provide a reconciliation of non-GAAP guidance for future periods because of the inherent uncertainty associated with our ability to project certain future charges, including stock-based compensation and its associated tax effects and the effects of warrant expense related to customers and partners. Non-GAAP financial measures discussed today are not in accordance with and do not serve as an alternative for the presentation of Rocket Labs' GAAP financial results.

由於我們預測某些未來費用的能力存在固有的不確定性，包括股票薪酬及其相關稅務影響，以及與客戶和合作夥伴相關的認股權證費用的影響，因此我們不提供未來期間非公認會計準則 (Non-GAAP) 指引的對帳表。今天討論的非公認會計準則 (Non-GAAP) 財務指標與 Rocket Labs 的公認會計準則 (GAAP) 財務表現的列報不一致，也不能替代其列報方式。

We are providing this information to enable investors to perform more meaningful comparisons of our operating results in a manner similar to management's analysis of our business. We believe that these non-GAAP measures have location and that they do not reflect all of the amounts associated with our GAAP results of operation. These non-GAAP measures should only be viewed in conjunction with corresponding GAAP measures.

我們提供這些資訊是為了使投資者能夠以類似於管理層對我們業務的分析方式對我們的經營業績進行更有意義的比較。我們認為，這些非公認會計準則 (Non-GAAP) 指標具有特定位置，且並未反映與我們公認會計準則 (GAAP) 營運績效相關的所有金額。這些非公認會計準則 (Non-GAAP) 指標應僅與相應的公認會計準則 (GAAP) 指標結合使用。

Lastly, this call is being webcast with a supporting presentation and a replay and copy of the presentation will be available on our website for 2 weeks.

最後，本次電話會議將透過網路直播，並附有支援性演示文稿，演示文稿的重播和副本將在我們的網站上提供兩週。

Now let me turn the call over to Peter Beck. Founder and CEO.

現在，我將電話轉給創辦人兼執行長 Peter Beck。

Thank you very much, Gideon, and thank you all for joining us today as review Rocket Lab business highlights and financial results for the first half of 2020. I founded Rocket Lab in 2006 with a vision to unlock the potential of space, and it's a pleasure to be joining you today and sharing details on just exactly how we're doing that.

非常感謝吉迪恩，也感謝大家今天加入我們，回顧 Rocket Lab 2020 年上半年的業務亮點和財務業績。我於 2006 年創立了 Rocket Lab，希望釋放太空的潛力，我很高興今天能和大家一起分享我們具體是如何做到這一點的。

I'm joined by our Chief Financial Officer, Adam Spice. Adam has served as our CFO since May 2018. Prior to joining the Rocket Lab team, Adam was the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at MaxLinear, and of experience to the team.

和我一起參加的是我們的財務長 Adam Spice。 Adam 自 2018 年 5 月起擔任我們的財務長。在加入 Rocket Lab 團隊之前，Adam 曾擔任 MaxLinear 的副總裁兼財務官，為團隊積累了豐富的經驗。

Today, we'll be talking you through a brief introduction of the Rocket Lab business, followed by our key accomplishments the first half of 2021. We'll be covering our financial highlights and outlook sharing our up-and-coming conference schedule. And of course, we'll leave time for questions and answers.

今天，我們將簡要介紹 Rocket Lab 的業務，並介紹我們在 2021 年上半年的主要成就。我們將介紹我們的財務亮點和展望，並分享我們即將舉行的會議日程。當然，我們也會預留問答時間。

So let me first open with a quick overview of Rocket Lab. We're a vertically integrated end-to-end space company spanning launch services and space manufacturing with a vision to move into space applications perhaps better known as providing data services for orbit. We design, manufacture and launch the Electron rocket, which has been flying since 2017. We've now launched 21x and delivered 105 satellites to orbit for a range of commercial and government customers.

首先，請容許我簡單介紹一下 Rocket Lab。我們是一家垂直整合的端到端航太公司，業務涵蓋發射服務和航太製造，並致力於進軍航太應用領域，或許更廣為人知的是提供軌道資料服務。我們設計、製造並發射了 Electron 火箭，自 2017 年以來一直在飛行。目前，我們已經為許多商業和政府客戶發射了 21 顆衛星，並將 105 顆衛星送入軌道。

This has made us the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket for the past 2 years behind only basic is Falcon 9. We have 3 launch pads, including 1 operational pad and another nearing completion in New Zealand. The third Virginia -- the third in Virginia is scheduled to be operational in the coming months pending NASA certification.

這使得我們成為過去兩年美國發射頻率第二高的火箭，僅次於獵鷹9號。我們擁有三個發射台，其中一個位於紐西蘭，現已投入使用，另一個即將完工。第三個位於維吉尼亞州的發射台——待NASA認證後，計劃在未來幾個月內投入使用。

Beyond launch, we design, manufacture and operate spacecraft, two of which have been launched and operating in the orbit right now. Our Photon spacecraft has been selected by NASA permissions to the moon to Mars and has been selected by commercial satellite operators or missions in low Earth orbit.

除了發射之外，我們還設計、製造和營運太空船，其中兩艘已發射升空，目前已在軌道上運行。我們的光子號太空船已被美國太空總署（NASA）選中，可用於從月球到火星的探測，並已被商業衛星營運商或低地球軌道任務選中。

Operating as a launch provider and spacecraft manufacturer, we have a unique insight into the industry, particularly across supply chains. Something that became quickly apparent to us was that while small satellite industry was growing, it was constrained by satellite component supply as typically, these products are being produced in small quantity and are hugely expensive and require ordering sometimes years in advance.

作為一家發射服務提供者和太空船製造商，我們對產業，尤其是整個供應鏈，有著獨到的見解。我們很快意識到，小型衛星產業雖然蓬勃發展，但卻受到衛星零件供應的限制，因為這些產品通常產量小、價格昂貴，有時甚至需要提前數年訂購。

So we set out to change that by producing what we consider best-in-class space got components at scale, our capability was strengthened with the acquisition of Sinclair Planetary in 2020.

因此，我們著手改變這種狀況，大規模生產我們認為一流的太空零件，2020 年收購 Sinclair Planetary 後，我們的能力得到了增強。

So with that brief overview of the Rocket Lab story today, and let me take you through some of the achievements for the first half of this year.

今天，我對 Rocket Lab 的故事進行了簡要概述，並讓我向大家介紹今年上半年取得的一些成就。

This, we started off strong with 3 Electron launches in the first half, which saw us hit our milestone 20th Electron launch to date. We managed to launch twice in the same period last year. So we've increased our launch cadence by 50% for the first half of 2021.

上半年我們表現強勁，成功發射了3次Electron，標誌著我們迄今已發射了20次Electron，創下了新的里程碑。去年同期我們成功發射了兩次。因此，2021年上半年我們的發射節奏提高了50%。

Across these missions, we reached another key milestone deploying our 100th satellite to orbit. We've actually now exceeded that and are sitting at 105 satellites deployed to orbit for customers across government and commercial markets, plus 2 of our own Photon spacecraft here as well.

透過這些任務，我們達到了另一個重要的里程碑，將第100顆衛星送入軌道。實際上，我們現在已經超越了這個目標，為政府和商業市場的客戶部署了105顆衛星，此外還有兩顆我們自己的「光子」號太空船。

It was on this 20th launch that we successfully recovered Electron's first stage Bristolia Ocean SplashTown after launch. This is our second successful recovery of the first stage and marked a significant step forward in our usability program, which aims to make Electron the first reusable rocket dedicated to small satellites.

