Akoustis Technologies, Inc. an integrated device manufacturer (IDM) of patented bulk acoustic wave (BAW) high-band RF Filters for mobile and other wireless applications, hosted an investor call, to provide a business update and outlook, followed by a Q & A session.
Jeff Shealy, Founder and CEO of Akoustis, said that the September quarter marked an important moment in their history as a company as they successfully entered production in two high volume commercial markets, namely, WiFi 6 and 5G small cell network infrastructure. He also mentioned that despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they achieved all their strategic milestones for the September quarter. They are actively delivering volume production of their WiFi 6 tandem filter solution, ramping multiple 5G small cell XBAW filter solutions and supporting numerous engagements with their BAW-based WiFi 6E co-existence filters.
Recent Business Highlights
- Received first development order from a new customer for XBAW filters for integration into mobile RF front end solutions.
- Entered production for new tier-1 consumer-focused tri-band WiFi 6 product, which is expected to be available for purchase for the holiday season.
- Delivered multiple engineering samples to existing tier-1 enterprise WiFi 6E customer
- Announced the world’s first 6.5 GHz BAW filter for the emerging WiFi 6E specification that covers the recently allotted ultra-wideband 5.9 to 7.1 GHz unlicensed spectrum.
- Achieved robust sampling of WiFi 6E filters to tier-1 and tier-2 OEMs, ODMs and SoC customers.
- Announced the first order for WiFi 6E 5.5 and 6.5 GHz tandem catalog solution from the enterprise-class customer.
- Shipped volume order to tier-1 5G small cell network infrastructure customer with band n77 filter solution.
- Received first order from network infrastructure OEM for XBAW 3.6 GHz CBRS filter solution.
- Shipped fourth 5G small cell network infrastructure XBAW filter solution with tier-1 OEM with expected production ramp in early calendar 2021.
- Announced third 5G small cell network infrastructure design win with tier-1 OEM customer.
- Announced second 5G small cell network infrastructure customer and design win expected to ramp in early calendar 2021.
- Received DARPA direct to phase 2 (DP2) programs to advance design and manufacturing of XBAW technology.
- Appointed J. Michael McGuire, former Grant Thornton CEO to the board of directors.
- Continued engagement with 5G mobile partner for evaluation in future mobile RF products.
- Further expanded Company’s product portfolio by adding a 15th design-locked RF filter solution to its product catalog.
- Expanded XBAW patent portfolio to 33 issued and licensed patents plus 73 patents pending as of October 19, 2020.
First Fiscal Quarter Financial Performance
For the 1st quarter ended September 30th, the Company reported revenue of $636,000, which was an increase of 74% as compared to the previous quarter and represented a 118% increase in our core filter product revenue. On a GAAP basis: Operating loss was ($10.3) million for the September quarter, mainly driven by labor costs of $6.3 million, depreciation of $1.0 million, and other operational costs totaling $3.0 million. As a result, GAAP net loss per share was ($0.31). On a non-GAAP basis: Operating loss was ($8.3) million, and non-GAAP net loss per share was ($0.23).
Capex spends for Q1 was $2.3 million compared to $3.4 million in the prior quarter, mostly related to the targeted 500% capacity expansion in the Company’s NY fab. Cash used in operating activities in Q1 was $7.9 million, compared to $4.9 million in the prior quarter. The increase of $3.0 million is primarily due to certain fiscal year-end payments not expected to repeat in the second quarter and increases in spending related to our capacity expansion. The Company exited the September quarter with $37.3 million of cash and cash equivalents, versus $44.4 million at the end of Q4.
Akoustis’ high frequency, high-performance XBAW process and filters are experiencing growing interest as the Company has entered production in multiple markets in calendar 2020, including 5G network infrastructure, high-band WiFi and phased-array radar applications. Akoustis has added 15 filters to its product catalog including a 5.6 GHz WiFi filter, a 5.2 GHz WiFi filter, a 5.5 GHz WiFi-6E filter, a 6.5 GHz WiFi 6E filter, three small cell 5G network infrastructure filters including two Band n77 filters and one Band n79 filter, a 3.8 GHz filter and five S-Band filters for defense phased-array radar applications, a 3.6 GHz filter for the CBRS 5G infrastructure market and a C-Band filter for the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) market. The Company is also developing several new filters for the sub-7 GHz bands targeting 5G mobile device, network infrastructure, WiFi CPE and defense markets.
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