ImmuCell Q1 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

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May 15, 2025

There are 4 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to the Innucel Corporation report First Quarter Ended 03/31/2025 Audited Financial Results Conference Call. All participants will be in listen only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference call over to Joe Diaz of Lytham Partners.

Operator

Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Vicky. Good morning, and welcome to all. As the operator indicated, my name is Joe Diaz with Lytham Partners. We are the investor relations consulting firm for ImmuCell. I thank all of you for joining us today to discuss the unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended 03/31/2025.

Speaker 1

Listeners are reminded and cautioned that statements made by management during the course of this call include forward looking statements, which include any statement that refers to future events or expected future results or predictions about steps the company plans to take in the future. These statements are not guarantees of performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, outcomes or events to differ materially from those discussed today. Additional information regarding forward looking statements and the risks and uncertainties that could impact future results, outcomes or events is available under the cautionary note regarding forward looking statements or the safe harbor statement provided with Form 10 Q and the press release the company filed last night, along with the company's other periodic filings with the SEC. Information discussed on today's call speaks only as of today, Thursday, 05/15/2025. The company undertakes no obligation to update any information discussed on today's call.

Speaker 1

Please note that references to certain non GAAP financial measures may be made during today's call. The company included definitions of these terms as well as reconciliations of these figures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures in last night's press release in order to better assist you in understanding its financial performance. With that said, let me turn the call over to Michael Brigham, President and CEO of ImmuCell Corporation, for opening remarks. We will then hear from Tim Fiori, the company's newly appointed CFO, with a review of some first quarter financial highlights, after which we will open the call for your questions. Michael?

Speaker 2

Thanks, Joe, and good morning, everyone. As Joe said in a moment, I'd like to introduce you all to our new CFO, Tim Fiori. First, I would like to offer a few comments from a high level strategic perspective. Quite simply, our business is becoming larger, more diverse and more complex, and that's a great thing. We are very focused on the commercial opportunity that we have with First Defense.

Speaker 2

The recent growth in First Defense sales is very positive for us. Our investments to increase production capacity above $30,000,000 per year are now complete, expanding our production facilities and implementing the new equipment was a huge project. We implemented important process improvements and worked through certain contamination events. It is important to note that we have not incurred another contamination event for over a year now. During the just completed quarter, expansion along with the revenue growth, and we increased our cash balance to about 4,600,000 as of 03/31/2025.

Speaker 2

Moreover, we are pleased to see traction for the different product formats we introduced for First Defense to the point where these now should be seen as a suite of related products with expanded uses and appeal. At the same time, we are initiating investigational product use of Repayne to collect market feedback about product performance in the field while reducing product development expenses and exploring potential strategic options for our novel technology. Our financial recovery and improvement shows up in the favorable adjusted EBITDA results that Tim will touch on. But first, I want to underscore that expanding the size and breadth of our product sales and managing other corporate objectives has become an increasingly complex responsibility. Over the years, we have prided ourselves in keeping administrative expenses low by public company standards.

Speaker 2

Growing our senior management team brings added expense, but also offers new opportunities and benefits. I've already experienced some of those benefits working with Tim for just over a month now. We are optimistic as we work our way through the balance of 2025. With that said, let me introduce Tim Fiori. Tim, would you please tell us a bit about your background and talk about some

Speaker 1

of the first quarter financial highlights? Thanks, Michael. As Michael mentioned, I've been here at ImmuSell for just over a month. Before coming to ImmuSell, I worked for twenty four years in various financials for IDEXX Laboratories, a well respected public company headquartered in nearby Westbrook, Maine. Most recently, I was senior director of finance and commercial operations for their livestock, poultry, and dairy, known as LPD, water testing and IDEXX's Opti Medical human health line of business.

