Astronics Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
May 9, 2023

There are 8 speakers on the call.

Operator

Afternoon, and welcome to the Astronics Corporation First Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Conference Call. All participants will be in a listen only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference Over to Debbie Pawlowski, Investor Relations for Avtronic. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Priscilla, and good afternoon, everyone. We certainly appreciate your time today and your interest in Astronics. On the call here with me are Peter Gunderman, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer and Dave Berney, our Chief Financial Officer. You should have a copy of our Q1 2023 financial results, which we just released after the market closed today. If you do not have the release, you can find it on our website atastronics.com.

Speaker 1

As you are aware, we may make some forward looking statements during the formal Discussion in the Q and A session of this conference call. These statements apply to future events that are subject to risks and uncertainties as well as other factors that can cause actual results to differ materially from what is stated here today. These risks and uncertainties and other factors are provided in the earnings release as well as with other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You can find those documents on our website or atsec.gov. During today's call, we will also discuss some non GAAP financial measures.

Speaker 1

We believe these will be useful in evaluating our performance. You should not consider the presentation of this additional information in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. We have provided reconciliations of non GAAP measures with comparable measures in the tables that accompany today's release. With that, let me turn it over to Pete to begin. Peter?

Speaker 2

Thank you, Dody, and good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for tuning in for our call. In general, we feel the Q1 was a reasonably good start to the year and we're making lots of good progress, Though there are challenges, we'll divide this conversation generally into a discussion of the positive points to begin with and then Focus a little bit on the challenges towards the end. Sales were up 35% year over year to 100 and $6,000,000 That exceeded the range that we predicted when we last talked. Aero was up 34%, that's aerospace, to $135,000,000 Our test business was up 42% to $20,900,000 but that includes a $5,800,000 non operating adder, which we will discuss in some detail a little bit later.

Speaker 2

Jumping to the bottom line, we had a net loss of $4,400,000 and an adjusted EBITDA of $6,100,000 which was 3.9 percent of sales. That's a nice improvement from where we were 1 year ago when we had adjusted EBITDA of 1,000,000 And even an improvement over the Q4 when adjusted EBITDA was $4,000,000 on higher sales. Evaluating the quarter and comparing it to last year's Q1 is somewhat complicated due to several factors, Including this non operating revenue of $5,800,000 in our Test segment An equity investment payable write off of $1,800,000 earn out income on our semi In the comparator quarter a year ago, and AMJP Aerospace The Aircraft Manufacturing Jobs Protection Act grant receipts of $6,000,000 in the comparator quarter a year ago. Dave will dive into some of those specific items when he gets a turn at the mic in a few minutes. Demand remains pretty strong with bookings at 158,000,000 Again, setting a new record backlog at the end of the quarter.

Speaker 2

Aerospace orders in particular were strong at $150,000,000 is a book to bill of 1.11. Test was light by comparison at $7,800,000 in bookings for the quarter. Test orders tend to be lumpy and vary quite a bit from quarter to quarter. So we don't get too worked up about 1 quarter being light in that business. In terms of new business, 2 significant developments occurred shortly after quarter end that are worth mentioning.

Speaker 2

On April 6, the General Accounting Office, the GAO dismissed The Lockheed protest on the Army's flare up program clearing the way for Textron's bell to proceed. There isn't We're not allowed to say too much about that program at this point, but we expect to be turned on with development work in the coming few weeks. And as we have discussed on these calls in the past, this program promises or has the potential to be one of the most significant programs in our company's history before it's done. Also in April, we were awarded the handheld radio test sets program by the Marine Corps, otherwise known as HHRTS. This is an award that we expected to come out almost a year ago, Well, we're happy to get it late than never.

Speaker 2

It's a radio test program for the Marines and IDIQ, which stands for indefinite delivery, indefinite Quantity, which we expect will be worth approximately $40,000,000 in revenues over a 5 year period and we Potentially of about $10,000,000 in shipments in the coming weeks. This is a complement to the 40 549 Key program we talked about before, that's a radio test program for the U. S. Army that we won last fall That is in contract negotiation. As an aside, HHRTS It's the final major new program pursuit that we had in our sites when the pandemic began in early 2020.

