B.O.S. Better Online Solutions - Earnings Call - Q4 2024

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the BOS conference call. All participants are at present in listen-only mode. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded and will be available on the BOS website as of tomorrow. Before I turn the call over to Mr. Cohen, I would like to remind everyone that forward-looking statements for the respective company's business, financial condition, and results of its operations are subject to risk and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, product demand, pricing, market acceptance, changing economic conditions, risks in product and technology development, and the effect of the company's accounting policies, as well as certain other risk factors which are detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the various securities authorities.

I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Eyal Cohen, CEO. Mr. Cohen, please go ahead.

Eyal Cohen (CEO)

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for taking the time to join today's meeting. It is a pleasure to connect with you again. Joining me, as always, Mr. Moshe Zeltzer, our CFO. Let's move into the presentation. BOS integrates cutting-edge technologies to streamline and enhance supply chain operations across three specialized divisions. The Robotic Division automates inventory processes, replacing manual labor with robotic solutions. The RFID Division optimizes inventory management by tagging and tracking inventory throughout the supply chain. The Supply Chain Division integrates our franchise electromechanical components directly into our clients' products. Let's explore each division in more detail. Our Supply Chain Division is dedicated to integrating franchise electromechanical components into the products of leading defense and high-tech companies. Our engineering team works hand in hand with our customer R&D department to ensure seamless integration into innovative designs, generating long-term OEM revenues as products move into production.

The primary growth driver here is the number of components we embed into our clients' products. That's why expanding our integration capabilities is central to our strategy. Over the last two years, we have doubled our engineering team and tripled the number of manufacturers we represent, strengthening our market position and growth trajectory. We are proud to serve global defense leaders such as Israel Aerospace Industries, Elbit Systems, and Rafael. Our network extends both directly to these companies and indirectly via their subcontractors across the USA, India, and Europe. This network serves as our launchpad for global expansion without the need for costly overseas sales offices. Our RFID Division enhances inventory management across the supply chain by integrating proprietary software with cutting-edge off-the-shelf equipment.

We deploy a ruggedized solution for industrial and logistics operations such as handheld computers, forklift-mounted tablets, industrial scanners, thermal printers, RFID readers, and wireless systems from top brands like Zebra and Honeywell. Our proprietary interfaces ensure that every on-site inventory transaction is instantly reported to the client ERP, WMS, or MES system in real time. As a value-added service, our expert team performs inventory counts for warehouses and stores using specialized hardware and software. Our business model is designed to generate recurrent revenues, including annual service contracts from hardware and software, inventory count services, and ongoing demand for consumables like barcode labels, RFID tags, and ribbons. We are proud to serve top-tier enterprises across Israel like Shufersal in the food retail, IKEA non-food retail, and Teva in the industrial sector. Our Robotic Division streamlines industrial and logistics processes by automating labor-intensive tasks.

Our multidisciplinary team includes mechanical and control engineers, programmers, and production crews specializing in mechanical assembly. Together, we deliver robotic cells that reduce dependency on labor, increase production capacity, and improve accuracy all within three years ROI. We offer 2 main types of robotic solutions. First, our custom-built robotic cells that are designed and built from the ground up to meet each client's unique needs. Second, we provide off-the-shelf robotic arms using top-tier modules from Fanuc and Yaskawa. We customize them with specialized grippers and programming, adapting them perfectly to our clients' production and logistics processes. Today, 90% of our robotics projects serve the defense sector, where production is still heavily reliant on labor and facing increasing pressure for faster and higher quality output. This shift presents both challenges to the industry and a major opportunity for us.

Our flagship client here is Elbit Systems, with additional high-tech clients validating our capabilities in this space. Team and leadership: BOS is led by a skilled executive team of 8 and a board of 4 members. Given the importance of technology, we employ 2 dedicated CTOs, one for the robotics and one for the RFID. Our total team includes 80 professionals, with 30% being engineers and technicians. Financial: Balance sheet as of December 2024 shows total assets: $34 million, equity: $21 million, working capital: $14 million, cash: $3.6 million, real estate of $2.1 million, and long-term loans underlying their real estate in the amount of $1.4 million. Operational results and outlook: After a record-setting in year 2023 with $44 million in revenues, year 2024 is stabilized at $40 million, reflecting a return to normalized purchasing after post-COVID restocking.

We are optimistic about year 2025, aiming for $44 million in revenues and $2.5 million in net income, a 10% increase year over year. This confidence is backed by a growing backlog, which rose by 35% to $27 million at the end of year 2024. A key driver of this growth is our exposure to the booming defense sector. Israel's defense budget rose 73% year over year, and Europe's defense budget rose 16% year over year. These trends directly impact our key clients and, in turn, on us. Our growth strategy has two pillars: strengthening our proposition and expanding internationally. To strengthen our proposition, we will deepen relationships with defense clients by broadening our offering, such as the recent addition of a cabling line.

