Advent Technologies Holdings, Inc.

Q4 2021 Earnings Conference Call

3/28/2022

spk06: Everyone, I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to Advent Technologies' fourth quarter earnings conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. On the call today, we are joined by Dr. Vasilis Gregory, Advent's Chairman and CEO, and Kevin Brackman, Advent's CFO. Before we begin the prepared remarks, we would like to remind you that Advent Issues issued a press release announcing its fourth quarter 2021 financial results shortly before market opened today. You may access the materials on the investor relations section of IR Advent Energy. I'd also like to remind everyone that during the course of this conference call, Advent's management will discuss forecasts, targets, and other forward-looking statements regarding the company's future, customers' orders, and the company's business outlook that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for forward-looking statements. While these statements represent management's current expectations and projections about the future results and performance as of today, ADVANCE actual results are subject to many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expectations. In addition to any risks highlighted during this call, important factors that may affect ADVANCE future results are described in its foremost recent SEC report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including today's earnings press release. Except as required by applicable law, the company undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this call. Lastly, information discussed on this call concerning the company's industry competitive position in the market which it operates is based on information from independent industry and research organisations. other third-party sources and management estimates. Management estimates are derived from publicly available information released by independent industry analysts and other third-party resources as well as data from the company's internal research and are based on assumptions made upon reviewing such data in this experience and in knowledge of such industry and markets which it believes to be reasonable. These assumptions are subject to uncertainties and risk, which could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the estimates. Please note this call is being recorded. Kicking off the call will be Dr. Valesis Gregory. So, Dr. Gregory, I'll now turn it over to you.
spk03: Thank you, operator. Good morning to everyone listening in, and thank you for joining us on Advent's fourth quarter 2021 earnings call. I'm joined today by Advent's CFO, Kevin Bracken. On today's call, I will provide comments regarding our fourth quarter results, followed by an update on the business. I will then hand over to Kevin, who will give a review of our financial performance and now look in more detail. 2021 was a very significant year of change and progress for Asda. From February 2021, after a successful listing on Nasdaq, Asda has grown from a headcount of around 50 to nearly 200 people in December 2021, and now has additional offices and manufacturing facilities in Denmark, Germany, Silicon Valley, and the Philippines. We now have a global structure of integrated manufacturing and sales. Prior to 2021, Aden has grown organically into an advanced fuel cell materials manufacturer with a target of moving across the value chain to both lightweight and stationary advanced fuel cell systems. During 2021, the acquisitions of Ultracell, Syrenergy, Syrenergy Philippines, and Fisher Eco Solutions enabled Advent to leapfrog ahead by years, which effectively accelerated our development and growth plan. The acquisitions have brought together some of the leading expertise in the high-temperature fuel cell space and have expanded Advent's platform to meet the increasing demand for clean energy worldwide. We now hold 190 independent patents worldwide for our fuel cell technology and have 38 R&D programs, allowing Advent to offer a spectrum of products to the fuel cell markets from advanced material to final systems. After the acquisitions, Ultracell, Syrenergy, Syrenergy Philippines, and Fisher Eco Solutions were consolidated and integrated under one structure and one brand name. This consolidation to maximize efficiency of scale began in earnest in 2021 and will continue throughout 2022. The activities throughout our global reach can now be summarized as follows. We are headquartered in Boston, Mass. We're building state-of-the-art membrane electro-manufacturing facilities in Charlestown, Mass. In Livermore, California, we design and manufacture lightweight systems with the former Ultracell staff. Denmark and Germany serve development and assembly responsibility for ADVEN's 5-kilowatt to 15-kilowatt Serenity systems. In the Philippines, we service the telecom market through our sales, service, and site preparation. And in Greece, we have expanded our MEA production and polymer synthesis capacity, including polymer for the next generation ADVEN MEA. We're now rolling out complete hydrogen fuel cell systems, and our global sales force has expanded our reach across North America, continental Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The business focuses on the production of advanced fuel cell materials leading to direct sales, on the development of advanced fuel cell systems in collaboration with OEMs, will enable us to enter into long-term licensing agreements. In the fourth quarter, we delivered $2.9 million in revenue, up 714% from the prior year, driven by strong customer demand for advanced high-temperature MVAs, fuel cell systems, and flow battery materials. We also collected $3 million from Serenity customers during the fourth quarter related to pre-acquisition revenue. For the full year, we generated $7.1 million of revenue. On a pro