Ispire Technology (ISPR) 2026财年第四季度业绩电话会议：随着马来西亚产能爬坡，营收实现回升

核心要点

• 2026财年第四季度营收同比增长33%，环比增长43%，达到2670万美元，表明需求有所回升且生产活动增加。
• 季度净亏损由上年同期的1480万美元收窄至1380万美元，调整后EBITDA亏损由440万美元改善至230万美元。
• 2026财年营收由1.275亿美元下降至9600万美元，主要归因于美国大麻雾化硬件销量下滑、欧洲自有品牌产品销售疲软，以及除中国以外的亚太地区业绩略有下滑。
• 全年不含信用损失的运营费用同比下降37%至2420万美元。经营活动所用的现金净额由740万美元改善至56.9万美元。
• 管理层预计2027财年将是Ispire旗下马来西亚自营工厂全面投产电子烟与尼古丁袋的第一个完整财年，商业机会预计将在未来三至六个月内趋于成熟。
• IKE Tech正在寻求包含年龄验证、产品防伪和合规技术方面的合作伙伴关系。管理层还预计IKE可能在2027财年期间实现流动性事件（独立于监管授权），但未提供更多细节。

主要财务业绩

业务与运营表现

马来西亚市场是Ispire 2027财年增长战略的核心。该公司于2026年3月获得了电子烟尼古丁制造许可证，并于2026年5月获得了尼古丁袋生产许可证。尼古丁袋生产于6月启动，而OEM和ODM客户的试运行、首批订单及部分复购订单已相继落地。

管理层表示，马来西亚第二工厂可容纳多达73条生产线。据该公司称，多班制运转的自动化生产线可提供数亿件的产能。目前的投资涵盖了计划中的自动化、基础设施和员工扩张，而非超出原计划的产能。

不同客户群体的兴趣存在差异。大型烟草公司总体上专注于尼古丁袋生产，而中国电子烟品牌和制造商则在探索中国境外的生产。管理层表示，有几项合作机遇可能会在2027财年发展为商业协议。

IKE Tech正被打造成一个适用于受监管尼古丁市场的消费端年龄验证、产品防伪及合规平台。具备优化用户体验特性的IKE 2.0计划于秋季推出。管理层透露，已与每家具备获批电子尼古丁传送系统（ENDS）设备的公司进行了讨论，其中部分对话正朝着潜在的试点评估方向推进。

G-MESH也继续吸引着全球烟草公司及其他国际品牌的兴趣。此外，Ispire正在评估对颠覆性技术的选择性投资，在这些领域，其资金、制造能力、监管合规基础设施或全球关系优势能够发挥积极作用。

管理层展望

管理层将2027财年描述为在马来西亚生产、电子烟ODM、尼古丁袋、IKE Tech和G-MESH支持下实现实质性增长与变革的潜在之年。然而，公司未提供关于营收或盈利能力的定量业绩指引。

来自马来西亚的订单预计将在未来两个季度内趋于成熟。管理层预计在三至六个月内将对2027财年的营收运行率具备更清晰的预见性。

公司预计剩余的历史应收账款冲销将在2027财年期间基本得到解决，几乎不会遗留到后续年份。管理层认为，完成这项清理工作并结合基础运营的改善，将有助于Ispire实现GAAP扭亏为盈。

风险与关注重点

• 由于存货减值，第四季度毛利率降至6.3%，而2026财年的盈利能力也受到了产品组合及存货跌价准备增加的影响。
• 信用损失居高不下，本季度为920万美元，全年为2070万美元。应收账款和营运资金的清理工作尚未完成。
• 对马来西亚制造工厂的计划性支出可能会使管理层难以给出实现正向现金流的具体时间表。
• 马来西亚的商业化扩产仍处于早期阶段。客户订单通常从较小规模开始，管理层预计只有在再过三至六个月后才能获得更清晰的营收预见性。
• IKE的组件PMTA仍处于FDA审查之中，监管授权的时间和结果仍存在不确定性。

分析师问答要点

关于PMTA流程，管理层表示IKE已就其模块化年龄限制技术与每一家持有获批ENDS设备的公司进行了讨论。部分讨论已转向潜在的试点评估，Ispire认为可能会与一两家参与者形成补充性PMTA路径。管理层预计更多信息可能会在几周或几个月内显现。

关于FDA的时间安排，管理层表示Ispire了解其申请在审核队列中的位置，并相信该过程可能会在未来几个月中带来积极进展。管理层将审核环境加快归因于早期PMTA积压件的清理以及监管机构效率的提高，但尚未给出正式决定的日期。

关于马来西亚业务，管理层确认电子烟客户已完成试运行、交付了首批订单，并在某些情况下追加了订单。尼古丁袋生产于6月启动，也已产生复购订单。大型烟草公司对尼古丁袋展现出更大兴趣，而对电子烟ODM的需求则主要来自寻求出海生产的中国品牌和制造商。

业绩电话会议完整文字记录

完整财报电话会议逐字稿

管理层陈述

Operator

Good morning and welcome to Ispire Technology Inc. fiscal fourth quarter and full year 2026 earnings conference call. Please note that today's event is being recorded. [Operator Instructions]

I would now like to turn the conference over to James Carbonara with Hayden Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

James Carbonara

Thank you, Operator. Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that this conference contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, in this announcement are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by the company in terms of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions, and expected future developments, as well as other factors that the company believes are relevant. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown uncertainties, and many factors could cause the company's actual results or performance to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding this and other risk factors are included in the company's filings with the SEC. The company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent or current events or circumstances or changes in expectations, except as may be required by law. I will now turn the call over to Steven Przybyla, President of Ispire Technology Inc.

Steve, you may begin.

Unknown Speaker

Thank you, James. As we look at the fourth quarter and fiscal year, I want to start with what we believe is the most important takeaway. Ispire has reached an important inflection point in its turnaround. We began this turnaround a little over 1 year ago with clear objectives: shore up the balance sheet, reduce the cost structure, address legacy issues, and build a foundation for a more focused and sustainable business, while advancing key growth catalysts. That work has not always been visible in the headline revenue numbers, but it has fundamentally changed the company, and we are now beginning to see that work reflected in the financial results. Fourth quarter revenue was $26.7 million, up 33% year-over-year and 43% sequentially. Cash also increased sequentially. At the same time, operating expenses remained substantially below where they were 1 year ago. For me, that combination is important: we are seeing improving revenue momentum against a much leaner cost structure and a stronger balance sheet.

There's still work to do. The financial cleanup is not completely finished, and we remain disciplined around receivables and working capital. I believe we are much closer to the end of that process, and we expect the remaining legacy account receivable write-offs to be substantially addressed during fiscal 2027, with little or no carryover into following years. Completing that process, along with the underlying business's continued improvement, positions us to achieve positive GAAP earnings. The first major catalyst in this turnaround is Malaysia. Fiscal 2027 will be our first fiscal year of vapor and nicotine production at our company-owned facilities in Malaysia. Recall, we obtained our nicotine manufacturing license for vapor products in March of 2026, and the license to produce nicotine pouches in May of 2026. This is important not only because of the additional production capacity, but because Malaysia changes both the economics of our manufacturing business and the markets we serve. We are seeing strong interest from Chinese brands looking to diversify and move production outside of China.

We also have recent visits to our facilities from major global tobacco companies. And I hope to announce the positive results of 1 such very recent visit in the near term. We believe the combination of our manufacturing capabilities, regulatory infrastructure, and Malaysian footprint gives us a differentiated proposition for brands looking for a reliable production partner. Our expectation is that several of these opportunities will mature and translate into commercial agreements during fiscal 2027. We are excited about Vapor ODM as well. The objective here is straightforward: Expand our customer base by allowing brands to leverage our manufacturing capabilities and product expertise without having to build that infrastructure themselves. We believe the combination of Malaysia, ODM, and our existing manufacturing platform can create a meaningful new source of revenue while also increasing utilization of our facilities. Another major area of opportunity is our technology joint venture, IKE Tech.

IKE is developing into a broader technology platform focused on age verification, product authentication, and compliance for regulated nicotine markets. We believe these capabilities address a growing need among regulators, manufacturers, and brands. We are actively pursuing commercial partnerships with large international brands and manufacturers. IKE 2.0, which includes significant improvements to the user experience, is also scheduled to launch this fall. We have made meaningful progress on the regulatory front as well. I have personally participated in 4 meetings with the FDA and Health and Human Services over the past 6 months, including a June 15th meeting with FDA's acting commissioner. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The agency wants point-of-use age gating and applauds our technology. These discussions have reinforced our view that the need for this type of technology is real and growing on a global basis daily. Our component PMTA remains under review, but our strategy is broader than any single regulatory pathway.

