Earnings Labs

Frequency Electronics, Inc. (FEIM)

Q3 2015 Earnings Call· Wed, Mar 11, 2015

$46.23

-5.21%

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Greetings and welcome to the Frequency Electronics Third Quarter Fiscal 2015 Earnings Release Conference Call. At this time all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder this conference is being recorded. Any statements made by the Company during this conference call regarding the future constitute forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements inherently involve uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences are included in the Company’s press releases and are further detailed in the Company’s periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this conference call. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host General Joseph Franklin. Please, go ahead sir.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Thank you very much, [indiscernible] and thank you all for joining us this afternoon. We appreciate you taking this time out of your schedules busy as you are to be with us. And we look forward to your questions when we finish. This of course is our third quarter fiscal year results. And I’m joined of course by Martin Bloch, our Chairman.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

No, President.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Our President; and Alan Miller, our Chief Financial Officer. Alan will start the conversation folks. So hang on and we’ll look forward to your questions.

Alan Miller

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Thank you, Joe. For the third quarter of fiscal 2015, revenues were $18.4 million, compared to $18.2 million in the year-ago fiscal 2014 third quarter. Satellite revenues continue to represent approximately 60% of consolidated revenues, similar to the ratio in the prior year. Revenues from non-space U.S. Government/DOD programs including sales by FEI-Elcom and FEI-Zyfer accounted for one-fourth of consolidated revenues and roughly about 25% over the third quarter of last year. This growth in revenues reflects FEI-Zyfer’s continuing sales related to the U.S. Government’s critical secure communication program to prevent GPS jamming and multi-path. All Government end-use revenues, which include U.S. Government/DOD non-space and U.S. Government satellite programs, account for more than half of third quarter revenues and approximately 45% of consolidated revenues year-to-date. Revenues from network infrastructure another commercial products that are recorded in FEI-New York, Gillam-FEI and FEI-Zyfer were 15% of consolidated revenues for the quarter and approximately 20% for the nine months year-to-date which is about the same rate as the prior year. Overall, we anticipate that total consolidate revenues for fiscal 2015 will exceed the revenues at fiscal 2014 primarily due to strength in our space and U.S. Government non-space business areas. Our gross margin was $5.9 million, compared to $6.1 million last year yield in a gross margin rate, 32% in fiscal 2015 third quarter, compared to 34% last year. During third quarter, we incurred increased cost associated with further expanding our production capacity along with product mix these costs reduced our gross margin and our gross margin rates. After this current fourth quarter, we expect these additional cost to be reduced as we achieve our capacity objectives and this investment should result in fiscal 2016’s gross margin rates that are closer to our target. SG&A expenses were $3.6 million as compared to last…

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Good afternoon everybody, I want to start out by what was the challenge for FEI in fiscal 2014 so far. The most important item that we had to demonstrate is that we have increased our capacity to deliver hardware because that was concern of all our main satellite customers. And we have done this by investing an automated test equipment and capital equipment in thermal vacuum to simulate space and other electronic test equipment. Trained NASA skilled assemblers, which is a key important building block on it, added five engineers to our fab [ph] to be able to respond test to the cycle time demands and this has drastically put enormous amount of stress from typical cycles of 26 months to 36 months both of the new commercial satellites have a cycle time of 13 months to 15 months. We’ve also added a night shift, which helps enormously in throughput, because testing can continue 24/7. For space we have developed this year some exciting new products, this one of a state-of-the-art [indiscernible] us later, which has outstanding short-term stability to fulfill very challenging missions for military, as well as scientific satellite programs. We improved our EPCs for manufacturability and reliability completed almost all the work on a Ku-Band Ka-Band converter product line, which we’re now trying to market very aggressively to all of the satellite manufacturers. We developed and delivered space synthesizers with enormous reduction in size to address in addition to the geosynchronous market than large emerging camp, earth satellites where size and weight is a premium and performance is just as important as in geosatellites. We have also completed the development of the GPS III atomic clock to address the GPS satellite program and we’re going through the final validation with all the necessary paper work that requires…

Operator

Operator

Thank you. [Operator Instructions]

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

All right, operator, could you please ask that them to address the question to either General Joe Franklin, Martin Bloch or Alan Miller. So we know who will answer it.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Tristan Thomas with Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question.

Tristan Thomas

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Hi Martin [ph] can you hear me?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Hi, Christian.

Alan Miller

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Yes we can hear you loud and clear.

