Spectra7 Announces Second Quarter Revenue up 185% Year-Over-Year

Second Half 2021 Revenue Expected to Be in the Range of $4 Million - $5 Million Supported by Current Second Half Backlog of $6 Million

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- (TSXV:SEV) (OTCQB:SPVND) Spectra7 Microsystems Inc. ("Spectra7" or the "Company"), a leading provider of high-performance analog semiconductor products for broadband connectivity markets, today announced financial results for its second quarter of 2021. A copy of the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2021, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and the corresponding management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) will be available under the Company's profile on the Canadian Securities Administrator's SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. All amounts reported are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

Q2 2021 Financial Highlights

• Revenue for Q2 2021 was $0.73 million, representing an increase of approximately 30% from Q1 2021, and an increase of approximately 185% over the second quarter of the prior year. Revenue growth in Q2 2021 remained constrained by working capital and supply issues.
  
  
• Gross margin¹ as a percentage of revenue for Q2 2021 was 59%, representing an increase of approximately 2% over the prior quarter, and an increase of 3% over the second quarter of the prior year.
  
  
• Non-IFRS operating expenses² in Q2 2021 were $1.80 million, up approximately $0.77 million from the prior quarter, and up $0.07 million over the same quarter a year ago. The increase in Q2 2021 was due primarily to annual audit fees, costs associated with the Company's annual shareholders meeting and engineering expenses in support of data center production ramp.
  
  
• EBITDA³ loss was approximately $0.93 million, compared with a loss of $0.57 million in the prior quarter and $1.3 million in the same quarter a year ago.

2H 2021 Financial Outlook⁴

Led by strong data center order backlog and supply availability, the Company expects continued revenue growth for the second half of 2021. Spectra7 currently estimates total revenue in the second half of 2021 will be between $4.0 million and $5.0 million, with sequential increases in both Q3 and Q4⁴. Operating expenses are anticipated to be in the range of $1.6 and $2.0 million per quarter for the remainder of the year in support of the anticipated rapid revenue growth in the second half of 2021⁴.

With this current outlook, the Company anticipates that it will achieve EBITDA³ profitability in Q4 2021⁴.

CEO Q2 COMMENTARY

"We are at the beginning of what I believe will be a sustained revenue growth trajectory in the second half of 2021, leading to expected EBITDA profitability in Q4³.  My confidence in this outlook is supported by record order backlog with our Active Copper Cable technology from major Hyperscaler data center operators," said Spectra7 CEO Raouf Halim. "In the second quarter, we achieved qualification with a major China-based data center operator and began receiving significant orders for production deployment of our PAM4 data center product this year. These positive developments will serve as the foundation of our revenue growth in the coming quarters."⁴ 

Business Highlights

• A major China-based Hyperscaler began placing large volume orders in Q2 for Spectra7-based 200G PAM4 Active Copper Cable (ACC) interconnects.
  
  
• Wandtec, an innovative technology leading interconnect supplier, announced its collaboration with Spectra7 to deliver interconnect solutions for low power, low latency and extended reach, targeted at major datacenter operators and high-performance computing OEMs.
  
  
• On June 11, 2021, the Company announced the closing of its private placement of 4,223,140⁵ units for gross proceeds of approximately $5.23 million (CDN $6.33 million).
  
  
• On June 21, 2021, the Company commenced trading on the OTCQB^® Market in the United States to increase visibility to prospective US investors.
  
  
• Continued to experience gains with its data center solutions with four new customer design-ins in Q2 2021, for a total of 92.

Option and RSU Grants

As announced on July 13, 2021, Ms. Bonnie Tomei, a semiconductor industry veteran, was appointed the Company's Chief Financial Officer. As part of her compensation plan, the board of directors has approved a grant of 100,000⁵ restricted share units and 100,000⁵ stock options, both of which vest over a period of four years. The stock options are exercisable at a price equal to the greater of CDN $1.81 and the closing price of the Company's common shares on the TSXV on August 31, 2021, which is the first full trading day after the issuance of the Company's financial results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2021. The expiry date of the options is August 27, 2026.

