Velan (TSX:VLN) released fourth-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Friday. Read the complete transcript below.

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Summary

Valens Semiconductor Ltd reported annual sales of $296.4 million for fiscal 2026, with a gross profit margin holding steady at 27.4%.

The company ended the year with a strong cash position of over $53 million and a long-term debt of $18 million.

Strategically, Valens Semiconductor Ltd divested its asbestos-related liabilities and announced the intent of Birch Hill Equity Partners Management to acquire its controlling interest.

The nuclear sector remains a key growth driver, with significant contracts secured, including a $20 million order from Ontario Power Generation.

Fiscal 2027 outlook includes improved operating performance despite global uncertainties, with strong focus on cost discipline and strategic market expansion.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Valens Semiconductor Ltd Q4 Financial Results Conference call. At this time, all lines are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we'll conduct a question and answer session. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press star zero for the operator. This call is being recorded on Friday, May 15, 2026. I would now like to turn the conference over to Rishi Sharma, CFO. Please go ahead.

Rishi Sharma (Chief Financial Officer)

Thank you operator. Good morning. Bonjour. Thank you for joining us for our conference call. Let's start by discussing the disclaimer from our related Investor Relations presentation which is available on our website in the Investor Relations section. As usual, the first paragraph mentions that the presentation provides an analysis of our consolidated results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended February 28, 2026. The Board of Directors approved these results yesterday, May 14, 2026. The second paragraph refers to non IFRS and supplementary financial measures which are defined and reconciled at the end of the presentation. The last paragraph addresses forward looking information which is subject to risks and uncertainties that are not guaranteed to occur. Forward looking statements contained in this presentation are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.. Finally, unless indicated otherwise, all amounts are expressed in US Dollars and all financial metrics discussed are from continuing operations.

Rishi Sharma (Chief Financial Officer)

I now turn the call over to Jim Leinebach, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Valens.

Jim Leinebach (Chairman of the Board and CEO)

Thank you Rishi. Good morning, afternoon or evening everyone. Please turn to slide 4. Valens delivered sound financial results in fiscal 2026 despite a very challenging environment marked by continued volatility in tariffs and more recently the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, negatively affecting our order intake, delivery, supply chain and resulting profitability. Annual sales nonetheless improved year over year to 296.4 million, supported by the global reach of our sales network, our manufacturing operations and our brand equity, while gross profit margin held steady at 27.4%.

Jim Leinebach (Chairman of the Board and CEO)

Meanwhile, our order backlog grew 3.1% to 283.3 million at year end, with just over 76% deliverable over the next 12 months. As anticipated, our backlog is progressively evolving toward a structured that reflects a growing share of long term contracts, particularly in the nuclear and defense sectors. We also concluded the year with a very strong cash position of more than $53 million at year end and only $18 million in long term debt. Fiscal 2026 was also busy in terms of initiatives to create shareholder value.

Jim Leinebach (Chairman of the Board and CEO)

We began the year by closing the sale of our two French subsidiaries and completed the divestiture of our asbestos related liabilities resulting in greater focus of the company's operation and assurance of its future. Moreover, Valens not only removed potential obstacles for pursuing strategic opportunities, but also unlocked significant value, which we partially returned to the shareholders through a special dividend declared earlier in the year. In January 2026, we also announced the Line holdings intent to sell its controlling interest in the company to a Canadian private equity firm, Birch Hill Equity Partners Management. The proposed sale requires securing remaining approvals from certain regulatory authorities. Birch Hill has a proven track record of partnering with Canadian industrial leaders and accelerating their journey to new heights. Birch's business experience and deep access to capital will enable Valens to execute its growth strategy and quicken value creation.