Tristan Thomas

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Perfect. First question directed for Martin. Could you maybe provide a new timeline when you expect to win new contracts, some of your new products? And then also, second part, if it has may be – been pushed back is that on the government and is that on satellite manufactures and maybe give us a little contracts and what’s going on unchanged [ph]?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Well, we have many outstanding proposals and we expect to negotiate new satellite contracts pretty much on a monthly basis with our major forecast commercial customers and government. So the timeline is – continues. It’s not something that we’re waiting for like, as an example, we’re right now negotiating contracts on three satellites to do the basic development and we hope to conclude this negotiation before the end of March.

Tristan Thomas

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Okay. And now, hypothetically if you do conclude negotiations by the end of March, how soon would you begin recognizing some revenues there, hypothetically?

Alan Miller

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

How soon we would get revenue?

Tristan Thomas

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Yes, just try to give maybe a little bit of context from…

Alan Miller

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Well, typically, I’m just on present complete, Alan we would actually get revenues in a first four, start getting in a first quarter of fiscal 2016.

Tristan Thomas

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Okay.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

And by the way, this the proposal that we have outstanding addresses our existing product line plus our new products especially then Ku-Band, Ka-Band up down converters and those specialized synthesizers for their earth-orbiting environment.

Tristan Thomas

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Okay, great. Again I had a I got a sort of a hypothetical question on that. And I know you mentioned FEI-Zyfer was quarter. What is it going to take to get Gillam back to a similar level that’s actually possible?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Again, Gillam, a miracle, what basically is they have a couple of exciting product and that’s what we are watching to see, if we take traction and this is basically they developed on RPUs for the French electricity companies and that has a large market potential and this is, they are like 60 to 100s and 50,000 slots for adjustments in France. And they one another large Schneider are the only two people that have so far submitted acceptable remote terminal units for that program. And the other is the build up of the wireless network by French telecom, that a two big opportunities and if this and doesn’t happen soon, we’ll have to do something more drastic.

Tristan Thomas

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Okay two questions for Alan, I may have missed this I think you mentioned it SG&A do you expect that to [indiscernible] in the fourth quarter are we still looking for more cost related to some of the production build out.

Alan Miller

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

As far as SG&A is concerned it’s been running, right around the $3.5 million quarter and I don’t know…

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Okay, I’ll talk to it, and then gross margin [indiscernible].

Alan Miller

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

And then gross margin okay, okay, that makes more sense. Yes, I think we anticipate that our gross margin rate we probably somewhat similar to what you’ve seen for the first nine months of year, we open for it an improvement as some of these costs get behind us, but I can’t predict that we will be 100% finished.

Tristan Thomas

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Okay, and then just one questions regarding the tax rate.

Alan Miller

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Yes.

Tristan Thomas

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

You mentioned your R&D credit is that something we should model [ph] moving forward or is that a one time in that?

Alan Miller

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Well, again somewhat is depended upon the amount of gains and losses that are incurred in our foreign subsidiaries, which don’t get tax effected, but I would say some price in the 32% to 35% rate would be the effect of rate for the full year.

Tristan Thomas

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Okay, got it thanks.

Operator

Operator

Our next question comes from Marcel Herbst with Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions.

Marcel Herbst

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Hi, good afternoon and thanks for take my question. Martin, in the PR you spoke about rationalizing our segment assets and operations, can you talk a little bit about what exactly that means and give more color on how you’re doing that?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Again, I’m sorry I’m a little bit [indiscernible] mode, could you’re repeat the question.

Marcel Herbst

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Yes, in the PR you spoke about rationalizing our segment assets and operations, I was wondering what that means and maybe get a little bit more color on how you are doing that.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Well, we’re examining our subsidiary especially, Gillam and see how they fit in into our future and see if we can uphold [ph] their assets to a better benefits of shareholders value and we’re examining get at very carefully to see and see or what to do about it.

Marcel Herbst

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Oh I see, okay. On the last call, you gave it about seven or eight likelihood to get a Ku, Ka band contracts before April 30…

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Yes.

Marcel Herbst

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

I was wondering how do you see that now.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

At any minute, we’re in negotiation right now.

Marcel Herbst

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Alright, that’s good to hear. Regarding your small earth-orbit payload opportunity that you mentioned earlier…

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Yes.