Speaker 1

Let's talk about the first quarter financial results for Intel. Product sales during the first quarter of twenty twenty five increased 11% or $810,000 over the first quarter of twenty twenty four to a record $8,100,000 Those record quarterly sales eclipse the previous record set in the fourth quarter of twenty twenty four. These strong sales helped us reduce our order backlog from $4,400,000 as of 12/31/2024 to $4,000,000 as of 03/31/2025. I'm pleased to say that we've continued to eat away at that backlog, which was down to $3,400,000 as of 05/06/2025. We previously had announced our goal of increasing annual production capacity to $30,000,000 or more per year.

Speaker 1

Our achievement of $15,800,000 in sales during the six month period ended 03/31/2025 suggests that we are achieving that target. Product sales during the twelve month period ended 03/31/2025 increased by 28% or $6,000,000 to $27,300,000 compared to the twelve month period ended 03/31/2024. To remain successful, we must continue to avoid significant contamination events and equipment breakdowns and operate with strong production yields. We pay our bills and drive our cash flows with the gross margin dollars. We experienced some low gross margin percentages in prior periods as we dealt with low output and scrap costs related largely to contamination events mentioned previously.

Speaker 1

The 42% gross margin during the first quarter of twenty twenty five is an improvement over the 37% during the fourth quarter of twenty twenty four, but we still have more work to do to achieve our target of 45% or more. The increase in sales and the improvement in gross margin are important. I take nothing away from those accomplishments, but I would like to talk for a moment about adjusted EBITDA because the impact of noncash depreciation expense on our bottom line is significant. As a reminder, adjusted EBITDA as opposed to adjusted EBITDA includes an add back of stock based compensation expense, which is another noncash expense that is included in net income that's calculated in accordance with GAAP. We created adjusted EBITDA of $2,300,000 3 point 7 million and $3,300,000 during the three months, six months and twelve month periods ended 03/31/2025.

Speaker 1

These strong results compare very favorably to adjusted EBITDA of just $705,000 and negative $280,000 during the three months, six months and twelve month periods ended 03/31/2024. With regards to the other financial results, the press release and the Form 10 Q that we filed last night provide the complete unaudited P and L and balance sheet results. Lastly, I encourage you to review our corporate presentation slide deck. I believe it provides a very good summary of our business strategy and objectives as well as our current financial results. A May update was just posted to our website last night.

Speaker 1

See the Investors section of our website and click on Corporate Presentation or contact us for a coffee. With that said, we would be happy to take your questions. Let's have the operator open up the line.

Operator

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. If at any time your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question, please press then 2. Anyone who has a question may press and 1 at this time. We have a question from George Melas, MKH Management.

Operator

Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Good morning, Michael and Tim.

Speaker 2

Hey there, George. Good morning. How are you? Good. Very well.

Speaker 1

Question on the product mix. And I first of all, I have to say I really like how you report the revenue ahead of time and then file your queue before the call. So it helps us sort of get ready for, you know, understanding the call. On the product mix, this quarter was quite strong on Tri Shield, which I think was 71% of sales compared to 55% in the previous quarter. So I have two questions.

Speaker 1

One of them is on the new sort of bulk powder product. How do you expect that to contribute towards the end of twenty five and maybe '26? And then it seems that the the mix of Tri Shield and Bivalent has relatively little impact on the gross margin. And maybe could you comment on that?

Speaker 2

Yes. Thanks, George. Looking at the queue, you pointed out the third quarter '70 percent Tri Shield and and and 30% other. You know, that's three months. With with twelve months, it's 64% Tri Shield, 36 other.

Speaker 2

Tri Shield has been a big seller since we launched just a just a few years ago. It's the broader claims that really makes that product excel on the market based on efficacy, based on being similar to a vaccine and the coverage of the pathogens that it works on. So that's the exciting driver of our growth. And we're always looking at what else can we do and how can we expand the product line and how can we grow sales. So when you mentioned your question on the bulk powder, that is still in development.

