Earnings Labs

NextTrip, Inc. (NTRP)

Q1 2020 Earnings Call· Thu, May 14, 2020

$2.54

+0.79%

Key Takeaways · AI generated
AI summary not yet generated for this transcript. Generation in progress for older transcripts; check back soon, or browse the full transcript below.

Same-Day

-9.73%

1 Week

-1.56%

1 Month

+5.84%

vs S&P

-3.99%

Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good day. And welcome to the Sigma Labs’ First Quarter Financial Results Conference Call. Today’s conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Chris Tyson, Senior Managing Director of MZ North America. Please go ahead, sir.

Chris Tyson

Management

Thank you, and good afternoon. I’d like to thank you all for taking time to join us for Sigma Lab’s first quarter 2020 business update and results conference call. Your hosts today are Mark Ruport, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Frank Orzechowski, the company’s Chief Financial Officer. A press release detailing these results crossed the wires this afternoon at 4:01 p.m. Eastern today and is available on the company’s website, sigmalabsinc.com. Before we begin the formal presentation, I’d like to remind everyone that statements made on the call and webcast, including those regarding future financial results and industry prospects, are forward-looking and may be subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the call. Please refer to the company’s SEC filings for your list of associated risks and we would also refer you to the company’s website for more supporting industry information. At this time, I’d like to turn the call over to Sigma Lab’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Ruport. Mark, floor is yours.

Mark Ruport

Management

Thank you, Chris, and good afternoon, everybody, and thanks for joining us today. The question that is on everybody’s mind is what is the new normal? And no, I’m not talking about COVID and going to the movies or getting on an airplane. I’m talking about Sigma labs when it comes to revenue and results. In uncertain times, I believe that companies should provide more rather than less information. I can’t predict the future with any more certainty than anyone else, but during these times of uncertainty, we’ll endeavor to provide you with more information, allowing you to measure the size of our market opportunity, our progress and our ability to execute. So let’s start painting the pictures of Sigma’s new normal by answering the questions that you’re most interested in. What does Q1 tell us? What does revenue look like going forward? What have we done with expenses and cash management to reduce our burn rate and extend our runway? What is the current status of our RTE? What progress are we making on our strategic milestones? And how will COVID affect the company short-term and long-term? While I hope that covers most of your questions because we have a limited time. If I’ve missed them, I’ll be glad to answer them during the Q&A to the extent possible as a public company. I’ve been very consistent in my belief that we will have increasing revenue quarter-over-quarter for the foreseeable future. I first made that statement early Q1 and nothing has changed in that regard. We did increase Q1 revenue over Q4 just not as much as we had planned. But we also didn’t factor in a pandemic shutting down most of the world. Throughout most of Q1, we’re working towards a forecast of over $400,000 even with COVID…

Frank Orzechowski

Management

Thank you, Mark. Our detailed financial results are contained in our Form 10-Q filed with the SEC today and the press release we issued contains key highlights of our financial results. So today I will provide a concise review of our financial results for the first of 2020. Revenue for the first quarter of 2020 totaled $221,730. This compares to revenues of $64,450 for the first quarter of 2019. The increase in revenue was due to PrintRite3D unit sales to two research universities, as well as revenue recognized under the legacy rapid test and evaluation or RTE programs during the quarter. Our gross profit for the first quarter of 2020 was negative $22,973. Our first quarter 2020 gross margin is primarily a function of ongoing support of the legacy rapid test and evaluation programs, including equipment upgrades and additional travel and labor costs in early on in the first quarter. And as Mark noted, we have ended this old traditional program and the remaining legacy RTEs that we have will be winding down over the next couple of months. Our total operating expenses for the first quarter of 2020 were $1.6 million. Total operating expenses for the first quarter of 2019 totaled $1.5 million. Cash used in operating activities for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 totaled $1.5 million, compared to $1.1 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2019. As Mark noted, this was unusually high due to trade accounts payable carried over from 2019 due to a delay in securing our financing and is not representative of what management expects going forward. In addition, we made several one off non-recurring payments in the first quarter, including paying off the remaining balance of our note payable and our annual NASDAQ membership fee. Our net loss for the first quarter of 2020 was $1.6 million or $1.30 per share, as compared to a net loss of $1.5 million or $1.60 cents per share in the first quarter of 2019. Cash totaled $0.6 million at March 31, 2020, as compared to $0.1 million at December 31, 2019, and $1.9 million at March 31, 2019. And subsequent to the close of the first quarter, we further fortified our balance sheet in the form of $1.5 million offering that we closed on April 6th. I’m also happy to report that we are in active negotiations with OEM partners for strategic alternatives who currently see the immense value in our enterprise and look forward to providing an update on that front as they develop. With that, I will now turn the call back over to Mark for closing remarks.