正是在第20次發射中，我們成功回收了Electron火箭的第一級「布里斯託海洋飛濺小鎮」（Bristolia Ocean SplashTown）。這是我們第二次成功回收第一級，標誌著我們可用性專案邁出了重要一步，該專案旨在使Electron火箭成為首個專用於小型衛星的可重複使用火箭。

The first half of this year also registered significant growth in backlog with June 30, 2021 backlog of $141 million. June 30, 2020 backlog of $59.9 million. This is underpinned by several significant new Electron launch contracts, including a 5-launch deal with BlackSky Global to support their Constellation growth as well as a new launch contract with General Atomics. We continue to see strong growth from government customers to with a new launch contract awarded for a dedicated launch for the U.S. government. The commercial sensitivity and security reasons, several of our commercial and government customers do wish to remain undisclosed at this point.

今年上半年，積壓訂單量也顯著成長，截至2021年6月30日的積壓訂單量為1.41億美元。 2020年6月30日的積壓訂單量為5,990萬美元。這得歸功於幾份重要的Electron新發射合同，包括與BlackSky Global簽訂的5次發射合同，以支持其星座計劃的增長，以及與通用原子公司簽訂的新發射合同。我們繼續看到來自政府客戶的強勁增長，並獲得了一份新的發射合同，用於為美國政府進行一次專門的發射。由於商業敏感性和安全原因，我們的一些商業和政府客戶目前希望保持匿名。

We also saw strong growth on the Space Systems side. We were awarded a contract to design and build 3 photons spacecraft for Vada Space Industries, an in-space manufacturing company. We were awarded a study to develop 2 Photon spacecraft for NASA Escapade mission to Mars. In addition to Photon's contracts, we secured new deals for satellite components across a number of large undisclosed customers.

我們在太空系統方面也取得了強勁成長。我們獲得了為太空製造公司Vada Space Industries設計和建造3光子太空船的合約。我們也獲得了為NASA「Escapade」火星任務開發2光子太空船的研究合約。除了Photon的合約外，我們還與一些未公開的大型客戶簽訂了新的衛星零件合約。

And of course, in the first half of 2021, we had a big milestone by entering into the merger agreement with Vector Acquisition Corporation being a journey to become a publicly-traded company listed on the NASDAQ.

當然，2021 年上半年，我們與 Vector Acquisition Corporation 達成合併協議，邁向成為納斯達克上市公司的旅程，這是一個重要的里程碑。

In anticipation to our public listing, we also welcomed new Board Members, Merline, Jon at Alex. We're proud and excited to have him on the team as we embark on this new chapter.

值此上市之際，我們也迎來了新董事會成員：Merline、Jon 和 Alex。我們非常榮幸能夠邀請他加入我們，開啟新的篇章。

On the R&D side, we announced plans to develop a new 8-ton payload class rocket called Neutron, where Electron sold the challenge of dedicated responsive launch for small satellites, Neutron will provide a right-sized solution for launching the constellations of the future. Since announcing plans in March, we've continued to make great progress, and I look forward to sharing a detailed development update in the coming months.

在研發方面，我們宣布了開發名為「中子」（Neutron）的新型8噸有效載荷級火箭的計畫。 Electron公司致力於小型衛星專用響應式發射的挑戰，而「中子」將為未來衛星星座的發射提供合適的解決方案。自從3月份宣布該計劃以來，我們取得了長足的進展，我期待在未來幾個月分享詳細的開發進展。

So let's provide a brief snapshot of the highlights in the first half, but I'd like to also touch briefly on some of our key achievements since June 30 of this year.

讓我們簡單介紹一下上半年的亮點，但我也想簡要談談自今年 6 月 30 日以來我們取得的一些主要成就。

On July 29, we successfully launched our 21st Electron mission, a dedicated launch for the United States Space Force. This is our second mission under the space test program, the first taking place in May 2019. So we're proud to have delivered a mission success for our government customers once again. As is often the case with our government customers, pin point accuracy and orbital deployment is highly valued, and this mission delivered the payload with precision, thanks to electronic stage. With more government missions coming up, we look forward to delivering this reliability again and again.

7月29日，我們成功發射了第21次「電子」任務，這是專為美國太空部隊發射的發射任務。這是我們在太空測試計畫下的第二次任務，第一次是在2019年5月進行的。因此，我們很自豪能夠再次為政府客戶成功完成任務。正如我們的政府客戶通常所期望的那樣，精準的定位和軌道部署至關重要，而這次任務正是得益於電子級的精準有效載荷運送。隨著更多政府任務的到來，我們期待再次提供如此可靠的服務。

Beyond launch activity, from June 30 to August 31, we continued to grow our backlog to $174 million. This is underpinned by launch contracts with commercial satellite operators including Aurora Propulsion Technologies, Alba Orbital as well as a number of undisclosed commercial and government customers across launch and space systems.

除發射活動外，從6月30日至8月31日，我們的待交付訂單持續成長至1.74億美元。這得歸功於與Aurora Propulsion Technologies、Alba Orbital等商業衛星營運商以及一些未公開的發射和太空系統商業和政府客戶簽訂的發射合約。

Contributing to this as another multi-launch deal. Just today, we announced that Rocket Lab has been awarded a 5 launch contract with Kinéis to deliver 25 satellites to orbit, with the Electron from 2023. This represents Kinéis entire constellation and really commence Electron's value proposition of putting our customers in control of their emissions by launching on Electron, Kinéis has much more control over their launch schedule, orbital parameters as well as that pinpoint deployment accuracy that is provided by the kick stage.

另一項多發射協議也為此做出了貢獻。就在今天，我們宣布Rocket Lab與Kinéis簽訂了5次發射合同，將從2023年開始使用Electron火箭將25顆衛星送入軌道。這代表了Kinéis的整個衛星星座，並真正體現了Electron的價值主張，即讓客戶透過Electron火箭發射控制其發射量，Kinéis可以更好地控制其發射計畫、軌道參數以及由發射台提供的精準部署精度。

On the Space Systems side, we recently announced that construction is underway on a new production line for reaction yields A key component for small satellites. As mentioned earlier, satellite components have typically been produced in small numbers, which has really limited the speed and scale of Constellation development. The line has been built to solve that, enabling production at scale to meet the growing needs of their customers, the industry at large.

在太空系統方面，我們最近宣布，一條用於小型衛星關鍵零件反應產出A的新生產線正在建設中。如前所述，衛星零件通常產量較小，這嚴重限制了星座計畫的開發速度和規模。這條生產線的建設旨在解決這一問題，實現規模化生產，以滿足客戶乃至整個行業日益增長的需求。

And of course, one of the key achievements of the year so far has been the successful closure of our merger with Vector Acquisition Corporation. As of 25th August, Rocket Lab is a publicly-traded company on the NASDAQ -- The transaction saw Rocket Lab received $777 million in gross proceeds. We also saw a tremendously low redemption rate of just 3% on publicly-traded VACQ shares.

當然，今年迄今為止的一項重要成就是我們成功完成了與 Vector Acquisition Corporation 的合併。截至 8 月 25 日，Rocket Lab 已在納斯達克上市——這筆交易使 Rocket Lab 獲得了 7.77 億美元的總收益。此外，VACQ 公開交易股票的贖回率也非常低，僅 3%。

This activity has taken place against a backdrop of COVID-19. Our launch cadence and operations have and continued to be affected by COVID-19 restrictions in the U.S. New Zealand and Canada. And New Zealand operations have experienced disruptions due to some of the most restrictive COVID-19 measures law, including our current stay at home orders, which convince launch operations taking place.