Speaker 2

We're on track to get that product out into the market over the second, third and fourth quarter, but we have no sales yet. So it's a different format in that it's, again, bulk as you mentioned, George, as opposed to in a capsular tube. It's gonna be used as a seed additive, and it's gonna go to big cap ranches where they're not, you know, accustomed to dosing individual caps with a capsular with a tube. So more to come on that. I like the development progress that's being led by our VP of sales and marketing, Bobby Joe Brockman, but but no sales report yet.

Speaker 2

So that's a that's a a new event, a new upside for the last nine months of the year. Does that answer you, George?

Speaker 1

That totally does. And maybe, you know, the correlation of of gross margin to to the to the product mix right now, it seems like regardless it seems like you you you achieved really strong gross margin regardless of whether Tri Shield is 70% or 55%. I'm just trying to see if you see if if there is a bit of an impact, the mix on the gross margin.

Speaker 2

Yeah. You know, we do price according to our estimated costing, you know, by format. So Tri Shield is is quite a bit more expensive than the BOLUS or the BOLUS is quite a bit more cost effective than than than the Tri Shield. But I would argue, you you pay for you get what you pay for, and people are willing to pay for that Tri Shield and get that broader coverage. And we do have, you know, quite a bunch quite a large amount of fixed costs.

Speaker 2

So we do benefit, and we did see that benefit both in the fourth quarter at 37% and more so in the first quarter here at 42%. Just moving our labor is largely fixed, all our equipment and facility cost fixed is moving over higher volumes. So all products on that benefit with that volume growth and that that that got us to the 42. And as Tim said, we're not, you know, still a work in progress. We've still got room for improvement.

Speaker 1

Great. Congratulations. Fantastic results. And, Jim, welcome to your team, and I hope to have you on board. Thank you, George.

Operator

We have a question from Ross Tollander, Capital Alliance. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Yeah. Greet, Michael and Tim.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Renaud. Hey. Good morning.

Speaker 1

Appreciate the a little more detail in in breakouts of expense categories under the new CFO here. So that's appreciated already. And and the focus, I think, just in the presentation on the adjusted EBITDA in the trailing twelve months. I I guess, looking at the business, there was one last contamination event a year ago, April time frame. And I'm curious, in q two of last year, how much, call it, EBITDA erosion was there from that event that, you know I I guess what I'm driving at is q two and q three of last year might have been lower EBITDA than we would expect from the core business in Q2 and Q3 of this year.

Speaker 1

So can you help us kind of create expectations for Q2 and Q3 this year for EBITDA?

Speaker 2

Right. Yes. It's a great question, Gus. We did answer that on an annual basis. I don't have that broken out on a quarterly basis.

Speaker 2

I'm referring to about Page 26 in the Q where we talk about the scrap per year. And so part of my answer would be '22, that total scrap cost of 4 $5.89, 589,000. Year ended '23 was $5.27, 5 hundred 20 7 thousand. And then '24 was 507,000. So, you know, pretty around half a million per year during that expansion phase where we're incurring those those those contaminations.

Speaker 2

Far as two q, yeah, there's gonna be a you know, that that contamination, you're remembering it right, April 24 was the last one. So that affected that full year of just 407,000, but most of that would have been in the first quarter because that was just one contamination in April and then none for the rest of the year. So not answering with a specific number, but a direction.

Speaker 1

I got it. Maybe a a better way of of asking is, were there revenue implications still in q two and q three of last year? Or how do we look

Speaker 2

Right. Right. No. The revenue rebound, you know, began in the fourth quarter of twenty four. So we were down, you know we were we we set those consecutive records, fourth quarter of twenty four, and then beat that record first quarter of twenty five.

Speaker 2

So, you know, that's is comparing to those reduced periods. But nonetheless, those are our best two quarters in our, you know, in our history.

