Earnings Labs

The LGL Group, Inc. (LGL)

Q4 2021 Earnings Call· Tue, Mar 29, 2022

$7.28

+0.34%

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Please stand by, we’re about to begin. Good day and welcome to the LGL Group Incorporated Annual Earnings Conference Call. Today’s conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mike Ferrantino. Please go ahead, sir.

Michael Ferrantino

Management

Thank you. Good morning, and thank you for attending today’s call covering our financial results for the three months and 12 months ended December 31, 2021. Hopefully, you have had a chance to review our 10-K, which was released premarket opening yesterday. If not, it is available on our website. James Tivy, our CFO, will review our financial results at this time. James?

James Tivy

Management

Yes. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining our full year 2021 earnings call. Please note that this call will be recorded and we anticipate making the recording available on our website sometime after the call. We have issued our 10-K yesterday before the market opened reporting the results for our fourth fiscal quarter and full year of 2021. Before getting underway, we’re required to advise you and all participants should note that the following discussion should be taken in conjunction with the most recent financial statements and notes there too contained within our 2021 10-K, which has been filed with the SEC. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act – sorry of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which are detailed in our filings with the SEC. Although the company believes that its forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions regarding its business and future market conditions, there can be no assurances that the company’s actual results will not differ materially from any results expressed or implied by the company’s forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Let me now summarize for you where LGL stands for the fourth quarter and for the full year of 2021. Our fourth quarter revenues of $7.2 million was $0.2 million, or 2.6% below 2020 revenues of $7.4 million. Operating loss for the quarter was $596,000 compared to $138,000 in the fourth quarter of 2020. Current period inflationary pressures, lower shipments and the $200,000 of MTronPTI…

Michael Ferrantino

Management

Thank you, James. As you’ve herd, we’ve ended the year with a strong and growing backlog, margins are improving and the balance sheet is strong. I’m proud of the entire LGL team’s success and dedication while facing the challenge of inflation, supply chain disruption and workforce headwinds. We have released several new products in 2021 in both our spectrum control and frequency control product areas. These products extend our reach into the military and aerospace market and have contributed to our backlog growth. The MTronPTI spin-off plan is progressing with solicitation of shareholder approval targeted for the second quarter of this year. We believe that the spin-off would enable shareholders to more clearly evaluate the performance and future potential of each entity on a standalone basis, while allowing each to pursue its own distinct strategic plans in growth opportunities. I’ll now open the floor to questions. Operator, please open the call to any questions.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. [Operator Instructions] And our first question will come from Anja Soderstrom with Sidoti.

Anja Soderstrom

Analyst

Hi, thank you for taking my questions. And so first the backlog, a very nice growth there. Can you quantify how much that is related to new business versus how much may be related to supply chain challenges?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

Sure. In terms of new business, roughly 10% of that is related to new products that have been introduced in the past 12 to 18 months or so. There is some amount related to advanced orders from supply chain-related issues, but it’s relatively small.

Anja Soderstrom

Analyst

Okay, thank you. And are there any new customers in there? Or is it mainly the expansion with current customers?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

There is some new customer penetration. However, a large part of that backlog is with existing customers.

Anja Soderstrom

Analyst

Okay, thank you. And you also alluded to the margin for the fourth quarter was due to raw material, but you’ve been able to pass some of that on and is there room for more of that to be passed on? And what is the lag there in terms of being able to pass that on to your customers, if you can?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

Sure. There’s some room to pass on increases as our costs or supply costs go up. The lag generally is tied to the lead time on the orders, which vary from – really from eight to 12 weeks to slightly beyond that.

Anja Soderstrom

Analyst

Okay, thank you. And you also talking about the recovering in the avionics market. You’re seeing benefits from that? Where do you think we are in the innings of that?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

I think the – we’re in the early stages of that recovery, there’s still a long way to go.

Anja Soderstrom

Analyst

Okay. So there’s more potential for you to increase that in the coming quarters?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

That is correct.

Anja Soderstrom

Analyst

Okay, thank you. And is there anything else you can talk us through in terms of how you are combating the inflationary pressures and sort of labor shortages if you – if you’re affected by that?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

So in terms of the inflationary pressures, we are constantly looking at our sources and working with them as well as identifying additional sources. On the labor front, we’ve done a pretty good job of maintaining our workforce, and we will continue to do that.