Speaker 2

We made a conscious decision to maintain certain resources and pursuits even though we knew that our business was going to struggle as the pandemic took its hold on the aerospace industry. At this point, I can say we've been stunningly successful actually winning Pretty much every item on the list except for a couple that have are on indefinite hold, Which includes in addition to FLERA and HHRTS 4549T that I just discussed, The new generation in seat power architecture, which was instrumental in winning Southwest Airlines as a customer and has subsequently been successful with narrow body operators all around the world, An antenna kit program for Safran and Airbus, establishing ourselves in the emerging electric and eVTOL aircraft market and a few other programs that we are not yet allowed to discuss. These programs as a group are barely represented in our backlog and have not yet meaningfully affected our results, but they will begin to do so as 2023 rolls along. Looking forward, We are holding our 2023 revenue forecast at $640,000,000 to $680,000,000 and establishing 2nd quarter guidance at $165,000,000 to $175,000,000 At the midpoint, this implies 2nd quarter growth of 32% year over year and 9% sequentially.

Speaker 2

For most of the pandemic, We have vacillated between $100,000,000 $125,000,000 in quarterly revenue. The last two quarters have been in the $155,000,000 to 100 And now we feel we are stepping up to $175,000,000 $175,000,000 or slightly more for the rest of 2023. At that level, we would expect for the rest of the year to be strongly cash positive and profitable. Some discussion on margins. We are reasonably comfortable with how our Aerospace segment is progressing.

Speaker 2

As volume increases, the margin profile will continue to improve, especially since the growth is largely in commercial aerospace, a market that has traditionally been quite lucrative for us. We are making margin progress in our test business also, but first Quarter results make it less obvious. We restructured the business in mid April and took out about $4,000,000 to $5,000,000 of annual cost with savings being evident in the Q3 this year after severance costs are finished. This action was necessary due to delays with some of the new programs we have won, Particularly in the area of the radio test, HHRTS and 4549T programs discussed recently, but also with some transit and test work that we are progressing on slowly due to customer delays. We expect these new programs eventually to contribute $20,000,000 to $40,000,000 of annual revenue, which will be a significant adder to the current business level of about $80,000,000 per year, but they've been slow to take off and they're not here yet and to bridge the gap, we felt it necessary to cut some costs.

Speaker 2

This action will allow the business to establish profitability at current revenue So the test business has been a challenge. Another of our challenges is working capital. The sales ramp we are experiencing is a good thing, but it has led to higher receivable balances And ongoing supply chain snags have resulted in increased levels of stranded inventory. This was especially apparent in the Q1. Receivables remain high will remain high in the near term as revenue continues to ramp, but we believe we are at High point on inventory and expect to see a gradual decline from here.

Speaker 2

At this point, I'll turn it over to Dave, to go into some details of some

Speaker 3

of the topics I brought up. Dave? Thanks, Pete. As Pete mentioned, there are several unusual income and expense items To point out in the quarter and one in the comparable 2022 Q1. For reference, you can see these items called out on I think it's Page 8 of the release in the table that reconciles adjusted EBITDA to GAAP net loss.

Speaker 3

1st and most significant of which was a $5,800,000 increase to sales There is a result of reversing an opening balance sheet contract liability that was created in one of our acquisitions a few years back. The short explanation is that we bought a test company and assumed a $5,800,000 deferred revenue liability related to a customer contract, which is no longer expected to occur. 2nd item I'd like to point out is a reversal of another Liability of $1,800,000 that was recorded as in other income this quarter and it was related to an equity investment In another company that we no longer are required to make, it was a startup company that failed to meet certain milestones. 3rd item, we recorded a final earn out payment of $3,400,000 From the sale of our semiconductor test product line a few years ago, in last year's Q1, we recognized $11,300,000 for the For the earn out and as compared to $3,400,000 this year. And it was the final earn out for that sale of that business from several years ago.

