Jim Reynolds
Analyst · Roth Capital Partner. Your line is now open
Thank you, James. And everybody, welcome. As you can see from our earnings release, sales for the third quarter of 2018 were $2.6 million. That’s an increase of 117% as compared to the first six months ending June 30th, and brings sales revenue for the first nine months of the year to $3.8 million. Backlog at September 30th was $3.6 million. As of October the 5th, backlog has increased by 78% to $6.5 million. Driving our growth is the significant available funding for electric vehicles that is starting to be released. And when we talk about just starting to be released, the order we received on October the 5th was a combination of local air district funds, state funds and money from the awarded school districts and the grand scheme of things a very small grant. The next phase of electric school bus funding is expected to come from the $10 billion dollar rural school grant which we're expecting to be released the next 30 days, followed by the larger $75 million from the California Energy Commission and the $220,000 per vehicle from the California Air Resources Board HVIP program. We are expecting this to be released in Q1 of next year. The expected funding from both programs may result in the sale of approximately 400 electric buses from these grants, of which we know Blue Bird and the dealer A-Z Bus sales have been working hard to contact each potential grantee to position the Blue Bird all-electric bus as the bus of choice. Such sales by Blue Bird and its dealer will lead to additional drivetrain orders for ADOMANI. To put that in perspective, the early October purchase order we received for 16 electric drivetrain helped increase our backlog to 6.5 million. As a result, we view the potential for sales of a portion of the approximately 400 units of Blue Bird buses in the near-term as a substantial revenue opportunity. We believe we are well positioned for the future, in part due to our exclusive partnership with Blue Bird, who is a leading independent designer and manufacturer of school buses and has more than 180,000 buses in operation today. As a note, an additional 125,000 -- $125 million, excuse me, of potential funding is scheduled for approval by the California Air Resources Board in November. The electric vehicle industry is well positioned to take advantage of the $2.9 billion in Volkswagen funding, in addition to amounts available from other funding initiatives in many states. As that funding is released, we believe that based on our sales and backlog growth; we will have an opportunity to capture our share of it. As mentioned, the release of $75 million from the California Energy Commission and anticipated $125 million from the Air Resources Board in funding represent a great opportunity for ADOMANI. Even though, electric school buses represent a very larger market, ADOMANI is also beginning to launch truck, cutaway and van offerings. Last week, we announced the planned debut of our all-electric commercial truck products. ADOMANI’s zero-emission Class 3 truck and cargo delivery van will be on display in the exposition area of the Green California School and Community College Summit at the Pasadena Convention Center next week from October 29 to the 30th. As we mentioned, we’re excited to offer an expanding product line of zero-emission all-electric vehicles to reach not only a new commercial fleet customer base, but also our existing base of school districts. With the availability of HVIP funding, school districts and small businesses are eligible up to $50,000 for a Class 3 vehicle and up to $80,000 towards a new Class 4 vehicle, with an additional 5,000 to 10,000 respectively available for schools and businesses located in disadvantaged communities. With the recent delivery of the first shipment of Powered by ADOMANI Blue Bird all-electric school buses to multiple California schools, we believe these trucks will also be of interest for school districts, food services and maintenance facilities. The truck products also utilize the already or assumed to be installed vehicle charging infrastructure. With state incentive program, the purchase price of all-electric Class 3 and Class 4 vehicles becomes competitive with that of similar diesel, gasoline or even CNG powered vehicles. While the on-road performance is similar, from a total cost of ownership perspective, the zero-emission trucks offer reduced fueling and maintenance costs for the fleet operator and reduce -- and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the communities where they operate. It’s a win-win for the environment and the customer. The ADOMANI zero-emission all-electric truck product will have a range of between 150 and 175 miles, MAKING the electric vehicle well suited for school districts and delivery businesses operating in urban or rural settings. By utilizing the standard J1772 charging plug, the same plug featured in many electric cars, a driver has the option of recharging at one of the over 3,800 electric charging stations in California. Electric charging stations in California are almost in parity with diesel fueling stations and outnumber the 154 CNG stations. Range anxiety, which has been a problem in the past, is rapidly becoming less important considering electric vehicle drivers have nearly the same options as diesel-fueled trucks for opportunity of charging. As a reminder, in 2017, unit sales of Class 3 vehicles in the US were 317,000 vehicles and unit sales of Class 4 through 6 vehicles were 223,000. Our school bus replacement market is about 35,000 to 40,000, so this door is set by almost 12 to 1. And we're very excited to be spending in these new markets. We believe there is a clear need for all-electric trucks of all classes. As electric vehicles help reduce greenhouse gases that can lead to climate change, it improves overall air quality and reduces health issues created by vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. The multi-million dollar electric vehicle market we serve is growing. As we have expressed, the key performance indicator by which you might measure ADOMANI’s deliveries, at which point to recognize sales revenue. As mentioned, Q3 sales revenue was $2.6 million compared to zero a year ago and up 117% from sales revenue for the first six months of 2018. Increased sales revenue for the nine months totaled $3.8 million. Take a look at our backlog, it’s up approximately 78% as of October the 5th to $6.5 million compared to $3.6 million in September. Additionally if you can look at quotes coming from the Blue Bird dealer network, which today exceed 300, that's just for 2018 and just for zero-emission all-electric school buses. While the number of quotes that were resulted in purchase orders is unknown at this time, once quotes result in purchase orders and purchase orders are converted to deliveries at ADOMANI will recognize as revenue. By shipping our September 30th backlog in Q4, in addition to the $3.8 million of sales revenue recorded in the first nine months, we would generate approximately $7.5 million of sales revenue for the full year of 2018, meaning sales in the second half of 2018 would show a significant increase over sales in the first half of 2018. However, approximately $1 million of our September 30th backlog is subject to our receipt of product in timely and efficient manner to adequately inspect and test before delivery to customers. There is a chance that this might not occur until the first month or so of 2019. But we're pushing to make sure that we get it out this year if at all possible. In summary, we are enthusiastic about our position in the zero-emission all-electric vehicle solution market which has increased due to our launch in the trucks, van, and cutaways. In addition to school bus, as we feel our partners and our overall magnitude of the market and its growth potential has ADOMANI well-placed to accomplish our business plan and maximize shareholder value. At this point, I’ll turn it over to our CFO, Mike Menerey, to walk through the financials.