Identiv, Inc. (NASDAQ:INVE) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Steven Humphreys : Yes, I think you’ve got it structured right. And the other part, which is Q4 variance per se because you characterized some of the Q3 and the Q4 there is some conservatism. I mentioned that one of our biggest customers in Israel — and we ship — we transship through Israel, everything gets tested there and then sent on to a big customer in the US. We just have to be realistic that things could happen there, and we’re already seeing some things that are creating friction in the system. And then similarly, I mentioned library and consumer goods. And until we see demand as well as payment reliability and everything else that goes with a healthy customer relationship, we’re just trying to be careful that not only will we have the demand, but it will be healthy demand, proper margins, proper payment terms and no compromises on the balance sheet.

Craig Ellis: Got it. That’s helpful. And then next question is related to gross margins. It’s actually a two-parter. I’d love to see the premises pop to 60%, the up 200 basis points, is there anything structural there? Or were those more one-time period benefits in the quarter? And then on the identity side, I would have expected with the low margin push out for gross margin to be flat or better, but it was down, so why would it be down if we were mixing out some lower margins that be a push-up?

Steven Humphreys: Sure. I can take that one. On the Premises side, it was largely mix, our readers and controllers and access control. Carry a higher margin. We had a strong Q3 driving the margin up there. So I think that is a good number. It wasn’t as much of a one-timer as it is structurally what we’re able to sell in the product mix factor within premises in Q3 that benefited us there? And then on the identity side, it was largely attributed to our smart card readers. And we had a pretty big dividend and margin profile there on the smart card readers.

Craig Ellis: Got it. Okay. And then lastly, if I could just pitch one to — I mean, as we go from really focusing on NREs within RFID, IoT and really focusing on the next step in the process before we get to volume production. What does it mean for your team operationally? And what does it mean for the way that you feel like you can roll up the business to speed? And what does it mean for the ability to either accelerate, either growth or provide more predictable growth? Thank you.

Steven Humphreys: Yeah. Two-pronged answer to that. So the first is the pipeline and the way that we’re getting intake to create NRE opportunities. That is staying in place. We’re actually putting a lot more investment from a marketing perspective to make sure the webinar is there. We’re creating awareness around the SCRI type applications we have. So the demand continues in a steady stream. But what we’re doing with the notation we made with 50-plus customers in the smaller revenue range that are starting to ramp, we’re really tasking the sales team to go much deeper into these accounts. To try to find cross-selling opportunities within divisions, not only homegrown, but then also to get involved and try to grow those accounts and ramp them much quicker.

So this includes some added services with field application engineering, getting to know exactly how their supply chain works and then really providing consulting level guidance to get the projects to a faster ramp. So it’s NRE and then at the same time, it’s getting more hands on and much deeper with the customers.

Craig Ellis: Got it. Thanks so much, guys. I appreciate the insight.

Steven Humphreys: Thank you, Craig.

Operator: Thank you. And there are no further questions in queue at this time. I would now like to turn the floor back to Steve Humphreys, for closing comments.