We are continuing to develop both age-gating and product authentication technology platforms, pursue additional regulatory and commercial paths, and build relationships that can create value independent of any particular regulatory timeline. We also see a potential path to a significant liquidity event involving IKE during fiscal 2027 that would be separate from regulatory authorization. We are not yet in a position to provide additional detail, but we do expect to have more to say as these discussions develop. Beyond IKE, G-MESH continues to generate interest from leading global tobacco companies and other major international brands. We believe the technology has the potential to meaningfully differentiate the products we can offer and create additional opportunities within the global nicotine market. And finally, we are looking beyond the business and technologies we have already announced. We are evaluating several transformational investments in disruptive technology.

We are being highly selective, but we believe there are opportunities where investment could materially expand Ispire's value proposition and accelerate our evolution into a technology-forward company. Specifically, I want to emphasize that we are looking for opportunities where we believe our capital, manufacturing expertise, regulatory infrastructure, or global relationships can create a meaningful advantage. When we look ahead, we believe fiscal 2027 will be a year of fundamental growth and change. We will have our first year of full vapor nicotine pouch production in Malaysia. We expect major new commercial relationships to develop. We begin the transition of our branded products to Malaysia and work towards materially improving the economics of that business. IKE Tech will have several commercial and technology milestones ahead, and we expect G-MESH and other proprietary technologies to create additional opportunities.

Most importantly, we are entering this period with a much stronger foundation than we had 1 year ago: a leaner cost structure, a cleaner balance sheet, increasing manufacturing capabilities, and multiple paths to growth. Our job now is execution. The fourth quarter was an important first step in demonstrating the turnaround is working. Fiscal 2024 is about taking that momentum and building the next version of Ispire. I will now turn the call over to Jay Yu for a more detailed review of our financial results. Jay?

James Carbonara

Thank you, Steve. For the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, 2026, Ispire Technology Inc. reported a revenue of $26.7 million, an increase of 33% year-over-year and 43% sequentially, compared with $20.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 and $18.7 million in the prior quarter. The increase reflects improving demand across the business and increased production activity as we entered the new fiscal year. Gross profit for the quarter was $1.7 million, and the gross margin was 6.3%, compared to $2.5 million and 12.3%, respectively. The decline in gross margin was the result of inventory impairment recognized in Q4. Total operating expenses excluding credit loss were $6 million, down 28.6% year-over-year from $8.5 million, and up a modest 2.3% sequentially from $5.9 million in the March quarter. The year-over-year decline reflects the continued benefits of a leaner operating structure and the disciplined expense management. With our cost base now substantially lower, we believe the business is increasingly positioned to leverage revenue growth and scale to drive operating improvements.

Credit loss in the first quarter was $9.2 million, down approximately $533,000 or 6.2% year-over-year. The reduction reflects continuous progress in resolving legacy receivables and improving the quality of our balance sheet. As we entered fiscal 2027, we remain focused on disciplined receivables and working capital management as we complete the final stage of the financial cleanup. Net loss first quarter was $13.8 million compared with $14.8 million in the year-ago period, and $9.5 million in the prior quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was a loss of $2.3 million and an improvement of $2.1 million compared to the adjusted EBITDA loss of $4.4 million in the year-ago quarter. The improvement reflects the continued benefit of a leaner cost structure and a greater operating efficiency as we move into fiscal 2027. Turning to our full-year results, for fiscal 2026, Ispire Technology Inc. reported revenue of $96 million, compared with $127.5 million last fiscal year.

The decline was primarily driven by a lower cannabis vaping hardware sales in the U.S. and lower written product sales in Europe, along with a modest decline in our Asia-Pacific business, excluding China. Gross profit was $12.3 million compared with $22.6 million in fiscal 2025, while gross margin was 12.8% compared with 70.8% last year. Declining gross margin was primarily driven by changes in product mix and 1-time increase in our inventory provision during fiscal 2026. Total operating expense excluding credit loss were $24.2 million, down 37% year over year from $38.5 million in fiscal 2025. This reflects the sustained cost discipline we have maintained and a more focused operating structure. We believe we now have a much more efficient cost base, positioning us to translate revenue growth and scale into improved profitability. Credit loss for the full year was $20.7 million, down approximately $1.3 million from $22 million in fiscal 2025. These improvements reflect continued progress in addressing legacy issues.