Jim Leinebach (Chairman of the Board and CEO)

We're excited about the prospects of building a new chapter in the company's history, especially since we are well positioned to build our leadership position across a diversified range of industrial markets. Let's examine a few of these strategic markets, beginning with the nuclear sector on slide 5. Nuclear power remains a key growth driver for Valens to the mounting pressure on electric grids and an increasing demand for new, reliable, clean energy sources. Behind 55 years of experience in the nuclear industry, we are among the leading valve suppliers for all reactive technologies. We boast a substantial installed footprint worldwide and unsurpassed technical expertise in the nuclear field. Early in fiscal 2026, we signed a preferred vendor agreement with Atkins Realis, steward of the CANDU nuclear technology. Through this agreement, Valaine will help accelerate refurbishments and new builds of CANDU reactors in Canada and around the world during the year. We also secured an important valve order for more than 20 million from Ontario Power Generation for reactors being restored at Pickering nuclear generation stations. This contract win confirms our leading position in the Canadian nuclear market. The first shipment is scheduled for January 2027, with subsequent deliveries to be completed by the end of January 2028. In addition, a key infrastructure project in Canada under which we secured a main services agreement with GE Hitachi related to the deployment of small modular reactor at Opt Starlings Society has been fast tracked by the federal government. The main objective of the government program is to significantly reduce approval time for project projects of national interest. This bodes well for Valens and the deployment of the first smr. While contract wins contribute to building our order backlog, they'll take time before converting several of them into meaningful revenue due to the size and scope and complexity of the projects in question, but in the meantime we're securing service contracts related to the refurbishment of existing reactors around the world. Turning to defense on slide 6, Milan is firmly entrenched as a leading valve supplier of choice for nuclear propulsion of surface and subsurface vessels. Several NATO naval forces around the world rely on our innovations and customized solutions to help valves withstand the intense demands of harsh marine environments. In light of heightened geopolitical tensions worldwide, we expect defense spending to rise in the coming years as countries seek to safeguard their sovereignty. Similarly, the oil and gas sector has been volatile, with crude oil prices increasing sharply in recent months amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East. While Valens remains balanced regarding geopolitical disputes, we believe meaningful investment will be required in the near term and the medium term to restart idle projects and restore damaged refining and pipeline infrastructure. We stand to benefit from these investments given our growing presence overseas, including through our joint venture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We also expect a steady order flow from North American refineries where we serve a significant share of the market with highly reliable engineered venoms in traditional power generation. The LAND has long been a leading provider of high pressure, high temperature isolation valves for power plants. We remain committed around the world, supporting both aftermarket needs for existing plants and new build projects in North America and in Asia. We are expanding our sales channel to better serve this market while working on new product introductions and innovations that will expand further our offering later in this fiscal year. Turning then to the summary slide on page seven, we're satisfied with our overall performance in 2026. Considered the heightened tensions in the world and the disruption caused by trade issues, LAN is also well positioned to build on its leadership position in key industrial markets during the upcoming year. Our backlog is solid and despite the current global uncertainty, we expect to deliver improved operating performance in fiscal 2027, supported by sharp focus and cost discipline. Finally, the transaction with Burchill is advancing as planned and we expect improvements to be received. Tara Burchell has communicated a long term investment and are fully prepared to supply the necessary support to deliver sustained growth. Based on this vision, one we share, I believe the cultural fit will be seamless with the Valens team and the company will markedly progress its objective to generate long lasting value for its shareholders. Rishi, I turn the call over to you for the financial review.

Rishi Sharma (Chief Financial Officer)