In addition, the Company has granted 811,638⁵ restricted share units to the Company's Chief Executive Officer in connection with his long term equity incentive plan for 2020 and 2021.

Appointment of New Investor Relations Firm

Spectra7 announced it has retained Darrow Associates Texas, Inc. ("Darrow") to provide investor relations services to the Company. The primary service provided by Darrow to the Company will be business consultation on investor communications and awareness, arrangement of investor meetings and conferences (the "Services"). Darrow will not promote the specific purchase or sale of securities of the Company.

Darrow has agreed to comply with all applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") in providing the Services. Darrow has been engaged by the Company for an initial period of six months starting August 23, 2021, which engagement may be renewed automatically for successive two-month periods. Darrow will be paid monthly service fees of up to $9,000 and has been granted 24,000 restricted share units. Except for these restricted share units, Darrow does not have any interest, directly or indirectly, in the Company or its securities or any right or intent to acquire such an interest. 

NOTES:

¹ Gross margin is a non-GAAP measure. Refer to "Revenue and Gross Margin" in the Company's interim MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, for reconciliation to measures reported in the Company's financial statements.
² Non-IFRS operating expenses is a non-GAAP measure which includes research and development, sales and marketing, general and administrative expenses and depreciation and amortization for capital equipment and right-of-use assets and excludes share-based compensation expense, non-recurring termination costs, interest and related financing costs, change in fair value of warrant liabilities, foreign exchange gain/loss and gain/loss from property and equipment disposal.
³ EBITDA or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization is a non-GAAP measure. EBITDA excludes share-based compensation, amortization, depreciation, interest, and tax expenses.
⁴ This is forward-looking information and is based on a number of assumptions which includes the current customer purchase orders received, supply outlook and anticipated operational expenditures.  See "Cautionary Notes".
⁵ On August 13, 2021, the Company completed a consolidation of its common shares on the basis of 50 old common shares for 1 new common share. The number of units is presented on a post-consolidation basis.

ABOUT SPECTRA7 MICROSYSTEMS INC.

Spectra7 Microsystems Inc. is a high-performance analog semiconductor company delivering unprecedented bandwidth, speed and resolution to enable disruptive industrial design for leading electronics manufacturers in virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, data centers and other connectivity markets. Spectra7 is based in San Jose, California with a design center in Cork, Ireland and technical support location in Dongguan, China. For more information, please visit www.spectra7.com. 

ABOUT DARROW ASSOCIATES TEXAS, INC.

Darrow Associates Texas, Inc. provides investor relations advisory services and has built its reputation on customer support and developing award winning IR programs for its clients. Darrow operates offices in New York City, Silicon Valley, and Austin. For more information, please visit www.darrowir.com. 

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provided (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTIONARY NOTES

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including, without limitation, the Company's revenue expectations in the second half of 2021, the Company's projection of EBIDTA profitability in Q4 2021, the Company's ability to deliver interconnect solutions pursuant to its collaboration with Wandtec, the renewal of Darrow's contract with Spectra7 for successive periods, and the Company's strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believe", "expect", "aim", "intend", "plan", "continue", "will", "may", "would", "anticipate", "estimate", "forecast", "predict", "project", "seek", "should" or similar expressions or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially include, but are not limited to the risk factors discussed in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2020. Management provides forward-looking statements because it believes they provide useful information to investors when considering their investment objectives and cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law.

For more information, please contact:

Matt Kreps/Jim Fanucchi
Darrow Associates
214-597-8200
ir@spectra7.com

Spectra7 Microsystems Inc.
Bonnie Tomei
Chief Financial Officer
669-212-1089
ir@spectra7.com

Spectra7 Microsystems Inc.
John Mitchell
Public Relations
650-269-3043
pr@spectra7.com

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SOURCE Spectra7 Microsystems Inc.