TSE:FTG Firan Technology Group Q3 2023 Earnings Report C$8.65 -0.14 (-1.59%) As of 04/17/2025 04:00 PM Eastern Earnings HistoryForecast Firan Technology Group EPS ResultsActual EPSC$0.06Consensus EPS N/ABeat/MissN/AOne Year Ago EPSN/AFiran Technology Group Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$36.61 millionExpected RevenueN/ABeat/MissN/AYoY Revenue GrowthN/AFiran Technology Group Announcement DetailsQuarterQ3 2023Date10/11/2023TimeN/AConference Call DateThursday, October 12, 2023Conference Call Time8:30AM ETConference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptPress ReleaseEarnings HistoryCompany ProfilePowered by Firan Technology Group Q3 2023 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrOctober 12, 2023 ShareLink copied to clipboard.There are 6 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the SDG Q3 2023 Analyst Call. At this time, all lines are in a listen only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. This call is being recorded on Thursday, October 12, 2023. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Operator00:00:26Brad Born, President and Chief Executive Officer of STG, Mr. Bourne, you may proceed. Speaker 100:00:34Thank you. Good morning. I'm Brad Born, President and CEO of Ryan Technology Group Corporation, or FTG. Also on the call today is Jamie Creighton, our Chief Financial Officer. Before we go any further, I must caution you that this call may contain forward looking statements. Speaker 100:00:49Such statements are based on the current expectations and management of the company And inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, including economic factors and the company's industry generally. The preceding list is not exhaustive of all possible factors. Such forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual events Results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward looking statements made by the company. The listener is cautioned to consider these and other factors carefully When making decisions with respect to the company and not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. The company does not undertake and has no specific intention to update any forward looking statements, Written or oral that may be made from time to time by or on its behalf whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Speaker 100:01:36The Q3 turned out well. We certainly had some challenges in the quarter and of course, our Q3 covers the summer months of June, July August, so we lose production days due to The team at FTG overcame the challenges and I am proud of the results. During the quarter, the company continued to see solid bookings and we made progress in ramping production to Within the Q3 of 2023, FTG accomplished many goals to continue to improve the corporation and position it for the future, including our 3rd quarter bookings of $35,700,000 were up 28% over Q3 last year. Our revenue of $30,600,000 were up 59% for Q3 last year, as FTG ramps production to meet customer demand. Revenue included $9,200,000 from the newly acquired sites in Minnetonka, Minnesota and Haverhill, Massachusetts. Speaker 100:02:27We achieved net earnings in Q3 of this year of $1,300,000 with $600,000 in Q2 last year. Our net debt on the balance sheet as of the end of Q3 is $5,700,000 which is down $700,000 from last quarter And it's 0.36 times adjusted EBITDA. We made significant progress in integrating our team in acquisitions and followed through on the plans to drive performance and achieved the desired operational financial results. We ended Q3 with a backlog of $98,000,000 $65,500,000 at the end of 2022. Backlog as of the end of Q3 included $18,200,000 at the newly acquired FGG now employs about 700 people after adding staff through the 1st 9 months of 2023 And including some leadership at the Minnetonka site to help increase throughput and improve operations. Speaker 100:03:24I'll touch more on Our end market demand remains strong. Well, our targets are well targeted within 2023 headwinds for months in the future. We would like to make customer demand and supply chain will maintain our growth. Boeing Plans to ramp up 7 production from 30 watercraft per month currently to 38 in the near future and then update in the next few years. In the business jet market, Bombardier provided guidance for 15% to 20% increase in 2020. Speaker 100:04:28Well, as we mentioned, we've also looked at results from key defense contractors. In one example, Lockheed, the largest defense contractor, has seen sales ramp about 10% so far in 2023. The defense market and government economy feels it appears well supported in the near term due to the increased geopolitical tensions across the globe. Of course, there is some uncertainty in the U. S. Speaker 100:04:57In the short term as the government there grapples with their debt ceiling. Boeing's most recent 20 year forecast shows long term industry growth and continues to show 40 The business jet market has already seen traffic recover. Business Jet Market for us from Honeywell similarly predicts the simulator As with every one of this market, it is lumpy. So we do see large year to year variations. So as we have said for many years, FTG's goal is to set the pace of the aerospace and defense markets as each moves through their independent business cycles. Speaker 100:05:43This continues to prove effective. Beyond all this, let me give you a quick update on some key metrics for 2020. Q3, As already noted, the leading indicator of our business is our bookings or new orders. The 3rd quarter bookings were up 28% over In Q3 'twenty three, sales were $36,300,000 Compared to 23.1% in Q3 last year, this was a 59% increase. Approximately 39% increase is due to the 2 acquisitions And the BaaS growth, which is approximately 19%, was organic growth from the rest of our business. Speaker 100:06:27Delving into some of the segments in our Aerospace compared to Q3 last The trial and tangents were up both up 13%. What component though is caused the ChatSource site to be down 13 Q3 last year in Chatsworth was one of the best quarters, so this was also a tough comp for them to exceed. On the circuit side of the business, sales in Q3 were up $12,700,000 or 63% of the growth came from the 2 acquisitions and 24% of the growth was organic. Overall at FTG, our top five customers accounted for 55.6% of the total revenue in the quarter, which is the same as Q3 last year. While the percentage is constant, the companies have changed. Speaker 100:07:23So interesting to note that the top 10 customers, 7 100 customers are between circuits and aerospace. As we always say, we like the customers as It means we are maximizing our penetration of these customers by selling both cockpit products and circuit boards. In Q3 20 23 percent 26.9 percent of our total revenues came from our Aerospace business compared to 39.8 percent last year. Aerospace business share decreased due to the impact from the acquisitions, which are both on the circuit side of the business I would now like to turn the call over to Jamie, who will discuss our financial results for our Q3. Afterwards, I will talk to you about some key priorities we are working Speaker 200:08:07on. Thanks. Speaker 100:08:09Thanks, Speaker 300:08:12I would like to provide some additional detail on our financial performance for the industry. On sales of 36,600,000 FTG achieved a gross margin of $8,800,000 or 24% compared to $5,700,000 or 24.7 percent On sales of $23,100,000 Q3 2022. The increase in gross margin dollars is driven by increased sales volumes. However, the gross margin rate was weighted down somewhat by the lower gross margins at the Circuit Minnetonka site. Margins at that site are expected to increase over time as we ramp up throughput, achieve material cost savings and adjust price. Speaker 300:08:54The average exchange rate experienced in Q3 2023 was $1.33 as compared to $1.29 In Q3 2022, which is a 3.3% increase. We continue our focus on operational efficiency. One metric to measure this is revenue per employee. For Q3 2023, annualized revenue per employee is approximately 211,000 which is an increase of 3% over the comparable quarter of 2022. In