Marcel Herbst

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Can you tell us how close are you to adding to the backlog on this and what kind of annual revenue potential does this product line have?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Okay. I’ll tell you what is right now and why outcast that nobody can fully define. Right now, we’re participating on about a half a dozen military classified earth-orbiting satellites. Plus of course, we’re supplying all the up-down converters and timing for radio mix as you probably know, on that best. And those earth-orbiting satellites for DOD and classified mission are becoming more urgent and more numerous in the area. And at that time, they require better performance on timing and frequency and phase noise, at the same time, significant reduction in size and weight because the satellites are smaller and they are more numerous and we have developed and demonstrated some key building blocks for that arena. So we’re starting to get business and we probably have a couple of million dollars right now in the backlog for developing for these military earth-orbiting satellites. And some significant contract on, they are still considered earth-orbiting, but in a slightly different orbit which are for military and secure end-use. The most time, the most wild card is that new – a view earth opportunity that we’re all looking at, if that goes that’s going to be 920 satellites, it’s a new Teledesic and we have a submitted proposals…

Alan Miller

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

World view, that name of it.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

And they’re listed as VU.

Marcel Herbst

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Okay.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

And it’s well funded and this now if it goes we’ll have significant opportunity in satellite space. The challenge over there is to build something very liable and very inexpensive, but the opportunity is there.

Marcel Herbst

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

So there is a $2 million in for development contract?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Yes at least $2 million.

Marcel Herbst

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

How long is the development phase until you go top qualification and production orders?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

This is very, it’s a very fast track and very similar you know that the new earth military satellite have the same type of urgency as their GEO commercial, they went from cradle-to-grave to get down between 12 months to 18 months cycle.

Marcel Herbst

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

So it sounds like that this is an opportunity in the eight figure type of size once this gets going?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Very true, it’s a very exciting market because the quantity is large and good or bad the earth satellite don’t last long in orbit.

Marcel Herbst

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Okay, thank you so much, that’s all from me.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Herbst Capital Management. Please proceed with your questions

Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Our next question comes from Michael Esner, a private investor. Please proceed with your question.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

This question is for Martin Bloch. You mentioned in your…

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Hi Michael.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Yes, you go hot. How are you?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Okay, Michael.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

You mentioned in the press release to get towards your capacity objected, what is that objective?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

I don’t know what you’re referring to?

Alan Miller

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

What is the objective?

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

To what type of volume?

Alan Miller

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

What type of volume can we handle?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Well, we’re looking for infinity, but our immediate goal is to be able to handle approximately one and a half to two times our present satellite volume.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Okay, and how many people do you have in the night shift now?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

We have dozen plus but we’re actually shifting, we have been reasonable successful in shifting some of the day operators in at night whenever we need them, so we can test satellites, hardware twenty-four-seven, which is very important to reduce the cycle time.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

And do you think by the end of the fiscal year you would be ready to meet all your capacity?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

There is no such thing as meeting all the capacity because hopefully it’s a continuously increasing cycle. We are trying to demonstrate very successfully to our major customers that we can meet the present demands for capacity and sorter cycle time. It’s a two head sword, not only as to more hardware but the cycle time is significantly reduced. Which means in addition to the equipment and training and people, we are also investing in long-lead paths because sometimes a $10 parts can be 70 weeks and it screws your whole schedule on a $1 million or $2 million box. So, all of this is being put in place to meet the response time. Response time is number one, two and three.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Okay, and can you say, it’s good to be noted here, are going to be able to announce any of these contracts or they, I think, you can get something by year-end or fiscal year-end?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Well, I’ll have to check on this. Some of these earth-orbiting satellites are sensitive and our customers really don’t want any publicity. So, I’ll have to check Michael. Whatever we can announce, we will announce.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Or at the Ku, Ka, that’s up you can?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

On the Ka, Ku we definitely can and will because those are negotiation on commercial satellites.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Alright, thank you very much.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

You are very welcome.

Operator

Operator

Our next question comes from Sam Robowsky with SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question.

Sam Robowsky

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Yeah. Good afternoon Martin, Joseph and Alan.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Good afternoon.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Good afternoon.

Sam Robowsky

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

And so, it looks like you said in the new year April 1, we should have the up down in everything going. Are we negotiating with more than one contractor?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Yes.

Sam Robowsky

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Okay, okay. And so, we expect say by the end of March one contract or two contractors?

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Well, you know I didn’t say end of March, I said in this quarter of this item. Again though I don’t control the exact date. We are in the process right now negotiating with a couple of contractors on the Ku, Ka band and other type of up-down converters. And its eminent it should happens in a week or three weeks, that I have the control of.

Sam Robowsky

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Okay, okay.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

But it’s short term.

Sam Robowsky

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Okay. So, do you need to get more inventory or do you have plenty inventory to ship?

