Q1 2026 Firan Technology Group Corp Earnings Call
Speaker #1: I would like to welcome everyone to the FTG Q1 2026 Analyst Call. All lines have been placed on mute. There will be a question and answer session following the call.
Speaker #1: If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press the pound key.
Speaker #1: Please note that this call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Brad Bourne, President and Chief Executive Officer of FTG.
Speaker #1: Mr. Bourne, you may proceed.
Speaker #2: Thank you . Good morning . I'm Brad Bourne , president and CEO of Firan Technology Group Corporation , or Ftg Also on the call today is Drew Knight , our chief financial officer Before we go any further , I must caution you that this call may contain forward looking statements .
Speaker #2: Such statements are based on the current expectations and management of the company and are inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties . Known and unknown , including economic factors and the company's industry generally .
Speaker #2: The preceding list is not exhaustive of all possible factors , such forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual events , and results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward looking statements made by the company .
Speaker #2: The listener is cautioned to consider these and other factors carefully when making decisions with respect to the company, and not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Speaker #2: The company does not undertake and has no specific intention to update any forward looking statement statements , written or oral that may be made from time to time , by or on its behalf , whether as a result of new information , future events or otherwise .
Speaker #2: We are off to a great start in 2026. We had record first quarter revenues, earnings, and backlog, with some strong end market demand tailwinds offset by a big swing in the Canadian.
Speaker #2: To US exchange rate . That was a bit of a headwind . More specifically , in our first quarter of 2026 . Ftg accomplished many financial goals , including our bookings were 60 million , marking a 17% increase over Q1 2025 and a book to bill ratio of 1.27 to 1 .
Speaker #2: Our quarter end backlog stood at 157.9 million , an 11% rise from the previous year end . Our revenue was 47.3 million at 10.3% increase over Q1 2025 .
Speaker #2: Our adjusted EBITDA was $7.3 million, down from $8.4 million in Q1 last year. Our adjusted net earnings were $3.5 million, up from $3.3 million in Q1 last year.
Speaker #2: We generated strong free cash flow of $4.9 million in the quarter. We maintained a strong balance sheet with net debt of $4 million, or only 0.1 times.
Speaker #2: Trailing 12 month EBITDA , including 9.9 million of government loans Other accomplishments in our first quarter included . After FDG has qualified for two significant classified defense programs last year , initial orders have been placed for these programs in Q1 , and deliveries are expected to take place in Q3 this year and beyond FDG Aerospace Calgary , formerly flight , achieved record profitability in Q1 2026 .
Speaker #2: The newest site of FTG continues to benefit from last year's efforts to obtain certifications, sell its existing product portfolio, and the rebuilding of licensing revenues related to their Satcom radio for Airbus in Q1 2026. Deliveries to China's C919 program continued.
Speaker #2: In addition, deliveries to the new De Havilland Canada 515 aerial firefighting aircraft started to ramp up. More deliveries on both programs are expected for the remainder of 2026 and beyond.
Speaker #2: FTG is proud to support the Artemis mission around the Moon by supplying switch interface panels to the Orion spacecraft. Although SpaceX represents a small portion of FTG’s business, space is a growing sector and FTG has activities with other customers in this area. We continue to strengthen our team and improve our bench strength with new site leadership in our Chatsworth facilities.
Speaker #2: Drew will provide more details on Q1 2026 results shortly Let me turn to some external items . Our end market remains strong Airbus is targeting 870 aircraft deliveries in 2026 , up about 10% from 2025 , but more importantly , they're looking to ramp to over 1000 aircraft annually in the next few years .
Speaker #2: Airbus has a backlog of over 1,000 aircraft on order at Boeing. They shipped 600 planes last year, up from 348 the year before.
Speaker #2: Looking forward , Boeing has plans to ramp their production to over 800 planes annually in the next few years . Boeing's backlog is about 6000 points , so over a decade's worth of orders at their current production rates , it has become clear that Airbus is outperforming Boeing in the air transport market in terms of aircraft shipped , and they hold a 60% market share based on order backlog .
Speaker #2: This does have implications for Ftgs plans going forward , and the business jet market . Bombardier reported high single digit high single digit shipment increase for last year They are also pushing hard to add defense component to their business , and have had some success to date in selling their business jets for defense applications , including to the Canadian military .
