Velodyne Lidar, Inc. (VLDR) Misses Q1 EPS by 2c, Revenues Beat; Offers FY21 Revenues Mid-Point Outlook Below Consensus

Velodyne Lidar, Inc. (NASDAQ: VLDR) reported Q1 EPS of ($0.14), $0.02 worse than the analyst estimate of ($0.12). Revenue for the quarter came in at $17.7 million versus the consensus estimate of $15.81 million.

First Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights

• Revenue: Total revenue of $17.7 million compared to $17.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Product revenue was $10.6 million compared to $14.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. The overall product revenue reduction reflects a previously discussed decline in unit sales due to Covid-19 and ongoing evolution of product mix. License and Services revenue of $7.1 million included a $5.5 million licensing fee. Total license and services revenue was $3.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• Gross Profit: GAAP gross profit was $1.9 million and non-GAAP gross profit was $2.7 million, compared to a fourth quarter 2020 GAAP gross loss of $5.3 million and non-GAAP gross profit of $2.1 million. GAAP gross profit was reduced by $0.8 million of stock-based compensation expense, including employer taxes, compared to fourth quarter 2020 GAAP gross loss that included $7.4 million of stock-based compensation expense.
• Operating Expenses: GAAP operating expenses of $42.5 million and non-GAAP operating expenses of $28.6 million included increased spending in research and development that is in response to the visibility provided by the company’s multi-year agreement pipeline. Fourth quarter 2020 GAAP operating expenses were $106.1 million and non-GAAP operating expenses were $22.1 million. GAAP operating expenses included $13.3 million of stock-based compensation expense, including employer taxes, compared to fourth quarter 2020 GAAP operating expenses that included $83.8 million of stock-based compensation expense.
• Net Loss and EPS: GAAP net loss was $40.8 million and non-GAAP net loss was $26.1 million. GAAP net loss per share was $0.22 and non-GAAP net loss per share was $0.14. This compared to a fourth quarter of 2020 GAAP net loss of $111.5 million and non-GAAP net loss of $20.1 million. Fourth quarter of 2020 GAAP net loss per share was $0.64 and non-GAAP net loss per share was $0.12.
• Shares Outstanding: EPS for the first quarter of 2021 is calculated using weighted average shares outstanding of 189.2 million. As of March 31, actual shares outstanding were 190.8 million.
• Liquidity: Velodyne completed the quarter with $383.6 million in cash and short-term investments on its balance sheet, which included $89.3 million in proceeds from the exercise of publicly traded warrants.

Business and Financial Metrics

• Units and ASPs: Velodyne shipped a market leading 2,684 sensor units in the first quarter of 2021. The company shipped 65% of its sensors to customers as spot-buys and 35% of its sensors to customers under multi-year agreements. The company also continued its leadership position in solid state sensor sales with more than 600 sensors sold.
• Agreements: 29 total active multi-year agreements as of May 1, 2021, expected to grow to 34 by the end of 2021.
• Pipeline Strength: Velodyne’s pipeline of projects grew to 198 projects at May 1, 2021, up from 131 projects reported at January 1, 2020.
• First quarter 2021 revenue of $17.7 million.
• Full year 2021 revenue guidance of between $77 and $94 million.
• $383.6 million of cash and short-term investments on the balance sheet at March 31, 2021.

Dr. Anand Gopalan, CEO of Velodyne Lidar, commented, “Velodyne Lidar is the leading lidar developer and producer in the world and we have continued our track record of consistent execution with first quarter of 2021 revenue of $17.7 million and our pipeline of projects growing to 198. Our commercial strategy of leveraging our manufacturing scale to seed the global lidar market with our products is working extremely well. This is evidenced both by our strong spot-buy business and the continued conversion of these customers into multi-year agreements. We continue to win in ADAS with new EV entrants and our traditional automotive partners. We are also growing our pipeline, especially in the Robotics & Industrial segments where we see an opportunity to provide hardware+solutions. Twenty-three projects in our pipeline now include software as a component. On the technology front, we continue to innovate and bring forth exciting new technologies and solutions furthering our mission of bringing lidar technology to many applications that can touch everyday lives meaningfully.

“Our focus in 2021 on geographies with strong growth, such as China and the United States, should drive our product based revenues to grow year over year and increase our multi-year agreements to 34 by the end of the year. This is despite the continued impact of COVID-19 in markets such as Europe and India, and the current global supply chain shortages. Our scale as the market leader, our best-in-class breadth of product offerings, and our strong cash position enables us to pivot and capitalize on the best near-term opportunities for Velodyne, while also investing and optimizing for long-term growth.”

GUIDANCE:

Velodyne Lidar, Inc. sees FY2021 revenue of $77-94 million, versus the consensus of $93.76 million.

For the full year of 2021,

• Revenue is expected to range between $77 and $94 million. Velodyne’s revenue comes from a global customer base, to whom the company is actively shipping product. Parts of the company’s served market, such as the US and China, is anticipated to come back and meet the expectations for the second half. Other geographies Velodyne serves, such as Europe, the rest of Asia, and India are impacted more negatively by the continued impact of COVID-19. This compares to full year 2020 revenue of $95.4 million, which included unique one-time items of $11 million in product revenue from a restocking fee and $17.5 million in License and services revenue that came from lump sum licensing activity.
• Non-GAAP Gross margins are expected to be between 16% to 24%. This reflects fewer units sold to cover remaining fixed overhead costs of the company’s factory in San Jose. On a GAAP basis, gross margins will include approximately $2 million of stock-based compensation expense.
• On a non-GAAP basis operating expenses are expected to range between $125 and $129 million. Based upon the visibility provided by the company’s multi-year agreement pipeline, Velodyne is increasing its spend in new product development by approximately 50% in 2021. General and administrative expenses will increase by approximately 30% in 2021 due to increased public company and legal expenses. On a GAAP basis, operating expense will include approximately $83 million of stock based compensation expense that reflect approximately $52 million to be charged against sales and marketing in the second quarter related to Velodyne’s 2020 merger with Graf Industrial.
• On a GAAP basis, income tax expense is anticipated to be approximately $600,000.
• Weighted average shares outstanding for the year are estimated to be 193.5 million.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Velodyne Lidar, Inc. (VLDR) click here.

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