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

We have plenty of inventory and so we need those few critical parts which we have put on order of the long lead electrical parts that are hard to get and require a lot of screening, but that’s peanuts and this is inner works.

Sam Robowsky

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Alright, so with at this point, everything seems to be ready to go. And all these contracts that you are bidding on are funded, and how much do you expect to do per satellite now in the new year?

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

More than we did.

Sam Robowsky

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Yes.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

We did it in the past and you know that our policy is not to give guidance on exact numbers.

Sam Robowsky

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

No, but did you’re doing $5 million to $10 million now you’ve been talking about doing $25 million.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

You’ve been per satellite.

Sam Robowsky

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Per satellite.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Yes, we are proposing assistant that in the $20 million range.

Sam Robowsky

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

$20 million range, alright. Look you should get a couple of orders soon.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Well, that’s objective.

Sam Robowsky

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Yes, and start shipping.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

We hope, first you got the get the order, then you have to do the crèche [ph] development and then you ship.

Sam Robowsky

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Alright, good work, Martin. I’m waiting for the audience.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Thank you.

Sam Robowsky

Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with you question

Okay, thanks.

Operator

Operator

Our next question comes from Ryan Levenson from Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’ve a question about…

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Good afternoon.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Thanks, Martin. In the press release, the statement about backlog, there is [indiscernible] of the satellite backlog to date but not include orders for the company’s do satellite payload microwave receivers do a lot of those product line. If you were to include that where would the $41 million backlog number go to?

Alan Miller

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Well, we try to emphasize Ryan we haven’t received those orders yet.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

So then, why are you including that statement on there.

Alan Miller

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Because people were anticipating that we for the last call that we would have some by now, but we have not received any orders at this point. As Martin, indicated we’re still negotiating with our potential customers on that. So at this point, the backlog is not including anything for new orders, for new products I should say.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Okay. So I’m just confused as to how the backlog has declined so much over the last couple of quarters.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

I’m sorry, could you repeat the question. I didn’t understand it.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

I can move on. So a trust in your first caller, mentioned something about three satellite and I’m guess asked theoretical question and Martin you comment not to respond to something a little more tangible. I’m just wondering the size of the three satellites that you’re – the contract size of those three satellites are you talking about that…

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

That we’re negotiating? I am sorry about that. Those are very sensitive and both the hardware and the dollar value are not disclosable for public domain, but they are great starts and those satellites have lots of tails. So we are very excited about that opportunity.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Okay. Can you give us an order of magnitude on that? I think your last caller…

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Yes, it’s about in the $5 million to $10 million range.

Alan Miller

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Okay. Then that bucket that you’ve been bidding for last three quarters.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Then the last thing I want to ask about is a timeline on Gillam. You mentioned it would be a miracle for Gillam just turn around it. I’m just wondering what internal action is being taken and what aside from examining it, what kind of timeline we can get on that?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Okay well, me and Oleandro Mancini are planning due diligence trip to Gillam, sometimes this summer and we will examine, I will again stop buy at French Electric Company and try to obtain a timeline from them because less time when I talked to them a year ago, they said that they would start ordering production in calendar year 2015, but we haven’t seen any orders. So that’s one of my missions and the authors also to meet with French telecom and see what their plan is for building up. And at the same time we will see if there are any alternative solutions for Gillam. If those products wants are not going, then they don’t have a mission anymore in our family and we are obligated to deploy those assets in a better direction.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Okay, so what’s the drop that day?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

2015.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Calendar or fiscal?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Calendar. Fiscal is only six weeks.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

I know. And just the last I have to just one more about the General’s acquisition comment. Can you maybe elaborate on that a little bit? Looking ahead or focus will remain on potential corporate transaction opportunities?

Alan Miller

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Well, its something we’ve talked about it at various conferences as well, as that is where we’re looking potentially for other acquisitions that to be tuck-ins for frequency. But are also open to other avenues of approaching partners that could help us to enhance our products, so we’re looking that potential so to partner up.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

This is a…

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Merge the company with another company or a joint venture of some kind.

Alan Miller

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Both, both of these basically involved. We have a great strategic asset in this time and secure communication and we are looking very carefully, to see if we can explore it or opt with somebody that has more muscles than we do. And that’s what is getting a lot of attention.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Okay. Thank you.

Alan Miller

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

You’re welcome.

Operator

Operator

Our next question comes from George Marima Private Investor. Please proceed with your question.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Yes, hi, thanks. I’ll ask my question to Joe, not to be lonely over there. If you could in the call, you talked about 2015 versus 2014 that you expect revenue to be higher. But that implies, all that implies as more than $14.2 million in the fourth fiscal quarter. I’m assuming and expecting a big drop of over this quarter, are you?

