TransMedics Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMDX) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Stephen Gordon: Thanks, Cecilia. So first, on the service margin, we were able to see, as I mentioned, an increase in Q1 from this kind of challenging situation we’re in Q4, so I think we should see that stay. So we should be kind of at that level. I don’t expect a big increase in that level that we were in Q1, but we should remain there as long as we don’t fall into another device or disposable shortage situation. So that will help as our revenue grows and help our overall margin for the company. As far as OpEx, I mean, we grew OpEx about 44%. I think I mentioned in the last call, kind of growth overall annually in the 30%, 35% range. That includes a lot of these initiatives. So I think that gives a sense of how we’re investing.

Operator: Next question is from Suraj Kalia with Oppenheimer.

Suraj Kalia: Waleed, Stephen, Tamer. Can you hear me all right?

Unidentified Company Representative: Yes. Prefect Suraj.

Suraj Kalia: Perfect. Gentlemen, congrats on another nice quarter. So Waleed, I was asked a question by a client then suffice it to say, through me for loop. Maybe you can help clarify. So the question was should TransMedics have waited to get into the logistics, i.e., TransMedics aviation till a critical mass of organs are under their belt. I believe you gave a number of 535 done till sometime in April. Would it have made more sense to reach 1,000, 2,000? Any additional color there would be great.

Waleed Hassanein: Sure. Suraj, thank you for the question. We — of course, we would have never entertained this thought if we do not believe that not only we’ve achieved a critical mass that what we see coming will literally — could literally put the entire logistics into a screeching halt. So we feel very confident that we are on the — we have enough critical mass today. But more importantly, we are very concerned that our volume by year-end is going to literally be at a much higher scale that could actually start becoming a bottleneck finding airplanes. We’re having problems finding airplanes for our missions today. Not at the end of the year, and we know our volume is going to be significantly higher by year-end and definitely into 2024.

So it makes perfect sense. The question makes sense, and this — we want to reiterate that we believe we are — we have reached a critical mass today and what we see coming would even behoove us to act quickly and decisively before it becomes another area that we are talking about on these calls.

Suraj Kalia: Fair enough. Waleed, one for you or one for Stephen, and I’ll hop back in queue. So Waleed, it’s been a little over a year with the heart approvals. Whether it’s heart, whether it’s livers, how should we think about the pie? Are you all taking away share from cold storage? Or do you think the overall pie is increasing? Waleed, that’s for you? And Stephen, for you, if I may, so when TransMedics aviation, we look at it, would it be a separate “subsidiary”, so the P&L would be different? Or would everything be under the TransMedics umbrella traditional reporting, so to speak, in OpEx and so on and so forth. And Stephen, would I be too far off in saying all said and done in 2 years, including 25 surgeons per organ, let’s say, 16 planes lease — obviously, the form but — we are talking about an incremental expense somewhere $50 million, $70 million per year.