Speaker #2: In the helicopter market, Bell Helicopter reported a 20% revenue increase last year, driven by an increase in defense programs. All of this bodes well for us as we look to future demand in the coming years.
Speaker #2: U.S. defense spending , including supplemental funding requests , is expected to increase , going forward . The budget request in the US for next year is for a 50% increase in spending to about $1.5 trillion .
Speaker #2: There are new commitments from all NATO members, including Canada, to ramp up defence spending to 3.5% of GDP, with another 1.5% for defense infrastructure. Canada increased their defense spending last year to 2% of GDP.
Speaker #2: All of this indicates significant increases in defense budgets for all European countries and Canada. The recent creation of the Defense Investment Agency in Canada, to accelerate and streamline future defense procurement activity, is positive for the industry here.
Speaker #2: Looking at the longer term , Boeing's most recent 20 year market forecast for commercial aerospace shows significant long term growth , and it continued to show 20% of all new aircraft deliveries going to China and close to 40% to Asia .
Speaker #2: As has been the case in the recent forecasts, the business jet market has seen traffic recover, in a recent business jet forecast from Honeywell.
Speaker #2: Similarly, predicts growth in this market of 5% this year and 3% annually over the next decade. So, as we have said for many years, FG's goal is to participate in all segments of the aerospace and defense markets as each moves through their independent business cycles.
Speaker #2: It is not often all segments are growing. That seems to be the case now. Beyond this, let me give you a quick update on some key metrics for FDG.
Speaker #2: For our first quarter of 2026, first, as already noted, the leading indicator of our business is our bookings or new orders.
Speaker #2: Our bookings were 60 million in the quarter . This resulted in a backlog of 158 million at the end of the quarter . Even after record Q1 shipments , the Q1 sales were 47.3 million , up 10% over Q1 last year .
Speaker #2: In our Aerospace business, sales were up 12% in Q1 to $17.1 million compared to Q1 last year. Sales in Toronto and Calgary were up.
Speaker #2: Tianjin was flat , while activity in Chatsworth was down in the quarter due to timing of some orders , there were continuing ramp up in C9 one nine shipments in the quarter , as well as assemblies for both Boeing and Airbus .
Speaker #2: The C919 shipments benefited both Toronto and Tianjin, while the other shipments benefited Toronto. Calgary saw a pretty even split in revenues between hardware sales, which were mostly Satcom radios.
Speaker #2: Data sales and licensing revenues on the circuit side of our business, sales in the quarter were $31.1 million, up 8.3% over last year.
Speaker #2: Our strongest growth in the quarter was our site infringed . Fredericksburg , Virginia , which was up over 80% , followed by our Chatsworth site , which was up over 25% in a .
Speaker #2: Tonka had strong demand and was up 11%, while our Toronto facility was flat in the quarter. Overall at FTG, our top five customers accounted for 52.7% of total revenue in Q1 2026.
Speaker #2: This compared to 52.1% last year. Airlines were three of our top 20 customers in the quarter due to the flight acquisition. Also interesting to note, of the top ten customers, six are 6R6R customers shared between Circuits and Aerospace.
Speaker #2: We like to see the shared customers, as it means we are maximizing our penetration. These customers, by selling both cockpit products and circuit boards.
Speaker #2: Given the actions of the new administration in the US , have implementing tariffs , it's also good to see that one of our top ten customers is outside of the US , and this was in China .
Speaker #2: And another seven have some operations outside the US. While on this topic, 72.1% of FTG sales are to US-based customers.
Speaker #2: This includes sales by U.S. sites as well as sales from FTG sites in Canada or China. This compares to 72.2% last year. While sales grew by 10% in the U.S., they also grew by 10% in Asia and by 30% in Canada.
Speaker #2: As we benefited from previous efforts to expand globally, including things like our content on the C919 aircraft in China and acquiring flight with sales globally, sales decreased in Europe by about 5% in the quarter.
Speaker #2: The increase in sales outside the US is helpful in the event of tariffs the US might impose on our non-US based sites.