此次的發射活動是在新冠疫情（COVID-19）的背景下進行。我們的發射節奏和營運一直受到美國、紐西蘭和加拿大新冠疫情限制措施的影響。紐西蘭的營運也因一些最嚴格的新冠疫情防控措施（包括我們目前的居家令）而受到干擾，這些措施阻礙了發射工作的進行。

In addition, New Zealand -- in addition, New Zealand's strict international border restrictions have created delays. However, we have been successful in securing our customers into New Zealand so far. Indications are that the current lockdown restrictions may ease by the end of September with the Delta cases dropping in New Zealand. But this, of course, is subject to change.

此外，紐西蘭嚴格的國際邊境管制也造成了延誤。不過，到目前為止，我們成功地確保了我們的客戶能夠入境紐西蘭。有跡象表明，隨著紐西蘭三角洲地區病例的減少，目前的封鎖限制可能會在9月底放鬆。但這當然可能會有所改變。

So with that, I'll let turn the call over to Adam Spice, our Chief Financial Officer.

因此，我將把電話轉給我們的財務長亞當‧斯派斯 (Adam Spice)。

Thanks, Peter. I will first review our first half 2021 results and then further discuss our outlook for Q3 and provide around our Q4 2021 revenue outlook. Our first half 2021 results highlight revenues of $29.5 million, representing a year-on-year growth of 237% and GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins of 13% and 23%, respectively. Specifically, launch services revenue grew 185% and stood at $24.1 million or 82% of total revenue and Space Systems contributed $5.4 million or 18% of total revenue.

謝謝，彼得。我將先回顧我們2021年上半年的業績，然後進一步討論我們對第三季的展望，並大致介紹我們2021年第四季的營收展望。我們2021年上半年的業績重點關注的是營收2,950萬美元，年增237%，GAAP和非GAAP毛利率分別為13%和23%。其中，發射服務收入成長185%，達到2,410萬美元，佔總營收的82%；太空系統貢獻了540萬美元，佔總營收的18%。

Space Systems grew dramatically off a small base year-on-year to $5.4 million from approximately $300,000 as the period benefited from the combination of full period contribution from the acquisition of Sinclair Planetary that closed in April 2020, overall strong growth in shipments for reaction wheels and star trackers as well as contributions from our broader spaces initiatives, including spacecraft, engineering and design services.

太空系統業務年比基數較小，從約 30 萬美元大幅增長至 540 萬美元，這得益於 2020 年 4 月完成的對 Sinclair Planetary 的收購帶來的全期貢獻、反作用輪和星體跟踪器出貨量整體強勁增長，以及包括航天器、工程和設計服務在內的更廣泛的空間計劃在內的貢獻。

As referenced earlier, GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins for the first half of 2021 were approximately 13% and 16% of revenue, respectively. This compares to GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins of negative 67% and negative 59%, respectively, in the first half of 2020. Expansion both GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins were largely the result of increases in Electron build rate and launch cadence and the related effects on launch and production overhead cost absorption as well as the mix effect of greater relative contribution of Space Systems. The delta between GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins in the first half of 2021 is primarily driven by $600,000 of stock-based compensation and $100,000 of acquisition-related intangible asset amortization.

如前所述，2021年上半年GAAP和非GAAP毛利率分別約為營收的13%和16%。相較之下，2020年上半年GAAP和非GAAP毛利率分別為-67%和-59%。 GAAP和非GAAP毛利率的擴張主要是由於Electron火箭的建造速度和發射節奏的提高，以及由此對發射和生產間接成本吸收的影響，以及太空系統相對貢獻增加的混合效應。 2021年上半年GAAP和非GAAP毛利率之間的差異主要由60萬美元的股票薪酬和10萬美元的收購相關無形資產攤銷造成。

GAAP operating expenses for the first half of 2021 were $29.3 million, up $11.9 million versus the first half of 2020, with 80% of the OpEx increased spending attributable to R&D targeted at further developing TAM expanding technical capabilities.

2021 年上半年的 GAAP 營運費用為 2,930 萬美元，比 2020 年上半年增加了 1,190 萬美元，其中 80% 的營運支出增加歸因於旨在進一步開發 TAM 擴展技術能力的研發。

GAAP R&D expenses of $15.6 million included stock-based compensation of $1 million and amortization of purchased intangibles of approximately $100,000, yielding $13.9 million of non-GAAP operating expenses for the first half of 2021. The previously referenced targeted investments in R&D spend that stepped up $9.5 million were driven largely by increased staffing and Photon expenses related to our systems products, launch vehicle automated flight termination system development efforts and the initial spend on our recently announced Neutron launch vehicle.

1,560 萬美元的 GAAP 研發費用包括 100 萬美元的股票薪酬和約 10 萬美元的購買無形資產攤銷，2021 年上半年的非 GAAP 營運費用為 1,390 萬美元。先前提到的增加 950 萬美元的研發支出目標投資主要由於與我們的系統產品、運載火箭自動飛行終止系統開發工作以及我們最近宣布的中子運載火箭的初始支出相關的人員配備和光子支出的增加。

GAAP SG&A expense of $13.7 million included stock-based compensation of $800,000 and amortization of purchased intangibles of approximately $50,000, yielding $12.8 million of non-GAAP SG&A expense for the first half of 2021.

1,370 萬美元的 GAAP 銷售、一般及行政費用包括 80 萬美元的股票薪酬和約 5 萬美元的購買無形資產攤銷，導致 2021 年上半年的非 GAAP 銷售、一般及行政費用為 1,280 萬美元。

The year-on-year step-up of $2.4 million in SG&A was primarily due to the increased headcount and related labor expenses, software licenses and subscriptions as professional services and audit expenses related to the preparation for our capital markets transaction, partially offset by reductions in facilities and other related overhead expenses.

銷售、一般及行政費用 (SG&A) 年比增加 240 萬美元，主要由於員工人數及相關勞動力費用、軟體許可和訂閱費用以及與資本市場交易準備相關的專業服務費用增加，但設施和其他相關間接費用的減少部分抵消了這一增加。

Our cash flow consumed from operating activities in the first half of 2021 was $30.6 million, which reflects an increase of cash consumed of $24.5 million versus the first half of 2020. This increase was largely driven by a $9.1 million larger net loss, combined with a $13.8 million increase in accounts receivable due to the lengthening payment terms extended to a strategic customer undergoing a protracted financing process, which is now nearing conclusion and an increase in inventory of $5.3 million, offset somewhat by $5.5 million in noncash expense associated with preferred stock warrants.

我們 2021 年上半年經營活動消耗的現金流為 3,060 萬美元，與 2020 年上半年相比增加了 2,450 萬美元。這一增長主要是由於淨虧損增加 910 萬美元，加上應收帳款增加 1380 萬美元，原因是向一位正在進行長期融資流程（目前已接近尾聲）的戰略客戶延長付款期限，以及庫存增加 530 萬美元，但與優先股認股權證相關的 550 萬美元非現金支出有所抵消。

Cash flow consumed from operating activities was $5.7 million in the first half of 2021 compared to cash consumed of $27.8 million in the first half of 2020, with year-on-year period reduction in cash consumed driven by several large capital projects that were consuming cash in the first half of 2020 being largely completed in 2020.