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · your question

No.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · your question

I think Alan has a details, I think he’s more qualify to answer it, go ahead Alan.

Alan Miller

Analyst · your question

Well I don’t see in my notes, I refer to anything about our revenues for the next quarter.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · your question

Go ahead Alan.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

No, no, but you said you expect the, have you said expect revenue in 2015 to be greater than 2014, but that doesn’t say much.

Alan Miller

Analyst · your question

No, we appreciate that $25 million [ph] ahead of last years run rate…

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Right.

Alan Miller

Analyst · your question

And we expect to see that maintain, last year, we did $71.5 million we’re certainly on record on track to well exceed that number.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Okay, so expect somewhat of a sequentially similar quarter. I assume all way around.

Alan Miller

Analyst · your question

Well, we don’t comment on specifics, but yes in general.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Give or take that’s what it got to be.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · your question

No, it’s a good assumption.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Okay, not a big drop anyway okay.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · your question

No, no, we don’t expect that it drop.

Alan Miller

Analyst · your question

No.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Got it, okay. So the director capacity, well we first of all, are you still hoping for two to three sort of Ku deals in 2015, is that the hope.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · your question

We have the hope.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · your question

In calendar or fiscal?

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Yes, well, no, calendar 2015.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · your question

Definitely.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Okay. It sounds like your capacity why you said 1.5, two times is – you could be a $100 million to $150 million revenues size company. As you look behind, I know a lot of these things are time, these things have to move in and out of the shop quickly, if you look out I guess the only way to expand, will be is to do it through an acquisition either you buy somebody or someone buys you to get about that level yet?

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · your question

Well, there’s quite a few ways and that we’re exploring on this. One of things is that we are working quite a few companies to out sourcing because that’s a big portion on this are now some qualified people that do assembly and test for space and we are working with them to see if they can handle our product line. And we are doing the lot of automatic testing in order to get the throughput to give you an example, on the radio mixed [ph] the automatic test equipment that we have instituted reduce the test time from a 108 touch hours to 24 touch hours. So automation is a big part of increasing throughput and putting machines to work, which are more accurate and of course they don’t take coffee brakes and they work 24/7. So that’s the areas both outsourcing and additional automatic equipment at FEI and the night shift, which is key because of the continuous test time you don’t want to interrupt the test time, which is imperative to achieve good cycle time.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Okay. And on this new military government satellite opportunity is that project, the government project, is that called WorldView?

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · your question

No, WorldView is commercial, WorldView is if you are old enough to remember about 15 years ago was it Teledesic?

Martin Bloch

Analyst · your question

Yes.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · your question

I think 15 years or 20 years ago, Teledesic was formed and they acquired them the bandwidth in an earth-orbiting satellite to supply basically Internet to every place on the globe. And that program at that time could not be implemented because there wasn’t enough gallium arsenide in the process to be able to do it. And the satellites were too expensive to do. Right now this program is getting rejuvenated and it’s been funded with the couple of billion dollars to see if it can be done and VU is the one of the companies that is hand showing that they bought the Teledesic bandwidth and they are right now out for proposals from three or four of the major satellite manufacturers to see what they can come in at a cost to be able to build about 900 to 1,000 satellites.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

This means this is military program, what – is there a name for it?

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · your question

Yes, there is, but that’s not something that I’m at liberty to tell you.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Okay.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · your question

And if I told you, you wouldn’t recognize it, because it has, the military programs are being given funny names just to make sure that are difficult to identify.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Or something couldn’t follow the news of product, okay, got it, okay. On Zyfer, the cyber security opportunity is there I’m not quite clear, I understand on this cyber threat if you get the name of the product, but on the cyber threat solution you have, is there an opportunity for increasing revenue in 2015 calendar versus 2014?

Alan Miller

Analyst · your question

Absolutely, absolutely.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

And how do I look at that opportunity, I’m not quite clear on that?

Alan Miller

Analyst · your question

Well, what happens there, a lot of it depends on a government schedule. We are going to demonstrate this equipment as some matter of fact next week to the government. And this point in this schedule, the program the initial phase of the program is funded. How fast are you go to move up unfortunately I don’t have a control of it. But it’s a major breakthrough to be able to operate for many, many hours in case GPS disappears jam goes spoofed. So that significantly increases the security of critical communication assets.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Is your solution the only one or you competing with others for this deal?

