Dorothy Cipolla
Analyst · Ingerlettter.com. Please go ahead
Thank you, Jim. First, I would like to mention that much of the information we are discussing during this call is also included in the press release issued earlier today and on Form 10-Q which we will file shortly. I encourage you to visit our website at lightpath.com and specifically the section entitled Investor Relations. Before reviewing the financial performance and operational details from our fiscal 2017 second quarter which ended on December 31, I would like to review some of the details pertaining to the ISP acquisition. As previously disclosed LightPath completed the acquisition of ISP on December 21, 2016, for a purchase price of $18 million subject to post-closing adjustments of which $12 million was paid in cash with the balance in the form of a 5-year subordinated note issued to the sellers. The $6 million sellers note will accrue interest for the first 15 months on only the principal amount in excess of $2.7 million. Simultaneously with the closing of the acquisition, LightPath completed an underwritten public offering of 8 million shares of its Class A common stock which included the full exercise for the underwriters of their option to purchase 1 million shares of Class A common stock to cover over allotment at a public offering price of $1.21 per share. Net proceeds from the sale of the Class A common stock after deducting underwriting discounts and expenses were approximately $8.7 million. The company used the net proceeds from the offering for a portion of the purchase price of the acquisition of ISP payable in cash as well as to pay transaction expenses and other costs in connection with the acquisition. The balance of the cash portion of the purchase price was funded by a $5 million acquisition loan that is payable on an interest only basis for six months and thereafter amortized over 54 months. Since some of the interest in the amortization of the debt taken on to make the ISP acquisition is not payable or to be recorded for the next several quarters. The references Jim made earlier on the call to normalize amortization of principal and interest service on the debt refers to our cash flow from operations being able to cover all of our costs including full quarterly interest in the fourth quarterly amortization. Now, on to the results for the fiscal 2017 second quarter, revenue for the second quarter was $5.9 million, an increase of $1.6 million or 39% from $4.2 million in this last year and up by 18% from $5 million in the first quarter of this fiscal year. The increase from the second quarter of last year is attributable to 151% increase in revenues generated by our high volume precision molded optics or HVPMO, 161% increase in revenues generated by infrared lenses which include ISP products, a 32% increase in revenues generated by sales of low volume precision molded optics or LVPMO and this was partially offset by a 48% decrease in revenues from specialty products and a 66% decrease in revenues from non-recurring engineering or NRE projects. Specialty products is the project based business and last year it benefited form the program that we licensed to a customer that is a non-recurring business resulting in a revenue decrease of $358,000 as compared to last year. This marks the eighth consecutive quarter where we have experienced year-over-year increases in sales of both of precision molded optics lines and for our infrared products. Moving to our geographic revenue mix, 36% was from the U.S., 47% was from Asia, 14% was from Europe and 3% was from rest of world. Our geographic mix has moved from 62% to 64% international sales from the second quarter last year. Adding to the transparency of our financial reporting, I will provide vertical market sales figures which further demonstrate our diversification. In the second quarter of fiscal ’17, vertical market sales included 35% from distribution of catalog, 17% from telecom and wireless, 7% from medical, 19% from industrial and 8% from government and defense sectors. The gross margin as a percentage of revenue in the first quarter was 56%, this compares to 54% for all of last year. The improvement in gross margin is attributable to increased revenue of HVPMO products with higher average selling prices and this leverage is born out of higher sales volumes against fixed manufacturing overhead expenses with better yields for infrared products. Gross profit in the second quarter was $3.3 million up 40% from $2.4 million in the year – last year. Total cost of sales was approximately $2.6 million for the second quarter, an increase of approximately $697,000 compared to last year. The 37% increase in cost of sales favorably compares to the 39% increase in revenue to deliver the improved gross margins. This marks the second consecutive quarter where we have had the favorable revenue to cost of sales comparison. Due to the higher revenues in the second quarter increased R&D spending in ISP acquisition related expenses primarily for professional services, total costs and expenses increased by approximately $212,000 compared to last year. Broken out, the primary increased expenses included $125,000 increase in expenses related to the acquisition of ISP, $200,000 increase in wages and this was partially offset by a reduction of $125,000 in other expenses resulting from the company’s continued emphasis on expense management. Consistent with our growth strategy and included in total costs and expenses, we increased R&D spending by 60% to $258,000 in the second quarter from $168,000 last year. Excluding the acquisition expenses and other minor one-time expenses for either of the second quarter periods total costs and expenses as a percentage of revenue was 31% in the second quarter as compared to 41% last year. We expect this G&A costs to be higher than the second quarter range for the balance of this fiscal year due to the addition of ISP. In the second quarter the company recognized non-cash income of approximately $247,000 related to the change in the fair value of warrants issued in connection with the June 2012 private placement. In the second quarter of last year the company recognized non-cash expense of approximately $1.1 million related to the change in the fair value of these warrants. The applicable accounting rules for the warrant liability requires the recognition of either non-cash expense or non-cash income which has a significant correlation to the change in the market value of our common stock for the period being reported and the assumptions