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Velodyne Lidar Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Financial Results
Feb 28, 2022 | By Velodyne Lidar
  • Sold 4,900+ sensor units in Q4, achieving a quarterly record
  • Shipped 15,000+ sensors in 2021, bringing lifetime total to 67,000+
  • Delivered $17.5 million and $61.9 million in revenue in Q4 and full year 2021; respectively

SAN JOSE – February 28, 2022 – Velodyne Lidar, Inc. (NASDAQ: VLDR, VLDRW), the leading lidar company known worldwide for its broad portfolio of breakthrough lidar technologies, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2021.

Fourth Quarter 2021 Highlights

  • 4,900+ sensor units shipped, including 900+ solid state sensors, bringing the 2021 total to 15,000+ sensors shipped, 2,400+ of which were solid state sensors
  • $17.5 million in revenue, up 34.3% compared to third quarter of 2021
  • $294.4 million of cash and short-term investments as of December 31, 2021

“Lidar is going to transform virtually every industry as we know it, creating a safer, more efficient, and sustainable world. Velodyne Lidar is well positioned to capitalize on this opportunity,” said Dr. Ted Tewksbury, CEO of Velodyne Lidar. “We expect the first wave of lidar commercialization to be dominated by industrial automation, robotics, and intelligent infrastructure. These industries are estimated to reach a $2.8 billion total available market by 2026, according to YOLE. By supplying high-performance lidar at scale into these early autonomous markets, Velodyne expects to expand our technologies and further our leadership in low-cost, high-quality, volume manufacturing. This will enhance our advantage in the second wave of lidar growth – autonomous vehicles and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) – bringing our total available market estimate to $5.7 billion by 2026, according to YOLE.

“During the fourth quarter of 2021, we achieved record quarterly sensor shipments, bringing our lifetime shipments to more than 67,000. In 2022, we plan to focus on four strategic pillars to make lidar ubiquitous and accelerate our path to profitable revenue growth:

  • Driving lidar volume in early autonomous markets including industrial, robotics, and intelligent infrastructure,
  • Developing high performance sensors at a price point to accelerate mass adoption,
  • Expanding our software to deliver complete autonomous vision solutions to customers, and
  • Leading the industry in operational and manufacturing excellence.

“Velodyne has the right technologies and the proven ability to produce high performance lidar at scale. In 2022 and beyond, we will build on this foundation with a game-changing portfolio of AI-powered, autonomous vision solutions while driving revenue growth and profitability with our existing products. We are excited to lead the way as lidar revolutionizes our lives and makes our communities safer,” concluded Tewksbury.  

Recent Corporate Highlights         

  • Entered into a warrant agreement with Amazon. The warrants will vest over time, based on discretionary payments to Velodyne by Amazon of up to $200 million.
  • Achieved the 100-partner milestone through the “Automated with Velodyne” (AwV) program.
  • Signed five-year sales agreement for lidar sensors with QinetiQ Inc., a leading defense and security company, to provide perception and mapping capabilities across its unmanned ground vehicle portfolio.
  • Won a patent challenge from Quanergy, upholding Velodyne’s groundbreaking technology and patented intellectual property for surround view lidar.
  • Selected as a finalist for the 24th Annual 2022 SXSW Innovation Awards in the “Smart Cities, Transportation & Delivery” category for its Intelligent Infrastructure Solution.
  • Named the new CEO, Dr. Theodore L. Tewksbury, who has a proven track record of scaling new technologies into profitable growth businesses.
  • Hired Dr. Anurag Gupta as EVP of Engineering to lead the team in advancing Velodyne’s robust portfolio of high value lidar hardware and software solutions.
  • Appointed Virginia Boulet, a corporate governance expert, and Ernest E. Maddock, an operations, technology, and corporate finance executive, to the board of directors.