light of the current pressures on both the supply and cost In all of our manufacturing sites, we will continue this focus through the automation of manufacturing processes And investment in capital equipment. Speaker 300:09:40From a geographical standpoint, FGG experienced revenue growth in all of its regions. In dollar terms, Q3 2023 sales to U. S. Customers grew by $11,300,000 as compared to the prior year quarter, Primarily as a result of the 2 U. S. Speaker 300:09:58Acquisitions. However, the overall percentage of sales to U. S. Customers Increased only marginally to 79% from 76%. In percentage terms, sales into Asia increased by 95% As compared to Q3 2022, activity in Asia is increased as the integrated supply chains for commercial aerospace SG and A expense was $4,100,000 or 11.1 percent of sales In Q3 2023 as compared to $3,300,000 or 14.1 percent of sales in the prior period. Speaker 300:10:40The increased expense level includes $635,000 of SG and A incurred at the newly acquired sites And $79,000 of deal costs for the acquisitions. R and D costs for 2023 were $1,600,000 or 4.4 percent of sales compared to $1,400,000 or 6% of sales for Q3 2022. R and D efforts, including product and process improvements at the Circuit segment and efforts to develop and qualify products for future aerospace programs. The exchange rate at Q3 'twenty three close was $1.36 as compared to $1.34 at Q2 2023, which is a weakening of the Canadian dollar. FGG's balance sheet includes assets and liabilities denominated in U. Speaker 300:11:37S. Currency with a net asset balance of The translation of our net U. S. Dollar assets and liabilities Gain currency at the end of Q3 'twenty three resulted in foreign exchange losses for the quarter of 100,000 Compared to foreign exchange gains of $300,000 in Speaker 200:12:00the prior year quarter. Speaker 300:12:04EBITDA, As described in the press release, it was $4,900,000 for Q3 'twenty three as compared to 2,800,000 In Q3 2022, adjusted EBITDA was $5,000,000 for Q3 'twenty three And $2,800,000 for the prior year quarter, with adjustments in both periods limited to deal cost. Adjusted EBITDA For the trailing 12 month period ended Q3 2020, it was $16,900,000 which equates to EBITDA margin of 13.3 percent on sales. For Q3 'twenty three, FTG recorded earnings before income taxes of $2,300,000 or 6.3 percent of the sales As compared to EBIT for Q3 'twenty two of $1,300,000 or 5.4 percent of sales. The Q3 'twenty three income tax provision of $900,000 or 40 percent of pretax earnings reflects that the corporation's Canadian and Chinese operations were profitable and that deferred tax assets on certain foreign operating losses Working capital at Q3 quarter end was 35,200,000 As compared to $30,500,000 at the 2022 year end. Accountable days were 68 At Q3 compared to 64 in the prior year sorry, in the 'twenty two year end, inventory turns were 3.1 At Q3 quarter and compared to 3.7 at the 22 year end. Speaker 300:13:50Accounts payable days outstanding were 79 as compared to 73 at the 22 year end. We completed Q3 'twenty three with a backlog of $98,000,000 Significant portion of this backlog is scheduled for Q4 'twenty three, setting up the potential for a very strong quarter. Continue to focus on cash management and the balance sheet, cost control and efficiency. Our complete SEC filings Are now available on sedar.com. With that, I will turn things back to Brad. Speaker 100:14:30Thank you, Jamie. Let me delve into some important work in the quarter and or for the future performance of FGG. First 9 months of 2023 have been strong. Our sales ramped significantly. We continue to work hard to ramp further in support of the demand we are seeing. Speaker 100:14:44This includes the need to add staff. We are now nearing our target headcount across the company to support the current demand. While we might headcount slightly from site to site going forward, We don't see it as one of our major challenges in the future. Looking forward, a few key items remain For us to focus, Q1 has been the integration of IMI and Holiday. For IMI, we acquired them to grow our Present in the RF circuit board market for aerospace and sense application. Speaker 100:15:14While they are small, with a historic run rate of $4,000,000 to $5,000,000 we like their capabilities. The integration should be relatively straightforward as we intend to continue to operate it in its current facility with the existing staff. Our focus will be to engage our sales team with them to find new customers and to grow the business. This is not an over process, So we can generate incremental margin and profitability for the benefit of FTG. Going along with this, we will there will be some focused CapEx To address a few production constraints and to enable this feature growth. Speaker 100:15:46And finally, we are converting them to our standard ERP system in the 1st part of next year. Holiday was a larger acquisition. Their sales were over US30 $1,000,000 before the pandemic. They were hurt by the pandemic like we were. We see the long term positioning of holidays to be a source of high technology surfboards similar to what we offer from our Toronto facility, but with the U. Speaker 100:16:09S. Footprint. This U. S. Footprint is critical as we look to grow our share in the newly advanced circuit board market for defense applications. Speaker 100:16:18In the short term, we do have 3 priorities as we integrate Holiday into FTG. First, we need to ramp their throughput and sales. Since February, they've added about 20 staff going from 50 people to about 170. But we did have a bit of a setback early in Q3 as their VP of Operations at the site encountered some medical issues And has now retired. Well, did react fast and decided to bring in some known and proven operations management skill to that site. Speaker 100:16:49We hired back Tal Godbuch, who had run our Fredericksburg facility until early in the pandemic. He is back on a temporary basis, But his operational skills have already been felt. And in August, his 1st full month on the job in Minnetonka, they shipped at a $28,000,000 to $29,000,000 annualized run rate, which was great to see. This was their best month since before the pandemic. But as I said, Paul is back on a temporary basis. Speaker 100:17:14It will give us time to find the right person to run that site for the long term. In Minnetonka, our second priority is to reduce material costs. We have identified cost savings that can benefit the site as they are now part of a larger company. It will take some time to achieve these savings As in some cases, it will require customer approvals and it will require some internal engineering efforts as well. But when complete, We expect to achieve savings on the order of $1,000,000 annually. Speaker 100:17:42We continue to make progress on this initiative. And our third priority is to improve pricing. We believe Holiday had not been sufficiently proactive in adjusting prices up as costs went up over the past few years. We have already had some successes in adjusting prices upward and we will continue to address this. We want to ensure any inflationary costs incurred at that site over the Last few years, whether material, labor or other, are passed through to customers and not to squeeze our margin. Speaker 100:18:12And lastly, We have decided to convert them to our standard ERP system and this initiative is already underway. While I'm on the topic of pricing, I've been very impressed with how everyone involved in this at FTG has proactively pursued improved pricing at customers. Across FTG, we've done a good job in avoiding any margin squeeze from increased costs due to recent period of time inflation. We did a detailed dive into some of our key contracts and the price changes achieved and the overall And the price adjustment is achieved and the overall increase was on the order of 30%. This analysis was done on approximately 20% of our total revenue. Speaker 100:18:54While not specifically pricing, we have received some significant expedite purchase orders from customers to meet their urgent needs for our products. We have not seen the benefit of the majority of these expedite