Mark Ruport

Management

Thanks, Frank. Before we open line for Q&A, I’d like to thank our Chairman, John Rice for his dedication to Sigma during his time as CEO and I look forward to working closely with him as we execute on our plan to increase revenue and increase shareholder value. So thank you John. With that, I’d be glad to answer any questions that you might have.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from David Levine with Triple Research [ph]. Please proceed with your question.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Hi, Mark. How you doing?

Mark Ruport

Management

Good, David. How are you?

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Good. So I just want to make sure I understand the sort of RTE alternative I guess. So going forward, somebody will send you a design and send you the -- whatever powder they prefer or use for that particular design, and then you’re going to create the platform and then send it to them for evaluation. Is that how that’s going to work?

Mark Ruport

Management

Well, I actually it did better than that. And if you recall, I spoke one time, I forget exactly what call it was on about the user who told us that they were using the system more than ever before from home because it became their eyes on the manufacturing process when they come be onsite. So we thought about that and we said, well, what if a prospect could send us a CAD file and also the powder they use and we will build the part on our printer and while it is being built, we will give them remote access, the PrintRite3D that aligned with that printer. Then they can monitor the build of their part with their metal on our printer and have the same experience they would have if we install the system on their machine and they built that part. The only difference it will be they built on our machine as opposed to theirs, but the same powder in the same part. So we’ll be able to provide the part that has defects or anomalies in it. We’ll be able to tell if we can detect those in real time as the part of the thing built. And then when they get done they can do a correlation and do their own CT scan on that part to ensure that our analysis and the actual build the correlation was close or if not exact or better.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

And that’s a sort of a process that you start to begun to rollout or have you already -- you’ve already done that with some people. I’m just wondering if people are accepted to that or how they are…

Mark Ruport

Management

Well, we don’t know yet. We have done the at home RTE with one customer and it became our beta customer or alpha customer through that program. We’ll be rolling out the website of the program in about two weeks and that will allow somebody to self-qualify, go through the process, they guess I’d like go through the program, work with our team, set expectation and then we’ll send us the CAD file and the powder. And we’ll see how it works. It’s the closest thing that we can do to putting to the alternative of traveling for the system on site. And in the end I think it’s going to be more productive for the customer or prospect than giving us time on their printer to do an installation.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

That’s great. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from George Fiskatu [ph], a Private Investor. Please proceed with your question.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Hi guys. Thank you for taking my call. My question is around Materialise, if I heard properly, we’re expecting to close the first deal with Materialise in the current quarter. Q2. Generally how are we going around, how we team with Materialise to sell? Is this to Materialise as existing base? Is it to a new base and how would you describe the status of that joint selling campaign?

Mark Ruport

Management

This is to a new customer to both Materialise and to Sigma. They brought us in January. We did a joint sales call to a new 3D metal printer manufacturer, who is looking for voltage control and for a monitoring system. And they selected us. They actually sold -- pre sold the first system and there we’ll be implementing our combined system on their machine hopefully sometime at the end of this quarter.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Okay. Thank you very much. And one final call, I was intrigued by to discuss the ongoing discussions referred to by the CFO over strategic investment in Sigma. Is that by a traditional OEM manufacturer that we’re in discussions with or what’s the profile of the company or companies pure, we’re in discussions with first strategic investment in Sigma?