Financial Summary: Fourth Quarter of 2021 Compared to Third Quarter of 2021

  • Total revenue increased to $17.5 million, compared to $13.1 million.
    • Product revenue grew to $13.7 million, up from $11.8 million.
    • License and services revenue grew to $3.9 million, compared to $1.3 million. 
  • GAAP gross profit improved to $2.7 million from a gross loss of $4.7 million. Non-GAAP gross profit improved $7.4 million to $3.2 million from a gross loss of $4.2 million, primarily due to the benefit of higher sales volumes and increased sensor licensing revenue.
  • GAAP operating expenses were $40.3 million, compared to $50.0 million. Non-GAAP operating expenses were $35.2 million, compared to $33.4 million, primarily due to an increased investment in technology.
  • GAAP net loss was $37.5 million, or $0.19 per share, compared to $54.7 million, or $0.28 per share. Non-GAAP net loss was $31.8 million, or $0.16 per share, compared to
    $37.5 million, $0.19 per share.
  • At December 31, 2021, the company had $294.4 million in cash and short-term investments, compared to $350.3 million at December 31, 2020. 

Financial Highlights: 2021 Compared to 2020

A reconciliation between historical GAAP and non-GAAP information is provided in the tables below.

First Quarter 2022 Guidance

Due to an increasingly dynamic supply and demand environment, management is shifting to a quarterly guidance practice in 2022. 

Revenue is expected to range between $10 million and $12 million for first quarter 2022, driven by shipments of product to the company’s global customer base. Guidance excludes an estimate of the non-cash contra revenue charges of $5.0 million to $7.5 million vesting in the first quarter of 2022 expected to result from the issuance to Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC of a warrant (the “Amazon Warrant”) to purchase up to an aggregate of 39,594,032 shares of the company’s common stock, subject to adjustment and vesting in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the Amazon Warrant.

Conference Call Information

Velodyne will host a conference call and live webcast for analysts and investors at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on February 28, 2022. Parties in the United States and Canada can access the call by dialing 877-270-2148. The webcast will be accessible on Velodyne’s investor relations website at https://investors.velodynelidar.com. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available through March 7, 2022. To access the replay, parties in the United States and Canada should call 877-344-7529 and enter conference code 5202757.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding our financial outlook and market positioning. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “believe”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “can have”, “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected, including: the impact on our operations and financial condition from the effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic both on Velodyne’s business and those of its customers and suppliers; supply chain issues in the semiconductor market; Velodyne’s ability to execute its business plan; the timing of revenue from existing customers, including uncertainties related to the ability of Velodyne’s customers to commercialize their products and the ultimate market acceptance of these products; uncertainties related to Velodyne Lidar’s estimates of the size of the markets for its products and future revenue opportunities, including projects that are not yet signed or awarded; charges related to the vesting of the Amazon Warrant; the rate and degree of market acceptance of Velodyne Lidar’s products in a variety of industries; the success of other competing lidar and sensor-related products and services that exist or may become available; rising costs adversely affecting Velodyne’s profitability; uncertainties related to Velodyne Lidar’s current litigation and potential litigation involving Velodyne Lidar or the validity or enforceability of Velodyne Lidar’s intellectual property; Velodyne Lidar’s ability to partner with and rely on third party manufacturers; general economic and market conditions impacting demand for Velodyne Lidar’s products and services; and changes in applicable laws or regulations.

Given these factors, as well as other variables that may affect Velodyne Lidar’s operating results, you should not rely on forward-looking statements, assume that past financial performance will be a reliable indicator of future performance, or use historical trends to anticipate results or trends in future periods. The forward-looking statements included in this press release relate only to events as of the date hereof. Velodyne Lidar undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to our results determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP), we believe the non‑GAAP measures of non-GAAP gross profit (loss), non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating expenses, non‑GAAP operating loss, non-GAAP other income (expenses), non-GAAP provision for (benefit from) income taxes, non-GAAP net loss, and non‑GAAP net loss per share are useful in evaluating our operating performance. Certain of these non-GAAP measures exclude stock-based compensation and related employer payroll taxes, litigation settlements, gain from sale of held-for-sale assets, write-off of deferred IPO costs, gain from forgiveness of PPP loan, amortization of acquisition-related intangibles assets, restructuring, and discrete tax items. We believe that non‑GAAP financial information, when taken collectively, may be helpful to investors because it provides consistency and comparability with past financial performance and assists in comparisons with other companies, some of which use similar non‑GAAP information to supplement their GAAP results. The non‑GAAP financial information is presented for supplemental informational purposes only, and should not be considered a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP, and may be different from similarly‑titled non‑GAAP measures used by other companies. Reconciliation tables of the most comparable GAAP financial measures to the non-GAAP financial measures are used in this press release.