Speaker #2: Our goal is to continue to grow our non-US revenue for our non US sites in Q1 2026 , 30% of 36% of our total revenues came from our aerospace business , compared to 35% last year I would now like to turn the call over to drew , who will summarize our financial results for our first quarter of 2026 , and afterwards , I will talk about some key priorities .
Speaker #2: We are working on—Drew.
Speaker #3: Thanks , Brad . Good morning everyone . I would like to provide some additional detail on our financial performance for Q1 , starting with revenue and gross margin on sales of 47.3 million .
Speaker #3: Ftg achieved a gross margin of $14.6 million , or 30.9% , in Q1 2026 , compared to 13.3 million , or 31% on sales of 42.9 million in Q1 2025 .
Speaker #3: As such , gross margin rates in 2026 were consistent with prior year . The increase in gross margin dollars is based on top line growth , while the gross margin rate remained flat despite a 1.5 million negative variance in FX and a $400,000 $400,000 of gold variance .
Speaker #3: Offsetting these two anomalies was significant , and due to operational improvements at several sites in the USA and at Aero Calgary Moving on to S , G and sG&A expense was 6.9 million , or 14.5% of sales in Q1 2026 , as compared to $6.7 million , or 15.7% of sales in the prior year .
Speaker #3: The increase of $200,000 during Q1 2026 was primarily due to the acquisition impact of having Aero Calgary for a full quarter, and the remaining increase included Hyderabad, India startup expenses and some corporate admin costs.
Speaker #3: Of the new leadership team . R&D costs for Q1 2026 were $2.3 million , or 4.9% of sales , as compared to 1.6 million , or 3.8% of revenue for 2025 .
Speaker #3: R&D efforts include product and process improvements at the circuit segment , as well as aerospace segment process improvements and product development . Regarding foreign exchange , Ftg is exposed to currency risks through transactions , assets , and liabilities , and foreign currencies , primarily in US dollars .
Speaker #3: The average exchange rate experienced in Q1 2026 was 1.375, as compared to 1.431 in Q1 2025, which equates to a weakening of the US dollar by 4%.
Speaker #3: And this hurts results for Ftg . As noted , adjusted EBITDA , as detailed in the MDA , was $7.3 million for Q1 2026 , or 15.4% of sales , as compared to 8.4 million , or 19.5% of sales for Q1 2025 .
Speaker #3: As noted with gross margins , the year over year comparison of adjusted EBITDA is distorted by 1.9 million due to a 1.5 million impact from FX and a $400,000 impact from the one time gold contract gain in 2025 .
Speaker #3: Absent the FX and gold impact , the adjusted EBITDA would have been $800,000 , improved over Q1 2025 . As a result of growing the top line organically , operational improvements and managing expenses for Q1 2026 , Ftg recorded net earnings of 3.5 million , or $0.14 per diluted share , as compared to 3.2 million , or $0.13 per diluted share , in Q1 2025 .
Speaker #3: The earnings comparison to the prior year was impacted by the same FX rate issue and the one-time gold contract realization. However, this was partly offset by favorable income taxes.
Speaker #3: The effective tax rate for Q1 2026 was approximately 5.2% , as compared to 32.9% in Q1 2025 . The low rate in 2026 relates to tax free profit at business units , with historical tax losses and also prior year tax adjustments .
Speaker #3: Also, Q1 2025 was tax-inefficient, with a few nondeductible losses unable to reduce taxable income in profitable business units. I would like to remind everyone that FTG continues to have substantial tax losses available to offset future income, and the accounting benefit of these losses has not been recognized in our financial statements.
Speaker #3: These tax loss carryforwards are located in both the USA and Canada, and the Canadian losses were recently acquired with the acquisition of Flight in 2024.
Speaker #3: December 2024. Speaking to our financial position, FTG maintains a strong balance sheet, and our net debt position as of Q1 2026 was $4 million, as compared to net debt of $8.3 million as of Q4 2025.
Speaker #3: This leverage ratio represents 0.1 times trailing 12 months EBITDA. Free cash flow in Q1 2026 was $4.9 million as compared to $8.2 million in Q1 2025.
Speaker #3: Capital expenditures were $0.7 million as compared to $0.9 million in Q1 2025. Going forward, we expect CapEx to be closer to FTG's long-term target of 3% of revenue.