on when the warrants will be exercised. The warrants have a 5-year life and will expire in December 2017. The fair value will be re-measured each reporting period until the warrants are exercised or expire. Net income for the second quarter was $1.1 million or $0.07 per basic and $0.06 per diluted common share which includes income tax related to our Chinese and Lat-Am subsidiaries and non-cash income of approximately $247,000 or $0.02 per basic and diluted common share. For the change in the fair value of warrant liability, this compares with the net loss of approximately $5.36 or a $0.04 loss per basic and diluted common share which includes the non-cash expense of approximately $1.1 million or $0.07 per basic and diluted shares for the change in the fair value of the warrant liability last year. The company has foreign currency exchange expense in the second quarter due to the changes in the value of Chinese yuan and euro in the amount of approximately $237,000 which had a $0.01 impact on basic and diluted earnings per share. This compares to foreign currency exchange income of $26,000 with no impact on income per share last year. Adjusted net income which is adjusted for the effective non-cash change in the fair value of the warrant liability increased by nearly 64% to approximately $851,000 in the second quarter as compared to $520,000 last year. Adjusted EBITDA which eliminates the non-cash income or expense related to the change in the fair value of the June 2012 warrant liabilities was approximately $1.4 million in the second quarter, an increase of 85% as compared with approximately $739,000 last year. EBITDA with effective in the fiscal 2017 period, primarily by the recognition of higher non-cash income as a result of the change in the fair value of the warrant and an increase in SG&A costs which included approximately $125,000 related to the acquisition of ISP. We did average basic shares outstanding was 16.5 million in the second quarter compared to 15.3 million last year. This was primarily due to the issuance of shares for the acquisition of ISP and shares issued under the employee stock purchase plan and exercises of stock options of the June 2012 warrant. I will now briefly review financial performance and operational details for the first six months which ended December 31. Revenue for the first half of ’17 was approximately $10.9 million, an increase of approximately $2.4 million or 29% as compared to last year. Gross margin as a percentage of revenue in the first half of ’17 was 56% compared to 55% in the first half of fiscal ’16. Gross profit in the first half was $6.1 million compared to $4.6 million last year, an increase of 33%. Total cost of sales was approximately $4.7 million for the first half, an increase of approximately $925,000 compared to last year. During the first half total costs and expenses were approximately $4.4 million, an increase of approximately $1.1 million compared to last year. A key component of the increased expense was $609,000 spent ISP acquisition. In the first half, the company recognized non-cash income of approximately $290,000 related to the change in the fair value of the warrant. In the first half of last year the company recognized non-cash expense of approximately $687,000 related to change in these warrants. Income tax expense was approximately $506,000 in the first half, an increase of $502,000 from last year. Although the company has net operating margin carry forward benefits of about $86 million against net income as reported on a consolidated basis in the U.S. the interval doesn’t not apply to taxable income from foreign subsidiaries. The increase in the income tax expenses in fiscal ’17 was primarily attributable to income taxes associated with LightPath’s Chinese operations into a lesser extent our Lat-Am [ph] operations. Net income for the first half was $1.2 million or $0.08 per basic and $0.07 per diluted common share, which includes non-cash income of approximately $290,000 or $0.02 per basic and diluted share for the change in the fair value of the warrant liability compared with the net income of approximately $307,000 or $0.06 per basic and diluted shares which included non-cash expense of $687,000 or $0.01 per basic and diluted share for the change in the warrant liability last year. the company had foreign currency exchange expense in the first half due to the changes in the value of the Chinese yuan and euro and the amount of approximately $272,000 which had a $0.02 impact on basic and diluted earnings per share. This compares to find currency exchange expense of $176,000 which had a $0.01 impact on income per share last year. Adjusted income, which is the adjusted for the effect of a non-cash change in the fair value of the warrants with $948,000 in the first half as compared to $994,000 last year. Adjusted EBITDA which eliminates the non-cash income or expense related to the change in the warrant liability was approximately $2 million in the first half as compared to $1.4 million last year. EBITDA was affected this year primarily by recognition of higher non-cash income as a result of the change in the fair value of the warrant liability and increases in SG&A costs which included approximately $609,000 as result of expenses incurred related with acquisition of ISP. Cash and cash equivalents totaled approximately $5.7 million as of December 31, 2016 and 93% increase from June 30, 2015. This follows a 23% increase in cash from the beginning of the fiscal year through the end of the first quarter on September 30, 2016. Cash flow provided by operations was approximately $1.5 million for the first six months compared to $1 million in the prior year. During the first half of fiscal ’17 the company expended approximately $873,000 for capital equipment while growing its cash balance as compared to $596,000 in this last year. The current ration as of December 31, 2016 was 3.3 to 1 compared to 3.5 to 1 as of June 30, 2016. Total stockholders’ equity as of December 31, was approximately $21.8 million, 99% increase compared to approximately $10.9 million as of June 30, 2015. This is reflecting the common stock offered in December 2016 and cumulative net income. As of December 31, the company’s 12 months backlog of $12.4 million compared to $6.6 million as of June 30, 2016, an increase of approximately 92%. This backlog increased 63% due to the acquisition of ISP Optics. With this review of our financial highlights concluded, I will turn call back to the operator, so we may begin with question-and-answer session.