Investor Contact:

Andrew Chan

Head of Investor Relations

[email protected]

Media Contact:

Codeword

Liv Allen

[email protected]

VELODYNE LIDAR, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 December 31,
 2021 2020
Assets   
Current assets: 
Cash and cash equivalents$       24,064 $      204,648
Short-term investments       270,357         145,636
Accounts receivable, net          8,881          13,979
Inventories, net          9,299          18,132
Prepaid and other current assets         14,822          22,319
Total current assets       327,423         404,714
Property, plant and equipment, net         14,710          16,805
Goodwill          1,189            1,189
Intangible assets, net             724              627
Contract assets         12,962            8,440
Other assets         18,413              937
Total assets$     375,421 $      432,712
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity   
Current liabilities:   
Accounts payable$         5,105 $         7,721
Accrued expense and other current liabilities         35,651          50,349
Contract liabilities          6,348            7,323
Total current liabilities         47,104          65,393
Long-term tax liabilities             443              569
Other long-term liabilities         28,611          25,927
Total liabilities         76,158          91,889
Commitments and contingencies   
Stockholders’ equity:   
Preferred stock               —                —
Common stock               20                18
Additional paid-in capital       825,988         656,717
Accumulated other comprehensive loss            (412)             (230)
Accumulated deficit      (526,333)       (315,682)
Total stockholders’ equity       299,263         340,823
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity$     375,421 $      432,712


VELODYNE LIDAR, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

(Unaudited)

 Three Months Ended Year Ended
 December 31, 2021 September 30, 2021 December 31, 2020 December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
Revenue:         
Product$      13,657 $      11,782 $      14,407 $      48,002 $      68,355
License and services         3,885          1,278          3,439        13,922        27,007
Total revenue        17,542        13,060        17,846        61,924        95,362
Cost of revenue:         
Product        14,758        17,716        23,088        67,313        69,115
License and services             92              84              99            525          1,131
Total cost of revenue        14,850        17,800        23,187        67,838        70,246
Gross profit (loss)         2,692         (4,740)         (5,341)         (5,914)        25,116
Operating expenses:         
Research and development        22,255        20,221        48,427        77,863        88,080
Sales and marketing         7,227          6,547        18,955        68,025        31,753
General and administrative        10,867        23,271        38,790        70,307        65,732
Gain on sale of assets held-for-sale             —              —              —              —         (7,529)
Restructuring             —              —             (59)              —            984
Total operating expenses        40,349        50,039       106,113       216,195       179,020
Operating loss      (37,657)       (54,779)      (111,454)     (222,109)     (153,904)
Interest income            127            109              33            448            152
Interest expense               3               (6)             (37)             (80)           (106)
Other income (expense), net             53             (22)              15        10,150             (90)
Loss before income taxes      (37,474)       (54,698)      (111,443)      (211,591)     (153,948)
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes              (4)              14              14            645         (4,084)
Net loss$     (37,470) $    (54,712) $   (111,457) $   (212,236) $   (149,864)
          
Net loss per share:         
Basic and diluted$        (0.19) $        (0.28) $        (0.64) $        (1.09) $        (1.01)
Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share:         
Basic and diluted197,385,362 196,204,671 173,888,792 193,982,168 148,088,589

VELODYNE LIDAR, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands) (Unaudited)