Speaker #3: Notwithstanding any significant capacity increases as at the end of Q1 2026, the corporation's primary sources of liquidity totaled $80.5 million, consisting of working capital of $60.4 million and $20.1 million of unused credit facilities.
Speaker #3: FTG has plans to improve cash efficiency and minimize stranded cash in various business units. Accounts receivable days outstanding were 68 at the end of Q1 2026, up from 55 at the recent year-end.
Speaker #3: Due to the timing of a couple of customer payments, inventory days were 111 at the end of Q1 2026, up from 105 at 2025 year-end.
Speaker #3: To address order fulfillment in upcoming months, accounts payable days outstanding were 59 as of the Q1 2026 quarter end, as compared to 58 at the 2025 year end.
Speaker #3: Turning to our outlook Ftgs book to bill ratio for Q1 2026 was 1.27 to 1 . As we enter Q2 2026 with a near record backlog of one , 57.9 million , of which approximately 80% is expected to be converted to revenue in 2026 .
Speaker #3: The new business activities in both the aerospace and defense industries are strong and continue to accelerate. Both the Circuits business and Aerospace business are increasing throughput and winning their share of new customer RFPs.
Speaker #3: Last quarter , we noted the program awards for two substantial classified defense programs . We have since received the opening POS for delivery in 2026 , though these orders are only a fraction of the annualized volume , I should note that Ftgs reported backlog only includes POS received and does not include program awards , with estimated volumes .
Speaker #3: As we approach the midpoint of Q2, we are focused on managing cash flow, improving operational efficiency, and continuing with the Aero Calgary integration, which is already bearing fruit.
Speaker #3: I should note that our complete set of quarterly filings is available on kdrplus.com or on the FTP website. With that, I would like to turn things back over to Brad.
Speaker #3: Thanks , drew .
Speaker #2: Let me delve into some important items for the future of FTG that will continue to build on our accomplishments from last year in Q1.
Speaker #2: This year we will continue to pursue growth in the defense market . As noted previously , we expect defense spending to continue to grow in Canada , the US and NATO We've had some good success on some new classified programs in the US last year , and we are pushing for more new programs this year .
Speaker #2: We are seeing volumes ramp up in many areas , including electronics , for various weapon and electronic warfare systems . Beyond this , we will look for opportunities outside of the US as well .
Speaker #2: The NATO defense budget was about a third of the U.S. budget a decade ago, and it's two-thirds today. So it is definitely a market of interest to us as Canada ramps this defense spending.
Speaker #2: And its commitment to NATO, we're hopeful that it will create new opportunities for FTG sites outside the U.S. After the U.S. and NATO, the next biggest defense market of interest to us is India, and we will.
Speaker #2: And as we get our new site established , there will . There . We will look to capture some market share in this market as well .
Speaker #2: We will look to capture more work in the commercial aerospace market and grow as volumes ramp up. As part of this, we will look for ways to increase our activity with Airbus, as they are the stronger performer right now.
Speaker #2: To do this, we will leverage our Canadian, China, and Indian sites, and we will continue investigating establishing a footprint in Europe.
Speaker #2: Given the uncertainty regarding tariffs from the US , we will look to continue to diversify our revenue streams for a non-US sites . Some of the items already mentioned will assist in this , but it will remain a priority action for us .
Speaker #2: We will increase our sales staff outside the US in 2026 to help drive this growth. Tariffs are now impacting costs in our circuits business.
Speaker #2: This is because a lot of materials used in our manufacturing processes originate outside of North America. The impact is largest for our US sites, but Toronto is also impacted when material shifts via the US to Canada. We estimate the overall cost impact to be in the millions of dollars in 2026.
Speaker #2: We have started to work with our customers to pass these increased costs to them, and the end users. We will continue to take steps to create value from our acquisition of Flight.
Speaker #2: Last year . As of December 1st , we have renamed the business Ftg Aerospace Calgary . As we have amalgamated legally and EFT e.g. the amalgamation was done to possibly enable us to use flight tax losses beyond just our operation in Calgary , but to be clear , we do not have certainty that this will be possible in the Calgary business itself .
Speaker #2: We believe we are now well positioned to have a strong year as a result of our product certification and STC efforts. Last year, we saw strong demand for all three products in our pipeline.