And we remain focused on maintaining this plan around receivables and working capital management as we complete the financial cleanup. Net loss for fiscal 2026 was $33.2 million, an improvement of $6 million compared with $39.2 million in fiscal 2025. The adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2026 was a loss of $4 million and an improvement of $4.8 million compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $8.8 million in fiscal 2025. The improvement reflects the meaningful reduction in our operating cost structure and continued progress toward a more efficient and scalable business model. We ended the fiscal year with $19.3 million in cash, compared with $24.4 million at the end of the fiscal 2025. Importantly, net cash used in operating activity improved significantly during fiscal 2026. Operating cash used was $569,000 for the full year, compared with $7.4 million used in the fiscal 2025, representing an improvement of $6.8 million year over year.

This reflects the progress we have made in reducing operating costs, improving collections, and addressing legacy working capital issues. With a solid balance sheet, a leaner cost structure, and improved operating momentum, we believe Ispire has reached an important inflection point in its turnaround. The 33% year over year and the 43% sequential increase in first quarter revenue, along with a gross cash balance, providing tangible evidence that the business is moving in the right direction. We, entering fiscal 2027, focused on building on this momentum and converting the foundation we have established into sustainable growth, stronger cash generation, and improved profitability. With that, I will turn the call back to you, Steve.

Unknown Speaker

Thank you, Jay. Our fourth quarter results reinforce the message we started with today. Turnaround is here and now, and we are entering fiscal 2027 from a fundamentally stronger position. We have spent the past year simplifying the business, strengthening the balance sheet, reducing our cost structure, and addressing legacy issues. We've also made significant progress in our operating cash flow, bringing cash use and operations essentially to break even for the full fiscal year. As we enter fiscal 2027, we'll be making significant payments related to our Malaysia manufacturing facility. These are planned investments in capacity that we believe are important for our growth strategy, but they may make it difficult to provide a specific timeline for achieving cash flow positive. The key point is that the underlying cash operating performance has improved substantially. We believe fiscal 2027 can be a defining year for Ispire.

We have fundamentally changed the company over the past year, and we are now in a position to focus on what comes next: bringing new manufacturing capacity online, commercial opportunities into revenue, and advancing our technology platforms towards commercialization. We are excited about what we are building and believe the opportunities ahead have the potential to create meaningful long-term value for our shareholders. And with that, we'll open the call for questions.

Operator

Thank you. [Operator Instructions]

Thank you. And the first question is from the line of Nick Anderson with Roth Capital. Please proceed with your questions.

分析师问答

Nicholas Anderson

Yes, good morning. Thanks for taking the questions and congrats on the quarter. Steve, I just want to congratulate you on the elevation of the role. First from me on the PMTA process, given the platform IKE built just around age gating and the recent approvals we've seen by the FDA, wondering if you could provide any color regarding companies incorporating that technology into supplemental PMTA. Now that companies have seen age-gating as a necessary component to flavored products, have those discussions accelerated at all? Thank you.

Unknown Speaker

Yes, Nick, thank you. I appreciate that. And very topical question on the supplemental PMTAs here. So we at IKE have had discussions with every player that has an authorized ENDS device. Some of those discussions have progressed to a point of potential pilot evaluations. We are seeing also a lot of interest in amending PMTAs to include our modular age-gating technology here. Recall that there's really not a lot of other competitors out there. We believe we're the only 1 with the modular technology that you can drop in and then update your device with here.

So, supplemental certainly are the flavor right now. We believe we've got a pathway to a supplemental with perhaps 1 or 2 players here. Hopefully, we could report more on that in a couple of weeks or months.

Nicholas Anderson

Great, I appreciate that. Second for me on the FDA, after some delays in 2025, we're starting to see an accelerated pace of approvals. Would you say this is more attributable to larger peers pressuring the FDA and its 180-day timeline, or more of a structural move to support products lower on the risk continuum? And just off that, have your expectations in terms of timing on a formal ruling changed at all, given what's happening in the space? Yes.

Unknown Speaker

Yes, great question. I think [ Director Coplow ], who was recently confirmed as the full-time director, gave a speech at GTNF last week where he indicated, you know, applications are moving more quickly than ever. They've committed to a 3-week filing period for new finished product applications. We understand where our application is in the review queue. There are certainly some applications before us and there are certainly some applications behind us. We've done a lot of groundwork to get our application moved up and through the process here, and, you know, we believe in the next several months, you know, we'll see some really good results on that process. And I think FDA's, you know, sort of recent efficiency is due to 2 things. One, they really cleared out the backlog of the millions of PMTAs that were submitted a couple of years ago.

