EMCORE Q2 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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May 8, 2024

There are 6 speakers on the call.

Operator

Thank you for standing by. My name is Benjamin, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to EMCOR Corporation's 2024 Second Quarter Results Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question and answer session.

Operator

Thank you. I would like to turn the call over to Tom Minicello, EMCORE's Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Benjamin, and good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to our conference call to discuss EMCORE's fiscal 2024 Q2 results. The news release we issued this afternoon is posted on our website, emcore.com. Joining me on the call today is Cletus Glassner, Chairman of the Board and Matt Vargas, Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Business Development. As we'll talk about in a few minutes, Matt will be taking on an exciting and And we'll conclude by taking questions. Before we begin, we would like to remind you that the information provided herein may include forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934.

Speaker 1

These forward looking statements are largely based on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends affecting the business. Such forward looking statements include projections about future results, statements about plans, strategies, business prospects and changes and trends in the business and the markets in which we operate. Management cautions that these forward looking statements are related to future events or future financial performance and are subject to business, economic and other risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of the business or in our industry to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward looking statements. We caution you not to rely on these statements and to also consider the risks and uncertainties associated with these statements and the business, which are included in the company's filings available on the SEC's website located at sec.gov, including the sections entitled Risk Factors in the company's annual report on Form 10 ks. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward looking statements to conform such statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as required by applicable law or regulation.

Speaker 1

In addition, references will be made during this call to non GAAP financial measures, which we believe provide meaningful supplemental information to both management and investors. The non GAAP measures reflect the company's core ongoing operating performance and facilitates comparisons across reporting periods. Investors are encouraged to review these non GAAP measures as well as the explanation and reconciliation of these measures to the most comparable GAAP measures included in our news release. Before we get into the March quarter results, I want to start with a recap of our recently reported sale of the discontinued chips business line and Alhambra indian phosphide wafer fab that we shut down last September. The deal closed on April 30 and included an all cash sale price of $2,920,000 which consisted of a $1,000,000 deposit received back in October and a $1,920,000 cash proceeds received last week at closing.

Speaker 1

And a sublease involving 2 buildings on the Alhambra campus along with the buyer assuming related end of lease remediation obligations. This transaction represents the final and complete closeout of the company's legacy businesses. I'll now move on to revenue for fiscal 2Q, which was $19,600,000 compared to the prior quarter's $24,100,000 Lower than expected revenue in the March quarter was primarily due to the following three factors. The first one involves our 2 torpedo programs, the Mark 54 and the Mark 48 that both use our tactical grade quartz MEMS Inertial Measurement Units or IMUs. In the case of the Mark 54, finished goods were ready to ship in March, but the order and delivery was pushed into April.

Speaker 1

These IMUs have now been shipped. The Mark 48 units were also ready to go, but shipment was held up as a result of testing at the customer site. The second one has to do with late arriving material and early stage transitioning to production that resulted in delays in completing a navigation grade fiber optic gyroscope or FOG IMU for a different program. And third was the continued decline in revenue from our Bud Lake site following the cancellation of the Taymou project late last year. Let me now turn to the rest of the operating results, which will be on a non GAAP basis.

Speaker 1

Gross margin was 15% in fiscal 2Q compared to 29% the quarter before, primarily due to the lower revenue as well as production yield issues at our QMEMS operation in Concord. Operating expenses were $9,800,000 in fiscal 2Q compared to $9,500,000 in fiscal 1Q. R and D expense was sequentially higher due largely to a lower level of nonrecurring engineering or NRE revenue when compared to the quarter before, resulting in higher internally funded R and D or IRAD, which remains part of OpEx. This was slightly offset by lower SG and A, primarily driven by tighter overall expense management. As a result of the lower revenue and gross profit, operating loss in the March quarter was $6,900,000 compared to the December quarter's $2,600,000 Negative adjusted EBITDA was $5,800,000 compared to $1,700,000 last quarter.

Speaker 1

Net loss was $7,000,000 or $0.08 per share. Shifting to the fiscal 2Q GAAP numbers for a moment. These results included a $1,000,000 restructuring charge to cover severance costs associated with personnel reductions during the March quarter. Annualized savings from these actions are estimated to be approximately $2,000,000 of which about 80% benefits gross profit. Turning to the balance sheet.

Speaker 1

Cash balance was $12,000,000 at March 31, compared to $20,000,000 net of third party funds at December 31. Total outstanding debt was $8,300,000 at March 31 compared to $8,600,000 at the end of December. The $8,000,000 cash decrease during the quarter was largely due to the negative $5,800,000 adjusted EBITDA. We also used cash during the quarter for the following items: $700,000 associated with discontinued ops, dollars 600,000 as part of financing activities, dollars 500,000 for severance and a combined total of $400,000 for CapEx and litigation related costs. Now to guidance.