Speaker #2: Looks robust. The licensing revenue on our Satcom radio product has returned and should be consistent going forward. The licensed product ends up on Airbus aircraft, so we know the demand is strong.
Speaker #2: The Edge Plus has the key STCs in place, and with our first delivery behind us, we are quoting many new opportunities in a number of geographic jurisdictions.
Speaker #2: And we're also starting to manufacture this product in our Tianjin plant to enable us to capture margin as well. We expect sales of their weather product to ramp in 2026, with contracts in place with both NOAA and the US and UK Met and England.
Speaker #2: We are looking to manufacture our Satcom radio product in our Chatsworth, California facility in 2026. These actions should enable FTG Aerospace Calgary to become a.
Speaker #2: This is a positive addition to FTG and will further mitigate the risk from US tariffs. We will open our aerospace facility in Hyderabad, India in 2026.
Speaker #2: First, our decision to expand geographically was partly us looking for an insurance policy against anything negative happening to our China operations, but is also partly to expand into a new region with growth potential.
Speaker #2: As we analyzed options , we concluded India is a very cost effective place for manufacturing with and with Prime Minister Modi's making India policy , coupled with significant defense spending .
Speaker #2: It would be an ideal place to operate . We selected Hyderabad as it has an aerospace hub , primarily focused on manufacturing . Unlike Bangor , which is more engineering and software focused , our facility is well underway .
Speaker #2: It now looks like mid-2026 for its completion. In the meantime, we will be sourcing the necessary equipment to be ready to go.
Speaker #2: Our estimated total investment is forecast to be approximately $2 to $3 million. Well, not the original intent. We believe this initiative could also help mitigate any negative impacts from US tariffs.
Speaker #2: We continue to assess possible corporate development opportunities that could fit with either of our businesses. We have a few areas of interest, including establishing a footprint in Europe, growing our presence in India, or expanding our technology in a few areas, with our focus on operational excellence in all parts of FTG. Our strong financial performance last year and in Q1 this year, our recent acquisitions, and our key sales wins support this strategy.
Speaker #2: We are confident we are on a strong long-term growth trajectory. This concludes our presentation. I thank you for your attention.
Speaker #2: I would now like to open the phones for your questions. Angelina.
Speaker #1: Thank you , ladies and gentlemen . We will now begin the question and answer session . Should you have a question , please press the star followed by the number one on your touch tone phone .
Speaker #1: You will hear a prompt that your hand has been raised. Should you wish to decline from the polling process, please press the star followed by the number two.
Speaker #1: If you are using a speakerphone, please lift the handset before pressing any keys. One moment, please, for your first question.
Speaker #1: Your first question comes from Steve Hansen with Raymond James. Please go ahead.
Speaker #4: Yes . Morning , guys . Thanks for the time . Just wanted to ask on the margin profile going forward , I appreciate the commentary regarding the FX and the the gold contract issue .
Speaker #4: Not, not repeating, but as we think about the margin profile here going forward, I think we can all see FX.
Speaker #4: But is there anything else in last year's numbers that we should think about as being headwinds or tailwinds , as we think about the balance of this year for cadence , just around either circuits or aerospace , because the margins were were lower than we had anticipated .
Speaker #4: Thanks .
Speaker #5: Right .
Speaker #2: No , I mean , for sure the , you know , the biggest impact is FX offset by , you know , our standard reality of top line drives , bottom line or top line price margin .
Speaker #2: So if revenue goes up , margin should go up Notwithstanding , you saw a little bit of a hiccup or a little bit of a downturn in Q1 , but there was nothing other , you know , one time related from last year to this year at the margin level .
Speaker #4: Okay . And as we look forward though , is there any other headwinds that we should contemplate ? Brad ? Just trying to think about other things outside of FX .
Speaker #2: No , the yeah . And even on FX , I mean , the biggest impact on us below the margin line . Below the gross margin line .
Speaker #2: But yeah, there's nothing else that I see today going forward.
Speaker #4: Okay . Helpful .
Speaker #2: Steve . Just so I think of it because I know from an operations perspective , you know , our Q1 is always a little bit of a challenge because we have the Christmas holidays and that sort of thing in there .