Speaker 1

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Congratulations. I'm I'm driving at, you know, kinda what could be expectations for revenues for the next couple of quarters. I guess the reality is we should expect greater EBITDA from the enterprise after the next couple of quarters because the comps from a year ago were maybe lower than the level of the business you're able to conduct currently.

Speaker 2

Yeah. I I think that's fair. I mean, we definitely we definitely want to, you know, be be be be be real clear on that. You know, the the fourth quarter and the first quarter are strong. They look strong relative to the to the reduced quarters, to the reduced first nine months of twenty four.

Speaker 2

But I think the other thing, and Tim and I were just looking at our notes here, is also factoring the backlog. So that's you know, the second quarter is gonna benefit. Tim mentioned that we what did you say? $10.3.4,

Speaker 1

I believe. We

Speaker 2

got you know, so it's 3,400,000.0 at May 6. At May 6. So, you know, we are so so we have two things going on, increased capacity and then clearing out that accumulated backlog, making progress on that through the through the second quarter. And yeah. So, you know, I don't have a I don't we don't do the public projections of the revenue, but I I guess I'm trying we think we're trying to make it clear what what comparing the good periods or the bad period.

Speaker 2

And let's see what the sales team can do because they're now allowed, you know, able to go out and actually bring in new business where over the period there of '24, they were they were really stuck. They were dealing with irritated customers and allocating scarce products and bringing in new customers really didn't help us. Now that transition will be able to I mean, the sales team has just made a great pivot from from that scarce product allocation period to the to the business growth period going forward. So not a numerical answer to your question, but directionally, think that that's where we're going. Clear the backlog and bring back customers we lost and and find new business both with the existing product line and the the the expansion of the product lines that we talked about with George to the the bulk pattern.

Speaker 1

So, really, what you're saying I guess, what I'm driving at is the core business EBITDA kind of run rate is much greater than 3,300,000.0 for 12. Correct. Yeah.

Speaker 2

Yeah. Yeah. I guess, Russ, no. And I think maybe maybe that's sort of follow the question there. Yeah.

Speaker 2

Definitely look at the the three that's why we did those three periods. And the three is is more indicative, and the six more indicative of the of the recovery company. And the 12 has a Yep. Six month lag in it. Yeah.

Speaker 1

Well, I think that's you know, the next part of my question is maybe a statement. That's the core business, but you're spending $800,000 a quarter roughly on product development for most of it going to new product approval. And so if if you wouldn't have been doing additional product development, your core business for First Defense is worth a lot more than the EBITDA of the enterprise.

Speaker 2

I I think there's a lot the the variability in the sales and in the gross margin is what we need to track. I think what we can count on is the admin expense noting the the modest increase we've agreed to fund and the but the other expenses are more straight line. So I think what was important to answer your question there is is we that's one of the reasons we put together that segment footnote. And I would really yeah. I think that's what you're doing, Russell.

Speaker 2

If you're not, I would I would encourage you to just look at that note. Was just trying to get the number in front of me towards the end of the footnote from number 16. And I think that really is my best answer to your question is when we break the business down to the scours, to the mastitis and to the other. The other is very small. The mastitis is the retain, and that's the one that we are actively seeking, you know, strategic options to to cover that big that big expense.

Speaker 2

And then the scour stand alone is just what the business would be without the other two categories, just purely the the the scours business.

Speaker 1

Well, I think there's a lot of value here is what I'm driving at. And that you've been investing quite a bit of product development capital here, which detracts from the EBITDA of of the kind of existing core business, all of which shareholders approved. And I think we're all excited to see a you know, so, you know, the new product come to fruition for Mastitis. So any update on that? I guess you got it in the press release.

Speaker 2

I'm glad you touched on that because, yeah, I I pointed to that segment footnote. That's fair. I also we always fully disclose depreciation because it's huge, and it won't affect that EBITDA. And it is it is a big piece of that product development spend. But then, you know, we've touched on it more in the press release than in our script, but the investigational product use is really a new development, a really important development.