Speaker 1

We anticipate the quarterly revenues based on factors we know today to be flat to slightly up between the back half of fiscal 2024 and early fiscal 2025. For the June quarter, we expect revenue to be in the range of $19,000,000 to 21,000,000 Longer term, our current book of business, backlog and opportunity pipeline points to an expected return to top line growth beginning in the first half of fiscal twenty twenty five. We are intently focused right now on bottom line growth, which requires swift actions to right size the cost structure of the business. We have already started taking such actions, are moving as quickly as possible and we intend to provide an update on this important activity once the full plan takes shape. So with that, I'll now turn the call over to Cletus.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Tom. I requested to participate on this call in order to discuss some of the recent developments that we've taken to improve the performance of the company. As Tom mentioned, the company completed the sale of the remaining legacy business. The transaction is complete, the additional consideration of approximately $2,000,000 has been received, and this completes all of the actions required to exit the legacy business with only minor expenses to go. We also announced last week that the company's debt was assigned by the prior lender, which was WingSpire, to Hale Capital.

Speaker 2

The company simultaneously entered into an agreement with the new lender, which will provide for additional flexibility to make necessary changes. The company also created a restructuring committee of the Board with the authority to direct management to make the necessary cost reductions and restructuring with the objective of becoming adjusted cash flow breakeven, excluding restructuring costs, by the end of the quarter ending September 2024. These actions have already begun and will continue. The restructuring committee intends to continue to evaluate additional actions to best achieve the targeted results. In addition, the Board will be exploring alternatives to shore up the company's liquidity, including potentially raising additional capital to facilitate and possibly accelerate these restructuring actions.

Speaker 2

And finally, the company's CEO, Jeff Rittichar, has decided to step down after serving the company since 2014. Jeff will also leave the Board. He will continue to consult with the Board and assist with the transition to a new CEO. We thank Jeff for his service and appreciate his willingness to remain an advisor to the Board and wish him the very best. Your board has already begun the search for a new CEO, and we will take the necessary time to complete this search.

Speaker 2

In the meantime, the company is establishing an office of the CEO that will be comprised of senior executives responsible for driving EMCORE's operations and performance improvement. Additionally, the Board has asked Matt Vargas to assume the role of interim CEO until the search for a permanent CEO is completed. The Board has great confidence in Matt's demonstrated leadership, his team building and his communication abilities, and the newly created restructuring committee looks forward to working with him in the office of CEO to accelerate the company's restructuring plans and path to profitability. Finally, although the Board is not satisfied with our results for the 2nd fiscal quarter, we're committed to take the necessary actions to best position the company for success moving forward. We have much left to do, and we have difficult decisions to make in the future, but we believe the recent actions we've taken demonstrate the determination

Speaker 1

The

Speaker 2

to execute on its strategy with the help of our new leadership. Thank you for the your interest in the company. And with that, we'll open up the call for questions. Operator?

Operator

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer And your first question comes from the line of Richard Shannon with Craig Hallum Capital Group. Please go ahead.

Speaker 3

Great. Thanks for taking my questions, guys. Let's see. I guess my first question here is, to what degree are the issues that we're seeing here that manifest themselves not just in the March quarter results, but I think maybe you can go back a little bit of time as well as the outlook here. How much of that is due to, I guess, one time or unusual issues versus some sort of decrease in backlog here?

Speaker 3

I know we've talked about the situation with Bud Lake and Temu, but it seems like there's more issues and more programs either been delayed or lost or something to help us get some sense of the dynamics you're involved with as much lower revenue outlook here than we thought a few quarters ago?

Speaker 1

Well, I would say that it would be a good time to have Matt chime in on that question. So Matt, if you're there,

Speaker 4

you want to keep that one?

Speaker 5

Indeed, happy to answer. I think the torpedo element of our business is a fairly large tranche of our portfolio. We are working diligently and have been working diligently to understand that demand signal better, but it does comprise a large function of our total manufacturing footprint. So I would not say that it's an endemic of larger issues, but that particular subset as it moves directionally affects our business. So not really anything else that I can add to that effect, but the Trapido business is a large tranche of the overall lift quarter over quarter.

Speaker 3

Okay. So I guess if I heard Cletus' comments correctly, you're contemplating a number of actions here that include either cost restructuring and or capital raises here, I guess. Love to understand the degree to which you think some of these order and outlook visibility issues are permanent or at least long lived enough that you need to do something about it that would suggest a fairly meaningful cost structure improvements versus something that can just bridge you to a time by which things get better or back to maybe what you thought before? How do we balance those two dynamics ongoing versus transitional,

Speaker 1

I guess?

Speaker 2

Thanks, Richard. We're going to do the restructuring. Restructuring is not free. There's going to be expenses associated with downsizing the business to meet the current top line. So that's going to require cash to do that, and we're looking at various options to raise that cash.

Speaker 3

Okay. That's fair enough then. Maybe one or two questions from Tom here. Maybe just to give your best sense here of what we're looking at in terms of cash burn this quarter. I don't know if that would be inclusive or not inclusive of any sort of expenses from said restructuring.