 Three Months Ended Year Ended
 December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020 December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
Cash flows from operating activities:       
Net loss$        (37,470) $      (111,457) $      (212,236) $      (149,864)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash used in operating activities:       
Depreciation and amortization              2,244                2,053                8,452                8,394 
Reduction of operating lease right-of-use (“ROU”) assets                 764                     —                3,052                     — 
Write-off of deferred IPO costs                   —                     —                     —                3,548 
Stock-based compensation              5,718              91,259              87,088              91,500 
Gain on sale of assets held-for-sale                   —                     —                     —              (7,529)
Provision for doubtful accounts                 261                    (14)               2,331                   511 
Deferred income taxes                      3                        4                        3                        4 
Gain from forgiveness of PPP loan                   —                     —            (10,124)                    — 
Accretion on short-term investments                 613                     —                1,688                     — 
Other                   49                     63                     22                   137 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:       
Accounts receivable                 434                5,440                2,506              (2,627)
Inventories, net              2,560              (1,710)               8,833                1,619 
Prepaid and other current assets            (3,960)             (2,339)             (1,078)                  172 
Contract assets            (2,813)             (2,814)             (5,022)           (11,253)
Other assets                   99                  (305)                  166                     53 
Accounts payable                 523              (2,501)             (2,829)                  687 
Accrued expenses and other liabilities              1,769                3,132                  (554)             (6,680)
Contract liabilities            (1,228)                  379              (2,968)               2,891 
Net cash used in operating activities          (30,434)           (18,810)         (120,670)           (68,437)
Cash flows from investing activities:       
Purchase of property, plant and equipment and intangibles            (2,428)             (1,080)             (5,641)             (3,277)
Proceeds from sale of assets held-for-sale                   —                     —                     —              12,275 
Proceeds from sales of short-term investments            14,215                     —              26,422                     — 
Proceeds from maturities of short-term investments            73,000                     —           188,223                2,200 
Purchase of short-term investments          (90,994)         (145,725)         (340,951)         (145,725)
Investment in notes receivable                   —                     —                  (750)                    — 
Net cash used in investing activities            (6,207)         (146,805)         (132,697)         (134,527)
Cash flows from financing activities:       
Proceeds from issuance of preferred stock, net of issuance costs                   —               —                    —              19,919 
Proceeds from (payments for) Business Combination, net of transaction costs                   —              (1,264)           (20,005)          247,039 
Repurchase of common stock                   —                     —                     —              (1,802)
Proceeds from warrant exercises, net of issuance costs of $52                   —              73,713              89,270              73,713 
Proceeds from common stock issuance under equity incentive plans              3,560                     —                3,560                     — 
Tax withholding payment for vested equity awards                   —                     —                    (37)                    — 
Cash paid for IPO costs                   —                     —                     —              (1,143)
Proceeds from notes payable                   —                     —                     —              10,000 
Net cash provided by  financing activities              3,560              72,449              72,788           347,726 
Effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash and cash equivalents                      1                    (39)                     (5)                 (118)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents          (33,080)           (93,205)         (180,584)          144,644 
Beginning cash and cash equivalents            57,144           297,853           204,648              60,004 
Ending cash and cash equivalents$          24,064  $       204,648  $          24,064  $       204,648 


VELODYNE LIDAR, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

(In thousands, except share and per share data) (Unaudited)

 Three Months Ended Year Ended
 Dec. 31, 2021 Sept. 30, 2021 Dec.  31, 2020 Dec.  31, 2021 Dec. 31, 2020
Gross profit (loss) on GAAP basis$        2,692     $       (4,740)   $       (5,341)   $       (5,914)   $      25,116    
Gross margin on GAAP basis15  % (36) % (30) % (10) % 26  %
Stock-based compensation and related employer payroll taxes             545                  545               7,415               2,352               7,417    
Gross profit (loss) on non-GAAP basis$        3,237     $       (4,195)   $        2,074     $       (3,562)   $      32,533    
Gross margin on non-GAAP basis18  % (32) % 12  % (6) % 34  %
          