fees in our P and L, but we do expect to see more of them being realized in Q4. Speaking of Q4, we continue to see strong demand across most sites. Our backlog due in the quarter It's over $50,000,000 including the new sites. But while not a good metric, we entered the quarter with over $18,000,000 in past due orders. Speaker 100:19:27We certainly hope and expect to bring the past due orders down in Q4. As always, there are possible downsides or headwinds Could impact our quarter. First, our backlog in Q4 of simulator products is relatively low, but given the overall backlog, this should not be too concerning. Also, the contract with our represented staff in Aerospace Toronto has expired. We have entered into negotiations, but the timing and outcome is always uncertain and there is a risk of disruption in production. Speaker 100:20:00Also, maybe just to ensure everyone is aware, We have now increased our financing costs and amortization of intangibles in our P and L as a result of the acquisition. The combined impact of amortization and interest costs are about $350,000 in the quarter, Higher compared to what we had in Q1. This impacts our earnings, but does not impact our EBITDA. Beyond Q3, we are obviously expecting to grow. This is resulting from our strong customer demand, progress in ramping through And all the other sites and improved pricing and some of the program wins across the company. Speaker 100:20:39A couple of examples of our sales successes, including winning new cockpit channels for the Boeing 737 program and winning new cockpit assemblies for both Airbus and Boeing aircraft. These and other wins are increasing our share Could represent 5 to 10 incremental sales in 2024. With the MOX geopolitical situation in China, I'm sure there are still some concerns about our priorities there. As I've mentioned previously, in 2022, Both our operations in China had their best sales year ever and both were profitable. And this has continued to the 1st 9 months of 2023. Speaker 100:21:17We have repatriated cash back to Canada during last year and some more this year. And in total, we have now brought back $2,200,000 in cash. By doing this, we have reduced our surplus cash stranded in China and it reduces our exposure if for any reason things deteriorated between China and the West. On a more positive note in China, the C919 development program achieved CAAC certification last year And we are seeing production orders after a 10 year development program. We received our first production orders in early Q3 this year Our Q2 this year, valued at about $2,800,000 and all of this is deliverable in 2023. Speaker 100:22:00It is nice to see the fruits of our 10 years of development effort This will benefit our Chinese operations going forward and it will be less susceptible to the geopolitical uncertainties. Notwithstanding this good news, we are still being cautious about our operations in China and any further increase in tensions between China and other countries It could impact our operations during the future. We continue to assess possible corporate development opportunities that could fit with either of our businesses, But our near term priority is definitely to integrate our IMI and Holiday acquisition successfully. With a focus on operational excellence in all parts of STG, a strong financial performance in the 1st 9 months of this year, Our recent acquisitions and our key sales wins, we are confident we are on a strong long term growth trajectory. This concludes our presentation. Speaker 100:22:52I thank you for your attention. I'd now like to open the phones for any questions. Lara? Operator00:22:58Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Your first question comes from the line of Nick Corcoran from Acumen Capital, please go ahead. Speaker 200:23:28Good morning. Congratulations on the solid quarter and Definitely good color in the prepared remarks. Speaker 100:23:36Thank you. Speaker 300:23:38Just to maybe start, the backlog was flat sequentially Speaker 200:23:41and the book to bill ratio was hovering out one time. Is that due to timing of orders? Or is there anything else that we should maybe consider? Speaker 100:23:51Yes. I mean, it's definitely a little bit of lumpiness in orders. The big one is simulators. So when I see Then later orders come in and that can skew the book to bill. But I guess I'm looking at this more from a positive Effective right now, so for the past number of quarters, we've always reported bookings above our sales, But we also report that we're struggling to ramp production. Speaker 100:24:19So when I look at Q3 this year, I'm interpreting this as we have ramped our production in line with the orders we're booking, And therefore, you get a book to bill of 1. But I can look at more as maybe, as I said earlier, we've got about the right headcount, maybe we've got the right production level, And we can support our customer demand going forward. Speaker 200:24:46And I guess the related question is like how much Do you think we could see the backlog grow from where it is now? Speaker 100:24:56I'm honestly less concerned about how much more the backlog can grow. I'm more concerned about, as I said, for Q4, I got more than $50,000,000 in backlog, which is a lot, but I have $18,000,000 past due. My goal is to try to bring down the past due orders. And as I do that, it will actually drop my backlog, but it could also mean I have some increased sales. Speaker 200:25:25That's helpful. And then in the news, there's been some commentary on Boeing delaying deliveries of aircraft. Has that impacted Correct at all? Speaker 100:25:36No, not at all. And it's in Boeing Boeing's general objective is to insulate their supply chain from deliveries. And so their production rate and their delivery rates are Not one to one exactly connected. So they try to maintain a stable production rate independent of what's happening with deliveries. That's helpful. Speaker 200:26:01Any commentary on what the outlook for SIM orders is like? Speaker 100:26:07We are seeing some smaller orders. I'm not seeing any significantly larger orders But I expect to materialize in the near term. But I am just going to comment a little bit. The SIM orders are good obviously and they tend to be high value assemblies. But what I'm starting to see, which I actually like even better is, I mentioned we won some new orders this year that were for some cockpit assemblies for Boeing and Airbus. Speaker 100:26:40These are also high value assembly. They go into production aircraft and it actually becomes a more stable revenue Because I'm supporting a production line, not a stimulated individual order. So I'm seeing More aircraft, high value assemblies as opposed to simulator high value assemblies and I think that's better for FTG for the long term. That's helpful. Speaker 200:27:12Kelly, you can give us kind of how you're fully using the quarter. Speaker 100:27:20No, maybe Jamie can. We had a number, I just don't remember what it was. Speaker 300:27:25About 12, Nick. So we were 6 Speaker 200:27:35Okay, that's helpful. And just a last question for me. You've indicated that $50,000,000 of backlog is due in the 4th quarter. How should we think about revenue and EBITDA in the 4th quarter? Speaker 100:27:50Yes. And I Johan is asking this and I always try to avoid it. But I mean, here's the way I'm looking at it and this is just math right now, right? So I have $50,000,000 in backlog. You have $18,000,000 past due order. Speaker 100:28:03At the end of Q4, I still have $18,000,000 in past due order, I'll ship 32, which is not a great number. And conversely, if magically, I would ship 50. But I'm not going to do either. It's not going to be 32 and it's not going to be 50. And so that Yes. Speaker 100:28:24The $1,000,000 question is how much of these past due orders can I burn down in Q4? For sure, I expect to burn it down. Generally, Q4 is stronger than Q3, and Q3, 36 unchanged. So What does that mean? I don't know. Speaker 100:28:43We're going to be above 36, below 50. Speaker 200:28:49Great. That's all for me. Thanks for taking my questions. Okay. Operator00:28:56Thanks, Your next question comes from the line of