Speaker #2: And for sure , the holidays had the worst possible timing this year . You know , when when the holidays actually hit , you know , at the beginning of the week or end of the week , or in this case , middle of the week , it just made it really painful in Q1 this year in terms of how to get through the holidays , you know , when the operate , when to shut down so that definitely hurt .
Speaker #2: Q1 this year, more—even more than what we typically see in other Q1s.
Speaker #4: Okay . Helpful . Just on the new program ramp up , it sounds like the first POS are in , which is encouraging relatively low volume , though .
Speaker #4: How should we think about the cadence of that revenue layering in? Is it like this year will be modest and we can expect a bigger pickup next year?
Speaker #2: Yeah , that's exactly true . You know , modest this year will be in the millions of dollars . So it's not it's not tiny , but the real volumes kick in 2027 and beyond .
Speaker #4: Understood . Okay . Helpful . And then just on flight specifically , it feels like the cadence of your of your discussion has changed there .
Speaker #4: It sounds like things are hitting stride . Maybe a little bit sooner than I was thinking . You know , how do you think about sort of the , the pace of your progress there ?
Speaker #4: Both on the sales front and the margin front? It sounds like it is more encouraging than we heard before.
Speaker #3: Yeah .
Speaker #2: It definitely , you know , Q1 this year was great and you know , we are all three products are seem to be well positioned to be successful and to grow this year .
Speaker #2: And I'll give great credit to the team there that everything we wanted to get done last year was done. And, you know, the key for last year was basically get approvals or get STCs.
Speaker #2: So we could sell the product , particularly the W , q a r . That was 100% complete at the end of last year , which was great , great accomplishment , really impressed with all that got done .
Speaker #2: So now we're able to just go , you know , sell this product . That's what we're focused on , you know , on the QA are the Satcom radios been around a long time ?
Speaker #2: So it's just business as usual . But you know , we've had some good orders and we see a good pipeline . And then lastly , on whether a little bit , you know , I can say it's a little bit behind the other two , but notwithstanding that , we existing contracts with NOAA in the US and with UK met in England , these are existing contracts .
Speaker #2: So, this is now about executing on them and converting them to revenue. And that's the key for us. And, you know, if there's anything that we did not do as well as we'd like to last year, but we're all over it.
Speaker #2: This year is getting the production in-sourced into FTP sites. And so, you know, I think I talked about it all last year, but it's now happening.
Speaker #2: So like there are orders in our Tianjin facility to build a R their orders in our Chatsworth facility to build Satcom radios . So , you know , that is further upside that we think we're going to you know , we control that 100% .
Speaker #2: So, we know we're going to convert that this year.
Speaker #4: Very helpful . Thanks .
Speaker #5: Thanks , Steve
Speaker #1: Thank you. The next question comes from Nick Corcoran with Acumen Group. Please go ahead.
Speaker #6: Morning, guys. Congrats on the record quarter.
Speaker #5: Thank you .
Speaker #6: Just on FX, are you able to quantify the rough impact of a $0.01 change between the Canadian dollar and the US dollar?
Speaker #3: Yeah , it's you know , it's definitely transactional is the primary issue . But then it's also as we translate our US operations back to Canadian dollars and we estimate that a 1% change in the FX is about $800,000 .
Speaker #6: So, and then a really strong book-to-bill in the quarter. Sounds like defense was part of the driver of that. Are there any other notable orders that might have hit in the quarter?
Speaker #3: Well , yeah , I guess Calgary . So Calgary further to what Steve had mentioned earlier , Calgary had a strong quarter , but it is a little lumpy .
Speaker #3: And so we did get a decent order. That was a little unexpected. And that definitely made Calgary's quarter a little bit outsized.
Speaker #3: So that’s probably one other thing, other than those two defense programs.
Speaker #6: Great . And then the last question just on flights , the licensing revenue is starting back up . Do you expect that to be relatively flat through the year , or is there a seasonality or timing of orders that we should consider ?
Speaker #2: For sure . It's a little bit uncertain , but the expectation , you know , just based on historic activity , is that it should happen each quarter .
Speaker #2: But no guarantee on that. But, you know, it's just the licensing revenue hits when they need to ship product to Airbus.
Speaker #2: And so the demand at Airbus is there for sure. I think it'll be consistent in every quarter, but it could bounce around a little bit from one quarter to the other.
