Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Jim Thorburn: Yes. So, as we highlighted, I mean, our focus is getting to adjusted EBITDA breakeven for Biopharma, NGS and SynBio as quickly as possible. You look at the guidance we’ve given, loss from operations in Q4 next year, roughly $38 million to $40 million that comprehends stock-based comp $15 million, depreciation of $10 million, and there you get data storage cash cost in Q4 of approximately $8 million. So as you can see from those numbers that we’re within striking points of getting to breakeven from a cash position. And as we continue to scale, I mean, our focus is, as Emily highlighted in the call, is to get profitability as fast as possible and having a very solid balance sheet to support the growth going into ‘25.

Catherine Schulte: And then, Emily, just to your point on the ramp for Biopharma throughout fiscal ‘24, how much visibility do you have in that $25 million number? Maybe how much is already accounted for in current programs versus assumptions around winning new products, because it does imply a pretty steep ramp throughout the year? And is there any way to quantify the impact of the new Bayer partnership?

Dr. Emily Leproust: Yes. So great question. As we’ve mentioned previously, in Biopharma, for services, we get orders, and we can convert those orders into revenue in two to three quarters. And so, the great quarter that we had in Q4 will be converted from an order point of view will be converted in revenue in the coming two quarters. So in terms of visibility, we have the visibility of the order. This is pretty much as much as we have. And then, to get to that other number, we have definitely a funnel. And so, we do measure the strength of the funnel. And now, that we have a commercial team in every territory, we can track and push each of those business managers to make sure that they achieve their quota.

Operator: Our next question comes from Steven Mah with TD Cowen.

Steven Mah: I’ve got a three-part follow-up question on Express Genes. One on the existing customers. Are you doing a dynamic pricing model with them? And then, if so, what’s been the early reaction to that pricing model? Is that something that’s new to them? And then second, how long do you expect to be in this early launch mode? And then, third, given that Express Genes, the turnaround time seems to be a little bit faster. Is there a new annual revenue capacity for the Factory of the Future we should keep in mind? Thank you.

Dr. Emily Leproust: Yes. Thank you, Steve. So, the way the dynamic pricing works, we design our e-commerce to have two characteristics, one is very subtle, but at the same time, which means that as people order the genes the regular way, it’s subtle that there’s an option to get Fast Gene. However, at the point of ordering, it is a very strong, in your face and very clear differentiation in terms of — for that extra dollar, you can get that extra benefit, and customers have to make a yes or no decision. And so, on the one hand, yes, we’ve done it subtly, but, customers asked to make a decision. And, so as far as the early reaction that you were asking, we can look at 20% of customer chose the Express Genes option as a function of different prices.

So, that’s ongoing. In terms of your second question, how long will we be in that early launch phase? It should be until early calendar 2024. Matt won’t have to correct me this time. So early ‘24, that’s when we’ll do the full launch to all the customers. And then, what was your third question? I think, there was a first question that I don’t remember.

Steven Mah: Capacity for Factory of the Future given the turnaround times faster for Express Genes?

Dr. Emily Leproust: Yes. In terms of capacity, yes. Because now — if all the orders were ordered fast, that would be basically double the capacity that we have in our fabs. So, we have not quantified that with the dollar at this point, but we will over time.

Operator: Our next question comes from Sung-Ji Nam with Scotiabank.

Sung-Ji Nam: Just to pile on one more question on Biopharma. Just for that customer base, kind of curious whether you’re seeing any signs of improvement. Obviously, there are definitely macro factors that everyone is talking about. But do you think the growth next year is largely due to Twist’s own integration efforts and restructuring efforts that are bearing fruit? Or are you kind of seeing any signs of improvement whether from a reprioritization standpoint from large pharma or even smaller biotech at this point?

Dr. Emily Leproust: I know that definitely there is a funding pressure in Biopharma. The few quarters that we add on, our analysis was that it was a self inflicting move. It was — we were not suffering from market headwinds. It was more from a commercial execution headwind. And we have a very, very strong offering with in vivo, in vitro, in silico. We’re, I think, the only company that offers that very wide breadth of opportunity. And so, we think that we can — if we execute commercially, we can be very successful in the current market. And, lately, we’ve been focusing on larger companies, and that’s been working quite well. So, of course, we’re open for business for all customers, but we have especially focused effort on larger pharma companies.

Operator: Our next question comes from Matthew Larew with William Blair.