forma basis, though, as if Serenity Fishery EcoSolutions had been acquired at the beginning of the year, our revenue would have been $16 million. We continue to have strong customer reserves totaling $79.8 million at year-end. Overall, our performance this quarter and for the year leaves us confident about the long-term growth and earnings potential of the company. Our last quarter validated our business model, and I will now give an overview of the selection of our key achievements. In October, we announced that a new order has been placed for Admin's Serenity U system for the rollout in the HM market. The new fuel cell stacks and reformers are intended to support internal testing setups to evaluate performance and to showcase results with Thai telecom operators. Our business in Denmark has been a partner with Thai-based All Right Combination Centric since 2017, which is a product distributor and service provider to Thailand's information and communications technology industry. The 5-kilowatt fuel cell will address the multi-million dollar telecom sector in Thailand. ADVAN's SerenEU fuel cells are fourth-generation fuel cells, and this generation introduces advantages, including longer lifetime, less service and maintenance fees, and improved total cost of ownership. The product places ADVAN fuel cells in a pivotal position to respond to an increasing global demand for sustainable energy. Also in October, ADVAN announced that with its partners, Smart Communications, which have successfully completed the first installation of the AT5000 fuel cell system across the Philippines. The delivery agreement was made early in 2021 with Smart Communications, and this partnership follows the commitment to the United Nations Race to Zero campaign. The movement of the global industry of mobile network operators highlights a broad-based commitment to zero emissions for all shareholders. Smart Shift to Green Energy follows the announcement of the Philippines Department of Energy that the government would no longer accept proposals to build new coal power plants. These significant policy shifts support the development of clean and energy resources to help ensure a more sustainable growth for the country. In December, Advent and BASF signed an MOU to develop and increase the manufacturing scale of advanced fuel cell membranes designed for long-term operations under extreme conditions. Under this agreement, we will explore the implementation of high-volume manufacturing for cell tech membranes, utilize advanced fuel cell stack and system testing facilities to assess and qualify the new cell tech membrane for R7 and U product for telecom power, M0 product for methane emission reduction, and honey badger product for portable . In addition, BSF supports a realization of the white dragon and green hippo projects, which are pending EU approval. through materials for power generation, hydrogen generation, and power storage. BESF will also evaluate the product's producibility of the ion-pair membrane, developing collaboration between ADVEN and the U.S. Department of Energy. ADVEN is working to increase the performance and scope of its products, to satisfy the requirements of its customers, and to address new applications by developing next-generation fuel cell materials. Also in December, ADVER announced that its fuel cell unit for the marine sector, developed within the framework of the River Cell Consortium, has passed safety testing, as well as safety assessment completed by D&V, one of the world's leading classification societies. The River Cell project is dedicated to the design and development of a fuel cell hybrid system for inland vessels. In addition to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the hybrid concept demonstrated an increase in both safety and efficiency in shipping. As part of the demonstration, the prototype of Advent Serenity Marine Fuel Cell Unit was successfully integrated into a modern hybrid DC electric energy grid, which was equipped with all relevant ship systems, including battery storage. During the fourth quarter, we have continued to progress the White Dragon and Green Hippo project in Southeastern Europe. The goal of the two projects is as submitted by Aden and the White Dragon Consortium of Companies, is to replace Greece's largest coal-fired power plants with renewable solar energy parks, which will be supported by CO2-free hydrogen production of 4.65 gigawatts capacity and fuel cell heat and power production of 400 megawatts capacity. Through Green HIPPO, Aden will use renewable electricity to produce green hydrogen by electrolysis. This green hydrogen is converted to clean electricity, green energy, and heat through advanced high-temperature PEM fuel cells. The projects are part of the Hydrogen Technologies IPCI with the European Union. While the approval timeline is not within our control, we expected formal notification from the EU during Q2 or Q3 this year, with final notification by the European Union shortly thereafter. Aden has started to put in place an operational structure that will deliver on these significant power projects, with Aden being ideally poised to commence immediately upon final ratification. We're pleased to be the technology partner for such a large and important environmental project in Europe and to have received approval from the Greek government. We look forward to being able to provide more information around EU approval and the final scope of the project over the coming months. Aden remains well-positioned to take advantage of the growing focus on clean energy and where the current government, businesses, and societies will work together to address the climate crisis. We believe that clean energy technology in the hydrogen economy will play a key role in power decarbonization. With that, I would like to hand over to our CFO, Kevin Brackman. Thank you, Vasile.
spk05: And good morning, everyone. Turning to our financials, as Vasile noted earlier, We delivered revenue of $2.9 million in the fourth quarter, a 714% increase from the prior year. The increase was driven by growing customer demand for ADVENT MEAs, fuel cell systems, and other advanced material products. We also collected $3 million from Sorenergy customers during the fourth quarter related to pre-acquisition revenue. For the full year, we generated $7.1 million of revenue. On a pro forma basis, as if Sir Energy and Fishery EcoSolutions had been acquired at the beginning of the year, our revenue would have been $16 million. Cost of revenues increased $2.6 million year over year in the fourth quarter. The increase was directly related to revenue growth over the last year and the requirement for increased production of MEAs and fuel cell systems to satisfy customer demand. R&D expenses were $2 million in the fourth quarter, primarily related to our cooperative research and development agreement with the Department of Energy, as well as the R&D costs at Sur Energy and Fisher EcoSolutions. Administrative and selling expenses were $14.3 million in the fourth quarter, a year-over-year increase of $12.4 million. primarily due to increased staffing and costs resulting from the acquisitions of SurEnergy and Fisher EcoSolutions and the cost to operate as a public company and to incentive and stock-based compensation expenses. Net loss totaled $9 million in the quarter and adjusted net loss was $15.9 million. I should note that our adjusted net loss excludes a $6.9 million gain from the change in the fair value of outstanding warrants. Our net loss per share was 18 cents in the fourth quarter. ADVENT remains well capitalized with 79.8 million in cash reserves on the balance sheet at year end, which provides us with the flexibility to be agile in executing on our strategic and operational priorities. This is a decrease of 12.7 million from September 30th of 2021 driven by the increased level of R&D and administrative and selling expenses. Our existing cash reserves and projected cash flows are anticipated to be sufficient to support our planned operations for the next 12 months. I will now turn to our outlook. Advent has developed significantly during 2021, and we have entered 2022 with a more advanced product range a dedicated technical sales team focused on key sectors and geographies and potentially large infrastructure projects. We therefore have a strong pipeline. As we all know, however, not every opportunity in the pipeline will transpire due to factors that may be beyond ADVENT's control. Opportunities may not materialize or could be delayed. ADVENT will use its expertise and resources to bring opportunities to fruition, which will translate into revenue. Due to the long-term contract nature of our business model, the timing of our revenue can also be difficult to predict. Having said that, we anticipate revenue and income from our grants for 2022 to total approximately $23 million, which will be heavily weighted towards the second half of the year. This estimate does not include a significant contribution from the White Dragon and Green Hippo projects in southeastern Europe due to the uncertainty around timing and approval of the project. In closing, we believe that Advent is well positioned to be the provider of clean energy solutions across a variety of end markets. The company has built a solid foundation for the business and continues to grow and execute on its strategic initiatives. With that, I will hand back to Vasili for closing remarks.
spk03: Thank you, Kevin. It is clear that the hydrogen economy is now in the commercialization phase, and Advent has a massive opportunity for its advanced materials and fuel cell system products. The repercussions from climate change, coupled with an impetus for decarbonization, are quite simple factors that cannot for long to be ignored, and this requires creative solutions as opposed to change to address these issues. I would like to conclude by saying that Advent has the technology and products now to create a cleaner, decarbonized world. Advent's offerings are economically feasible in the face of an increased global demand for energy. I would like to thank you all for joining us today, and we're now ready to answer questions. Thank you very much.
spk06: Thank you. If you would like to ask a question today, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypads now. If you change your mind at any time, please press star two to remove the question. We have our first question on the phone lines from Lawrence Alexander of Jefferies. So please go ahead when you're ready, Lawrence.
spk01: Sure. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. This is actually Kevin Esplakon for Lawrence Alexander. Thank you for taking my question. Mine is actually just a more broader general question. I guess you talked a little bit about it on the call, but I just wondered if you had any more detail or anything maybe you didn't touch on, like the new project pipeline, given some recent business wins, maybe any updates on timing or potential milestones or just anything that you didn't touch on the call would be helpful. Thank you.
spk03: Yes, Kevin, you know, I can put a little bit of color to this, as you say. First of all, as you know, we are trying to replace the diesel generator. So our, you know, basic approach is to go after the off-grid, backup power, and the portable. But with the new tech that we're developing, we made an announcement, you saw, you know, very recently, with a new generation MEA that we co-developed with Los Alamos, and that's a game changer. We're talking about automotive and marine also in 2022. So, you know, the whole idea here is that to be able to get the sales, we project, as Kevin said, 23 million without the big projects. I'll spend a little bit of time on that. And that will be basically driven, as I said, about the existing revenue stream that we project of grid backup power. And then the JTAs for the new tech will develop. Because keep in mind that Admin has two major pillars, if you will. One is a fuel cell company right now, 2022, more than 200 people. you know, the patents, the manufacturing capability, the inventory, the almost 1,000 SerenityU systems in the field. So we're not the company that we were before. Now we're a fuel cell company, so I think the sector also has changed for us. We're with this particular group, you know, people, and you know the set of companies. the trade in the US, in Canada, in the UK, Sweden. So we need to be looked at that. And I think, as I said, 2022 will be a big year for us. Now, the other potentially big thing, and I say that because we announced it on September the 7th, where we actually got two of the five approved out of the 20 submitted projects for IPCI from the Greek government. And one is the White Dragon, and the other is the Green Hippo. The Green Hippo is ours. The White Dragon is a consortium with the largest energy companies. But what we know there is that, at least for the Green Hippo, is that we have gone through the second set of questions. And I think in the next few months, as I said before, either Q2 or Q3, we expect a go-no-go. And there we will know. Now, are we optimistic or pessimistic? I will say we're very optimistic. The reason being that there are two things that have happened. One is the geopolitical aspect of it. I think it's very obvious that Europe will put a lot of effort on renewables for energy independence. And hydrogen will be a big part of the storage, because right now the renewables don't have very good storage. Batteries are not good enough, and hydrogen is coming up now. But take our word for it, hydrogen will be a big part. So it's not going to be only in a gaseous form or a liquefied form. We'll find out what it is, and all of them, you know, are there. But we also believe, as you know, in methanol if you use hydrogen to produce fertilizers. The fact of the matter is the geopolitical thing, it was before strong, and now it has become much, much stronger because of the war. And the other is the geoeconomical part of it. Keep in mind that all the other things have become very expensive also. You know, liquefied natural gas is also expensive. You know, bring it to Europe, You need to make terminals as well. And also the fact that we do it in Greece, and it's not an accident that the other big project also is in the south of Europe, in Spain, because there's a lot of sun here. So you can imagine, if you have 2.5 times the sun in the south that we have, let's say, in Alborg, then we produce hydrogen 2.5 times cheaper. So even though we haven't gotten the approval for the White Dragon or Green Kippur, we feel confident and optimistic. But I cannot say that we got it or not. But all the things go there. Having said that, and I think Kevin said it again, and I will say, we project $23 million for this year. without any significant contributions. And I know it's a tough year. We have COVID. You know, we have supply chain issues. Manufacturing companies are not very much in favor. But for us, trading at 238 right now, we believe we're vastly, vastly, grossly undervalued. Because if you take a look at the sector, as I mentioned the companies before, take a look at their valuations. take a look at the revenue, you know, the total revenue as it's defined, how much everybody spends in order to make this revenue, if there is any debt or not, you will see that we're in the wrong side. So I think I'm optimistic that in 2032, we'll get our fair share. Thank you. Thank you.
spk06: We now have our next question on the phone line from Lacey Nigley of Panmore Gordon. So please go ahead when you're ready, Lacey. I've opened your line. Hi, Mr. Lee.
spk07: Can you hear me OK?
spk03: Yes, Lacey. How are you?
spk07: Yes. Hi, Mr. Lee. Hi, Kevin. Firstly, congratulations on the results, and thanks for the presentation. A couple of questions, probably two actually for Kevin, I'd say. You've given the revenue guidance, but how should we think about that in terms of MEA sales, back sales and system sales going forward? Is there any dramatic split for this year there and perhaps sort of for next year and the year after? I'll let you take that one first.
spk05: Yeah, after the acquisition of SurEnergy, you know, I think moving forward, you know, probably over half our revenue will be fuel cell systems, the full system, with the remainder being split between MEAs and engineering fees. You know, depending on the year, I don't know exactly which of those two pieces will be more significant, MEAs or engineering. So, a little over half from systems and then the remainder MEAs and engineering fees.
spk07: Thank you. That's helpful. And then just start thinking of costs, particularly for your CapEx R&D costs over the, well, I guess 12 months for a start. Is that focused on one? I mean, firstly, some guidance there, if you can, would be helpful. And, you know, how should we think about that in a similar vein? Is that focused on one particular area, MEA stacks or systems or all three? Any kind of that would be helpful.
spk05: Yeah, let me go down the individual lines on the P&L and provide a little bit of guidance on each. So let me start with research and development expenses. It was $2 million in the fourth quarter. I think that's a reasonable number moving forward on a quarterly basis, the $2 million that we had in the fourth quarter. And that's mostly cash. The administrative and selling expenses, that was $14 million in the fourth quarter, which included some accruals for incentive compensation and other items. So, I think the number was a little bit high in the fourth quarter. I think moving forward on a quarterly basis, that SG&A number will be more like $10 to $12 million. which includes, let's say, roughly three, three and a half million of stock-based compensation expenses, which are non-cash. So that's the SG&A line. And then CapEx, you know, I think we had, I believe it was around one and a half in the 1.6, something like that, in the fourth quarter. I think that's probably a reasonable run rate. again, on a quarterly basis. And so, on a cash basis, when you add those three lines up, let's say $11 million from SG&A, but three of that is non-cash, so let's say $8 million of cash for SG&A, a couple million for R&D, and then one, you know, $2 million per quarter from CapEx, gives you a run rate of about $11, $12 million of cash use for our costs.
spk07: Thank you. That's really helpful. Appreciate that. And then I guess, well, probably more of the silly sort of type questions, but when White Dragon and Green Hippo projects, you know, well, if and when they're approved, where will Advent Service that demand from? You know, which of your sites? And will you need extra capacity sort of coming on stream to meet the demands of those? I guess you will given the size, but just your thoughts on that would be good.
spk03: Yeah, absolutely. As we said, we have separated the two, the existing business, which is very strong and growing, and this will be a colossal project. Obviously, as you very well pointed out, capacity is the question. It's not the finance and engineering of the project. For a project like that, we know how to negotiate and get the final numbers. The thing is, how do you actually... you know, fulfill the demand. And then we have already announcements, you know, we have the announcement with BESF, and we're talking to other very big players, okay? So the thing is that we're preparing very diligently as if this is a goal, because the opportunity is humongous. The most important thing, Leslie, you probably know it, is the access to cheaper renewable energy. That's the key. The minute we have it, and we do have it there in Western Macedonia, then the rest can be built. So we're preparing, and we're ready. And hopefully we're successful.
spk07: Thank you. One last one for me, sorry. The larger stacks for the heavy-duty applications that you're developing, what's the sort of next milestone? I think we said sort of prototypes in this financial year expected. Are you still on track for that? And when should we sort of be thinking of expecting first sales on that side? Thank you.
spk03: I'm sorry. I think I missed the first part of the question. What's the question? Sorry.
spk07: Sorry, Vasili, the development of your larger stats for the heavy-duty applications, just trying to think, you know, the next milestone there, is it still prototypes for this year, and when we should sort of expect the first sales online?
spk03: For the very, very big one, we're trying to do a JTA. You understand that, right? So it is, you know, even a project of that nature, again, it's – very intense, both in labor and cash. So we're building things either organically, you know, from the Serenity 5 kilowatt module. We can go up. We know how high can we go in order for this to be economical. We have a couple of demonstrations. You see the boat demonstration, 90 kilo. But the other one, which is a very different concept, we build it in smaller modules, to be honest, because we haven't figured it out internally either if we want to go with, you know, many 30s, if you will, or one mega. But the concept is there. Our patents are there. And the group is working very good. But there, in our opinion, and we should see more one of them, there is a lot of interest in the community. the people who understand about doing a JTA with us because they've seen the announcement and the game changer is the MBA coupled with obviously the new stack design for the bigger systems. So I expect things to go there, but we need the catalyst, if you will, and the catalyst will be the JTA with the manufacturing company.
spk07: Understood. Thank you. Thanks for answering my question.
spk03: Okay, thank you.
spk06: Thank you, Lacey. As a reminder, to ask any more questions, please press star, followed by one on your telephone keypad now. We now have another question on the line from Adam for Earth Long Spur Capital. So please go ahead when you're ready, Adam.
spk02: Morning, Vasily. Morning, Kevin. Two questions from me. Firstly, around supply chain issues, which a lot of companies are seeing issues with, one of the first things I noticed in the numbers was actually your inventory level. It almost looks like you've got one year's worth of inventory sitting on the balance sheet. Is that right, or are there one-offs in that? And if it is right, does that give you protection against supply issues going forward? And should we expect that sort of, you know, almost 360-odd stock days? Would we expect that to unwind going forward? Yeah, that's a good question.
spk05: To your point, we're seeing the same cost pressures that every other company is seeing. And so we strategically bought inventory and materials, you know, really starting late last year. we strategically, you know, increased our inventory levels to help, you know, mitigate some of the impact of the cost pressure. And so you're right. We have built up inventories, you know, to a higher level than you would normally expect to have. That was a strategic decision we made. And, yeah, you know, as we go through the course of the year, I would expect that to wind down a
spk02: That makes a lot of sense. Second question, a bit more kind of general, but it's almost on things we're not seeing. I just wonder, have you seen much business on the gas sensor side, and then perhaps less likely anything around electrolysis? I'm seeing quite a number of offerings, particularly from solid oxide solutions in the electrolysis space, and I wonder if that's been an area where you would seem to have an advantage there.
spk03: uh with your technology i just wonder if you're seeing anything around that yeah i mean we do have the the sensor uh going and we do and as kevin said though we have actually turned the corner and we are a fuel cell company now so in that respect the fuel cell company has more effort than and we put a lot of you know a lot of our effort in the engineering and how to reduce the cost how to sell these things that doesn't mean that we You know, we don't operate the others, the materials, but they're not, in our opinion, as important as it used to be. I mean, at the end of the day, the sales combination of all that. Now, about electrolysis, we have excellent, excellent materials and excellent, you know, tech there. And you will see the patents come in and have very nice collaboration with Northeastern University for that as well. But time is of the issue, right? You know that. If we go to a green hippo situation there, we have to collaborate with existing people. We have to use existing technologies with, you know, whatever the power density is, and try always to make it better. But we can win the battle with what we have. I think that's the message I want to bring out to the group. Okay, the economics now have changed to our advantage. Okay, everything else has become expensive. Therefore, we're not that expensive. Second, the government, as I said, want to make the bigger projects. Because if we have a bigger project, by the nature of scaling up, the cost goes down. And it goes down dramatically. And therefore, you might not have to invent every day a new MBA or something. I'm talking about the electrolysis piece now. Because we know there are also the issues. So I would say that we're putting together an investor day, not only for the investors, as the word says, but also to showcase our products, our results, our technology. That will happen in the next couple of months, I would say. And I think that will be an excellent opportunity for people to come and ask questions, what we have in materials, in membranes and electors, which are our strength. But also, I think people will be very impressed with the progress that the Danish people and the German people have done and actually have created another type of fuel cell, a high-temperature fuel cell, based on our materials. But the engineering also is there. And now I think we can offer hundreds of them. And if you take a look around, there are not that many companies in the fuel cell business that they can do that, that you can put a big order. And I'm talking about larger companies because, as you know, larger companies, especially in this thing, barrier is very significant to enter in an industry. You know, in the end of the day, you have to go back to the, you know, standard actors, if you will, right? I mean, the people who have the low temperature PEM technologies, the solid oxide, as you mentioned, and now we brought the high temperature PEM. So I think we should concentrate a little bit of that and showcase it and not, you know, trade it like a SPAC. I have to make a comment about that as well. We came in with a SPAC transaction. It has its own idiosyncrasies. We know that. But I want for us to start, you know, thinking outside of that because the pipe is out. We had the unlocking on February the 5th, a very substantial volume the last couple of months. So, basically, we decouple ourselves from that. And I think it's very unfair to us to trade as a SPAC, a 238 share, you know, two times cash and maybe three times sales if you take away the cash that we spent. and actually try to see us as a fuel cell company with a global reach, listed in the U.S. now, but we compete not only with the U.S. companies, but with the companies that are listed in other places. And if you see there, I think that you will agree with us that the company has a lot of value, and it's poised for very good growth in 2022. Thank you.