2021 年上半年營運活動消耗的現金流為 570 萬美元，而 2020 年上半年消耗的現金為 2,780 萬美元，現金消耗同比減少是由於 2020 年上半年消耗現金的幾個大型資本項目在 2020 年基本完工。

Included investments are our new Long Beach headquarters and production facility, investments in LC1B, our second launch pad at Maya, New Zealand, and our newly consolidated propulsion test complex in Auckland as well as nonrecurring $12.12 million cash outflow related to the acquisition of St. Clare planetary in April 2020.

包括的投資包括我們在長灘的新總部和生產設施、對 LC1B 的投資、我們在新西蘭瑪雅的第二個發射台、我們在奧克蘭新合併的推進測試綜合體，以及與 2020 年 4 月收購聖克萊爾行星公司相關的 1212 萬美元非經常性現金流出。

The combination of cash consumed from operating and investing activities was more than offset by the $97.4 million net cash generated from the finance activities in the period, resulting in $109 million in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash as of June 30, 2021, an increase of $30.9 million versus the prior ending period June 30, 2020.

本期間經營活動和投資活動所消耗的現金總額被財務活動產生的 9,740 萬美元淨現金所抵消，導致截至 2021 年 6 月 30 日的現金及現金等價物和受限現金為 1.09 億美元，比截至 2020 年 6 月 30 日的上一期間增加 3,090 萬美元。

Subsequent to the June 30, 2021 period, we completed the stack transaction Vector Acquisition Corporation on August 25, resulting in $777 million in gross proceeds from a combination of a $467 million pipe and $310 million from Vector Acquisition Corporation's cash and trust. We believe the liquidity resources of the company enable the execution of our strategic development road map, including the development of our Neutron launch vehicle and continued investments targeted expanding our total addressable market for Strategic Space Systems Solutions.

2021年6月30日之後，我們於8月25日完成了對Vector Acquisition Corporation的堆疊交易，總收益達7.77億美元，其中4.67億美元的管道資金加上3.1億美元的Vector Acquisition Corporation現金及信託資金。我們相信，該公司的流動性資源能夠支持我們策略發展路線圖的實施，包括中子運載火箭的研發，以及持續投資，以擴大我們戰略空間系統解決方案的潛在市場規模。

With that, let's turn to our guidance for Q3 2021. We currently expect revenue in the third quarter of 2021 to be approximately $4 million to $5 million, which has been significantly impacted by the COVID level 4 alert and lockdown in New Zealand after Delta variant outbreak, resulting in no further no launch activity planned in the quarter.

有了這些，讓我們來看看 2021 年第三季的指引。我們目前預計 2021 年第三季的收入約為 400 萬至 500 萬美元，這受到了紐西蘭在 Delta 變異病毒爆發後 COVID 4 級警報和封鎖的嚴重影響，導致本季度沒有進一步的發布活動計劃。

Q3 2021 GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins of negative 221% and negative 52%, respectively. These negative gross margins are a product of the significantly lower production launch volumes forecasted in the quarter and related unabsorbed production and launch period costs resulting from the Zealand COVID Level 4 restrictions referenced earlier on the call. We believe our high degree of vertical integration is very strategic and a key factor enabling future operating leverage. However, in periods such as this, vertical integration can have the asset effect. As production Launch activities resume, we expect gross margins to recover accordingly.

2021年第三季度，GAAP和非GAAP毛利率分別為-221%和-52%。這些負毛利率是由於本季預測的生產啟動量大幅下降，以及先前電話會議中提到的新西蘭新冠疫情四級限制措施導致的相關未吸收的生產和啟動期成本。我們認為，高度的垂直整合具有策略意義，是實現未來營運槓桿的關鍵因素。然而，在這樣的時期，垂直整合可能會產生資產效應。隨著生產啟動活動的恢復，我們預計毛利率將相應回升。

We expect Q3 2021 GAAP operating expenses of $41 million to $43 million and non-GAAP operating expenses of $18 million to $20 million as we continue to fund strategic development programs targeted at delivering strong top line growth in 2021 and beyond across launch and Space Systems and our goal of delivering operating leverage in the business.

我們預計 2021 年第三季 GAAP 營運費用為 4,100 萬至 4,300 萬美元，非 GAAP 營運費用為 1,800 萬至 2,000 萬美元，因為我們將繼續資助戰略發展計劃，旨在在 2021 年及以後實現發射和空間系統方面的強勁收入增長，並實現業務運營槓桿的目標。

We expect Q3 2021 GAAP and non-GAAP interest expense to be $3.4 million. Given the requirement to fair market value of the Vector Acquisition Corp. public and private warrants and Rocket Lab customer and partner awards based on the end stock price, we cannot estimate these below-the-line GAAP other income and expense items at this time, nor are we able to forecast foreign exchange gains or losses. We expect Q3 2021 adjusted EBITDA loss to range between $17 million and $20 million.

我們預計2021年第三季GAAP和非GAAP利息支出為340萬美元。鑑於Vector Acquisition Corp.公開和私募認股權證以及Rocket Lab客戶和合作夥伴獎勵的公允市場價值要求基於最終股價，我們目前無法估算這些低於GAAP線的其他收入和支出項目，也無法預測外匯損益。我們預計2021年第三季調整後EBITDA虧損將在1,700萬美元至2,000萬美元之間。

Our manifest for the remainder of the year remains strong, which supports demand for more than $40 million of revenue in the fourth quarter. Given the uncertainty of COVID restriction in New Zealand, however, we are judging our fourth quarter revenue forecast to range between $17 million and $20 million. This assumes the COVID-19 restrictions eased prior to the end of September, allowing our launch service to resume. This revenue guidance of $4 million to $5 million for Q3 and $17 million to $20 million for Q4, when combined with our first half in the books would result in fiscal year 2021 revenue of $50 million to $54 million. We are taking what we believe to be a prudently conservative approach to forecasting in a very uncertain time with regards to COVID restrictions in New Zealand.

我們今年剩餘時間的計畫依然強勁，這支撐了第四季度超過 4,000 萬美元收入的需求。然而，考慮到紐西蘭新冠疫情限制措施的不確定性，我們預計第四季營收將在 1,700 萬至 2,000 萬美元之間。這是假設新冠疫情限制措施在 9 月底前放寬，以便我們的發射服務能夠恢復。第三季營收預期為 400 萬至 500 萬美元，第四季營收預期為 1,700 萬至 2,000 萬美元，加上上半年的業績，2021 財年營收將達到 5,000 萬至 5,400 萬美元。在新西蘭新冠疫情限制措施非常不確定的時期，我們認為我們採取了謹慎保守的預測方法。

To this end, the estimate for fourth quarter revenue assumes modest sequential growth in Space Systems and contribution from only 2 launches in the quarter versus 5 launches currently manifested. It is also important to consider that our backlog has been growing despite the current COVID operating restrictions in New Zealand and these contracts are not perishable, but rather just the timing of execution against these binding contractual launch services agreements.

為此，第四季營收預估假設太空系統業務環比小幅成長，且本季僅貢獻2次發射，而目前已實現5次發射。同樣重要的是，儘管紐西蘭目前實施了新冠疫情營運限制，但我們的積壓訂單仍在增加，這些合約並非易逝，而只是根據這些具有約束力的發射服務協議的執行時間而定。

So in closing, despite near-term challenges presented by COVID restrictions primarily affecting our launch services business, we're very encouraged by the progress made against key strategic programs and expansion initiatives and particularly by continued expansion in our backlog.