Speaker 3

4th item is our legal cost Defending our positions in the IP related suits was high in the quarter at $4,400,000 about $3,200,000 higher than last year's first Quarter. And last, I'd like to point out in last year's Q1, we recognized $6,000,000 from the AMJP Grant Program that Pete Mentioned, it's a reduction in cost of sales for that period and there have been no comparable grants available since then. So considering all these puts and takes, our adjusted EBITDA improved from $949,000 in 2022 to 1st quarter to $6,100,000 this quarter and a $34,000,000 increase of sales excluding the adjustments For the $5,800,000 of non operating sales that I previously referred to.

Speaker 2

I'd like

Speaker 3

to add that adjusted EBITDA also improved when compared to the preceding Q4 of 2022. Looking at segments, our Aerospace business continues to see a strong recovery and is ramping to satisfy customer demand. Aerospace sales were $135,600,000 up $34,200,000 or 33.7 percent from last year And bookings were strong at $150,000,000 We expect aerospace sales to ramp to $150,000,000 to $160,000,000 in each of the final three The year, which will see segment the segment return to solid profitability. But we're still expecting to incur some Spot by expense in the Q2, which will impact margins in that period. Aerospace operating margin was 4,100,000 4% an improvement of $7,000,000 compared to the 2022 Q1 when you exclude the impact of the $6,000,000 AMJP grant from last year.

Speaker 3

Our test business on the other hand had a mixed quarter. The top line of $20,900,000 looks all right, but it includes $5,800,000 of non operating Discussed above and mentioned by Pete. If one backs out the adjustment, the test results were not so good. We expected sales to pick back up to $20,000,000 in the second quarter and stay there for the rest of the year. Certainly after the quarter closed, we had a restructuring.

Speaker 3

Pete went through that a little bit. We're expected to benefit $4,000,000 to $5,000,000 Annually from that restructuring. They'll start to show up in the Q3. And the restructuring again was necessary due to the slow takeoff of of the higher dollar programs for the test segment. Turning to debt and The balance sheet cash flow continues to be a challenge due to inventory growth.

Speaker 3

Cash flow from operations was negative $19,000,000 due primarily to inventory growth, which increased by $13,900,000 and receivable growth, which increased by $4,200,000 during the quarter. While the supply chain is improving, parts shortages and last minute reschedules Receivable growth was mostly due to the timing of shipments weighted toward the last month of the quarter, where roughly 50% of our shipments occurred in the month of March. We're compliant with our debt covenants and are forecasting continued compliance and positive cash Flow for the balance of the year. And Pete mentioned Maintaining revenue guidance of $640,000,000 to $680,000,000 for the year. And that's all I have, Pete.

Speaker 2

Okay. I think that almost concludes our prepared remarks. With everything being said, we feel that the Q1 was a reasonable start to the year. There are challenges. There always are.

Speaker 2

Well, we think the rest of 2023 is setting up to be a pretty exciting time for our company and We will open it up at this point for questions, Priscilla.

Operator

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session.

Speaker 1

Priscilla, is John there?

Operator

Our first question comes from Jon Tanwanteng with CJS Securities.

Speaker 4

Hi, can you hear me?

Speaker 2

Yes. Hi, John.

Speaker 4

Hey, Pete. Thanks for taking my questions. My first one is just wondering how much you left on the table in terms Sales because of the inventory that was stranded, whether there's component shortages or timing of other stuff that was going on?

Speaker 2

Probably about 25,000,000 We got about $25,000,000 of orders that are scheduled or overdue past due at this point And most of that is due to part

Speaker 5

shortages. Okay.

Speaker 2

But you're

Speaker 4

not seeing release But

Speaker 2

you're not seeing release

Speaker 4

But you're

Speaker 3

not seeing release But

Speaker 2

you're not seeing release But I'll

Speaker 4

Yes. Are you seeing release in Q2?

Speaker 2

So we're seeing continued I'd say continued Progress on our supply chain in general, we've been saying that now for probably about 5 or 6 months And it continues to get better, but it's still not perfect. And so you end up with these situations and you never know what it's going to be from period to period or week to week or month to month. But in general, dollars 25,000,000 is the number that we think is past due. Now I should distinguish a little bit because We have this huge backlog and customers would happily take stuff Faster and sooner if we could accelerate and do it. So and as our supply chain Sometimes it improves in fits and starts.