Speaker 2

You know, we're all frustrated by not able not being able to achieve that FDA license yet. And there's things that we can control and things that we can't. And we're frustrated, can't control. It really is hung up right now based on the need for our contract manufacturer to clear inspection. And it would be horrible if we because that was the end of the story.

Speaker 2

But what the the new piece of the story is this investigational use. While it won't generate revenue, getting the product out to market right now, right in the next few months, through the balance of the year, the sales team is going to do a really good job of getting product in in getting customer feedback. And that's what investigators do on product use is. It's it's a way that the FDA creates a little bit of flexibility. You we we are not granting you the license yet, but we're giving you the ability to get market feedback.

Speaker 2

So that's a big step, and I wish we had the bigger step, which is just full commercial sales and FDA approval. We simply don't, and this allows us to move forward to test this product that, you know, hasn't been tested since in cows since efficacy trials years ago. So we'll be looking forward to reporting on those results. You know, it'll it'll start late second quarter, into third quarter, and have some results around year end as far as, you know, outside of the lab and on a commercial dairy. How does the product perform?

Speaker 2

Well, congrats on the on the

Speaker 1

six months of performance, the opportunities ahead, and the perseverance over many years, and good luck going forward.

Speaker 2

Hey, Russ. Tim's got one point for you on on on this is

Speaker 1

a good one that I missed. Yeah. Just just wanted to mention, you know, when you were thinking about EBITDA and the full year estimate when you're in your I would consider that Q1 is a seasonal high. I'm not going to quantify exactly, you know, relative to other quarters, but there is seasonality to that.

Speaker 2

We do have to watch that. Yeah. And I would add to Ethan's right, but also that backlog mitigates mitigates a little bit of that seasonal bump because we're right now, we're just selling almost everything that we we we make. So, yeah, going forward, that q one is always gonna be the high season. And going forward, we're not gonna have a backlog.

Speaker 1

Okay. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Awesome.

Operator

The next question from Jane Lincoln, Private Investor. Please go ahead.

Speaker 3

Hey, Mike. It's Bruce of Jane. First, we want to congratulate you and the company on a really, really nice quarter. Questions. What's the difference between that you could investigate this and the product or or and and and and approval?

Speaker 3

What how come we can investigate it, but it's not approved?

Speaker 2

Well, the biggest difference is it's not commercial sales, so it's not a revenue initiative. It doesn't generate revenue, but it is it's similar in that we're gonna dose we're gonna deliver product to cows whether on the investigational status without license or under, you know, commercial approval with a license. We're going to put retain in the cows and track data. So the real difference is because of the inspectional issues at our CMO, we don't have a license. We're not going through distribution, typical sales where you just move out a lot of product.

Speaker 2

We really wanted to do something like this anyway, even with license. We had previously referred to it as a controlled launch. We weren't going to just mass market a novel practice changing product like this through distribution. And we're going to handhold, and this just gives us the approval to start those studies to deliver that product and gather that data while the final stages of that FDA license and approval are in still in process.

Speaker 3

Thank you. At this point, with this quarter, the the the great results of this quarter, at this point, we would stop having to sell common shares because the company is profitable?

Speaker 2

It's certainly a factor. It's certainly a factor, Bruce. We monitor that closely. I'd like to refer to the ATM as we're opportunistic. So that means you sell certain shares at certain prices and you consider your long term capital needs even beyond just our profitability, debt obligations, our CapEx desires slash almost obligations, obligations to grow.

Speaker 2

But you saw it's very active. You can see this both in the MD and A discussion and in the subsequent event. You can see that during 2024, when we needed to be, we were very active. And more recently, we've been less active. So we just have a lot it's a great tool to to be because of its flexibility.

Speaker 2

And I I I I think we just continue to watch that going forward and and consider all those capital needs beyond just operating expenses. But, you know, because of that, as you said, debt and CapEx and growth and, yeah, less recently and more back in '24 when we with in the deep of the contamination and really, really was very, very essential and productive for us.