最後，儘管 COVID 限制帶來的短期挑戰主要影響了我們的發射服務業務，但我們對關鍵策略計畫和擴展計畫所取得的進展感到非常鼓舞，特別是我們積壓訂單的持續擴大。

And with that, I'd like to open the call for questions.

現在，我想開始提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

The first question is from the line of Edison Yu with Deutsche Bank.

第一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Edison Yu。

And congratulations on the first quarter out. Just had a couple of things I wanted to ask 1 year near term kind of further out. I realize that you're being a bit conservative on the launch cadence due to COVID. Could you maybe go over what's the potential to maybe make that up in like the first half of 2022? given you clearly have the capacity to. Is it still possible to kind of get those launches and maybe in the first quarter of 2022, curious about that.

恭喜第一季業績。我有幾個問題想問一下，關於一年後的事。我知道由於新冠疫情的影響，你們在發布節奏上有些保守。能否請您談談，在2022年上半年，你們是否有可能彌補這一差距？鑑於你們顯然有能力做到這一點。現在還有可能在2022年第一季完成這些發布嗎？我很好奇。

And then the second thing, a bit more longer term. It seems like the pace of announcements of wins has accelerated, I would say, in the last few months. Could you maybe go over again the pipeline that you've outlined in the past? Is that also expanding across the various verticals that you're playing in? I'm just curious, it just seems the pace of wind has really accelerated.

第二件事，從更長遠的角度來看。我想說，在過去的幾個月裡，宣布得標的速度似乎加快了。能否再談一下您之前概述的管道？這些管道是否也擴展到您所涉足的各個垂直領域？我只是好奇，風能的發展速度似乎真的加快了。

I can kick a couple of these and add any color that you wish to it. With respect to can we make up the manifest. We -- obviously, we are provided -- we can produce launch vehicles and we can push those out to the pad pretty quickly. Operating our own private all range gives us a huge amount of flexibility to manage the manifest. We're not subject to any other launch vehicles scheduling constraints. So that puts us in a good position to make those up and control that. With respect to the pipeline extending the pipeline does continue to expand, and we continue to see growth in the pipeline and the opportunities thereon.

我可以踢幾個，然後根據你的喜好添加顏色。至於我們能否編制清單。我們——顯然，我們有能力——生產運載火箭，並能很快將它們送上發射台。經營我們自己的全系列運載火箭，讓我們在管理清單方面擁有極大的靈活性。我們不受任何其他運載火箭調度的限制。因此，這使我們能夠很好地編制和控制清單。至於管道延伸，管道確實在不斷擴展，我們也持續看到管道的成長及其帶來的機會。

Yes. I mean I'll jump in and I think when it comes to the catch up Sorry, go ahead.

是的。我的意思是，我會插話，等到聊完再說。抱歉，請繼續。

No, go ahead. Go ahead. I had a follow-up.

不，你繼續說。我還有後續事宜。

Go ahead and ask your follow-up and then I'll answer.

繼續詢問您的後續問題，然後我會回答。

Yes, I was going to say is, I guess, I assume 4Q doesn't include any launches out of walls, right? I was just going to make sure.

是的，我想說的是，我猜第四季應該沒有包含任何從牆外發射的場景，對吧？我只是想確認一下。

Okay. I'll take that. So yes, currently, right now, we don't have any launches scheduled on the manifest for Q4 out of wallets.

好的。我明白了。是的，目前，我們第四季的清單上沒有任何發布計劃。

As we've discussed in the past, We're really awaiting the final certification of our automated flight termination system. We're waiting on NASA's software to be certified on our hardware. So until that happens, we're able to launch at a wall. So we've also -- there's a targeted date of having that operational by the end of the year, but whether we could get a launch off within that kind of towards the very end of the year is in question. Peter, do you want to add?

正如我們之前討論過的，我們確實在等待自動飛行終止系統的最終認證。我們正在等待NASA的軟體在我們的硬體上獲得認證。所以在那之前，我們能夠向牆壁發射火箭。所以我們也…我們的目標是在年底前投入使用，但我們能否在年底前發射升空還是個問題。彼得，你想補充嗎？

That's a factor right in. The launch plan is complete, and it's commissioned. We're just waiting on the sort of complete that final piece of work on the software, which, as Adam said, is scheduled by the end of the year.

這確實是一個因素。發射計劃已經完成，並且已經投入使用。我們只是在等待軟體的最後階段工作完成，正如亞當所說，預計在年底完成。

And then I'll jump back on to the question as far as catching up in Q1. I would say that we're certainly not throwing in the towel on Q4 and supporting as many of the launch that we have on the manifest. It was just really out of, I would say, being prudent and conservative with regards to forecasting for the financial community, what we're willing to sign up for, commit to. This is not at all an indication that we are changing our manifest or not kind of still doing everything we can to execute to that. I think it was just prudently cautious of us to put a lower financial commitment out there. But again, I want to make sure that people don't confuse that with what actually exists on the manifest and what ultimately the bogey would be.

然後我回到第一季度追趕進度的問題。我想說，我們絕對不會在第四季就放棄，也不會支持我們計畫中的大部分項目。這只是出於謹慎和保守的考慮，為了預測金融界，我們願意簽署什麼，承諾什麼。這完全不意味著我們正在改變計劃，或者沒有繼續竭盡全力去執行。我認為，我們降低財務承諾只是出於謹慎。但我想再次強調，我希望大家不要將這和計畫中實際存在的內容以及最終的預期目標混為一談。

And then I would follow on the other question as far as the pipeline pace and so forth. I would agree. I think we're seeing a lot of diversity in the pipeline across launch across government, across commercial. And then I think more specifically probably on the Space Systems side is where we're seeing a tremendous amount of strength and where we're getting a lot of diversity building in the business.

然後我想繼續問另一個問題，關於研發進度等等。我同意。我認為，我們看到，從發射到政府、從商業到商業，研發流程都呈現出很大的多元性。更具體地說，在太空系統方面，我們看到了巨大的實力，而且我們的業務也朝著多元化的方向發展。

To me that's probably the most encouraging because I think having that diversity of the business allows us to deal with some of the lumpiness of natural in the launch business, right? Launches can be affected by weather. They can be affected by a lot of things, whereas this diversified portfolio of Space Systems business across components, satellite build, design services on orbit operational management contracts and so forth. And that really does provide a nice kind of diversified and stable base on which you can build your business. So we're very, very excited about that particular part of the growth in our pipeline.

對我來說，這可能是最令人鼓舞的，因為我認為業務的多元化使我們能夠應對發射業務中一些自然的不穩定性，對吧？發射可能會受到天氣的影響。發射會受到許多因素的影響，而我們多元化的太空系統業務組合涵蓋了零件、衛星製造、軌道營運管理合約的設計服務等等。這確實為我們的業務發展提供了多元化且穩定的基礎。因此，我們對我們產品線中這部分的成長感到非常非常興奮。

Great. That's great color. If I could just sneak one more in. Any sort of updates on Neutron. I know you said that you'll give more details in the coming months. Curious what's maybe some reactions from potential customers. The progress is everything kind of on track timing-wise, just anything there?

太好了。顏色真棒。如果可以再多說一句就好了。 Neutron 有什麼更新嗎？我知道你說過會在接下來的幾個月公佈更多細節。我很好奇潛在客戶的反應。從時間來看，進展一切順利，有什麼進展嗎？

Yes, sure. Neutron continues to develop really well. And we're just -- we're spending a time getting through a tremendous amount of work. And holding our cards a little bit close to our chest.

是的，當然。 Neutron 的開發進展非常順利。我們只是花了不少時間完成了大量的工作，並且保持著謹慎的態度。

Look, Neutron is a vehicle that is that kind of an increment on electronics. It is something that really sets a new standard within the space industry in our view. So we're going to do a really significant announcement about that here in the coming months, where we'll expose a lot more of its details. But at the moment, we'd like to just keep a head down and working hard and getting through a large portion of the vehicle design and ops. I don't think anybody will be disappointed with the -- when we reveal more information.

你看，中子號是一款在電子設備上有所提升的運載火箭。在我們看來，它確實為航太工業樹立了新的標準。因此，我們將在未來幾個月內就此發布一個非常重要的公告，屆時我們將揭露更多細節。但目前，我們只想埋頭苦幹，努力完成大部分運載火箭的設計和操作。我相信，當我們透露更多資訊時，不會有人失望。

The next question is from the line of Cai von Rumohr with Cowen.

下一個問題來自 Cowen 的 Cai von Rumohr。

Yes. So we raised a lot of money. It looks like you need for Neutron and until you reach cash breakeven. And I think you've talked of sort of inorganic growth. Can you give us a little bit of color of what the M&A pipeline looks like what are you looking for in terms of size of deals when might we see a transaction.

是的。所以我們籌集了很多資金。看起來你需要為 Neutron 籌集資金，直到達到現金損益兩平。我想你提到過某種無機成長。能否稍微介紹一下你的併購計畫？就交易規模而言，你期望的交易是什麼？什麼時候能看到交易？

Sure. I mean your point is exactly correct. We've ensured that we have sufficient dry powder to really expand the TAM. And I would just fair to say that the kind of acquisitions we're looking for and have been pursuing are ones that really grow our position very strategically. So obviously, you've seen the value of the Sinclair acquisition in what we can provide there. But more things along those lines that really creates an ability to create new technologies and compete in the marketplace -- more aggressively other kinds of things we're after. I think it's a little bit early to announce anything here. But perhaps, Adam, you want to provide any that you think approach here.

當然。我的意思是，你的觀點完全正確。我們已經確保擁有足夠的資金來真正擴大TAM。而且，公平地說，我們正在尋找並且一直在進行的收購，能夠真正提升我們的戰略地位。顯然，你已經看到了收購Sinclair的價值，以及我們能夠提供哪些協助。但更多類似的收購，才能真正創造新技術，並在市場上更具競爭力——更積極地推進我們追求的其他領域。我認為現在宣布任何消息都為時過早。但Adam，或許你想提供任何你認為可行的方案。

Okay. Sure. Yes. No, I think that what's interesting about this market right now is it does really feel like it's ripe for consolidation. And not consolidation in the sense of large companies necessarily getting together. But the fact that the investability of space is a relatively new phenomena is for quite some time, it's very difficult to raise private capital in this market.

好的。當然。是的。不，我認為這個市場目前有趣的地方在於，它確實感覺已經到了整合的時機。整合並非指大公司必然會合併。事實上，由於太空投資是一個相對較新的現象，在相當長的一段時間內，在這個市場上籌集私人資本非常困難。

So there's a lot of mom-and-pop or bootstrap companies where their founder controlled, really nice businesses though, businesses that are reasonably integratable they're digestible from that perspective. Also, they tend to have had a focus on profitability. So you're not picking up what are typically kind of venture-funded cash burning operations. So we're actually seeing quite a bit of opportunity. And we always have seen our pipeline, a half dozen or so deals that we're actively investigating or trying to progress.

所以有很多夫妻店或白手起家的公司，它們的創始人控制著一些非常好的業務，這些業務相當容易整合，從這個角度來看，它們很容易被消化。而且，它們往往注重獲利能力。所以你不會遇到那些通常由創投公司投資、燒錢的業務。所以我們其實看到了不少機會。我們一直在關注我們的項目，大約有六筆交易正在積極調查或努力推進。

So think that the outlook looks good for us landing transactions. I think as Peter mentioned earlier, the Sinclair acquisition has really emboldened us to lean forward and look at opportunities. And fortunately, we're also finding that when we have discussions companies, they seem to really want to be part of this platform, right?

所以我認為我們達成交易的前景看好。正如Peter之前提到的，收購Sinclair確實讓我們更有勇氣向前看，尋找機會。幸運的是，我們也發現，當我們進行洽談時，公司似乎真的想成為這個平台的一部分，對吧？

So I think that's -- in my experience, acquiring engineering-oriented companies, that engineers are drawn to other great engineers. And that's one thing that we really have to offer here at Rocket Lab is a great platform with great engineers. And kind of when you have those engineer-to-engineer conversations, you really start to get a mind meld and you get a sense that people want to be part of the true operating company and one that's got a leading platform that they can ultimately get their products to market.

所以我認為──根據我的經驗，收購以工程為導向的公司，工程師會被其他優秀的工程師吸引。而這正是我們Rocket Lab真正能提供的──一個匯集優秀工程師的優秀平台。當你與工程師進行這種對話時，你會真正開始產生思想上的共鳴，你會感覺到人們渴望成為真正經營的公司的一部分，一家擁有領先平台的公司，最終能夠將他們的產品推向市場。

So I think that we're not seeing -- and we're really not looking at we would consider to be large deals. We're really looking more for tuck-ins, and they really do range across the breadth of the market, but primarily on the Space Systems side. Obviously, that's where the majority of the opportunity is because we believe we've got launch pretty well in hand, obviously, with Electron and now with Neutron. And there might be some technologies that we kind of add the portfolio on that side of the house as well. But the focus is really disproportionately on the Space Systems side and building out that -- our footprint in that ecosystem in a prudent way, but ultimate way that I think just fits the model and we'll kind of deliver the type of business profile that we've been articulating to investors thus far.

所以我認為我們沒有看到——而且我們實際上也沒有考慮我們認為的大宗交易。我們實際上更關注的是小規模收購，它們確實涵蓋了整個市場，但主要集中在太空系統領域。顯然，這才是主要的機會所在，因為我們相信我們已經很好地掌握了發射技術，顯然，我們已經有了Electron和現在的Neutron。我們可能也會將一些技術添加到太空系統的產品組合中。但我們的重點主要放在太空系統方面，我們會以審慎的方式拓展我們在該生態系統中的足跡，但最終，我認為這種方式才符合我們的模式，我們將向投資者展示我們迄今為止一直闡述的業務形象。

And as a follow-on, pricing, I think you've mentioned you have a couple of planet launches that you signed up for in 2015 that basically have prices. What is the recent trend in pricing, both with respect to what you're able to get now that you're kind of more proven? And what you're seeing from competition given those guys basically have yet to prove themselves, but obviously, they like to have business.

接下來是定價問題，我記得您提到過，2015年你們簽訂了幾個行星發射項目，基本上都有定價。考慮到你們現在更加成熟，現在的定價趨勢如何？考慮到那些公司基本上還沒有證明自己，但顯然他們喜歡做生意，你從競爭對手那裡看到了什麼？

So at the end of the day, our customers value a couple of things than anything else. So they value reliability and not just reliability of the launch vehicle, but reliability of the schedule and just a proven service. So we haven't seen pricing eroded, and customers understand the value that a reliable, dedicated small launch provides. So I would -- we really haven't seen really any kind of issues there.

所以說到底，我們的客戶最重視的是幾件事。他們看重可靠性，不僅是運載火箭的可靠性，還有計畫的可靠性以及經過驗證的服務。因此，我們沒有看到價格下降，客戶也了解可靠、專業的小型發射服務的價值。所以，我認為——我們確實沒有看到任何問題。

Yes. I'll add a little more color there.

是的。我會在那裡添加一些顏色。

Have you seen...

你見過…

Sorry, go ahead, Cai.

抱歉，蔡，請說。

No, I was just saying, have you seen any improvement in pricing now that you've kind of done more satellites?

不，我只是說，既然你們已經製造了更多的衛星，你們有沒有看到定價有任何改善？

I would say that we've seen stability in our pricing certainly, since I joined, I joined in May of 2018 and the pricing that we were talking about at that point in time was considerably lower than it is today. So pricing has actually gone up for us. And I think a lot of people perhaps would have predicted that not to be the case, but certainly has developed to be that.

我想說的是，自從我加入以來，我們的定價確實保持了穩定。我是2018年5月加入的，當時我們討論的定價比現在低很多。所以，我們的定價實際上上漲了。我想很多人可能預料到情況並非如此，但事實確實如此。

And I think what we're seeing, what's helping that stability in pricing is the fact that we're bringing more to the table than just launch. I don't want to minimize launch, launch is incredibly complex, and we believe the key to playing in space overall. But Photon has really been a huge I would say, complement to our launch business, right, where when you can offer a customer a complete turnkey solution where all they can -- all we need really to focus on is the data, which is really what they want from the asset on orbit, coming to them with a combined launch plus Photon solution is incredibly powerful. And that allows us to have, again, a lot more, I would say, control over pricing because we're really not dealing with other competitors out there that have that same suite of offerings. So that's really been helpful to provide support for pricing and for this not to really get too affected by others.

我認為，我們看到的有助於價格穩定的原因在於，我們提供的不僅僅是發射服務。我不想輕視發射，發射極其複雜，我們認為這是在太空領域全面佈局的關鍵。 Photon 對我們發射業務的補充作用巨大，當你能為客戶提供完整的交鑰匙解決方案時，他們所能做的——我們真正需要關注的只是數據，而這才是他們真正想從軌道上的資產中獲得的。為他們提供發射和 Photon 結合的解決方案，其威力非常強大。這讓我們能夠更好地控制價格，因為我們實際上並沒有與其他擁有相同產品套件的競爭對手打交道。因此，這對於提供定價支援並避免受到其他公司太大影響非常有幫助。

And of course, the other thing on pricing, too, is a lot of people can be out there talking about launches, but we're one of the few that's actually putting assets on orbit on a predictable and frequent basis. So that helps as well.

當然，關於定價的另一個問題是，很多人可能會談論發射，但我們是少數幾個真正以可預測且頻繁的方式將資產送入軌道的公司之一。所以這也有幫助。

And then also what we're seeing, I think, developed is that multi-launch deals have come forward. So we talked about the Kinéis deal early today. I mean you really are starting to see I mean, proof that the new space LEO market has really started to take off and you start to see these multi-launch commitments. And that's something that's really, let's say, kind of evidence itself in the last let's say 6 to 12 months, and we're starting to see more and more kind of momentum on those ones. So less of the kind of one-off bespoke launchers agreements and more for multi-launch which is very encouraging.

此外，我認為我們看到的是，多發射協議正在湧現。今天早些時候我們談到了Kinéis協議。我的意思是，你真的開始看到證據表明，新的低地球軌道太空市場已經真正開始起飛，你開始看到這些多發射承諾。這本身就是過去6到12個月的證據，我們開始看到這些協議的發展動能越來越強勁。一次性定制發射器協議越來越少，多發射協議越來越多，這非常令人鼓舞。

And I think satellite operators also understand the value of all dedicated launch on a reliable platform, whereas prior -- it was less obvious. But as more and more customers are flying with us and they see the value, then I think that's certainly help that as well.

我認為衛星營運商也明白在可靠平台上進行所有專用發射的價值，而之前這一點並不那麼明顯。但隨著越來越多的客戶選擇我們，並認識到其價值，我認為這肯定也會有所幫助。

Yes. I think one of the things that really helps to on the pricing stability is heritage, right? So as Peter mentioned, having hit the milestones we have as far as the number of launches, 21 launches, that's significant, right? It's differentiated in the marketplace. And I think people now, as we get really serious about putting their assets in orbit, they want to go with somebody who's proven that they can do it, and they can do it reliably repeatedly. So all of those things have kind of factored in to provide what we see is a pretty stable environment for pricing.

是的。我認為真正有助於價格穩定的因素之一是歷史傳承，對吧？正如彼得所提到的，就發射次數而言，我們已經達到了里程碑，21次發射，這意義重大，對吧？它在市場上是差異化的。我認為，現在，當我們真正認真考慮將他們的資產送入軌道時，人們希望與那些已經證明自己有能力做到這一點，並且能夠可靠地重複執行的人合作。所以，所有這些因素都考慮到了，以提供我們所看到的相當穩定的定價環境。

The next question is from the line of Suji Silva with ROTH Capital.

下一個問題來自 ROTH Capital 的 Suji Silva。

Team, congratulations on the progress here. I want to dig into your comments on the component strategy and the gross margin that it can be negatively impacted during times like this. And then rebound. Is that a strategic difference for you guys versus competitors and financially? And help us understand which components you try to bring in source in-house and which ones you don't. But how you kind of draw that line?

團隊，祝賀你們的進展。我想深入探討一下你們關於零件策略以及毛利率在當前時期可能受到負面影響的評論。然後是反彈。這對你們和競爭對手來說是一個策略差異嗎？從財務角度也是如此嗎？請幫助我們了解你們嘗試從內部引進哪些零件，哪些不會。但是，你們是如何劃分界線的呢？

Yes. I mean the launch business is always a fairly lumpy business because at the end of the day, as a launch provider, you're always subject to spacecraft readiness and customer readiness. So launch is always a lumpy business. And our decision to move into display systems wasn't something that we did consciously recently, it was something that was baked into the plan from day 1. If you look at the very second rocket that we launched, the kick stage that we put in Albert had resets for solar panels right back on launch to.

是的。我的意思是，發射業務一直都是一個相當不穩定的行業，因為歸根結底，作為發射服務提供者，你總是必須考慮太空船的準備情況和客戶的準備情況。所以發射一直都是不穩定的行業。我們進軍顯示系統領域的決定並不是最近才有意識做出的，而是從第一天起就融入計劃中的。如果你看看我們發射的第二枚火箭，你會發現，我們在阿爾伯特火箭上安裝的啟動級在發射時就對太陽能板進行了重置。

So our view on really providing end-to-end space company has been foundational from day 1. And when you're going to be that interim-based company components or satellite components actually form a really fundamental layer and an important differentiator between you and others because as we found out very quickly when we started to order satellite components, lead times were just too long. Like we don't have 9 to 12 months to wait for a reaction are.

因此，我們真正致力於提供端到端的航太服務，這種理念從第一天起就奠定了基礎。當你要成為一家臨時性的公司時，組件或衛星組件實際上構成了一個非常基礎的層面，也是你與其他公司之間的重要區別，因為當我們開始訂購衛星組件時，我們很快發現，交貨時間實在太長了。我們沒有9到12個月的時間等待回覆。

So after kind of experiencing that in our own satellite program, we kind of understood the rest of the industry and the rest of the market and the satellite industry is kind of bounded by the fact that you have, as Adam mentioned, a number of small shops producing at relatively small volumes. And when you turn up to a satellite component manufacturer and say you want a couple of thousands or something. Everybody's heads just exploded. So if it's a space industry and satellite constellations are going to scale at the rate that everybody products, then this problem has to be sold.