Thank you Jim. Please turn to Slide 9. Our order backlog reached 283.3 million at the end of fiscal 2026, up 8.4 million or 3.1% from a year ago. Excluding positive currency movements, the backlog remained relatively stable, reflecting bookings that were broadly in line with valve shipments during the past year. That said, bookings were Quite strong in Q4 2026 rising 18.8% year over year to $73.7 million, driven by higher nuclear orders in North America combined with greater bookings from our operations in India. These factors were partially offset by lower booking from our German operations. Bookings totaled 295 million in fiscal 2026, up 2.5 million from 2025. The increase reflects higher bookings from our Italian operations, partially offset by lower bookings in our German and Chinese operations which had benefited from a strong order flow in the prior year. Turning to the P&L On Slide 10, fourth quarter sales grew 2.1% to $84.9 million. The increase was driven by higher shipments from our North American, Chinese and Indian operations, partially offset by lower shipments from our Italian businesses due to changes in customer delivery schedules which shifted some sales. Fiscal 2027 Fiscal 2026 sales amounted to 296.4 million, up 1.2 million from 2025. The slight growth reflects higher shipments from our operations in India, China and Korea, partially offset by non recurring revenue of 5.2 million in our German operations in fiscal 2025. By customer geographic location, North America remained our principal market in fiscal 2026 accounting for 49 Asia Pacific represented our second largest revenue generating region with 32% of sales while Europe was third at 11%. Turning to slide 11, gross profit was 17.6 million or 20.7% of sales in Q4 2026 versus 19.8 million or 23.8% of sales in Q4 2025. The variation is attributable to a less favorable product mix that was shipped during the quarter compared to last fiscal year. Fiscal 2026 gross profit was 81.1 million or 27.4% of sales compared to 84.9 million or 28.8% of sales a year ago. In addition, due to a less favorable favorable product mix, the variation also reflects the impacts of tariffs. Administration costs total 18.9 million in Q4 2026 or 22.2% of sales compared to 20.3 million or 24.3% of sales a year ago. The improvement reflects lower compensation expenses and last year's non cash impact of the company's long term incentive plan due to a significant increase in the share price. Fiscal 2026 administration costs amounted to $69 million or 23.3% of sales versus 68.6 million or 23.2% of sales last year. The slight increase mainly reflects higher professional fees and sales commissions, partially offset by cost reduction initiatives and last year's non cash impact just mentioned. Moving to Slide 12, adjusted EBITDA, which excludes restructuring expenses, amounted to 4 million in Q4 2026 versus 3.6 million in Q4 2025. The increase reflects higher other income, mainly due to favorable currency movements and lower administration costs, partially offset by the lower gross profit mentioned above. Fiscal 2026 adjusted EBITDA reached 20.7 million and down from 27.5 million in 2025 due to lower gross profit in Q4 2026. Adjusted net loss was 2 million compared to 4.9 million in Q4 2025. The year over year improvement can be attributed to higher adjusted EBITDA and lower tax expense, including last year's non recurring items. Fiscal 2026 adjusted net income 0.9 million compared to 6.6 million in 2025 essentially due to lower adjusted EBITDA. Turning to cash flows on slide 13, cash provided by operating activities before net changes in provisions was 22.3 million in Q4 2026, up from 7.5 million last year driven by improved working capital. As anticipated, working capital normalized in the fourth quarter following temporary increases in accounts receivable and late stage work in process inventory related to changes in customer delivery schedules which negatively impacted the cash flows earlier this year. As Jim alluded to in his presentation, we closed fiscal 2026 with a strong financial position. The land held cash and cash equivalents of $53.4 million as of February 28, 2026 while long term debt stood at $18.2 million and bank indebtedness at 11.9. This strong cash position, together with available credit facilities, brings our total available liquidity to $102.6 million, providing us with the flexibility to execute strategy by investing in our operations as well as in technology to sustain profitable growth and create long term value for our shareholders. I now turn the call over to the operator for our Q and A session.

OPERATOR

Thank you. At this time, if you'd like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. If you'd like to withdraw your question, press star two. Again, to ask a question, press star one. One moment please. For your first question. Again, if you'd like to ask a question, press the star one. And there are no questions at this time. I will turn the call back over to Jim.

Disclaimer: This transcript is provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, there may be errors or omissions in this automated transcription. For official company statements and financial information, please refer to the company's SEC filings and official press releases. Corporate participants' and analysts' statements reflect their views as of the date of this call and are subject to change without notice.