Shareholder Update Call
The Company is the recording of the shareholder update call from March 29th, 2021 at 12pm EDT. Michael Mo, KULR's CEO; Keith Cochran, President & COO, and Simon Westbrook, CFO, will provide a business update for the Company and answer questions submitted in advance.
Fourth Quarter 2020 Financial Highlights: Fourth Quarter 2020 vs. Fourth Quarter 2019
Raised $8,000,000 of gross proceeds from sale of common stock and warrants.
Increased shareholder equity from a deficiency of $525,612 at September 30, 2020 to a surplus of $6,118,552 by the end of the quarter ended December 31, 2020.
Increase in revenue by 298% compared to the prior year corresponding quarter - mainly reflecting increased aerospace and government business.
Improved gross margins from 48% in the quarter ended December 31, 2019 to 80% in the quarter ended December 31, 2020.
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Fourth Quarter 2020 and Recent Operational Highlights
In March 2021, Keith Cochran joined KULR as President and COO. Mr. Cochran was previously SVP of Global Business Unit at Jabil where he was responsible for the $3.7B smartphone business, and managing over 65,000 employees in US and Asia. Keith brings over 25 years of experience in business operations, supply chain management and large-scale manufacturing automation.
KULR became the official thermal management and battery safety technical partner for Andretti Technologies, the advanced technology arm of Andretti Autosport, founded by Michael Andretti. As part of the alliance, KULR will establish a thermal management testing and design platform for high performance battery solutions with the highest safety ratings specially adapted to the rigorous technical requirements of Andretti's global racing enterprise. Both partners will also focus on co-developing and co-marketing motorsports' battery and safety technologies to automotive partners for mass market EV applications.
We recently strengthened our Board by the appointments of Joanna D. Massey and Morio Kurosaki as directors, contingent upon the Company's common stock being approved for uplisting to a senior national exchange, and expect their involvement to strengthen our corporate governance and strategic direction.
KULR maintains an extensive portfolio of customers in the aerospace industry and our heat management technology was a key part of NASA's Perseverance Rover successful landing on Mars last month, protecting the SHERLOC instrument for its sensitive Mars missions.
KULR supplied NASA with safe storage solutions for the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 hybrid notebook computers used aboard the International Space Station (ISS). KULR included a version of its passive propagation resistant Thermal Runaway Shield (TRS) technology in fireproof storage pouches, which were specifically designed to mitigate the risks of lithium-ion battery fires and explosions while accommodating the restrictive dimensions of the Microsoft Surface Pro 5.
KULR partnered with Airbus Defense and Space to provide KULR's passive propagation resistant (PPR) battery design solutions for ongoing research into lithium-ion battery testing and safety for flight applications.
KULR provided battery safety research and testing devices to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Company's internal short circuit technology will be used in evaluating problems leading to passenger lithium-ion battery malfunctions that can cause smoke and fire incidents aboard aircraft.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that KULR's design solutions can stop fires and explosions in lithium-ion battery packs and provided additional insights on the future of safe battery technology. The report, conducted by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division (NSWCCD) on the Company's battery safety technology, confirmed that KULR's thermal management solutions can prevent cell-to-cell propagation.
Financial Results: Fourth Quarter 2020 vs. Fourth Quarter 2019
Revenues: KULR generated revenues of $208,488 in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020, an increase of 298% compared with revenues of $52,414 reported in the year-ago period. The increase in revenue was mainly due to new orders received for products and engineering services for military and aerospace customers. The Company continues to build its relationships with a wide range of energy, transport and aerospace partners and has billed 25 customers during the year ended December 31, 2020. These additions reflect management's commitment to build new customer relationships through a growing pool of referrals and business development leads.
Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) Expenses: Our SG&A expenses increased to $776,635 in the fourth quarter of 2020 from $414,206 in the corresponding period last year. The 87% increase in SG&A expenses was due to additional marketing and advertising expenses, consulting fees and non-cash stock-based compensation paid to employees and consultants.
R&D expenses: