Vicinity Motor Corp.

Greetings and welcome to the Vicinity Motor Corp., previously Grande West Transportation Group, first quarter 2021 corporate update conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. Before we begin the formal presentation, I'd like to remind everyone that statements made on today's 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 regulatory filings for a list of associated risks, and we would also refer you to the company's website for more supporting industry information. I would now like to hand the call over to William Treanor, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ascinity Motor Corp. William, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Operator. And good afternoon, everyone. I'm pleased to welcome you to today's first quarter 2021 corporate update conference call. The first quarter of 2021 was a blockbuster quarter by any measure, having delivered an incredible 67 buses compared to six in the same year-ago quarter and 20% more buses than we did in all of 2020 combined. This is a true testament to the unraveled value we bring to our transit agency customers. We are leveraging our strong momentum to accelerate the launch of our next generation electric EV products, including our breakthrough Vicinity Lightning EV and our upcoming Vicinity Bolt EV, as well as other exciting to be announced EV opportunities we're pursuing in the background. The land grab for EV market share is underway, and we're well positioned to gain traction through our long-lasting partnerships with Tier 1 North American transit agencies. Our world-class, purpose-built EV design includes world-class technology partners, allowing us to integrate proven battery systems from components from Tier 1 suppliers like BMW, The development and production of a mid-sized, low-floor, fully electric transit bus with proven, readily available technology that can accommodate up to four wheelchair positions is a large step forward for our company in the increasingly sustainably-minded transit market. The Vicinity Lightning EV has received its first orders, with further indications of interest in additional customer orders expected shortly. 25 Vicinity Lightning EV buses are currently in the production phase to meet near-term anticipated demand. Our operations are running very smoothly and we continue to refine our strategy to meet our new level of demand. We have strengthened our management team with the addition of respected Canadian transit leader Manuel Achadina as Chief Operating Officer and initiated development of our Washington State Manufacturing Plant and U.S. Headquarters, with operations expected to commence in Q1 2022. In his new role, Mr. Acciadena will drive innovation and efficiency to maximize our operations and engineering teams, position the build of our Washington Manufacturing Facility to support optimal output and scale, and increase overall productivity in the organization as we are poised to scale rapidly. We have a solid US growth strategy in place as our manufacturing facility there is spooling up. In order to grow our sales in a significant US market, we've entered into a strategic distribution agreement with the ABC Group of Companies, a leading provider of motor coach and transit equipment in North America, to distribute are vicinity heavy duty vehicles throughout the United States. This partnership will allow us to scale operational in this critical growth market and is more significant than many may realize. In addition, recently the state of New Mexico and the state of Washington have selected vicinity buses in their statewide purchasing contracts. That gives the state transit agencies the right to purchase directly from the company's diverse bus portfolio. We expect to see similar contract wins in other US states in months to come. Along with these strategic shifts, we have recognized the need to change our corporate name to better reflect our increasingly focus on the commercialization of our industry-leading vicinity buses, particularly our new electric lineup. The updated name will bring together our sales and marketing branding with our corporate identity to take us forward as a major player in the North American public transit market space. Now, with that, I'll turn it over to Dan to review the financial statements for the quarter-ended March 31st, 2021. Dan?

Thanks, William. Good afternoon, everyone. I will constrain my portion to a brief review of our financial results. A full breakdown is available in our regulatory filings and in the press release across the wire after market closed today. Please note, I'll refer to adjusted EBITDA and other non-GAAP measures. For the calculation of adjusted EBITDA and other non-GAAP measures, please refer to Q1 MD&A, which is available on CDAR. Revenue grew 588% to $27.3 million in the first quarter of 2021, as compared to $4 million in Q1 of 2020. The increased revenue is primarily driven by the delivery of 67 buses in the quarter as compared to six buses in the first quarter of 2020. Gross margin increased to $4.3 million or 15.9% of revenue in the first quarter of 2021 as compared to a gross margin of 100,000 or 2.3% of revenue in Q1 of 2020. The margins in the first quarter of 2021 were positively affected by sales mix with 2021 deliveries generally having higher expected margins than those realized in 2020. Net income for the first quarter of 2021 increased to $2 million, or 7 cents per share, as compared to a net loss of $1.7 million, or negative 7 cents per share in Q1 of 2020. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2021 increased to $2.6 million, as compared to adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2020. Working capital as of March 31st, 2021 totaled $20.8 million as compared to $16.7 million as of December 31st, 2020. Working capital has increased due to strong demand for the company's buses with ongoing liquidity provided by robust first quarter revenues. Financially, our company is in a strong position. We have a strong balance sheet, regained profitability, and the fundamentals of our operations are very positive. We remain well positioned for future growth and profitability. I'd like to pass it back to William to offer some closing remarks, after which we'll begin our question and answer session.