Speaker #2: We don't control that
Speaker #6: Great. That's a good color. Thanks for taking my questions.
Speaker #5: Okay . Thanks , Nick
Speaker #1: Thank you . The next question comes from Russell Stanley with the beacon Securities . Please go ahead .
Speaker #7: Good morning . Congrats on the quarter . Thanks for the questions . Maybe just first on bookings . Following up , you've got the new programs contributing and you mentioned the Calgary had a had an outsized quarter .
Speaker #7: There . Can you can you talk to what bookings growth look like for for the rest of the business ? I'm not sure you've isolated that out , but any color on that front would be helpful
Speaker #2: No , no I can't run . I , I , I don't have it in , in front of me . You know , what can I say ?
Speaker #2: I mean , the bookings were strong . The book to Bill was strong . And that's , you know , against record revenues .
Speaker #2: So we saw a demand across the company and you know , it's coming on both sides of the business , both commercial , aerospace and defense .
Speaker #2: For sure. There are strong defense bookings in the quarter, and we're still, you know, we're still working on a handful of other new programs.
Speaker #2: So I , you know , without trying to delve down into a site level stuff , I am expecting still , you know , strong ramp in demand , plus some new programs in the coming quarters
Speaker #7: That's , that's helpful . And on those two , the classified programs , I think on the February call , you noted those those programs may , may eventually require multiple suppliers , given the volumes needed by the , by the customer .
Speaker #7: I know it's only been two months since that call, but I'm wondering if you have a firmer sense as to how many other players you may have to share this work with.
Speaker #7: Eventually .
Speaker #5: Yeah
Speaker #2: I think , but I don't have a definitive answer on this . I can say , I think it's generally two , but it could be three , but not more than that .
Speaker #5: Got it. And you know, it doesn't mean.
Speaker #2: It . Also to be clear on this , it doesn't mean if there's three that each one gets a third . It will depend on performance on an initial orders .
Speaker #2: You know, whoever's performing well gets a bigger share. It depends on just existing relationships with the customers. That will determine who gets a bigger share.
Speaker #2: So, you know, for sure our goal is to be getting a bigger share of these programs, not just an even split with whoever the other suppliers are.
Speaker #7: Got it . Thank you . And then just on gross margins , just wanted to clarify your comments around , around the cost inflation from related to the , tariffs on imports from Asia .
Speaker #7: Did you see that evident in this quarter, or are we still waiting to see that filter through to your financials?
Speaker #5: It's
Speaker #2: Definitely in our costs in this quarter . And you know , as I said , we're trying to pass this on to customers .
Speaker #2: We have definitely passed it on to some customers and working with the others . So all of the cost was there . Some of the offset was there as well .
Speaker #8: Got it .
Speaker #7: Thanks for the color. I'll get back in the queue.
Speaker #5: Thanks , Russ .
Speaker #1: Thank you. The next question comes from Steve Hansen with Raymond James. Please go ahead.
Speaker #4: Oh yeah . Thanks , Brad . I just want to come back to the capacity question . I know you've been shuffling some work and trying to create space effectively .
Speaker #4: You know , where do you feel like you're at today ? Do you have any constraints you suggested you're still examining some new programs , but you've also got to contemplate the ramping of your existing base load .
Speaker #4: So , I mean , how do you feel about the capacity situation today ? I think you described some some good progress at Fredericksburg and a few other sites , but just where do we sit today ?
Speaker #4: Thanks .
Speaker #5: Yeah .
Speaker #2: That's a good question . So , you know , last year in total , we shipped 191 million . I'd say our available capacity across FTC , across Ftgs , north of 250 .
Speaker #2: So we have some room to grow . And that's based on capacity . Capacity is described as plants and equipment capacity . You know , if we're running the plants with the equipment we have 24 hours a day , seven days a week .
Speaker #2: We get north of 250 to get there , we need to add people . And so that's what the focus has been , you know , get people in the door and keep the equipment running more hours a day .
Speaker #2: So that's the good news . You know , it's not we don't need to spend money to get at that capacity . We just need to , to get people in and trained .
Speaker #2: That limits our growth rate . It doesn't limit our total capacity . The the one exception on capacity is circuits . Toronto . You know , they are running 24 over seven .
