Akoustis Technologies Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
May 13, 2024

There are 8 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Cousteus Technologies Fiscal 20 24 Third Quarter Conference Call. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. At the conclusion of the company presentation, Akoustis management will take A replay of the call will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Akoustis website. Thank you.

Speaker 1

Thank you, operator, and good morning to everyone on the call. Welcome to Akoustis' Q3 fiscal 2024 conference call. I am Ken Boller, CFO, and I'm joined today by our Founder and CEO, Jeff Shealy Corporate General Counsel, Drew Wright and EVP of Business Development, Dave Eichle. Before we begin, please note that today's presentation includes forward looking statements about our business outlook. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this conference call, such as expectations regarding our strategies and operations, including the timing and prospects of product development and customer orders and design wins, possible collaborative or partnering relationships, litigation matters and expected financial and operating results are forward looking statements.

Speaker 1

Such forward looking statements are predictions based on the company's expectations as of today and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. The company and our management team assume no obligation to update any forward looking statements made on today's call. Our SEC filings mention important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. Please refer to our latest Form 10 ks and Form 10 Q filed with the SEC to get a better understanding of those risks and uncertainties. In addition, our presentation today will also refer to certain non GAAP financial measures.

Speaker 1

A reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure is presented in our earnings call highlight release available in the Investors section of akoustis.com. I would now like to turn the call over to Jeff Shealy, Founder and CEO of Akoustis.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Ken, and welcome everyone to our FY 2024 fiscal 3rd quarter conference call. Revenue in the March quarter increased 7% sequentially to $7,500,000 filter related revenue was up 13% quarter over quarter and was the 3rd highest quarter in the history of the company. During the March quarter, we had 2 customers that each made up greater than 10% of our reported revenue. XBAW related sales accounted for the top 4 customers and 6 out of the top 10 customers. Our top 10 customers made up 64% of revenue.

Speaker 2

Our top 25 customers made up 78% of revenue. In terms of regional sales, 3 out of our top 10 customers were Asia based. From a regional standpoint, 48% of our sales come from Asia, followed by 39% of sales coming from North America and 13% of our sales coming from Europe. Finally, our top two customers were Asia based customers and collectively made up 36% of sales. During the March quarter, we unexpectedly experienced a major Wi Fi 6 gs program abruptly sunset with one of our carrier customers.

Speaker 2

We had previously secured a design win with this carrier customer for Wi Fi 7 and have already received production orders for this platform beginning in the September quarter. Overall, we are tracking 9 design wins in WiFi 7 AP platforms and we see a growing trend to ramp major Wi Fi 7 programs for enterprise and carrier customers in the second half of twenty twenty four. We remain bullish in Wi Fi 7 and are currently in the early stages of production ramp with multiple tri band and quad band programs. As a result, we are guiding the June quarter revenue to be flat to down 5% given the WiFi 6E sunset and imminent transition to WiFi 7. The company continues to focus on expense and cost savings to significantly reduce cash burn moving forward.

Speaker 2

For the March quarter, cash burn was down 31% sequentially. Ken will detail our ongoing activities and impact on reducing our cash burn during his upcoming comments. I would now like to take a moment to discuss updates involving the company's activity related to the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. Regarding CHIPS Act funding, there are 2 detailed updates to share with investors. As of the end of the March quarter, we are members of 6 Microelectronics ME Commons Hubs funded by the Department of Defense.

Speaker 2

Membership to these hubs is critical as it allows access to be part of the hub proposal team for new government research programs. We currently have 2 active research programs under 1 hub membership and we are waiting on the decision with the first proposal potentially worth several $1,000,000 annually beginning in the second half of calendar 2024. Furthermore, we are currently pursuing several new memberships with additional ME hub centers and will detail our efforts and progress moving forward. 2nd, the CHIPS Act of 2022 includes a provision for a 25 percent refundable investment tax credit or CHIPS ITC on investments in facilities that manufacture semiconductors that were placed in service after December 31, 2022. We currently estimate the amount of the refundable tax credit applicable to Akoustis to be between $2,800,000 $4,000,000 over the next 9 to 12 months.

Speaker 2

Next, I would like to discuss several updates in our primary target markets beginning with WiFi. Our first milestone for the March quarter was to ramp XBAW filter production for 2 programs at a Wi Fi 7 Tier 1 enterprise class OEM. We successfully commenced preproduction deliveries at 2 ODMs for our customer during the quarter. 1 of the 2 programs included our first single crystal filter for enterprise Wi Fi as it solves a difficult coexistence requirement while providing higher power handling for our customer solution. Our second milestone was to ramp XBAW filter production for Wi Fi 7 with a new Tier 1 enterprise class OEM.