Speaker 2

So to give you some color on that, we're putting guidance out there for the Q2 of $165,000,000 to $175,000,000 we've got scheduled orders well in excess of the high ended the range there. So we're taking into account our current performance level of our supply chain and we're not assuming significant Improvements in the short term, but I might point out that for each of the last 2 quarters, we've actually exceeded the high end or hit the high end of our range. So it's starting to come back and it's Starting to come back, we think a little bit faster, which is a good thing in general for the world and for our industry. But it also caught us a little bit by surprise with inventory growth in the Q1. So there's a flip side to it that's not so positive.

Speaker 4

Got it. That's helpful. Just thinking about the run rates that you were forecasting for the rest of the year, $150,000,000 to $160,000,000 on the aerospace side and $20,000,000 on the test side. That gets you to the high end of your range already. So I'm wondering if that's kind of what you're pointing at in your guidance with those expectations?

Speaker 4

And 2nd, what's the profitability you're expecting at that run rate, the $160,000,000 to 170,000,000

Speaker 2

We don't typically did you say profitability or possibility? Profitability?

Speaker 3

Probability.

Speaker 2

Sorry, John. We have a weird setup in this room that we're in and it's hard. It's not Totally easy to hear what you're saying. Did you say what's the probability of hitting the high end of our range?

Speaker 4

I said what's the profit at That range, the profitability.

Speaker 2

Okay. That's what I thought. We don't do down Yes. Bottom line guidance, as you know, but we would expect, as we get to that range, and you're right, The kind of the numbers we're forecasting put us at the high end of our stated range. We would expect to be Positive cash flow and reasonably profitable In the second half of this year in particular.

Speaker 2

And as far as the range goes, we're sticking with 6.40 680, as I said, the supply chain and all the unpredictabilities of the world certainly mean that there is some risk of downside But there's also opportunity for upside potential, in my opinion, as the supply chain continues to improve. We certainly have the business and we have the orders. So and the customers will generally take product if we can deliver it Earlier than what we're currently agreeing to. So I think the second half is going to be an exciting time for the company and It'll begin to feel and look a lot more like it did kind of pre pandemic than it has since. Okay.

Speaker 2

Yes.

Speaker 3

I think, John, one of the things to as a general rule of thumb Think about is our contribution margin on incremental sales is going to be close to 40%, 35%, 40%. We have some spot buys that are continuing to happen, but they're much smaller than I think last year, some quarters we had $3,000,000 Cost related to spot buys, Q1 this year it was somewhere around rounded to $1,000,000 or so. That will those will drop off as we move into the second half of the year. But the contribution margin should improve We were down in the 30% to 35% last year. I think we're progressing up moving toward that 40% Contribution margin on the incremental sales.

Speaker 4

Okay, great. Last one for me. Just within that $20,000,000 run rate for the test business for the rest of the year, does that assume any pickup from these, the Army or for Marine contracts that you landed? Or is that expecting more of a ramp in 2024?

Speaker 2

They're going to significantly ramp in 2024. We do have some kind of lower level assumptions in 2023, but they're kind of Therefore, test units and low rate initial production units, things like that. And Yes. We don't have this HHRTS task order yet. We expect it shortly, but it'll Probably become more of an early 2024 issue than a 2023, 45, 49 T on the other hand.

Speaker 2

We are at this point expecting formal contract awards sometime in the August, September timeframe And there will be some positive impact at that point in terms of low rate initial production units And some engineering expense that will get relieved once the contract is signed. But that also will significantly begin to ramp more in 2024 than in 2023.

Speaker 4

Understood. Thank you. I'll jump back in queue.

Speaker 2

Okay.

Operator

Our next question comes from Pete Osterland with Trust Securities.