Speaker #2: You know , as I noted in my in my remarks , that Circuit Toronto basically was flat year over year . So they're , they , they need to add some actual equipment capacity to , to grow .
Speaker #2: But we're doing that . And you know , guy running that site has put together a plan and , you know , good news in manufacturing , generally when you run out of capacity , it's in 1 or 2 areas in the plant .
Speaker #2: It's not in every , every area . It's basically where your bottlenecks are . So we've put together a plan where we're going to expand the areas where we have the bottlenecks .
Speaker #2: And for about a $5 million investment this year, we'll add $20 million of capacity, or north of $20 million. So that's happening.
Speaker #2: And it's underway . So , you know , and I believe that that will happen . So that will get us additional capacity that we will immediately take advantage of because we need to .
Speaker #2: And then lastly , of course , you know , building out a facility in Hyderabad , India , this is on the cockpit product side of things that that's going to add about .
Speaker #2: You know, a facility with about a $20 million capacity. Obviously, we're not going to do $20 million out of the gate.
Speaker #2: But based on the size of the facility and the equipment set, you know, we can add another 20. So we're...
Speaker #2: Taking steps right now to , you know , get at the existing capacity and then add further capacity for both our businesses . So I'm , you know , we need to focus on it , but it's not a constraint for our growth
Speaker #4: Okay . Very helpful . That's great color . And just one more for me , just to follow up is on the corp dev side .
Speaker #4: You referenced , I think three priorities that you're looking at Europe , India , and technology . How do you rank order ? Those ?
Speaker #4: It sounds like Europe was first , but I mean , is that really the priority ? I mean , how do you think about the different buckets of opportunity and how how far along are you or how does the pipeline look ?
Speaker #4: And maybe those different buckets as you see it today?
Speaker #5: Yeah .
Speaker #2: That is correct . You know , for sure . My number one choice is Europe . And you know , for sure at this point I am much more knowledgeable about a lot of different factors in looking at Europe .
Speaker #2: But you know , what's the right perspective , you know , does it matter ? EU countries , not EU countries . Does it matter ?
Speaker #2: NATO countries , not NATO countries . Does it matter ? Low cost versus high cost ? Does it matter for labor laws ? All these things matter .
Speaker #2: So that kind of reduces your set of opportunities . And then , you know , obviously you also get to only look where there might be something available .
Speaker #2: So there's got to be an existing company . And so I know all of that . I know what I'm interested in . And so we're working it , you know , you also need someone who's willing to talk .
Speaker #2: And that's kind of the next item for me . So , you know , no announcement this week , but it's , you know , priority for me to continue to work this and see if we can get a footprint in Europe for all the reasons we talked about .
Speaker #2: And I don't think I said it all today , but you know , why is Europe of interest ? Three reasons . First , one , Airbus is there and I'd like to do more with Airbus .
Speaker #2: Second one , defense spending is ramping faster in Europe . So that's another reason . And third one you know there's not a risk of tariffs in Europe .
Speaker #2: So for all these reasons, it's of interest to me. And I'm working on it. But as I say, you gotta find someone to dance with.
Speaker #2: And that's next on the list . But I wouldn't rule out other things . You know , as I say , we're we're building out our facility in India for cockpit products .
Speaker #2: We have an option on the land next door , you know , could that be , you know , build out a circus facility ?
Speaker #2: It could be for sure . It's not underway . It's not planned . But it's an option . I have . So , you know , that's a consideration .
Speaker #2: And so , you know , what's going on . And and and there are , you know , incoming opportunities . And I'm trying to not get distracted on , to be fair , it's , you know , easy sometimes to react to the incoming opportunities .
Speaker #2: But I'm trying to stay focused on what I think is most important for FTG on this topic right now.
Speaker #4: That's a good color. Thanks. The time.
Speaker #5: Okay. Thanks, Steve.
Speaker #1: Thank you. There are no more questions at this time. I will pass back the call to Mr. Bradbourn for any closing remarks.
Speaker #1: Please go ahead, sir.
Speaker #2: Thank you . A replay of the call will be available until May 11th at the numbers listed on our press release . A replay will also be available on our website in a few days .
Speaker #2: I thank you all for your interest and participation. Thank you.