Paul Steep from Dunlop Capital. Please go Speaker 400:29:19ahead. Hey, good morning, Brad. Just to quickly touch on Nick's last question. What's the gating factor? Because presumably there's always some level of past due orders sort of in the system. Speaker 400:29:32Is it related to the component issue you talked of earlier? And then I got one quick follow-up as well. Sure. Speaker 100:29:40I can tell you there is definitely more than one gating item. There is Different situations in different parts of the business. And I as I talked about for Arrow Chats were definitely component deliveries to us They're impacting our shipments to customers. So that impacts them. In Aero Toronto, I have some what I just talked about some of these new cockpit assemblies that are going into aircraft. Speaker 100:30:10I've basically done development, But I need Transport Canada TSO approval before I can ship production unit. I am waiting on TSO approval. I'm hoping I get that in Q4, but I don't control Transport Canada. So that could be a gating item and it's definitely held up some revenue At this moment in time, it's just those sorts of things. The one thing I'd say it's Last of now is due to staffing. Speaker 100:30:41As I said, I think we're at a reasonable staffing level. So that is not Impacting or not a gating item for what we get out the door in the near future. Speaker 400:30:53Great. And then maybe the fault type, I guess either of you, maybe more Jamie. How should we think about the working capital unwind? Obviously, you added the acquisitions that Brad just briefly touched on how we're going to see shipments and that presumably unwinds some of the working cap. If you could talk through that and then maybe CapEx as well. Speaker 400:31:15I know Brad called out earlier some investments As well on that front, if there's anything unusual or noteworthy there. Thanks. Speaker 100:31:28Maybe I'll talk to CapEx, maybe Jamie can talk to the word capital. But just starting on the CapEx side. This year, our CapEx has been increased really as a result of our funding we received from the Canadian Federal Government and from the Ontario Provincial Government, they've supported us with some interest free financing, but we have to spend the money. These programs wind up next year. So as a result of that, we are accelerating some CapEx, particularly in Canada. Speaker 100:32:04So it's higher this year. After this year, I'm anticipating and for sure we started planning for next year already, Trying to go back to our more long term target of 3% of sales as our CapEx number. Now that's not a precise number, but it's a Target that we use for planning CapEx. And I guess over to you, Jamie, in terms of working capital. Speaker 300:32:31Sure. Thanks, Paul, for your question. So I guess I would look at it that I think working capital in Q4 will come down. I think it will come down because strong revenues in Q3 are going to drive good collections in Q4. I think in Q4, inventory will come down because as Brad described, we're going to have a pretty good quarter from a shipment standpoint. Speaker 300:32:57That's going to drive inventory down, but it's probably going to get mostly hung up in higher accounts receivable at year end. So I think it will work itself down a little in Q4, I think more so in the first Operator00:33:24Your next question comes from the line of Peter Amos, One of your private investors, please go ahead. Speaker 500:33:32Hi, Brad. It's Peter Imhof here. I used to own your stock in the funds that I ran and stuff and Shalom, it's Liam Seth. So, yes, good quarter for you guys. Just most of my questions have been answered, but just on Minnetonka, What do you think the capacity utilization is there in terms of like the ramp up? Speaker 500:33:51I think you said what month was it that was a record for you guys in terms of throughput? Was that September or was that Speaker 100:33:59That was August. It was August. Speaker 500:34:01August, okay. Speaker 100:34:05It's a good question. And I'll just go back on a little bit of historic data for a second. And by the way, it's good to hear from you, Peter. So The the revenue year was 2019 before the pandemic and it was in Sales, I don't think they were at capacity, but for sure they So then as I pull my other metric and I think In terms of the utilization, the last couple of weeks, revenue was $20,000,000 to $23,000,000 So similar to what happened to estimates, they really dropped about 30%. Drops their utilization pretty seasonally. Speaker 100:34:58Our run rate of 2016 is a good run rate for them. It's not a winning Business is that sort of run rate. So we got to get them back into the 30s. And then I just I compare Minnetonka to So I know very similar plant sizes, very similar headcount, similar equipment set. And Toronto now I'm going to switch currencies. Speaker 100:35:26I need this to complicate it, but Toronto can ship $1,000,000 a week and they've shipped In low 50s, again in 2019, they shipped I think $52,000,000 $53,000,000 in sales. I believe with a little bit of work and a little bit of improved operations management, I think they could Produce what Toronto has produced. Speaker 500:35:52Okay. And then just in terms of Toronto, in terms of the aerospace, You said you guys were negotiating. So I'm not sure if it's unionized like or how long have you guys been negotiating and how close are you guys in terms of maybe getting something done there? Speaker 100:36:05Yes. We have a surprising process. Our contract expired in August, And it is unionized. It's Uniqor. We did no negotiation, And this was actually more driven by Uniphore than us since they request meeting dates, but we did no negotiation before the contract expires. Speaker 100:36:29We've now initiated negotiations. We had a couple of meetings in September, but we are still early on in the process. Speaker 500:36:41Okay. And then just in terms of you guys made a bunch of acquisitions over the last couple of years and stuff. So, are you guys still seeing other opportunities there? Or are you just trying to consolidate what you've already done? Or And what the landscape is and what kind of multiples you'd have to pay? Speaker 100:36:58All right. And yes, there are opportunities out there these days. But for sure, to the extent I can control things, I am not looking to close any more deals Until I get comfortable, particularly with Minnetonka, that we have got one under control, that we've got the right management team in place there, So we've moved forward on our 3 initiatives of dragging up the operation, getting materials savings, getting price increases. After I'm comfortable that that's happening and well underway, then I'd be more interested in looking at the next deals. So There are some out there, but if I can slow play them or get people to delay, that's my first choice for sure. Speaker 500:37:42Okay. Okay, great. Okay, thanks. Speaker 100:37:46Thanks, Operator00:38:02There are no further questions at this time. I'd now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Speaker 100:38:10Okay. Thank you. A replay of the call will be available Until November 12, at the numbers listed on our press release, the replay will also be available on our website in a few days. I thank you all for your interest and for your Participation. Thank you. Operator00:38:26Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines. Have a lovely day.Read morePowered by Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallFiran Technology Group Q3 202300:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2x Earnings DocumentsPress Release Firan Technology Group Earnings HeadlinesWhere I’d Invest $1,000 in the TSX TodayApril 18 at 7:59 PM | msn.comAcumen Capital Boosts Firan Technology Group (TSE:FTG) Price Target to C$12.00April 13, 2025 | americanbankingnews.comWarning: “DOGE Collapse” imminentElon Strikes Back You may already sense that the tide is turning against Elon Musk and DOGE. Just this week, President Trump promised to buy a Tesla to help support Musk in the face of a boycott against his company. But according to one research group, with connections to the Pentagon and the U.S. government, Elon's preparing to strike back in a much bigger way in the days ahead.April 19, 2025 | Altimetry (Ad)What is Raymond James' Estimate for TSE:FTG Q1 Earnings?April 13, 2025 | americanbankingnews.comFiran Technology Group Corporation ("FTG") Announces First Quarter 2025 Financial ResultsApril 10, 2025 | finanznachrichten.deIs This TSX Tech Stock a Buy While it’s Below $10?March 27, 2025 | msn.comSee More Firan Technology Group Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like Firan Technology Group? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on Firan Technology Group and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About Firan Technology GroupFiran Technology Group (TSE:FTG) manufactures and sells aerospace and defense electronic products and subsystems in Canada, the United States, Asia, Europe, and rest of Americas. The company operates in two segments, FTG Circuits and FTG Aerospace. It offers semi additive process technologies, high density interconnect products, high temperature rigid flex printed, RF boards, thermal management, and rigid flex and assembly products. The company also provides cockpit lighting power supply, cursor-controlled device, integrated switch panel/keyboards/bezels, backlit control panels and assemblies, aerospace chassis and assembly, and line replaceable unit/cockpit assemblies. The company was formerly known as Circuit World Corporation and changed its name to Firan Technology Group Corporation in May 2004. 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There are 6 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the SDG Q3 2023 Analyst Call. At this time, all lines are in a listen only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. This call is being recorded on Thursday, October 12, 2023. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Operator00:00:26Brad Born, President and Chief Executive Officer of STG, Mr. Bourne, you may proceed. Speaker 100:00:34Thank you. Good morning. I'm Brad Born, President and CEO of Ryan Technology Group Corporation, or FTG. Also on the call today is Jamie Creighton, our Chief Financial Officer. Before we go any further, I must caution you that this call may contain forward looking statements. Speaker 100:00:49Such statements are based on the current expectations and management of the company And inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, including economic factors and the company's industry generally. The preceding list is not exhaustive of all possible factors. Such forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual events Results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward looking statements made by the company. The listener is cautioned to consider these and other factors carefully When making decisions with respect to the company and not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. The company does not undertake and has no specific intention to update any forward looking statements, Written or oral that may be made from time to time by or on its behalf whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Speaker 100:01:36The Q3 turned out well. We certainly had some challenges in the quarter and of course, our Q3 covers the summer months of June, July August, so we lose production days due to The team at FTG overcame the challenges and I am proud of the results. During the quarter, the company continued to see solid bookings and we made progress in ramping production to Within the Q3 of 2023, FTG accomplished many goals to continue to improve the corporation and position it for the future, including our 3rd quarter bookings of $35,700,000 were up 28% over Q3 last year. Our revenue of $30,600,000 were up 59% for Q3 last year, as FTG ramps production to meet customer demand. Revenue included $9,200,000 from the newly acquired sites in Minnetonka, Minnesota and Haverhill, Massachusetts. Speaker 100:02:27We achieved net earnings in Q3 of this year of $1,300,000 with $600,000 in Q2 last year. Our net debt on the balance sheet as of the end of Q3 is $5,700,000 which is down $700,000 from last quarter And it's 0.36 times adjusted EBITDA. We made significant progress in integrating our team in acquisitions and followed through on the plans to drive performance and achieved the desired operational financial results. We ended Q3 with a backlog of $98,000,000 $65,500,000 at the end of 2022. Backlog as of the end of Q3 included $18,200,000 at the newly acquired FGG now employs about 700 people after adding staff through the 1st 9 months of 2023 And including some leadership at the Minnetonka site to help increase throughput and improve operations. Speaker 100:03:24I'll touch more on Our end market demand remains strong. Well, our targets are well targeted within 2023 headwinds for months in the future. We would like to make customer demand and supply chain will maintain our growth. Boeing Plans to ramp up 7 production from 30 watercraft per month currently to 38 in the near future and then update in the next few years. In the business jet market, Bombardier provided guidance for 15% to 20% increase in 2020. Speaker 100:04:28Well, as we mentioned, we've also looked at results from key defense contractors. In one example, Lockheed, the largest defense contractor, has seen sales ramp about 10% so far in 2023. The defense market and government economy feels it appears well supported in the near term due to the increased geopolitical tensions across the globe. Of course, there is some uncertainty in the U. S. Speaker 100:04:57In the short term as the government there grapples with their debt ceiling. Boeing's most recent 20 year forecast shows long term industry growth and continues to show 40 The business jet market has already seen traffic recover. Business Jet Market for us from Honeywell similarly predicts the simulator As with every one of this market, it is lumpy. So we do see large year to year variations. So as we have said for many years, FTG's goal is to set the pace of the aerospace and defense markets as each moves through their independent business cycles. Speaker 100:05:43This continues to prove effective. Beyond all this, let me give you a quick update on some key metrics for 2020. Q3, As already noted, the leading indicator of our business is our bookings or new orders. The 3rd quarter bookings were up 28% over In Q3 'twenty three, sales were $36,300,000 Compared to 23.1% in Q3 last year, this was a 59% increase. Approximately 39% increase is due to the 2 acquisitions And the BaaS growth, which is approximately 19%, was organic growth from the rest of our business. Speaker 100:06:27Delving into some of the segments in our Aerospace compared to Q3 last The trial and tangents were up both up 13%. What component though is caused the ChatSource site to be down 13 Q3 last year in Chatsworth was one of the best quarters, so this was also a tough comp for them to exceed. On the circuit side of the business, sales in Q3 were up $12,700,000 or 63% of the growth came from the 2 acquisitions and 24% of the growth was organic. Overall at FTG, our top five customers accounted for 55.6% of the total revenue in the quarter, which is the same as Q3 last year. While the percentage is constant, the companies have changed. Speaker 100:07:23So interesting to note that the top 10 customers, 7 100 customers are between circuits and aerospace. As we always say, we like the customers as It means we are maximizing our penetration of these customers by selling both cockpit products and circuit boards. In Q3 20 23 percent 26.9 percent of our total revenues came from our Aerospace business compared to 39.8 percent last year. Aerospace business share decreased due to the impact from the acquisitions, which are both on the circuit side of the business I would now like to turn the call over to Jamie, who will discuss our financial results for our Q3. Afterwards, I will talk to you about some key priorities we are working Speaker 200:08:07on. Thanks. Speaker 100:08:09Thanks, Speaker 300:08:12I would like to provide some additional detail on our financial performance for the industry. On sales of 36,600,000 FTG achieved a gross margin of $8,800,000 or 24% compared to $5,700,000 or 24.7 percent On sales of $23,100,000 Q3 2022. The increase in gross margin dollars is driven by increased sales volumes. However, the gross margin rate was weighted down somewhat by the lower gross margins at the Circuit Minnetonka site. Margins at that site are expected to increase over time as we ramp up throughput, achieve material cost savings and adjust price. Speaker 300:08:54The average exchange rate experienced in Q3 2023 was $1.33 as compared to $1.29 In Q3 2022, which is a 3.3% increase. We continue our focus on operational efficiency. One metric to measure this is revenue per employee. For Q3 2023, annualized revenue per employee is approximately 211,000 which is an increase of 3% over the comparable quarter of 2022. In light of the current pressures on both the supply and cost In all of our manufacturing sites, we will continue this focus through the automation of manufacturing processes And investment in capital equipment. Speaker 300:09:40From a geographical standpoint, FGG experienced revenue growth in all of its regions. In dollar terms, Q3 2023 sales to U. S. Customers grew by $11,300,000 as compared to the prior year quarter, Primarily as a result of the 2 U. S. Speaker 300:09:58Acquisitions. However, the overall percentage of sales to U. S. Customers Increased only marginally to 79% from 76%. In percentage terms, sales into Asia increased by 95% As compared to Q3 2022, activity in Asia is increased as the integrated supply chains for commercial aerospace SG and A expense was $4,100,000 or 11.1 percent of sales In Q3 2023 as compared to $3,300,000 or 14.1 percent of sales in the prior period. Speaker 300:10:40The increased expense level includes $635,000 of SG and A incurred at the newly acquired sites And $79,000 of deal costs for the acquisitions. R and D costs for 2023 were $1,600,000 or 4.4 percent of sales compared to $1,400,000 or 6% of sales for Q3 2022. R and D efforts, including product and process improvements at the Circuit segment and efforts to develop and qualify products for future aerospace programs. The exchange rate at Q3 'twenty three close was $1.36 as compared to $1.34 at Q2 2023, which is a weakening of the Canadian dollar. FGG's balance sheet includes assets and liabilities denominated in U. Speaker 300:11:37S. Currency with a net asset balance of The translation of our net U. S. Dollar assets and liabilities Gain currency at the end of Q3 'twenty three resulted in foreign exchange losses for the quarter of 100,000 Compared to foreign exchange gains of $300,000 in Speaker 200:12:00the prior year quarter. Speaker 300:12:04EBITDA, As described in the press release, it was $4,900,000 for Q3 'twenty three as compared to 2,800,000 In Q3 2022, adjusted EBITDA was $5,000,000 for Q3 'twenty three And $2,800,000 for the prior year quarter, with adjustments in both periods limited to deal cost. Adjusted EBITDA For the trailing 12 month period ended Q3 2020, it was $16,900,000 which equates to EBITDA margin of 13.3 percent on sales. For Q3 'twenty three, FTG recorded earnings before income taxes of $2,300,000 or 6.3 percent of the sales As compared to EBIT for Q3 'twenty two of $1,300,000 or 5.4 percent of sales. The Q3 'twenty three income tax provision of $900,000 or 40 percent of pretax earnings reflects that the corporation's Canadian and Chinese operations were profitable and that deferred tax assets on certain foreign operating losses Working capital at Q3 quarter end was 35,200,000 As compared to $30,500,000 at the 2022 year end. Accountable days were 68 At Q3 compared to 64 in the prior year sorry, in the 'twenty two year end, inventory turns were 3.1 At Q3 quarter and compared to 3.7 at the 22 year end. Speaker 300:13:50Accounts payable days outstanding were 79 as compared to 73 at the 22 year end. We completed Q3 'twenty three with a backlog of $98,000,000 Significant portion of this backlog is scheduled for Q4 'twenty three, setting up the potential for a very strong quarter. Continue to focus on cash management and the balance sheet, cost control and efficiency. Our complete SEC filings Are now available on sedar.com. With that, I will turn things back to Brad. Speaker 100:14:30Thank you, Jamie. Let me delve into some important work in the quarter and or for the future performance of FGG. First 9 months of 2023 have been strong. Our sales ramped significantly. We continue to work hard to ramp further in support of the demand we are seeing. Speaker 100:14:44This includes the need to add staff. We are now nearing our target headcount across the company to support the current demand. While we might headcount slightly from site to site going forward, We don't see it as one of our major challenges in the future. Looking forward, a few key items remain For us to focus, Q1 has been the integration of IMI and Holiday. For IMI, we acquired them to grow our Present in the RF circuit board market for aerospace and sense application. Speaker 100:15:14While they are small, with a historic run rate of $4,000,000 to $5,000,000 we like their capabilities. The integration should be relatively straightforward as we intend to continue to operate it in its current facility with the existing staff. Our focus will be to engage our sales team with them to find new customers and to grow the business. This is not an over process, So we can generate incremental margin and profitability for the benefit of FTG. Going along with this, we will there will be some focused CapEx To address a few production constraints and to enable this feature growth. Speaker 100:15:46And finally, we are converting them to our standard ERP system in the 1st part of next year. Holiday was a larger acquisition. Their sales were over US30 $1,000,000 before the pandemic. They were hurt by the pandemic like we were. We see the long term positioning of holidays to be a source of high technology surfboards similar to what we offer from our Toronto facility, but with the U. Speaker 100:16:09S. Footprint. This U. S. Footprint is critical as we look to grow our share in the newly advanced circuit board market for defense applications. Speaker 100:16:18In the short term, we do have 3 priorities as we integrate Holiday into FTG. First, we need to ramp their throughput and sales. Since February, they've added about 20 staff going from 50 people to about 170. But we did have a bit of a setback early in Q3 as their VP of Operations at the site encountered some medical issues And has now retired. Well, did react fast and decided to bring in some known and proven operations management skill to that site. Speaker 100:16:49We hired back Tal Godbuch, who had run our Fredericksburg facility until early in the pandemic. He is back on a temporary basis, But his operational skills have already been felt. And in August, his 1st full month on the job in Minnetonka, they shipped at a $28,000,000 to $29,000,000 annualized run rate, which was great to see. This was their best month since before the pandemic. But as I said, Paul is back on a temporary basis. Speaker 100:17:14It will give us time to find the right person to run that site for the long term. In Minnetonka, our second priority is to reduce material costs. We have identified cost savings that can benefit the site as they are now part of a larger company. It will take some time to achieve these savings As in some cases, it will require customer approvals and it will require some internal engineering efforts as well. But when complete, We expect to achieve savings on the order of $1,000,000 annually. Speaker 100:17:42We continue to make progress on this initiative. And our third priority is to improve pricing. We believe Holiday had not been sufficiently proactive in adjusting prices up as costs went up over the past few years. We have already had some successes in adjusting prices upward and we will continue to address this. We want to ensure any inflationary costs incurred at that site over the Last few years, whether material, labor or other, are passed through to customers and not to squeeze our margin. Speaker 100:18:12And lastly, We have decided to convert them to our standard ERP system and this initiative is already underway. While I'm on the