Speaker 2

While we did not commence ramp, we have received initial purchase orders in support of the program and expect the program to ramp in the September quarter. Our 3rd milestone was to secure a design win for a Wi Fi 7 solution with a Tier 1 network enterprise class OEM. We completed this milestone and announced 2 design wins in our press release earlier this month on May 1. Looking ahead in the June quarter, we expect to ramp XBAW filter production for Wi Fi 7 with a Tier 1 enterprise class OEM. We also plan to secure multiple design wins with a Tier 1 carrier for WiFi 6e and 7.

Speaker 2

And finally, we expect to release at least 7 new XBAW filters into production targeting Wi Fi 7 tri band and quad band architectures. Next, I would like to discuss our recent developments in the 5 gs mobile market. During the March quarter, we expected to deliver the second of 3 WiFi filters to our Tier 2 5 gs mobile RF front end module making customer. We have a foundry contract with this customer for a total of 3 filters. We now have shipped the first two filters.

Speaker 2

The 3rd filter is still under customer design control and has not yet been released to the foundry. Finally, we continue our engagement with our 5th mobile partner offering our XBAW process and foundry for their module and discrete product needs. We have shipped this partner multiple XBAW die for engineering evaluation for a future Wi Fi 7 multiplexer application for the mobile market. Our anticipated milestone for the June quarter includes securing a purchase agreement with a new Tier 1 Asia partner focused on mobile and other market segments. I will now discuss our progress in our network infrastructure business.

Speaker 2

During the March quarter, we successfully achieved approved supplier status with 2 Tier 1 infrastructure customers. 2nd, we successfully completed NRE development and delivered filters for the 5 gs N104 7 gigahertz band for massive MIMO architectures to a Tier 1 network infrastructure customer. During the quarter, we experienced softness in XBAW filter shipments to our 5 gs network infrastructure customers. However, we expect flat growth of shipments for the remainder of calendar 2024 due to slow deployments of 5 gs small cell infrastructure hardware. For the June quarter, we expect to secure development order for band in 104 filter targeting massive MIMO with a Tier 1 customer.

Speaker 2

Finally, before handing the call off to Ken, I would like to provide an update on our defense and other markets business. As previously mentioned, our biggest success in the defense and other market segment was the introduction of our new XP3F technology, which incorporates a new revolutionary and patented multilayered nano material that incorporates our single crystal piezoelectric material. This new nanomaterial was developed with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA to scale the XBAW technology to frequencies up to 20 gigahertz. During the March quarter, we continued work on our multi $1,000,000 Phase 2 contract option, which extends our current DARPA coffee program and the funding through December 2024. As a result, during the March quarter, one of our top five customers were in our defense and other business category.

Speaker 2

In addition, we delivered our new XForge PDK to 2 defense customers for ongoing foundry engagements to facilitate their upcoming filter design. Furthermore, we completed the design and sampled new 2.4 gigahertz WiFi CPE automotive XBAW filters to 2 non automotive customers. In our contract business, our proposal on a new multimillion dollar program with the Office Enable Research or ONR to fund RF filter multiplexers incorporating our XBAW and P3F single crystal nano materials technology has been accepted for award and we are in the process of finalizing the contract with our customer so that we can begin performing in summer 2024. For the June quarter, in the Defense and Other Markets segment, we are expecting to secure our new government contract focused on advanced XP3F filter architectures beyond 20 gigahertz. Further, we expect to secure a CB2X design win with a Tier 1 automotive customer focusing on the European market and we expect to release at least 2 new XBAW filters into production targeting CV2X and timing applications.

Speaker 2

And now I would like to hand the call over to Ken to go through our financial highlights.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Jeff. For the Q3 ended March 31, 2024, the company reported revenue of $7,500,000 which represents a 7% increase over the prior quarter ended December 31, 2023. On a GAAP basis, operating loss was $22,600,000 for the March quarter, driven by revenue of $7,500,000 dollars offset by labor costs of $6,700,000 a goodwill impairment charge of $8,100,000 depreciation and amortization of 3 point $3,000,000 and other operational costs totaling $12,000,000 As a result, GAAP net loss per share was 0 point 26 dollars On a non GAAP basis, operating loss was $12,500,000 and non GAAP net loss per share was $0.14 CapEx spending for Q3 was $300,000 and cash used in operating activities was $7,800,000 representing a 31% reduction over the December quarter as a result of our expense reduction efforts. We are guiding the June quarter revenue to be flat to down 5% as a result of the sunset of the current Wi Fi 6E program and a transition from Wi Fi 6E to Wi Fi 7. As mentioned earlier, we remain bullish in Wi Fi 7 and are in the early stages of a production ramp.