所以，在我們自己的衛星專案中經歷了類似的事情之後，我們多少了解整個產業以及整個市場的情況。正如亞當所說，衛星產業在某種程度上受限於這樣一個事實：許多小型工廠的產量相對較小。當你找到一家衛星組件製造商，說你想要幾千個組件之類的東西時，每個人都會感到頭暈目眩。所以，如果這是一個航太產業，而衛星星座的規模要以每個人生產的速度成長，那麼這個問題就必須解決。

And the one thing that we're super good at as a company is producing really complete things of volume and space component of volume. So our strategy here is obviously to provide components into our own platforms, but also into others and really help support and jolly along the growth of the satellite and the large constellations in general. And you can kind of see that with examples of that, obviously, with the Sinclair deal where we're now supplying not hundreds, but up to thousands of reaction wells into a variety of platforms.

作為一家公司，我們非常擅長的一件事就是生產真正完整的體積和空間組件。因此，我們的策略顯然是為我們自己的平台提供組件，同時也為其他平台提供組件，真正幫助支援和推動衛星以及大型星座的發展。從辛克萊的交易中就可以看出這一點，我們現在為各種平台提供的反應井數量已不只是數百個，而是數千個。

Okay. And then on the launch cadence and the pushouts here, I'm wondering if that has any impact on the timing of when you expect space services, if you would, revenue to come in? I presume you have some learnings and testing there before you monetize that. Does the launch push out in New Zealand push that back? Or is already in place to hit your targets for that flowing into revenue in a few years?

好的。那麼關於發射節奏和推廣，我想知道這是否會對您預計的太空服務收入到帳時間產生影響？我想在實現盈利之前，您已經進行了一些學習和測試。紐西蘭的發射推廣會推遲這一時間嗎？還是說，這些措施已經到位，可以在幾年內實現您的收入目標？

Yes. No, I mean this impact wouldn't affect those future plans. I mean the launch manifest gets moved around all of the time. It's very -- like I said, we're always subject to something whether a customer's readiness of the spacecraft, to customer delivery of this spacecraft and of course, global pandemic. So it all gets thrown in there. And like I said, the biggest inflect is actually owning our own launch range and being able to move those benefits and manage that manifest so that everybody gets off in this time frame.

是的。不，我的意思是這種影響不會影響那些未來的計劃。我的意思是，發射清單一直在改變。就像我說的，我們總是會受到一些因素的影響，例如客戶的太空船準備情況，客戶對太空船的交付情況，當然還有全球疫情。所以所有因素都會被捲入其中。就像我說的，最大的影響實際上是擁有我們自己的發射場，能夠轉移這些優勢並管理發射清單，以便每個人都能在這個時間範圍內發射。

Okay. Again, congratulations on the progress.

好的。再次恭喜你取得的進展。

The next question is from the line of Austin Moeller with Canaccord.

下一個問題來自 Canaccord 的 Austin Moeller。

Just to go ahead with my first question here. If we think about the Space Systems segment, where do you foresee in terms of revenue mix the ultimate breakout being in the next few years in terms of the sales of the Photon satellite bus versus the sales of the components. Yes, I mean, I can provide a little bit of color.

我先來回答第一個問題。就太空系統部門而言，您預計未來幾年光子衛星平台的銷售額與零件銷售額的最終突破點在哪裡？是的，我可以稍微介紹一下。

Go ahead, Adam.

繼續吧，亞當。

Yes. So Austin, if you look at the breakout, right now, certainly, components is a little bit larger because it had a bit of a -- I would say, a little bit more of a running start from the acquisition of Sinclair When we look at our -- the overall contribution in 2021, is it gets to be pretty balanced by the time we're getting out into this Q4 period.

是的。奧斯汀，如果你看一下目前的突破，組件業務的規模肯定會更大一些，因為從收購辛克萊開始，它有了一點起步。當我們看看我們在2021年的整體貢獻時，到我們進入第四季度時，它會變得相當平衡。

So I would say that they both have the opportunity to scale, although my guess would be that components will outstrip the design services and satellite boss and other related functions in space systems for probably the next 12 to perhaps months. But then the opportunities on the broader side of space systems outside of components, both at satellite bus level and services get to be pretty, pretty large. We're -- I would say that there's a question earlier about our pipeline.

所以我想說，它們都有機會擴大規模，儘管我猜測，在未來12個月到幾個月內，組件業務的規模可能會超過設計服務、衛星平台以及其他相關太空系統的功能。但除了組件之外，在更廣泛的太空系統領域，無論是在衛星平台層面還是在服務層面，機會都相當大。我想說的是，我們之前有一個關於我們產品線的問題。

We had some very, very large opportunities that we're pursuing in our pipeline that are very needle moving. So right now, I'd say the default is that components will be a little bit larger because those kind of opportunities are a little bit further developed and maybe a little bit easier quantified. But I think things outside the components more of the full systems things, the satellite bus and services side, I think overall, they have not been a scale much more greatly in the longer term, gain once you get out past the kind of 18- to 20-month period. And with that, I'll let Peter if you do any differently.

我們正在推進一些非常非常大的機會，這些機會進展非常迅速。所以現在，我認為組件的規模會更大一些，因為這類機會發展得更深入一些，也更容易量化。但我認為，除了組件之外，更多的是整個系統，例如衛星平台和服務方面，我認為總體而言，一旦超過18到20個月的周期，從長遠來看，它們的規模不會更大。至於彼得，如果你有什麼不同的想法，我會告訴你的。

No you've said exactly what I was going say.

不，你說的正是我想說的話。

Okay. Great. And so if we think about potential future acquisitions along the same line of Sinclair. Are you guys envisioning targeting companies that are more within that, that larger space system, either satellite bus or services sort of sphere or more components as you build out this business?

好的。太好了。那麼，如果我們考慮未來可能收購的類似Sinclair的公司，你們是否計劃在拓展這項業務的過程中，瞄準那些更專注於更大空間系統的公司，例如衛星平台、服務領域，或更多組件？

Well, I mean, I'd say we have to be a little bit careful from -- not showing too much of a hit competitively. But I would say it's a little bit of both.

嗯，我的意思是，我們必須小心一點——不要在競爭中表現出太多的衝擊力。但我想說，兩者兼具。

There are no additional questions waiting at this time. I would like to pass it back to Peter Beck for any additional remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我想將問題轉回給Peter Beck，請他補充意見。

Thank you very much. And before we wrap up the call, I would like to thank everybody who participated in today's call, and we look forward to having the opportunity to provide further updates on their business, including through our participation at Deutsche Bank's Virtual Technology Conference in September 10; TechCrunch Disrupt 2021 on September 22, and the UBS CEO disruptive CEO Conference on October 19.

非常感謝。在結束電話會議之前，我想感謝所有參加今天電話會議的人，我們期待有機會提供更多關於他們業務的最新信息，包括我們參加9月10日的德意志銀行虛擬技術大會、9月22日的TechCrunch Disrupt 2021以及10月19日的瑞銀CEO顛覆性CEO大會。

Once again, thanks to everybody on the call, and have a great rest of your day.

再次感謝電話中的每個人，祝福大家有個愉快的一天。

That concludes the Rocket Lab First Half 2021 Conference Call. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day.

Rocket Lab 2021 年上半年電話會議到此結束。祝大家今天過得愉快。