BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE:BKSY) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Henry Dubois: Sure. Let me take that question. As we just were discussing, I mean, the $29.5 million of gross proceeds does strengthen our balance sheet. It gives us sufficient capital to — for the foreseeable future. We believe that we would be in position where we would be EBITDA positive in the fourth quarter, which would be well before that capital would be running out by any stretch. So, we believe that we’re being good — we are in good shape to get our Gen-3s up.

Austin Moeller: Okay. And then, just one more if I may. Just back to the GEOINT contract, to what degree did the shortwave infrared instruments on the future constellation play a role in helping to win this contract?

Brian O’Toole: Well, I think, Austin, it was the breadth of requirements that we were able to meet, not just what we’re putting in space, but a number of performance attributes, such as frequency and latency and the accuracy of our analytics. So, it’s a broad set of requirements that we were able to meet in our bid and that’s what contributed and drove our win.

Austin Moeller: Okay, fantastic. Thanks for the color.

Brian O’Toole: Thanks, Austin.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question has come from the line of Griffin Boss with B. Riley Securities. Please proceed with your question.

Griffin Boss: Hi, good morning. Thank you for taking my questions. So, you spoke about having ample capacity. Is there a utilization percentage you could give us for the current constellation?

Brian O’Toole: That’s not a metric that we traditionally publish. But as I mentioned, we deployed most of our constellation within the last 12 to 18 months. So, we’ve got significant capacity available. The other thing I’ll note is we’ve taken a software-first approach, so we can collect once and so many times. And there’s also upside as we offer analytics as an upsell with our collection capability. So, we’ve got a very strong operating model and capacity we need to hit our growth plans.

Griffin Boss: Got it. Okay. Thanks, Brian. And are you still expecting the same economics for your Gen-3 satellites that you talked about in the past, which, I think, are between $10 million to $12 million all-in cost per satellite? I know you’ve spoken before about purchasing long lead items well in advance. So, I just want to — I wonder if you could give an update on that?

Brian O’Toole: Yes, you can assume the economics that we achieved in the first gen are aligned and that range is consistent with what we’re seeing, and we’ve got a very good handle on the cost of these satellites.

Griffin Boss: Got it. Great. Okay. And then, sort of along the same lines related to the CapEx guide. Is any of that $40 million to $45 million for the year, is that — any of that R&D that could potentially be funded by government agencies?

Brian O’Toole: Well, we already have a significant amount of R&D that’s funded by the government. You’ll see that in our both professional services — the engineering services — engineering and integration line in our financials. And that’s where we’ve been very successful in capturing meaningful contracts that offset R&D. And so, that’s both been in satellites and a good amount in software and analytics. So, it also enables us to establish long-term close relationships with some of these important customers. So that’s been a strategy of ours for many years and it’s continuing to pay off.