Operating expenses on GAAP basis$      40,349     $      50,039     $    106,113     $    216,195     $    179,020    
Stock-based compensation and related employer payroll taxes         (5,267)          (16,262)          (83,844)          (88,499)          (84,083)  
Legal settlements             250                 (275)               (105)            (1,270)            (2,584)  
Gain from sale of held-for-sale assets               —                    —                    —                    —               7,529    
Write-off of deferred IPO costs               —                    —                    —                    —              (3,548)  
Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets            (110)                 (96)                 (97)               (399)               (385)  
Restructuring charges               —                    —                    59                    —                 (984)  
Operating expenses on non-GAAP basis$      35,222     $      33,406     $      22,126     $    126,027     $      94,965    
          
Operating loss on GAAP basis$     (37,657)   $     (54,779)   $   (111,454)    $   (222,109)   $   (153,904)  
Stock-based compensation and related employer payroll taxes          5,812             16,807             91,259             90,851             91,500    
Legal settlements            (250)                275                  105               1,270               2,584    
Gain from sale of held-for-sale assets               —                    —                    —                    —              (7,529)  
Write-off of deferred IPO costs               —                    —                    —                    —               3,548    
Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets             110                    96                    97                  399                  385    
Restructuring charges               —                    —                   (59)                  —                  984    
Operating loss on non-GAAP basis$     (31,985)   $     (37,601)   $     (20,052)   $   (129,589)   $     (62,432)  
          
Other income (expense), net$             53     $            (22)   $             15     $      10,150     $            (90)  
Gain from forgiveness of PPP loan               —                    —                    —            (10,124)                  —    
Other income (expense), net on non-GAAP basis$             53     $            (22)   $             15     $             26     $            (90)  
          
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes on GAAP basis$              (4)   $             14     $             14     $           645     $       (4,084)  
Non-GAAP tax reconciling adjustments               —                    —                    —                    —               6,679    
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes on non-GAAP basis$              (4)   $             14     $             14     $           645     $        2,595    
          
Net loss on GAAP basis$     (37,470)   $     (54,712)   $   (111,457)    $   (212,236)   $   (149,864)  
Stock-based compensation and related employer payroll taxes          5,812             16,807             91,259             90,851             91,500    
Legal settlements            (250)                275                  105               1,270               2,584    
Gain from sale of held-for-sale assets               —                    —                    —                    —              (7,529)  
Write-off of deferred IPO costs               —                    —                    —                    —               3,548    
Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets             110                    96                    97                  399                  385    
Restructuring charges               —                    —                   (59)                  —                  984    
Gain from forgiveness of PPP loan               —                    —                    —            (10,124)                  —    
Non-GAAP tax reconciling adjustments               —                    —                    —                    —              (6,679)  
Net loss on non-GAAP basis$     (31,798)   $     (37,534)   $     (20,055)   $   (129,840)   $     (65,071)  
Net loss per share on GAAP basis         
Basic and diluted$         (0.19)   $         (0.28)   $         (0.64)   $         (1.09)   $         (1.01)  
Weighted-average shares on GAAP basis         
Basic and diluted197,385,362     196,204,671     173,888,792     193,982,168     148,088,589    
          
Net loss per share on non-GAAP basis         
Basic and diluted$         (0.16)   $         (0.19)   $         (0.12)   $         (0.67)   $         (0.44)  
Weighted-average shares on non-GAAP basis         
Basic and diluted197,385,362     196,204,671     173,888,792     193,982,168     148,088,589    

About Velodyne Lidar

Velodyne Lidar (Nasdaq: VLDR, VLDRW) ushered in a new era of autonomous technology with the invention of real-time surround view lidar sensors. Velodyne, a global leader in lidar, is known for its broad portfolio of breakthrough lidar technologies. Velodyne’s revolutionary sensor and software solutions provide flexibility, quality and performance to meet the needs of a wide range of industries, including robotics, industrial, intelligent infrastructure, autonomous vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Through continuous innovation, Velodyne strives to transform lives and communities by advancing safer mobility for all.

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