Neonode Inc. (NASDAQ:NEON) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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Jesper von Koch: All right. And I mean both in Q4 but also in January you stated in the report that you’ve used the ATM to some extent, I think it was about 900,000 new shares in January, and then all 800,000 or something like that in Q4. Could you just state like where you see yourself financially, Fredrik?

Fredrik Nihlén: We’re in strong position now. And as I said in the end of my presentation, we have this ability to execute on our strategy now and that we will do, as Urban said, later on in the presentation.

Jesper von Koch : And regarding that, is it fair to assume that, that statement is the same thing as like with the — or with the cash position that you have now, you expect yourself to be able to reach breakeven with that amount of money?

Urban Forssell: That could be one scenario, yes. But another scenario is that we start to have really good traction in the business, and then we decide to maybe invest more. But in one scenario, we can run now and operate in a similar way as we are today. And indeed, that could be a very interesting trajectory to breakeven. So right now, we do not worry about running out of cash. Indeed, we want to be more aggressive and increase our spending compared to last year and then we’ll see. Together with the Board, Fredrik and I, we are constantly checking how things are developing. And we can make very quick adjustments to tighten a little bit or to give a little bit more gas on the accelerator. So this is how we really use it. But we are in a very good position we think, and it gives us now freedom to really focus on driving growth and developing the business. And this is what we are doing and that what keeps us busy every day, I can promise.

Jesper von Koch : I can imagine. But as a follow-up on that, is it fair to assume that, I mean if the product sales of TSMs, if that accelerates a lot, then you would have to invest more in that kind of area. But if it’s more of the — if product sales does not ramp up but license sales does, that would mean like you wouldn’t have to invest as much.

Urban Forssell: Yes and no. The licensing business for the first year, we talk about a lot of automotive, but also military and medtech customers. Typically we will always have long development cycles and launch cycles that will be engineering-intensive. So we would need engineering resources to manage growth there. But then you’re right, then it scales very nicely, because it’s classic royalty model. And if you focus on high volume programs, that can give you a good leverage after mass production. In the products business, it’s more complex, then we will have some CapEx investments and also investments into components and operating expenses, traditional operating expenses. So that will tie up more capital for sure. It’s also a question of how we drive the sales and if it’s through our own channels or through our partners?

But this is a way we can also balance the cash burn. If we work more with external partners, it’s more on their account to invest in marketing and sales. On the other hand, if we have the ability, I think we can have more direct results and also better results for Neonode. And also going forward, we will use that cash position to try to strengthen our presence in the different arenas where we are today promoting our products, either alone or together with partners. So, you will see more Neonode in these key markets and segments. And again, I was talking about — we will join more physical events, we will do more marketing, so we will travel more, we will be waving the Neonode flag and interacting more directly with customers. And that’s why we need to then hire some additional headcount to our sales team.

Some here in Stockholm, Sweden, already hired three, actually, last weeks and we will hire some more also internationally.

Jesper von Koch: And then we will see if we have any additional question from other analysts. No. Alright, then that’s all for us and I’ll leave some final remarks over to you, Urban.

Urban Forssell: Thank you for your attention and continue to follow us. Please log into our website neonode.com and read everything there. See, I think you will find a lot of interesting content there. Thank you very much. Have a nice day.

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