Speaker 1

On the expense front, we continue to undertake aggressive expense reduction and cost saving measures, as well as pursuing the investment tax credits or ITCs, all of which we estimate will reduce our operating cash flow burn rate by an additional 30% sequentially in the June quarter. Given the top line projections, the current timing of the chips ITC refund and the full impact of recent cost savings, we expect to be operating cash flow breakeven within the next 9 months. I would now like to hand the call back over to Jeff.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Ken. Before closing, I would like to hand the call off to Drew Wright, our Corporate General Counsel to provide an update on current litigation matters.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Jeff. I'd like to start with an update on all our litigation matters. I will start with the patent litigation in Texas, in which Akoustis is the plaintiff and Qorvo is the defendant involving a patent that Akoustis exclusively licensed from Cornell. Cornell is in the process of joining the case as a co plaintiff. Since our last earnings call, one of Qorvo's wafer suppliers filed a motion to quash a subpoena and filed an inter partes review also called an IPR challenging the validity of the Cornell 360 patent.

Speaker 3

Qorvo followed up with its own IPR challenging the Cornell 360 patent. We are still early in case procedures. More importantly, turning to the litigation in Delaware, in which Akoustis is the defendant and Qorvo is the plaintiff. The lawsuit originally began over 2 years ago and included claims of patent infringement, false advertising, false patent marking, employee poaching, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, RICO and civil conspiracy. Qorvo's claims of false patent marking and RICO claims were dropped before trial, which is good news.

Speaker 3

Now after two and a half years, the lawsuit has moved to the trial phase, which began last week and is expected to finish this week. The lawsuit entered the trial phase with claims of infringement of 2 patents, false advertising, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition and civil conspiracy. Last week, Qorvo presented its fact witnesses and several expert witnesses. Qorvo is expected to present its final expert witness and rest its case this morning. This week, the company will have its opportunity to tell its side of the story.

Speaker 3

The trial is expected to go to the jury before the end of the week and the jury is expected to issue a verdict in the next several days. We are and will continue to vigorously defend against Qorvo's claims. However, the outcome of any trial is unpredictable. In particular, the theories used by each party's experts result in very disparate estimates of the damages alleged by Qorvo. We believe the theories used by our experts are better grounded in the facts and the law.

Speaker 3

However, if the jury adopts the theories of Qorvo's experts, it is possible the jury will issue an 8 figure verdict. For that reason, this litigation may have a significant impact on the company, including its value, operations and ability to raise money. With that update, I'd like to hand the call back to Jeff.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Drew. The market opportunity for our patented high frequency XBAW and XP3F filters continue to be substantial. We continue to work aggressively to achieve each of our stated objectives and we will continue to provide updates on our execution against these objectives as we progress. I want to emphasize to investors that management continues to focus on improving our income statement as we navigate our business transition from Wi Fi 6E to Wi Fi 7 and expansion into the automotive network infrastructure and defense markets. We continue diligently pursuing product cost savings to lower cost of goods and improve our gross margin.

Speaker 2

We have undertaken necessary steps to reduce our operating cash burn in the coming quarters. We believe this is prudent in the current economic environment. Further, I appreciate our employees for their hard work, passion and dedication in working together to position our company for growth in the quarters ahead. Finally, I also wish to thank our shareholders who continue to support the company. And with that, I would like to open the call for questions from the investment community.

Speaker 2

Operator, please go ahead with the first question.

Operator

Our first question comes from Craig Ellis with B. Riley Securities. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 4

Yes. Thanks for taking the question and thanks for all the color this morning, guys. I wanted to start just by digging a little bit deeper into the revenue dynamics in the first half of the year. So understand that there was a program transition from 6 to 7, but what I wanted to clarify is the magnitude of that transition on what we're seeing in the first half. I think I'd expected around $19,000,000 of calendar first half revenues.

Speaker 4

It looks like it's going to be closer to 15. So beyond the transition to 7 that comes back in the second half, were there any other variances versus what the company's expected? And then related to that, what is the risk that transition to 7 that program really kicks off either in the 4th calendar quarter of this year or next year or so hits for you, but maybe a little bit later. I appreciate color on those items guys to get it started.

