Ryan Watson's questions to UTSTARCOM HOLDINGS (UTSI) leadership • Q1 2019
Question
Ryan Watson from Fidelium Advisors asked for a timeline on the completion of 5G trial testing and questioned the value of the TongDing partnership, seeking specific examples of contract wins. He also pointed to a declining revenue trend, asked for full-year 2019 guidance, and raised concerns about the stock price performance relative to executive compensation.
Answer
CEO Tim Ti projected that 5G testing results would be available around Q3 and noted that the TongDing partnership is generating optical fiber sales in India and that TongDing is beginning to sell UTStarcom products in China. VP of Finance Eric Lam reiterated that the company does not provide annual guidance due to the project-based nature of its revenue. Regarding compensation, CEO Tim Ti defended the executive team's performance since 2016, highlighting three years of profitability and stating that over 50% of compensation is performance-based.