Alan Miller

Analyst · your question

At this time, we’re fortunate that we have been given that task of sole source. I eventually, when this program gets expanded to land, ship and air, I’m sure that the government will insist on having some other major players because the quantities will be very significant.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

On the…

Alan Miller

Analyst · your question

Being on the ground floor, gives us a lot of traction.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

I’m not quite clear if you look say the next six months a miracle happens, and you land the French deal, and you land this government deal and you land three or four Ku, Ka are you using…

Alan Miller

Analyst · your question

I’ll be very busy.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Are you may be able to handle that all?

Alan Miller

Analyst · your question

Say that again.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Are you will be able to handle that kind of rush of capacity if it all comes at once.

Alan Miller

Analyst · your question

It’s going to be painful, but we will handle it and this we were like – we are looking right now to see if we can affiliate ourselves with partners that will be able – to enable us to do it. It’s going to be a job, but it’s going to be a lot of funs.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · your question

Okay, go, get, done. Thank you.

Alan Miller

Analyst · your question

Okay.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · your question

Thank you, George.

Operator

Operator

Our next question is a follow-up from Ryan Levenson with Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question.

Alan Miller

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Hi, Ryan.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Hi, just one more.

Alan Miller

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Okay.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Could you just elaborate on what you mean that you are looking for partners to affiliate yourself with, I mean if you just provide a little bit more color around that statement.

Alan Miller

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Well, I give you and this we’re looking to – for people that can add to our technology. And also for people that have a lot more capacity and visibility that our technology can enhance their product line and the ability to push those programs forward and bigger. We’re just – we have a great technology but we are a small company. And we don’t have the muscles to push some of these programs to the next giant level on this. You’re talking about critical assets that need to be upgraded and the first in a 100s and the next level is in 1,000s and the third level is in 10,000s. So we will need to partner up with people that have a lot more muscle is the best way to describe it, or merge with them. Our technology has great strategic value.

Ryan Levenson

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Okay. I’ll leave aside with that answer. Thanks.

Alan Miller

Analyst · Privet Fund. Please proceed with your question

Okay, done. I’m surprised.

Operator

Operator

Our next question is a follow-up from George Marima with Private Investor. Please proceed with your question.

Alan Miller

Analyst · Private Investor. Please proceed with your question

Yes, George.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · Private Investor. Please proceed with your question

Yes, hi, again. That last caller prompted a further question about this. I don’t know your space very well. What are some like names or types of firms that would quote unquote have muscles to align yourselves with? Who would be some examples of it?

Alan Miller

Analyst · Private Investor. Please proceed with your question

Well, the major DOD contractors would be the list that you know there are about ten of them that are considered as the major contractors and define and our starting on the top of Lockheed Martin to on the down list is probably, I can’t mention – that’s the name occurred to me. But people that are in the business and supplying this major type of systems and integrators.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · Private Investor. Please proceed with your question

Okay. To say this slightly as I can the management team FEI is not exactly spring chickens. I can see how it makes sense for an exist strategy would be to sell through a larger company that you guys provided a strong, some strong things you bring to the table along with some big muscle partner. That does make a lot of sense.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · Private Investor. Please proceed with your question

I want to comment on this spring chicken.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · Private Investor. Please proceed with your question

Okay.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · Private Investor. Please proceed with your question

I went recently to, I won’t mention the company, but it’s a $2 billion operation run by maybe two-year old if somebody had some works [ph] as of succession plan, and he says, what do you think I’m ready to die?

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · Private Investor. Please proceed with your question

Okay.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · Private Investor. Please proceed with your question

And this, no, we have a very diversified team, it’s true that some of the senior people are not spring chickens. But we have a lot of life left in us and we have a very active next-generation team that is being groomed and are doing a great job so…

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst · Private Investor. Please proceed with your question

Excellent, okay, thank you.

Joseph Franklin

Analyst · Private Investor. Please proceed with your question

You’re welcome.

Operator

Operator

There are no further questions in queue at this time. I’d like to turn the call back over to management for closing comments.

Martin Bloch

Analyst · Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question

Okay, thank you very much for the team here we really appreciate, you taking care of us today. And thanks to all of you who listened in and for your questions, which we most appreciate to, which we wanted to be clear as possible to everyone who is looking at us. What we’re doing, where we’re looking and what our potential is get there. Thank you all for tuning in, we’ll be back again at the end of the next quarter in July. And I hope you all have a very pleasant start to your summer. God bless you.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. That does conclude today’s teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time and have a great day.