Laser Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:LASE) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Wayne Tupuola: Yes, absolutely. There again, — the one unit is being infectious to the entire organization, but internal protocols and procedures take time. And this turns into multiple units. And that’s our goal, is to try to get the first unit in the door, let them write the protocols and procedures. And from there, it just takes off. And again, as I’ve mentioned earlier in the call, the — some of these obstacles are derived from things that are out of our control. And every company has to face this in these turbulent times. And we need to respect that and try to create new opportunities, new verticals that we’ve already familiar with and trying to address those types of situations that they’re facing.

Chuck Lipson: Your projections that you made on the last conference call, do they still hold any water? Or are they under review? Because we’ve always — we lowered them once and now it seems that for this quarter, we thought probably were a little too optimistic last quarter.

Wayne Tupuola: Well, I think from quarter-to-quarter, again, the Feds have been raising the interest rates, making it unbearable, inflation has gone up. A lot of the customers are having difficult times trying to make decisions on CapEx, as I mentioned earlier in the call, and these are some of the things that we need to deal with. It’s pretty straightforward. But I have hope in the economy turning around. And there’s still a corrosion problem all that needs to be resolved. So as there is a shortage of wheat worldwide, there’s going to be a turmoil in these types of situations.

Chuck Lipson: All right. Well, hopefully, we can turn it around a little quicker [indiscernible] as a shareholder.

Wayne Tupuola: Absolutely. Thank you for your question.

Operator: [Operator Instructions]

Brian Siegel: Okay. We’ve got some questions through the webcast. The first is — the company has made comments in its SEC filings regarding actions to improve control weaknesses. Can you provide updates on the control environment?

Wayne Tupuola: Yes, Jade, I think you can take that one.

Jade Barnwell: Can you repeat that question one more time, please?

Brian Siegel: Yes. The company in its SEC filings has identified weaknesses in controls. And as said it’s taking actions, can you talk about the actions that the company has taken to improve its controls?

Jade Barnwell: Well, first of all, the obvious control we placed is having the CFO. So I joined just 15 days ago. So that is my to-do list on my to-do list. I can’t provide you details at this moment, but I am reviewing the procedures and process that we have in place. And at the same time, we strengthened our Board of Directors to go over our procedures as well.

Brian Siegel: Okay. Next question is, are your products truly 100% American made as you advertise?

Wayne Tupuola: Yes, Brian, thanks for that question. So I think what needs to be understood in America is that things have changed throughout the last 4 decades who manufactures what in our society today. And America is not capable of producing 100% of all the components known to man. Even our latest fighter jets, some of the components are not 100% made here in the United States for defense of our country. So — and as you know, the semiconductor chip alone is not made 100% in our country. And this is why we have a semiconductor chip shortage. We rely on outside sources. So certain components are required to be made by other countries. Nonetheless, we manufacture major components here in the United States. And we are responsible for the design and the functionality of our product, and it’s 100% manufactured and assembled here once components are available in the open market.