AVITA Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCEL) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Brooks O’Neil: That’s great. I’m pretty excited about the opportunity you have, so I look forward to seeing strong results in the back half of the year.

James Corbett: Thank you, Brooks.

Operator: Our next question comes from a line of Matthew O’Brien with Piper Sandler.

Matthew O’Brien : Hey, can you guys hear me okay?

James Corbett: Very well, Matt. How you’re doing?

Matthew O’Brien : Good, thanks. Thanks for taking the question. So, Jim, maybe the starter for you to follow up on Brooks’s question, the guidance raised, you just mentioned beating the midpoint by about half a million dollars. You’re taking the guidance up by about $2 million in total, so there’s an extra million five in there, roughly, for the year. I’m just wondering, you had always expected trauma to be in there, soft tissue to be in there, but what are you seeing that’s giving you even more confidence in the business? And then, is it a training thing? Are you seeing a bunch of new centers you can really point to that are coming on faster than you thought, maybe getting to the back committee? Just a little bit more detail on why the guidance raised and what exactly you’re seeing from an enthusiasm perspective on soft tissue?

James Corbett: It’s a multidimensional question, Matt, but let me try and take you through my thinking process here. First and foremost, when we set original guidance, yes, we were expecting approval in June. That said, despite having breakthrough device designation, you don’t know for sure that you got it until you got it, although we were quite confident, as you know. So that is one element. The second element that led to the — so therefore, when it comes, you can feel comfortable counting what you expect from it. Now, what reinforced that for us is we took the move, as you recall in Q2, to fully ramp up and train the team. And so, when this approval came on time, there was actually no space between the approval and our showing up promoting the full-thickness skin defect broader indication on the following day.

So, when you combine those and then the early response is very positive, again, wanting to be predictable, it was very clear to us that our prospects were stronger and that is reflected in the increase in guidance.

Matthew O’Brien : Okay. Just maybe — just a little bit finer point on that, Jim, is there anything running ahead of schedule versus, and I know you got the approval a little bit ahead of schedule, but like training or center ads or anything along those lines that’s ahead of schedule you can point to specifically?

James Corbett: I’d say, the most ahead of schedule definable element was having the team fully hired, fully trained, and in our market, you know, in our construct, we certify a salesperson to be able to support a case. And when June 7th came, every new rep was ready to do that. So, being fully prepared, there’s no ramp up, you’re right out in the field. And I think that’s the most tangible thing I can point to.

Matthew O’Brien : Okay. Fair enough. And I’d love to get David involved here as well. And again, David, congrats on the new role.

David O’Toole: Thank you.

Matthew O’Brien : You’ve been very clear as far as the spend goes in the back half of this year. Do we get to a point where there is leverage on the P&L in 2024, or is it still going to be a de-leveraging situation as you’re building this market next year? And just talk maybe a little bit about your cash position and potential needs there? Thanks.