Speaker 5

Hey, good evening. I'm on for Mike Schimmel this evening. Thanks for taking our questions. So first just wanted to ask on the Aerospace So looking back historically at the revenue run rate you delivered this quarter, you've been able to generate segment operating margins that were more in the low teens.

Speaker 2

So I

Speaker 5

was just kind of wondering how to kind of think about the difference. Like how much of an impact to margins did you estimate that the spotlights had In the Q1 and kind of where are the other biggest margin headwinds that you're seeing versus what your cost structure looked like pre pandemic? I'm just trying to get that up if there's any other potential drivers for margin expansion throughout the rest of the year aside from the volume impact you called out.

Speaker 3

Most of the spot buy It was all of the spot buy was in the Aerospace segment. So that was roughly $1,000,000 The volume is what the top line growth is what's going to drive the operating margin for the segment As we move through the year.

Speaker 2

I would answer by saying that, I don't know how far back you had to go To look at that, some similar kind of revenue run rate for our Aerospace business. But Today, we're a multiyear and deep company and frankly, we didn't really Have a chance at back in those days. I mean, the system that we're putting on FLARRA, just as an example on Bell's V280 Valor is something that I think most of the industry didn't think Even today, we were capable of Bell knew because we've been working with them on their previous 2 commercial helicopter projects. So they knew what we could do. But a flare type of program is not something we could have done, say, 5 or 6 years ago.

Speaker 2

So we do have more of an overhead Element to our business. I think it's a very capable element and I think it's one that's going to drive results, But they take time to mature and Flaro will not be an exception to that. It will take time. But Those kind of programs can be incredibly valuable over a long horizon period.

Speaker 5

That's very helpful. Thank you. And then just as a follow-up, I wanted to ask a question on the labor front. Are you fully staffed to the degree that you need to be in order to meet your Full year revenue guidance and have you seen any recent changes over the last few months either with attrition or just overall labor availability?

Speaker 2

We have certain hotspots in our company where we do have labor challenges, but in general And even in those hotspots, I would say that labor is getting to be an easier issue. It's freeing up a little bit. We, like most companies, had a lot of churn over the last couple of years. We're starting to see some of those people come back even Now, it turns out the grass isn't always greener on the other side, but we're also By having an easier time just attracting people in general across most parts of our business. So if all the parts came in right now, Would we have all the people we need?

Speaker 2

Probably not. But the big challenge for us is not people, it's much more parts.

Speaker 5

Very helpful. Thank you for taking the questions.

Speaker 2

We're fine.

Operator

Our next question comes from Tony Bancroft with Gabelli Funds.

Speaker 6

Hey, gents, thanks so much for taking my question and congratulations on the good quarter. Maybe you could remind us again What the FLAR program entails, potential full rate ship set? And then is there a potential to get more content on that program?

Speaker 2

Well, as you know, Tony, these programs can have a long and somewhat unpredictable Trail. And our piece of it at this point isn't even firmly defined yet. It's still a little bit influx. But I think I used this line before and I'll use it again, even though we're not under contract yet and this isn't formalized. But As our company has grown over the years, our shipset content has grown also.

Speaker 2

And I use the example of, there was a time when the business was based on maybe $10,000 Per business jet and that we were largely a business jet company. Today, if you were to take a wide body aircraft And put absolutely everything on it that we could possibly put on it from a lighting perspective, from a safety perspective, from a Insea Power perspective from antennas and file servers and wireless access points, all the things that we do, You'd probably come up with and by the way, there's never been an airplane like this. We've never had one. But if we It would be somewhere in the neighborhood of probably a $750,000 ship set, something like that. And our Lara shipset content as it exists right now is well north of that.

Speaker 2

So, it's a major program and it's, as you know, largely designed to replace Blackhawk or to complement the Blackhawk. And nobody is saying they're going to be a one for one But there are 4,000 Blackhawks out there and many of them have been out there since the mid-1970s. So they're due for a major upgrade. And I think the working number that I come across

Speaker 4

most is somewhere in the

Speaker 2

neighborhood of 2,000 ships. Most is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 ships before you start selling internationally. So It's a significant program.