Speaker 3

But just give us a sense of where we're sitting there. And I think last quarter when I asked the question about a comfort level of cash, we wanting to stay above $20,000,000 I think we're already below that. So I want to get a sense of urgency and rectifying that. Yes. The way I would look at

Speaker 1

it, Richard, is we finished at $12,000,000 at the end of March, obviously lower than where we thought we'd be when the top line has a lot to do with that or almost all to do with that. So here's how I would think about it. We've got $12,000,000 at the beginning of the quarter. We just got another, call it, dollars 2,000,000 roundup on the sale of the fab. So that's $14,000,000 in cash going into the quarter.

Speaker 1

I don't want to put too much of a specificity around where we're going to end up at the end of the June quarter. But what's important to know here is that it's $14,000,000 We have a new lender and the terms I can't emphasize enough the help that that's going to provide having now be withheld because the debt has been restructured essentially. And we no longer have a liquidity requirement that was $12,500,000 under the previous structure among other benefits of doing that deal. So that's going to give us some leeway here in the near term as we as the business marches forward at the guidance that we provided. But also, we're going to be doing all kinds of activities and other actions here that will obviously ultimately lower the cash use, but may require some initial one time cash out.

Speaker 1

So a lot of moving parts, but we've got some ability here to work what we want to do and make it happen. And whether we have to do some additional capital infusions of some form, that may or may not be part of it.

Speaker 3

Okay, fair enough. Thanks for that Tom. Maybe one last question and I'll jump out of line here. So in office of the CEO here, and I see not having met Mr. Vargas before I see you came from KVH here.

Speaker 3

I would assume that this office would include leaders from the other organizations, as I think Jeff was kind of the driver of all these different groups here. So can you kind of help us understand this office, the CEO, who else is going to be involved and have those leaders been assigned yet?

Speaker 2

Some have, some haven't. Those leaders will represent the functions within the company, including but maybe not limited to finance, legal, operations, engineering, sales and marketing. And that office of the CEO will report to the Board and work very closely with the restructuring committee.

Speaker 3

Okay, fair enough. I will jump at the line guys. Thank you very much.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Richard.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Brian Kinstlinger from Alliance Global Partners. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Just looking at the Q1 results compared to a comment that you expect to achieve profitability by the end of the September quarter. I presume that was this year, but maybe I'm mistaken. I want to make sure I understand that you said revenue in the second half of '24 will remain at current levels where you return to growth. So in order to reach a profit, you need to cut more than $5,000,000 of quarterly expenses. Do I have that right?

Speaker 4

Or did I misunderstand the comments regarding these assumptions?

Speaker 2

Yes. What we said was the objective is to be cash flow breakeven on an adjusted basis by the end of September quarter, excluding any restructuring expenses. So we didn't talk profit, we talked cash flow break even.

Speaker 4

Got it. And to be clear, did I understand you correctly in saying the second half of I think what you meant was calendar 2024 will be at no more revenue than we are today. As you'll see that weakness kind of turn you're hoping in the first half of twenty twenty five. Am I thinking about that right?

Speaker 1

Yes. I think you got it right, yes. Those were fiscal years that I was talking about, Brian. So just 1 quarter difference.

Speaker 4

Okay. Yes. The only thing I the only other question I wanted to make sure I understood, it sounded like the challenge of the Mark 54, I wouldn't say that, the Mark 54, you've now shipped those units, yet the Q2 isn't much stronger than the Q1. Is that because the Mark 48 is going to have more of an impact on the second quarter? Is that why we're not seeing that recovery yet?

Speaker 1

Yet? I think not your

Speaker 5

I can grab that one, Tom. I think

Speaker 3

it's less

Speaker 5

of an in line torpedo nested problem set than I think you're elaborating. The Tom spoke a little bit about the decline in revenues in Bud Lake, Those things as paired activity create what sort of the slump that was described. So it's not necessarily Mark 54 and Mark 48 are relatively independent demand signals. The internal manufacturing process is a little bit more agnostic, but those are 2 separate demand signals for 2 separate programs. But there's individual fiscal year budget implications in Washington that we're attuning our sensitivities to a little bit more, but that takes a little bit of time.

Speaker 5

So I hope that answers your question, but they're not necessarily always correlated from

Speaker 4

an outside demand perspective. Great. Thanks so much. Good luck.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Brian.

Speaker 4

Benjamin, are we We

Operator

don't have any questions at this time. That concludes our Q and A session. I will now turn the conference back over to Cletus Glassner for closing remarks.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Benjamin. So first, I'd like to convey to our shareholders, many of you who have held shares for a long time, that the EMCOR leadership and the Board is working to restore financial health to this business. We do appreciate you sticking with us through this transformative time. And I'd also like to give my sincere thanks to our employees of the company who have and will continue to support us through this transition. With that, that's all of our remarks.

Speaker 2

Thank you so much for attending.

Operator

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

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EMCORE Q2 2024
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