spk02: Great, thank you.
spk06: Thank you. To ask any further questions, that's star followed by one on your telephone keypad. We now have the next question on the line from Sandra Jahar of Panmore Gordon. So please go ahead when you're ready.
spk04: Hi, gentlemen. I just wanted to ask a couple of questions, if I may. If I look at your revenue profile this year and coming up here, how important is Philippines and Thailand to your business? And I just wanted to get my head around, is your high temperature product line, is that kind of more suitable to those countries? Or, you know, I just wanted to get my head around those kind of issues.
spk03: Yes, you're right. They're very important. I think we're ideally suited for this part of the world, and that's where we will put a lot of effort, a lot of technical sales effort to educate the people there and use the very nice examples that we have in the Philippines as a showcase for the rest. So this region is very important to us, and it couples very well to the product offerings.
spk04: And how developed is the hydrogen? Presumably you need a high-quality hydrogen. So is that infrastructure?
spk03: No, no, no. There we use methanol, and actually we use renewable methanol, which means it's carbon neutral fuel. So the methanol is a hydrogen carrier. So it's very ideal. You know, you bring up the the jungle where you know when you have the installation where you have the towers you bring liquid fuel which it's think about it's like liquid hydrogen in a way right because of the of the fact that we take the hydrogen from the methanol so it's it's it's very good the the as you know every new product has its own um how can i say the the same standard problems okay it's more expensive that people will want it lasts a little bit less that they want and that's what we're trying to to address, okay, make the product cheaper, make it last longer, learn how to make, you know, many thousands of them, many hundred thousands of them. But this region over there, to come back to your original question, it is ideal, and we will put a lot of effort on it.
spk04: And just one final thing for me. I mean, I know there has been lots of talk about increases in costs, raw material costs and things. Could you remind us what is kind of your two or three things which are your biggest expenses in your product line, raw material expenses?
spk03: As you know, the platinum is expensive, but for the stationary things, you know, the plan is to recycle, so basically we take it out of the equation. And now all the supply chain has gone up, you know, that electronics, things like that, because there's a shortage. And we try to address, as we said, we're trying to be smart. Even before when we got the money from the stock market, you know, we put a big inventory because we know that, you know, it's better to have, how can I say, to do your things before, you know, you go to war. We have the supplies in line. And in that respect, we have pressure now from these external factors. But eventually, if you look at Longway and you take the platinum out, because the platinum is the issue with the fuel cells. It's a technology that really works well with platinum, and platinum, even though we always try to reduce it there, So for the backup or off-grid, we almost neutralize that problem.
spk04: Okay, that's good. Okay, so you're well covered for at least given your inventory levels. Thank you for answering my questions.
spk03: You're very welcome.
spk06: Thank you. If you would like to ask any further questions today, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypads now. We have had no questions registered at this time, so I'd like to hand it back to the management team.
spk03: I would like to thank everybody for being on the call. And we're looking forward to a very good 2022. Thank you very much.
spk06: Thank you all. This does conclude today's call. Thank you for joining.
Disclaimer

This conference call transcript was computer generated and almost certianly contains errors. This transcript is provided for information purposes only.EarningsCall, LLC makes no representation about the accuracy of the aforementioned transcript, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the information provided by the transcript.

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