Speaker 6

Yes. That's great. And then again, could you remind me, I know that and then the second program is obviously the FARA program. Obviously, it's not as it's much it's not doesn't have the same kind of Volume is flara, but is there any just because of your relationship with Bell and just what you guys do, is there any potential To be on that program as well, is that a possibility? And if so, like maybe

Speaker 2

Yes, with Bell certainly, we are on their FARA entry also.

Speaker 6

Great, wonderful. And I guess with such a long such a Transformational, this contract is and potentially so transformational, maybe longer term view, where do you see your company 5 years from now when this program matures, does it make sense to Do something transformational with Astronics? Or how do you see that? I mean, it's such a this has just really changed your I think it's probably going to change your business quite a bit. I just want to get your thoughts on that.

Speaker 2

Well, to tell you the truth, we've been thinking so much about quarter to quarter through this pandemic. And then the program delays and then the Challenges legally and all that stuff. But, yes, I think it opens up a ton of opportunity for our company. We were challenged in this pandemic largely because when we went into it, we were 70% commercial transport. And that's the area that got kicked in the teeth the most by the pandemic.

Speaker 2

We were only 10% military aircraft. You run those numbers that we were talking about just moments ago, that program single handedly has the Probability or potential to rebalance our business, I think, in very favorable ways from a market diversification standpoint. So we're certainly looking forward to that. That will be transformational in and of itself from my perspective. But beyond that, we haven't put any stakes in the ground as to what we want to accomplish or even where we would plan to build those products, Because we're going to design them in our facilities where we have that expertise, but it's going to take a lot of floor space and a lot of capital to get that Crop program going.

Speaker 2

So luckily we have a few years to get that effort underway.

Speaker 6

Yes, that's Really good point. And maybe just one more. You sort of talked about how this is likely going to shift the Business giving the split more balanced in defense, but then sort of Another the second benefit of course is the back to the commercial side, you have all these Aircraft that are still being flown longer than extending out time, you've heard all the other conference calls and discussions about this. And So I mean, it seems like on the sort of aftermarket piece, there's probably huge wave of opportunity for These extensions and then just retrofits, maybe could you just sort of update us on what how you're seeing that and how that's sort of transformed over throughout the pandemic and up to this point?

Speaker 2

I think it's a good point and it is a growing part of our business. Our business has grown quite a bit over the years, but in many respects, We're still a pretty young company. And I'm going to date myself here a little bit, but I remember a time when we were about $4,500,000 in sales and we hit $800,000,000 right before the pandemic hit. And a lot of that growth came over the last 10 years or so, 10, 12, 13 years. And a lot of the products that drove that growth are maturing and needing to be replaced.

Speaker 2

So we definitely are seeing an And some of the spares purchases and some of the repairs purchases, that's never been a big part of our business. But as we get larger and as these products, everything on an airplane breaks again as you know. And I think being a pilot is a much easier job if airplanes never broke, Right. But they do. So there's certainly a market there.

Speaker 2

And I expect that will become a bigger part of our business. In certain places, it's starting to now, but it's not a major thing yet for us. Not something we break out separately in our financials, but I can see us getting to that point at some day.

Speaker 6

Got it. Thanks. Great job, Peter and Dave. Well done.

Speaker 3

Thanks.

Operator

Our next question comes from Scott Lewis with Baird Capital Management.

Speaker 7

Hey, good afternoon guys.

Speaker 2

Hi, Scott.

Speaker 7

Hi, Pete. A question on one question on FLIR. What kind of margins will the development work entail?

Speaker 2

Well, we anticipate being fully funded for sure And we anticipate having a reasonable return on it, a risk reduced return. So that Contract is in negotiation, so it's a little hard to talk about it at this point. But, I expect that we're going to be turned on before our next Conference call, so I should be able to talk about it a little bit more by then. I can also say that The scope of activities over the next, say, 15 months has bounced around quite a bit. So we don't really know Exactly what we're going to be asked to do yet, at least I don't.

Speaker 2

Some people in our company may know. So it's a little hard to say, but we expect to be turned on and we Expect to be shuffling some of our people around and adding to our staff to do it, but we're not going to make additions and we're not going to do too much of that shuffling until we finally get under contract.