topic of pricing, I've been very impressed with how everyone involved in this at FTG has proactively pursued improved pricing at customers. Across FTG, we've done a good job in avoiding any margin squeeze from increased costs due to recent period of time inflation. We did a detailed dive into some of our key contracts and the price changes achieved and the overall And the price adjustment is achieved and the overall increase was on the order of 30%. This analysis was done on approximately 20% of our total revenue. Speaker 100:18:54While not specifically pricing, we have received some significant expedite purchase orders from customers to meet their urgent needs for our products. We have not seen the benefit of the majority of these expedite fees in our P and L, but we do expect to see more of them being realized in Q4. Speaking of Q4, we continue to see strong demand across most sites. Our backlog due in the quarter It's over $50,000,000 including the new sites. But while not a good metric, we entered the quarter with over $18,000,000 in past due orders. Speaker 100:19:27We certainly hope and expect to bring the past due orders down in Q4. As always, there are possible downsides or headwinds Could impact our quarter. First, our backlog in Q4 of simulator products is relatively low, but given the overall backlog, this should not be too concerning. Also, the contract with our represented staff in Aerospace Toronto has expired. We have entered into negotiations, but the timing and outcome is always uncertain and there is a risk of disruption in production. Speaker 100:20:00Also, maybe just to ensure everyone is aware, We have now increased our financing costs and amortization of intangibles in our P and L as a result of the acquisition. The combined impact of amortization and interest costs are about $350,000 in the quarter, Higher compared to what we had in Q1. This impacts our earnings, but does not impact our EBITDA. Beyond Q3, we are obviously expecting to grow. This is resulting from our strong customer demand, progress in ramping through And all the other sites and improved pricing and some of the program wins across the company. Speaker 100:20:39A couple of examples of our sales successes, including winning new cockpit channels for the Boeing 737 program and winning new cockpit assemblies for both Airbus and Boeing aircraft. These and other wins are increasing our share Could represent 5 to 10 incremental sales in 2024. With the MOX geopolitical situation in China, I'm sure there are still some concerns about our priorities there. As I've mentioned previously, in 2022, Both our operations in China had their best sales year ever and both were profitable. And this has continued to the 1st 9 months of 2023. Speaker 100:21:17We have repatriated cash back to Canada during last year and some more this year. And in total, we have now brought back $2,200,000 in cash. By doing this, we have reduced our surplus cash stranded in China and it reduces our exposure if for any reason things deteriorated between China and the West. On a more positive note in China, the C919 development program achieved CAAC certification last year And we are seeing production orders after a 10 year development program. We received our first production orders in early Q3 this year Our Q2 this year, valued at about $2,800,000 and all of this is deliverable in 2023. Speaker 100:22:00It is nice to see the fruits of our 10 years of development effort This will benefit our Chinese operations going forward and it will be less susceptible to the geopolitical uncertainties. Notwithstanding this good news, we are still being cautious about our operations in China and any further increase in tensions between China and other countries It could impact our operations during the future. We continue to assess possible corporate development opportunities that could fit with either of our businesses, But our near term priority is definitely to integrate our IMI and Holiday acquisition successfully. With a focus on operational excellence in all parts of STG, a strong financial performance in the 1st 9 months of this year, Our recent acquisitions and our key sales wins, we are confident we are on a strong long term growth trajectory. This concludes our presentation. Speaker 100:22:52I thank you for your attention. I'd now like to open the phones for any questions. Lara? Operator00:22:58Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Your first question comes from the line of Nick Corcoran from Acumen Capital, please go ahead. Speaker 200:23:28Good morning. Congratulations on the solid quarter and Definitely good color in the prepared remarks. Speaker 100:23:36Thank you. Speaker 300:23:38Just to maybe start, the backlog was flat sequentially Speaker 200:23:41and the book to bill ratio was hovering out one time. Is that due to timing of orders? Or is there anything else that we should maybe consider? Speaker 100:23:51Yes. I mean, it's definitely a little bit of lumpiness in orders. The big one is simulators. So when I see Then later orders come in and that can skew the book to bill. But I guess I'm looking at this more from a positive Effective right now, so for the past number of quarters, we've always reported bookings above our sales, But we also report that we're struggling to ramp production. Speaker 100:24:19So when I look at Q3 this year, I'm interpreting this as we have ramped our production in line with the orders we're booking, And therefore, you get a book to bill of 1. But I can look at more as maybe, as I said earlier, we've got about the right headcount, maybe we've got the right production level, And we can support our customer demand going forward. Speaker 200:24:46And I guess the related question is like how much Do you think we could see the backlog grow from where it is now? Speaker 100:24:56I'm honestly less concerned about how much more the backlog can grow. I'm more concerned about, as I said, for Q4, I got more than $50,000,000 in backlog, which is a lot, but I have $18,000,000 past due. My goal is to try to bring down the past due orders. And as I do that, it will actually drop my backlog, but it could also mean I have some increased sales. Speaker 200:25:25That's helpful. And then in the news, there's been some commentary on Boeing delaying deliveries of aircraft. Has that impacted Correct at all? Speaker 100:25:36No, not at all. And it's in Boeing Boeing's general objective is to insulate their supply chain from deliveries. And so their production rate and their delivery rates are Not one to one exactly connected. So they try to maintain a stable production rate independent of what's happening with deliveries. That's helpful. Speaker 200:26:01Any commentary on what the outlook for SIM orders is like? Speaker 100:26:07We are seeing some smaller orders. I'm not seeing any significantly larger orders But I expect to materialize in the near term. But I am just going to comment a little bit. The SIM orders are good obviously and they tend to be high value assemblies. But what I'm starting to see, which I actually like even better is, I mentioned we won some new orders this year that were for some cockpit assemblies for Boeing and Airbus. Speaker 100:26:40These are also high value assembly. They go into production aircraft and it actually becomes a more stable revenue Because I'm supporting a production line, not a stimulated individual order. So I'm seeing More aircraft, high value assemblies as opposed to simulator high value assemblies and I think that's better for FTG for the long term. That's helpful. Speaker 200:27:12Kelly, you can give us kind of how you're fully using the quarter. Speaker 100:27:20No, maybe Jamie can. We had a number, I just don't remember what it was. Speaker 300:27:25About 12, Nick. So we were 6 Speaker 200:27:35Okay, that's helpful. And just a last question for me. You've indicated that $50,000,000 of backlog is due in the 4th quarter. How should we think about revenue and EBITDA in the 4th quarter? Speaker 100:27:50Yes. And I Johan is asking this and I always try to avoid it. But I mean, here's the way I'm looking at it and this is just math right now, right? So I have $50,000,000 in