Trinity Biotech plc (NASDAQ:TRIB) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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But the other thing you got to keep in mind is, if we can actually increase throughput of our system, which is what we’re working on with the column, we start getting to higher volume segments in general. That’s not just price driven, but it’s the fact that we can actually drive into higher volume segments. So we’re trying to scale this thing by driving costs down and driving throughput up. That’s how you make money in this business. It’s not very complicated.

Jim Sidoti: Okay. And so you don’t need any — you can launch the new column when you’re ready. And then I do — I would assume you would need some kind of 510(k) for the 9210 in 2024?

Aris Kekedjian: Well, we’re looking at next generation changes, which would significantly potentially increase the [column] (ph) the number of column — test for column. So like I said, John and I have been talking to you about increasing the column test numbers right now by 3 times in the current generation. We feel confident that’s all within our purview. We are looking at strategies to increase that even more potentially to double that. That would probably require regulatory approval. And that’s why we are concurrently, in addition to the changes we’re about to roll out in the fourth quarter, concurrently working on that longer term process. And we think that’ll be late 2024 before we get the kind of progress we need from a regulatory standpoint.

Jim Sidoti: All right. And then can you just give us some kind of sense on what the legal challenges are left in Kenya? I mean, are you confident that you’ll have this resolved in 2023 and that you’ll be able to start shipping the units by the end of the year or test systems?

Aris Kekedjian: Look, I’m not going to — I’m not going to opine on legal matters necessarily, but I will say, when you look at the actions being undertaken by the government, and the progress being made and our assessment of the situation, we believe that these matters should be resolved in early October. There are a couple of hearings coming up. And in principle, our view is, those hearings should all rule in the favor of the government and ourselves and should be able to move forward, okay? I am not — I’m not going to give you a prediction on that other than to say we’re confident that we feel that these matters should be resolved and that we will move forward at least with the expectation that the government has and ourselves. Our expectation in terms of all the activities is that, we’re moving forward.

Jim Sidoti: All right. And then lastly, you ended the quarter with about $14 million in cash. Do you think that’s sufficient? I know you expect cash flow to improve in the — over the next few quarters as some of your initiatives start to take effect. But do you think the cash –

Aris Kekedjian: I just want to be clear. I don’t think it’s sufficient. And John and I are working with our lenders to make sure we have plenty of liquidity going forward. It’s everyone’s best interest for us to have the appropriate runway and that what we’re working on. Liquidity is a high priority for me in this kind of environment.

Jim Sidoti: Right. Okay. But you — I would think that when these initiatives such to kick in, you do expect to be cash flow positive over the next 18 to 24 months?

Aris Kekedjian: We expect significant improvement in both our HIV franchise as these orders for TrinScreen come in and the initiatives John kind of outlined, play through. And clearly, all these activities on the Haemoglobins business are aimed at making that a really kind of world class business. It should be running around 20% operating margins. That’s where we’re targeting that business. That’s cash flow positive and it should be on a recurring basis.

Jim Sidoti: All right. Thank you. That was it from me.

Aris Kekedjian: Thanks, Jim.

Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] And we have no further questions. I’ll turn the call back over to Mr. Aris Kekedjian for closing remarks.

Aris Kekedjian: Well, thanks everybody for attending our earnings call today. I think John and I specifically wanted to give you a bit of a deep dive and more insight and transparency in terms of what we’re doing. We intend to continue this with you in the coming quarters as we make progress around these initiatives. And we look forward to following up with you as we have announcements to make in the coming month or two. With that said, thank you for the time. We’ll see you again soon.

Operator: The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today’s presentation. You may now disconnect.

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