Mark Ruport

Management

And George we’re looking at all of our opportunities when it comes to funding, meeting our capital requirements with the company. And the profile varies from financial investors to industry strategic investors. So we’re not quite sure, which way we’re going, but we’re looking at all alternatives that are in the best interest of the shareholders and the company.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Okay. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from Tony Chris with Capital Securities Management Incorporated [ph]. Please proceed with your question.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Thank you for taking my question. I -- Can you give us the share count right now and I tried to look a little bit at the history of it. But it’s gone up and down so much. It’s hard to keep track. And also with respect to options, I noticed there is a new executive, usually there is options involved, what their conversion price is, and how many, and I have a part two also, if that’s all right, sir.

Mark Ruport

Management

Sure. Before you get to part two, I’m going to ask Frank to answer part one.

Frank Orzechowski

Management

Sure. Yeah. So currently right now, we have $3,086,151 shares outs outstanding. With respect to total warrants and options outstanding were common underlying those securities, it’s another $5.4 million outstanding, which would be a fully diluted number of $8.5 million and that takes into account the financing that we closed on April 6th.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

What revenues will we receive where that all exercise and converted?

Frank Orzechowski

Management

Right now if that were all exercise, we’d expect to receive about $7.5 million.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

That’s good.

Frank Orzechowski

Management

Yeah.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Okay. Thank you. And then part two. If you -- I got on the call to late, and I apologize if I missed this, but did you give guidance for revenue going forward? I read both of your very well written letters to shareholders, but I’m wondering if you did give guidance or any kind of guidance you might offer at this time?

Mark Ruport

Management

Sure. And what I said earlier was that, I expect quarter-over-quarter revenue growth at 50% to 100%. So if you take the 222 that we did this quarter, 50% growth will put around 350 and 100% growth, will put around 415. So that’s the bandwidth. And of course I have some caveats around that regarding what might happen, that we’re not sure if regarding COVID and also when it comes to shipping and recognizing is different than sometimes booking the revenue because of the lead time. But I feel very confident that we have enough opportunities for foreseeable growth quarter-over-quarter of 50% to 100%.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

That would be really exciting. And I’m not personally too worried about COVID because the Chinese communist party flu is no more severe than the Hong Kong flu was in ‘68, ‘69 or the Asian flu was in ‘57, ‘58, or for that matter, the 2018 flu, which killed 80,000 hospitalized, 485,000 killed 188 children. I can only find three children under 18 that have died from it. Not that I’m -- not that -- but to put it in context, I’ve never in my life seen a government act so coercively to stop an economy.

Mark Ruport

Management

Well, Tony, I appreciate your comments, but I think, I’ve answered your question with a 50% to 100%.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Yes. You have. Thank you and it sounds exciting. I’m going to stick around for sure.

Mark Ruport

Management

Great.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. Our final question comes from Joe Chadman [ph], a Private Investor. Please proceed with your question.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Good afternoon, guys. Mark, you mentioned, a new client with your arrangement with the Materialise, now does that imply to me in all of us that the closed loop is something that is a marketable?

Mark Ruport

Management

We were getting awfully close bill.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Okay.

Mark Ruport

Management

We can do it. And so the intent of our relationship is to move towards closed loop and then offer the closed loop solution to new OEMs that are coming into the market and to the retrofit market. So that’s the intent of our relationship and we wouldn’t be signing up new customers if we didn’t expect to be able to offer that.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Okay. That’s great. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. At this time, this concludes our question-and-answer session. I’d now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Mark Ruport for his closing remarks.

Mark Ruport

Management

Thank you. I hope that we’ve answered your questions, but I know some of you are long-term investors and some of you are new to Sigma. I like to tell people that when they look at the company consider us as an 18-month or two-year-old startup that did its work last year in the laboratory and with expensive RTE and now we’re rolling out and commercializing our product. We would have hit the 400,000 in Q1 if it wasn’t for the last minute issues that were encountered by our customer. And you can imagine if you’re a main supplier to the aerospace and what’s happened to that industry, how reluctant you are to spend your capital right now. But even regardless of that, we expect to see the revenue growth, I’ve talked about, we’ve taken the actions to reduce our expenses and our cash burn and we’re looking for opportunities to fund and get new capital into the company that are friendly to the company and the best interests of the shareholders. With that, I do think it’s an exciting time to be looking forward for Sigma and I look forward to sharing with you the update next quarter. Thanks again for your time and your interest and we’ll speak to you in about two months.

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today’s teleconference. Thank you for your participation and have a great day.