Speaker 5

Hey, Craig. Good morning. Jeff speaking here. Thanks for your questions. So a little bit on the revenue dynamics.

Speaker 5

The WiFi 60, as we indicated in the script, was with one of our Wi Fi 7 customers that had is transitioning over. As you know, the Wi Fi standard was adopted at the beginning of the year. Wi Fi 7 standard was adopted at the beginning of the year. And so this customer made the decision abruptly to transition to Wi Fi 7. In terms of the dynamics associated with that, for the first half of the year, the revenue associated with that Wi Fi 6E program was approximately $1,000,000 per quarter.

Speaker 5

And that is that was the shortfall for this quarter in terms of the WiFi market. In terms of the other market segments, we had previously been projecting a very slow recovery in infrastructure. So there were really no surprises there. In terms of our defense and other businesses, in terms of what we have going on with DARPA, what we have ongoing on the defense side, those businesses came in really as expected. We were a little light in the quarter on the GDSI Foundry Services business.

Speaker 5

There were some dynamics there that we came up a little bit light for the quarter. We're tracking that very closely for the current quarter and we're back on track we feel and are monitoring that weekly. But I think really the headline was the 1 program in 60 and do want to emphasize, we're already once the 9 design wins that we have in Wi Fi 7 is with that same customer. So they're just they're transitioning over. In terms of your final point about the dynamics and potential push out for WiFi 7, We've got as we said in the prepared comments, we've got 9 programs in WiFi 7 and we're tracking those very carefully and they're diverse across multiple customer bases.

Speaker 5

We began supporting Wi Fi 7 in the March quarter and we're seeing a ramp that is expected in the September quarter. We'll continue to monitor that And I'll see if Dave wants to add any further color to my comments.

Speaker 6

Yes. I think the only additional color I'll offer, Craig, is that Wi Fi 6E, we talked about a lot of the delays or programs pushing out or getting canceled last year. A lot of it has to do with the chipsets. We're not seeing those issues with Wi Fi 7. As Jeff said, the Wi Fi 7 was allowing to go through certification beginning of this year and we're seeing a lot of activity there to the 9 programs.

Speaker 6

This one carrier class that did see a sunset was abrupt and impacted as it impacted their ODM as well. And we are already seeing the ramp on the Wi Fi 7 program at least orders. So we have pretty good visibility on orders all the way out to the end of the year. So that is good news and that we didn't lose this customer altogether. It was just a sunset of that one program and the ramp of this new one and the timing.

Speaker 6

So we're bullish obviously coming out of this Q4 quarter that we'll see a lot of activity in the WiFi 7 in the second half of this year.

Speaker 4

And that's really helpful color. Appreciate that, Jeff and Dave. I'll ask my second question to Ken. As we look at gross margin and expense dynamics, so with flat to down revenues, I would expect that gross margins would be flattish in the quarter and then we get the rise towards double digits in the back half of the calendar year as volume improves and exemplary job on expense management, any color on just the contour of OpEx lines through the rest of the calendar year? Thank you.

Speaker 7

Good morning, Craig. Yes. So I'll comment on a few of those items. One is on the operating expense savings, we've taken a lot of active measures to reduce our spend there. I do anticipate it coming down to the $10,000,000 to $11,000,000 per quarter range on OpEx on the expense line.

Speaker 7

We have identified over $20,000,000 in annualized savings on our OpEx. Additionally, on the margin, One of the key items there to remember is that we had 17 items in production and we had stated last quarter that that will roughly double in the next year. We have, I believe, 7 to 10 new products coming into production in Q4 of this year, this fiscal year in the June quarter. And those products, they all come with a less cost structure, particularly with the back end side of the costs for those products. So we will see improvement with new products coming online.

Speaker 7

Some of that replacing older products that are more expensive. And I do anticipate that our margin will continue to increase. It was in the single digits. I expect it to get into the double digits here in the next few quarters. And then we stated that our operating cash flow breakeven will be in the $11,000,000 to $15,000,000 of revenue per quarter depending on mix and that will come with roughly 25% margin on those sales as well.

Speaker 4

Got it. Thanks for that color, Ken.

Speaker 7

Yes.

Operator

It appears there are no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the floor back over to Jeff Shealy for closing comments.

Speaker 2

Thank you everyone for your time today. We look forward to speaking to

Speaker 5

you during our next update call to discuss the current quarter's execution against our milestones as well as our future expectations. Thank you and have a good day.

Powered by Quartr
Earnings Conference Call
Akoustis Technologies Q3 2024
00:00 / 00:00