The RFID Division will increase its sales force to capture the rebound in the Israeli civil market and will add to its portfolio of off-the-shelf packing machines for logistics centers. To expand overseas, we will leverage our Israeli defense client base and align with their global subcontractors. This strategy already yields $4 million in overseas sales in year 2024 of our Supply Chain Division. Our Robotic Division is preparing for the first installation of a robotic production line in Europe in the first half of this year. Now, let's take a look at our valuation and position in the capital markets. As of today, our market capitalization is $23 million. When we factor our cash and debt, our enterprise value comes to $21 million only. In terms of valuation multiples compared to the Russell 2000, our price-to-earnings ratio is 10, while Russell sits at 18.

Our price-to-book ratio is 1.1 compared to Russell's 2.1. This clearly indicates that BOS is trading at a significant discount compared to the broader market. Investor relations: To strengthen our presence in the U.S. capital market, we have partnered with a U.S.-based investor relations firm and significantly ramped up our outreach. Since September last year, I have been hosting weekly investor calls, actively sharing our story and engaging with the investment community. We have also participated in major events, including the LD Micro conference in October last year and the Emerging Growth Conference in February this year. The results speak for themselves. Our average daily trading volume has grown from 4,000 shares in last September to 58,000 shares this month. To conclude, BOS is a solid position for continued success. We have demonstrated consistent profitability with steady growth in net income year after year.

Looking ahead, we are projecting a 10% increase in both revenues and net income for year 2025, reinforcing our strong trajectory. Financially, we are in excellent shape with $21 million in equity and zero bank debt. We have the flexibility to grow strategically. From a valuation standpoint, BOS is trading at just 10x net income, offering compelling opportunity compared to the broader market benchmark. We have also significantly expanded our investor relations efforts, increasing our visibility and engagement with the investment community. Perhaps most importantly, we have a strong and growing presence in the global defense industry, a market that continues to accelerate. With our solid foundation, focused strategy, and strong momentum, we believe BOS is well-positioned to deliver long-term value for our shareholders. Thank you for your attention, and I am happy to take your questions. You can unmute if you want to ask a question.

Any questions?

Moshe Zeltzer (CFO)

Good morning, Eyal. Congratulations on a strong quarter. Just wanted to talk to you about if you could give some guidance. I know you said you had a new robotics line starting in Europe. Can you talk about your defense business in Europe and how that has been affected by the war in Ukraine?

Eyal Cohen (CEO)

Yeah, actually, we do not have direct sales in Europe. We are aligning with our major client in Israel, Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Rafael, which are exporters and global leaders in the defense segment. Usually, when they have a contract overseas, we are getting into the picture because part of the production of the product sold must be produced locally in the customer's site.

In that case, our Supply Chain Division provides to the local subcontractor components, and our Robotic Division provides an automatic production line in case it's needed, if it's a duplication of, for example, a site in Israel. This is the business model in Europe, overseas in general.

Moshe Zeltzer (CFO)

Okay, thank you. Also, in your valuation, I know you didn't mention the tax loss carry forward. By looking at your financials, I believe you have over a $60 million tax loss carry forward, which would equate to $10 a share. Is that correct, or am I missing something?

Eyal Cohen (CEO)

Yeah. We have approximately $30 million in carry forward tax losses, which could provide up to $6 million in future tax savings, assuming a 23% corporate tax rate.

As a conservative measure, we recognize only $1 million of this potential benefit as an asset in the fourth quarter of this year out of the $6 million. On the other hand, this income did not affect the bottom line because we recorded an impairment charge of $1.2 million related to Goodwill. This resulted in net impact on this quarter, on this year, in year 2024, of $200,000 on the net income of year 2024 because of an increase of $1.2 million in operating expenses due to the impairment of Goodwill that was offset by $1 million in tax income related to the tax-deferred assets of $1 million.

Moshe Zeltzer (CFO)

Okay, thank you. Just a last question. I noticed recently you had brought on the head of procurement from the IDF from 2017 to 2023. Do you expect him to be able to help bring in additional defense contracts for BOS? If so, will you update your guidance during the year?

Eyal Cohen (CEO)

Yeah, I think as a strategic decision, several years ago, we have been focused on the defense segment, and I think he will be a major element in helping us to capitalize the opportunities in this market, to guide us, to lead us in this market. Absolutely, if there will be any significant development during this year, we will give an update.

Moshe Zeltzer (CFO)

Thank you very much.

Eyal Cohen (CEO)

Thank you.