Speaker 3

So at at this point, you would look at numbers that were, you know, you know, higher than $5 or whatever?

Speaker 2

Right. A lot of that '24 money went out in the $3.50 to $3.70 range, which is, you know, was needed cash, but the trade off was unwanted dilution. But, yeah, look at that subsequent event now, you can see the activity is much, much, much smaller as I think appropriate to where we stand today.

Speaker 3

Right. It seems as as the company gets more and more profitable that the the needs other than really far out unless the the, you know, the the stock would really skyrocket would be necessary at this point.

Speaker 2

I would I definitely agree.

Speaker 3

And would you you know, as as again, as Retain, you know, gets approval and you're no more contamination, at at some point, would you look to maybe project into the futures, the few you know, what what the company expects to do so that people have an idea of what's going on? You know, or what you anticipate to go on.

Speaker 2

Yeah. Extremely difficult to do with retain. It's it's a practice changing. It moves the mass status paradigm. It's a whole new thing.

Speaker 2

So very hard to do with retain. And I think the track record on First Defense is the better indicator. Mean, we're going to talk we talk a lot about our production capacity. We talked about getting doubling from 15,000,000 or 16,000,000 to 30 or 30 plus. We do talk a little bit about the desire to get capacity up to 40,000,000.

Speaker 2

So some of those projections come from just, you know, we have a we have a hope and we have a a projection, so we build capacity to meet that. But at the same time, we don't have the benefit of one or two or any financial analysts that could kinda help us on those projections and and make those projections with with us. So is this small company has stepped without an analyst suspect to timely as as one of the questionnaires that said was that George? Yeah. Anyway, that early I think we will stick with that early announcement on the top line because we know that quick after the end of the quarter.

Speaker 2

And that we're hesitant to get more deeper into projections because it's just subject to change. And we know one thing about projections is they're always wrong, and it's just either high or low.

Speaker 3

Right. No. No. Listen. You guys are, you know, at this point, you're doing a wonderful job.

Speaker 3

Congratulations. I was just looking more into the, you know, into the future as opposed to, you know, not tomorrow, obviously. Or

Speaker 2

Yeah. Okay.

Speaker 3

But it as as you get a handle on retain and look, you know, the companies come out and they do conservative projections. And usually usually, it's it's what you said was, you know, working with the analysts, usually, some it appears that the analysts looks to the companies more than the companies look to the analysts.

Speaker 2

Yeah. And I think it's something it's certainly been our objective for years. We haven't succeeded. So we'd love to have that inter interactive collaboration if if that's that's missing for me so right now that that third party financial analyst.

Speaker 3

Well, I would

Speaker 2

We're we're collaboratively, as you said. Yeah.

Speaker 3

Right. And and as you you know, as the company grows, it becomes more profitable profitable and more people follow you. Hopefully, one of the one of the institutions will, you know, will either follow you because they own it or one of the other services, you know, Motley Fool or something. Maybe they would, you know, maybe you you know, maybe somebody like that with us start with with you guys. Alright.

Speaker 3

Well, listen. Thank you very much. Congratulations to you

Speaker 2

and No. That makes sense, Bruce. Thanks for your thoughts. Yeah. I'm with you.

Speaker 3

Alright. Be safe and healthy, and good luck to everybody.

Speaker 2

Alright. You. See you. Bye. Enjoying the rest your day.

Speaker 2

Thanks.

Operator

Again, if you have a question, please press and one. This concludes the q and a session. I would like to turn the conference back over to mister Diaz for any closing remarks. Thank you.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Vicky, and thank all of you for participating on today's call. We look forward to talking with you again to review the results of the second quarter ending 06/30/2025 during the week of 08/11/2025. That concludes today's call. Thank you, and have a great day.

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ImmuCell Q1 2025
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