Intevac, Inc. (NASDAQ:IVAC) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

But our focus as I keep saying on these calls is very much around qualification of TRIO, entry into consumer devices, and building these partnerships. So, hopefully that slide gives you a mix of both the current focus and in the future potential. And we’ve also tried to explain the detail how we’ve actually positioned this around the high-priced smartphones first, similarly the touchscreen laptops and high-end tablets. And therefore, as we see over the next three, four, five years, the market adoption expanding and we believe there’s significant upside beyond that as well.

Peter Wright: Wonderful. I’ll come back to queue. Thank you so much.

Operator: The next question we have is from Hendi Susanto of Gabelli Funds. Please go ahead.

Hendi Susanto: Good evening Nigel and Kevin.

Nigel Hunton: Good evening.

Kevin Soulsby: Good evening.

Hendi Susanto: Nigel and Kevin I wanted to understand more about the pull-ins, were the pull-ins coming from Q4 or from early 2024 or both?

Nigel Hunton: Okay. And just to follow on from one of Peter’s questions. I mean we have a very agile workforces actually able to flex up demand and that enables to handle the pull-ins very effectively in the quarter. And that capability and agility the organization is a key strength of Intevac. Some of those pull-ins were from Q4, which is why we see Q4 down on the Q3. And I think part of this is as they understand their needs and they’re actually ramping to ensure they meet the 2024 demand for the product line and to have that capacity in place and ready. But we believe based on the feedback from customer meetings that being at a similar level in 2024, but some of those pull-ins were clearly out of Q4 into Q3.

Hendi Susanto: I see. And then Nigel I think you indicated earlier that the upgrades are depend on the success of HAMR in the market what kind of timeframe to see the outcome of how successful HAMR is in the market like how many more months should we have any indication?

Nigel Hunton: I think if you look at the public messaging and the public announcements around HAMR, if you look at our customers and what they’ve been saying, the successful evaluations and the amount of customers now who are trying the products and the plan to ramp in the first half of 2024. A clear indications that HAMR is successful and HAMR is now coming through into the market with some adoption. So, we are very positive and I think our customers are positive and you see that in some of their announcements and guidance as well.

Hendi Susanto: And then Nigel I would like to ask about the expectation that you will sell two or three TRIO system in 2024. This slide indicated that first revenues are expected in the first half of 2024, how should we see that first revenue will it be just like one TRIO system first or it could be like up to two or three first of all?

Nigel Hunton: I think we’ve been very clear that the initial system will go through qualification. That qualification will then trigger the shipment of the first system. So, one system will go out ahead of everything. And we’ve said there will be orders for more than one system by the end of December. So, second system will follow that first system at some point in the first half of next year. So, I would assume it’s potentially two in the first half and so one in late in the second half, it’s a rough timing. But recognizing that, we have to have left some level of flexibility around that, it wouldn’t surprise me, if it’s one in the first half and then two in the second half. But as we get this first product into the field, we’re pretty excited about getting that into a customer producing products and driving the future success.