backlog. You have $18,000,000 past due order. Speaker 100:28:03At the end of Q4, I still have $18,000,000 in past due order, I'll ship 32, which is not a great number. And conversely, if magically, I would ship 50. But I'm not going to do either. It's not going to be 32 and it's not going to be 50. And so that Yes. Speaker 100:28:24The $1,000,000 question is how much of these past due orders can I burn down in Q4? For sure, I expect to burn it down. Generally, Q4 is stronger than Q3, and Q3, 36 unchanged. So What does that mean? I don't know. Speaker 100:28:43We're going to be above 36, below 50. Speaker 200:28:49Great. That's all for me. Thanks for taking my questions. Okay. Operator00:28:56Thanks, Your next question comes from the line of Paul Steep from Dunlop Capital. Please go Speaker 400:29:19ahead. Hey, good morning, Brad. Just to quickly touch on Nick's last question. What's the gating factor? Because presumably there's always some level of past due orders sort of in the system. Speaker 400:29:32Is it related to the component issue you talked of earlier? And then I got one quick follow-up as well. Sure. Speaker 100:29:40I can tell you there is definitely more than one gating item. There is Different situations in different parts of the business. And I as I talked about for Arrow Chats were definitely component deliveries to us They're impacting our shipments to customers. So that impacts them. In Aero Toronto, I have some what I just talked about some of these new cockpit assemblies that are going into aircraft. Speaker 100:30:10I've basically done development, But I need Transport Canada TSO approval before I can ship production unit. I am waiting on TSO approval. I'm hoping I get that in Q4, but I don't control Transport Canada. So that could be a gating item and it's definitely held up some revenue At this moment in time, it's just those sorts of things. The one thing I'd say it's Last of now is due to staffing. Speaker 100:30:41As I said, I think we're at a reasonable staffing level. So that is not Impacting or not a gating item for what we get out the door in the near future. Speaker 400:30:53Great. And then maybe the fault type, I guess either of you, maybe more Jamie. How should we think about the working capital unwind? Obviously, you added the acquisitions that Brad just briefly touched on how we're going to see shipments and that presumably unwinds some of the working cap. If you could talk through that and then maybe CapEx as well. Speaker 400:31:15I know Brad called out earlier some investments As well on that front, if there's anything unusual or noteworthy there. Thanks. Speaker 100:31:28Maybe I'll talk to CapEx, maybe Jamie can talk to the word capital. But just starting on the CapEx side. This year, our CapEx has been increased really as a result of our funding we received from the Canadian Federal Government and from the Ontario Provincial Government, they've supported us with some interest free financing, but we have to spend the money. These programs wind up next year. So as a result of that, we are accelerating some CapEx, particularly in Canada. Speaker 100:32:04So it's higher this year. After this year, I'm anticipating and for sure we started planning for next year already, Trying to go back to our more long term target of 3% of sales as our CapEx number. Now that's not a precise number, but it's a Target that we use for planning CapEx. And I guess over to you, Jamie, in terms of working capital. Speaker 300:32:31Sure. Thanks, Paul, for your question. So I guess I would look at it that I think working capital in Q4 will come down. I think it will come down because strong revenues in Q3 are going to drive good collections in Q4. I think in Q4, inventory will come down because as Brad described, we're going to have a pretty good quarter from a shipment standpoint. Speaker 300:32:57That's going to drive inventory down, but it's probably going to get mostly hung up in higher accounts receivable at year end. So I think it will work itself down a little in Q4, I think more so in the first Operator00:33:24Your next question comes from the line of Peter Amos, One of your private investors, please go ahead. Speaker 500:33:32Hi, Brad. It's Peter Imhof here. I used to own your stock in the funds that I ran and stuff and Shalom, it's Liam Seth. So, yes, good quarter for you guys. Just most of my questions have been answered, but just on Minnetonka, What do you think the capacity utilization is there in terms of like the ramp up? Speaker 500:33:51I think you said what month was it that was a record for you guys in terms of throughput? Was that September or was that Speaker 100:33:59That was August. It was August. Speaker 500:34:01August, okay. Speaker 100:34:05It's a good question. And I'll just go back on a little bit of historic data for a second. And by the way, it's good to hear from you, Peter. So The the revenue year was 2019 before the pandemic and it was in Sales, I don't think they were at capacity, but for sure they So then as I pull my other metric and I think In terms of the utilization, the last couple of weeks, revenue was $20,000,000 to $23,000,000 So similar to what happened to estimates, they really dropped about 30%. Drops their utilization pretty seasonally. Speaker 100:34:58Our run rate of 2016 is a good run rate for them. It's not a winning Business is that sort of run rate. So we got to get them back into the 30s. And then I just I compare Minnetonka to So I know very similar plant sizes, very similar headcount, similar equipment set. And Toronto now I'm going to switch currencies. Speaker 100:35:26I need this to complicate it, but Toronto can ship $1,000,000 a week and they've shipped In low 50s, again in 2019, they shipped I think $52,000,000 $53,000,000 in sales. I believe with a little bit of work and a little bit of improved operations management, I think they could Produce what Toronto has produced. Speaker 500:35:52Okay. And then just in terms of Toronto, in terms of the aerospace, You said you guys were negotiating. So I'm not sure if it's unionized like or how long have you guys been negotiating and how close are you guys in terms of maybe getting something done there? Speaker 100:36:05Yes. We have a surprising process. Our contract expired in August, And it is unionized. It's Uniqor. We did no negotiation, And this was actually more driven by Uniphore than us since they request meeting dates, but we did no negotiation before the contract expires. Speaker 100:36:29We've now initiated negotiations. We had a couple of meetings in September, but we are still early on in the process. Speaker 500:36:41Okay. And then just in terms of you guys made a bunch of acquisitions over the last couple of years and stuff. So, are you guys still seeing other opportunities there? Or are you just trying to consolidate what you've already done? Or And what the landscape is and what kind of multiples you'd have to pay? Speaker 100:36:58All right. And yes, there are opportunities out there these days. But for sure, to the extent I can control things, I am not looking to close any more deals Until I get comfortable, particularly with Minnetonka, that we have got one under control, that we've got the right management team in place there, So we've moved forward on our 3 initiatives of dragging up the operation, getting materials savings, getting price increases. After I'm comfortable that that's happening and well underway, then I'd be more interested in looking at the next deals. So There are some out there, but if I can slow play them or get people to delay, that's my first choice for sure. Speaker 500:37:42Okay. Okay, great. Okay, thanks. Speaker 100:37:46Thanks, Operator00:38:02There are no further questions at this time. I'd now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Speaker 100:38:10Okay. Thank you. A replay of the call will be available Until November 12, at the numbers listed on our press release, the replay will also be available on our website in a few days. I thank you all for your interest and for your Participation. Thank you. Operator00:38:26Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines. Have a lovely day.Read morePowered by