And two, I think [ Director Coplow ] has done a great job here making the organization sort of more accountable and more efficient in terms of being responsive to industry's needs stakeholders and realizing that, you know, enforcement of illicit products also requires a robust lawful market. And it's the agency's job to get authorized products out there for consumers. So, you know, I think a couple of things are at play here.

Nicholas Anderson

Great, that's it for me, I'll pass it on. Congrats again. Thanks, Ben.

Operator

Thank you. [Operator Instructions] The next question is in the line of Owen Bennett with BTIG. Please proceed with your questions.

Owen Bennett

Morning guys, hope all well. I've got a bunch of questions, I'll ask a couple now and pass it on and then come back if there's still time. First quick 1, just on the manufacturing investment, is that for additional capacity beyond what you were planning originally and what will be the capacity when that's done?

Unknown Speaker

Yes, Owen, great question. It is for planned capacity here. We were always going to stage this. You know, our investment was really contingent on getting these licenses, which we secured in March and May, respectively, here. And so automated lines, et cetera, those will be coming into play and really just planned investment in that automation infrastructure and workforce here. In terms of capacity itself, you know, that second factory can fit up to 73 lines. So we don't really view ourselves as having the ability to run out of capacity anytime soon. If you get those automated lines producing the same product in 2 or 3 shifts a day, the capacity is in the, you know, hundreds of millions.

So we believe we've got the ability to scale here as our customer demand scales in.

Owen Bennett

Okay, thank you. And then the second 1 is just, you talk about 27 being a transformational year of growth. I just wanted to understand kind of the possible size of this. So 2 areas I wanted to cover: first is the actual kind of confirmed production out of that facility in Malaysia. And then second is around kind of not already contracted opportunities. So on the first area of that, I mean, what is currently being produced or it's already contracted to begin production and what sort of incremental revenue could that be?

Unknown Speaker

Yes, so we don't want to forecast at this point, right? These licenses are new. We've done pilot runs with several customers. Customers have placed initial orders. We've delivered those orders and we've gotten some reorders from a couple of OEM and ODM customers here on the vape side. And pouch production began in June. We've had some reorders here and we've had some large customers come through. I think that's as deep as I think we'll go in this. I think we will continue to update the market with developments here. My sense is that orders will really start to mature over the next 2 quarters and we'll have a lot better insight to sort of total year run rate, you know, after the next, you know, 3 to 6 months.

Owen Bennett

Okay, thanks, Steve. And then just secondly, on the possible additional content, I'm just wondering kind of how realistic, how confident are you in securing these? And then secondly, I mean, if they are kind of realistic discussions, is this more skewed to the pouch opportunity or the vape ODM side? Yes.

Unknown Speaker

Yes, we've seen interest from both. You know, on the tobacco major side, it's generally been on the pouch business. I think pouch is growing at just an incredible clip and a lot of these organizations have had trouble scaling and keeping up with demand, particularly regional demand here. And then on the vapor side, it's mostly been Chinese brands and Chinese manufacturers looking to offshore production, whether that's based on their customer demands, based on these new regulatory pressures affecting manufacturers and brands in China. The FDA is beginning to inspect Chinese factories in China and sort of getting out of that scrutiny. You know, these are real deals, you know, but they start small and we're growing there and we're proving ourselves. We've gotten some great reorders and some great, you know, feedback from customers on the quality of the product and the efficiency of the product and the price point here.

So, again, I think, you know, over the next 3 to 6 months, that will mature and we'll be able to have a better sense of what the total revenue opportunity is for this year.

Owen Bennett

Great. Thanks, Dave. I'll pass it on.

Operator

Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Thank you. At this time, I'll hand the floor back to management for any closing remarks.

Unknown Speaker

Yes, thank you for taking the time to listen to our earnings call today. This is my first call as the company's president. I think 2027 is going to be really an exciting and transformational year here. We've put a lot of effort into turning this organization around, exerting really strong fiscal discipline, executing on our Malaysian plan. We were gated there by regulatory approvals and we secured those approvals last fiscal year. And so we're very excited to lean into now having these 2 licenses in Malaysia. The inbound interest has been really, really, really exciting. And on the IKE side, I think, you know, fiscal 2027, we'll see a lot of, you know, blockbuster developments on the regulatory side and on the partnership side. A lot of things are brewing right now, and I really look forward to updating the market on those developments as they come.

So thank you, everybody.

Operator

This will conclude today's conference. We disconnect your lines at this time. We thank you for your participation. Have a wonderful day.

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