Speaker 7

Okay, got it. And then the second question is, Looks like in 2024, you'll be pushing a good volume through your main kind of business units. How about your smaller business units, some of those that gave the company some troubles right before the pandemic. Anything there that is concerning that could detract from the overall performance of the company?

Speaker 2

No, not really. You have a long memory, Scott, which Also remember that those 3, I think we call them problem children at the end of 2019, We took some pretty major restructuring steps to fix them. And those steps have largely, I feel, been successful. We haven't talked about them a whole lot since. And they're in general doing pretty well.

Speaker 2

1 of them in fact is Probably one of the most profitable parts of our business right now, right? Profitable. Which is a big change. So yes, I don't we're not going to go back to those days. I think we got those things fixed.

Speaker 7

Okay, good. And as far as long memory, I remember the big last really big military contract, the F-sixteen night vision Cockpit.

Speaker 2

Boy, Scott. Really? Yes. So that

Speaker 3

was way back It started in the late 90s. Yes. It

Speaker 2

was earlier than that. It was the reason we built this building. My recollection at that time was that was just when we were just We had 2 operations. It was just New Hampshire and New York. And we were a $16,000,000 program.

Speaker 2

And the program Scott's Referring to for those who don't know, it was a Air National Guard led program to retrofit the Guard Fleet of F-sixteen fighters for night vision goggle compatibility. So everything that lit up on the airplane, interior cockpit and exterior had to be Replaced, we were about a $60,000,000 company. I think that was a $50,000,000 contract before you started doing spares And all that. And then the Air Force jumped in on it too. So it turned out to be 11.56 airplanes just for what it's worth.

Speaker 2

About 4 of them got crashed. 4 of them crashed before we got done. So it was really 1152 airplanes.

Speaker 4

Okay. We're

Speaker 2

at home.

Speaker 7

Yes. Cleera does as many and maybe more.

Speaker 2

Yes. That'd be nice.

Speaker 7

Thanks guys.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

Our next question comes from Jon Tanwanteng with CJS Securities.

Speaker 4

Hey, guys. Just wanted to go back to the margin question. Do you still expect to be back at those low teens operating margins in the Aerospace business Sometime in the next maybe 5, 6, 7 quarters or so?

Speaker 3

I think we're going to it might take a little bit longer than the next 4 or 5 quarters to get back to the low teens in terms of Operating margins, but yes, I think Our expectation is to get up to the mid teens in terms of EBITDA margins, as the top line grows, when we get probably Post this year, maybe into the beginning of next year. But I can see us getting Into the teens in terms of operating income on the Aerospace segment, probably not within the next year though, But definitely as the top line grows. What we'll also see is new contract Pricing start to kick in more than it is right now. We're really not seeing a whole lot of it. We've quoted a lot with new pricing in it.

Speaker 3

And those are typically year 2, 3 year programs that will begin as we move through this year and into next year. And those The new quoting, the new pricing is reflecting the inflation that we saw in the past 12 months here. So it's We're going to see some margin expansion related to that versus what we're seeing right now too.

Speaker 4

Got it. That's helpful. And then just a quick question on the legal costs. What are you expecting for the rest of the year and kind of when do you expect that to finish up?

Speaker 3

That's a hard one to predict. Probably, it may not be consistent from quarter to quarter, but probably in the $2,000,000 to $4,000,000 a quarter range, I would say. It could it might be $4,000,000 1 quarter, dollars 1,000,000 the It's depending on what's going on in the process for each of the suits.

Speaker 4

Okay. And then, just remind us how much room you have under your covenants at this point in case you Have more problems with receivables and inventory or something else is going on?

Speaker 3

Yes. Where we are right now, In terms of the minimum EBITDA compliance, We have around $9,000,000 of room on the minimum EBITDA compliance.

Speaker 4

Okay.

Speaker 3

That's our primary that's our financial covenant right now.

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Earnings Conference Call
Astronics Q1 2023
00:00 / 00:00