Anja Soderstrom

Analyst

Okay, thank you. And then very last, in terms of the spin-off of the MTronPTI business, you’ll have the shareholder vote in the second quarter, right?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

That’s correct. That is what we’re targeting.

Anja Soderstrom

Analyst

And what’s the timeframe then for term – in terms of actually going through with a spin-off and I would actually set up a management team of ready for that to be – to manage that entity?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

Yes, that’s correct. The management team has been identified for that. And as far as the timing of that, there is a process that we’ll go through, but we would expect that to be completed in the third quarter.

Anja Soderstrom

Analyst

Okay. And the management team will be sort of presented before the vote, or is that something that’s going to be revealed after or hasn’t before?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

It would be within the proxy.

Anja Soderstrom

Analyst

Within the proxy. Okay. Thank you. That was all for me.

Michael Ferrantino

Management

Thank you, Anja.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Moving on, we’ll go to Vishal Mishra with Mishra Capital.

Vishal Mishra

Analyst

Hi, Mike, or James, just a clarification on the backlog, about $30 million and $6 million from the new order, most of it will be shipped in 2022. So maybe more than three will be – I’m just sort of wondering what is the backlog for the next 12 months, like convertible into the next 12-month, that is a number you provide that or you can give us more clarity on that?

James Tivy

Management

Yeah, I think what we’ve seen is, obviously, there’s a big $6 million order which we don’t expect to ship until 2022 – until after 2022. It’s really just been – avionics is coming back and we’re having pretty good success with our existing customers.

Vishal Mishra

Analyst

Okay. That’s all. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Moving on, we’ll go to Greg Greenberg, Investor.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Hi, gentlemen. I’m wondering if you can give us a little bit more color on how we should think of LGL Group with RemainCo. Should we think about it that it’s going to be investing in public companies or more like a SPAC for merger partner to bring the management and cash to it?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

So post spin-off of MTronPTI, LGL will still have its operating entity PTF, but it will also be focusing on profitable growth through acquisition.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Okay. And then on the spin, is there any outside valuation or outside investor that may help us have a reference for what that business may be worth?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

We have not conducted an outside evaluation at this point.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Okay. And then finally, can you just go over how the warrants will be affected assuming that the spend occurs?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

Yeah, Greg, just on the warrants, there’s a formula and it was disclosed in the most recent pre-proxy, preliminary proxy we set out. It’s approximately related to the percentage of each of the two new companies subsequent to going – subsequent to the spin-off measuring their prices over the – over a short period. So if, for example, the MTron is 30% of the value of the two numbers, the two trading companies after the spin, then the prices of the LGL warrants will be reduced by 30% and the strike prices also adjusted.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Okay. Thank you very much.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] And moving on, we’ll go to Eddie Reilly with EF Hutton.

Eddie Reilly

Analyst

Hey, guys, thanks for taking my question. I was just wondering if you could maybe unpack maybe the types of companies you’re looking at to acquire within the RemainCo after the spin-off?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

I think post spin, there’ll be a wide variety of companies that would fit the criteria that we’re looking for. Not really much to say at this time.

Eddie Reilly

Analyst

Okay, great. That’s really it for me. Thank you, guys.

Operator

Operator

And next we’ll go to [Mark Vanderwel with Vanderwel Family Practice] [ph].

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Hello, I’m wondering if you could comment on what effect the war in Ukraine is having or you expect might have on your defense business?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

Sure. I think there’s a couple of potential effects. Obviously, any increased spending in the defense budgets would be a potential benefit for the company. Also, where we are looking at are there opportunities where through some of the sanctions being put on Russia is, there are opportunities created through that, we’re evaluating that now.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Sanctions being put on them will actually benefit you?

Michael Ferrantino

Management

Potentially, there is supply that might come out of Russia, that would be harder for certain countries to acquire that we might be able to capitalize on.

Unidentified Analyst

Analyst

Never would have anticipated that. Thank you very much.

Operator

Operator

And gentlemen, there are no further questions in the queue. At this time, I’d like to turn it back to you for any additional or closing comments.

Michael Ferrantino

Management

Sure, thank you. Well, if there are no more questions, this concludes our call. I would again like to thank you for joining our stockholders – for joining and our stockholders for their continued support of the company. Have a great day.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. And that does conclude today’s call. We’d like to thank everyone for their participation. You may now disconnect.