That presentation by Mike absolutely blew me away.
I will say again that we are so luck to have him steering the ship. I am so much more pumped today than I have been at any time in the past.
The way he answered the questions was a clear demonstration to me that FBR have this under control and are super committed to growing the business.
I have had a chance to reconcile my thoughts and here are my key take aways.
Will be announcing demo builders shortly. Contracts signed with 2, 1 left to go which is also a very large volume builder.
MY THOUGHTS: excited to here that we are in final negotiations with a very large volume builder.
Second SAT will be conducted specifically for Media, strategic stakeholders and VIPs, planned for approx. 20th Aug (weather pending).
MY THOUGHTS: Could be some government, builders, regulators, press invited to attend.
Wall offtake agreements being negotiated. Will effectively lock in a price for builders giving price and timing certainty.
MY THOUGHTS: strong uptake will encourage CRH to speed up signing of JV Option.
One machine in Florida.
One machine 98% complete. Will be shipped when completed.
One machine main frame completed. Awaiting truck. Truck deliveries is current constraint.
MY THOUGHTS: not much was given around manufacturing ramp, clearly due to commercial sensitivities IMHO.
First 20 units will be manufactured in Perth. Moved to OEM partner thereafter. Looking at how to maximize efficiency of assembly. FBR are considering options including shipping the module and assembling on USA truck in USA.
MY THOUGHTS: it is good to see that many options are being considered with the goal of efficiency, cost minimization and reducing lead time.
At least the first 5 slabs to be used for Demo builds have been identified. They have been inspected alongside the building partner.
3 demo builders combined have around 25,000 to 30,000 home builds per year. Focus is on integrating into their processes to avoid disruption to their businesses.
FBR don't see Icon as a competitor. If anything it is increasing awareness on Digitally Stabilized Boom builds.
Mark also reference some of the constraints of 3D construction specifically, the look of toothpaste builds, material compositions, set up times, deployment times, etc.
Key obstacle in Australia is the absence of a credit facility similar to what CRH have offered in USA. Speaking to Government to see what can be done for domestic rollout.
Share consolidation being considered for a few months time.
MY THOGHTS: shows their focus is shifting to USA investors.
In response to supply constraint on Mac trucks. FBR is working with USA regulators to have Australian spec Isuzu trucks approved for USA emissions standards. Mark noted favorable discussions have been taking place.
FBR have a few other USA interested parties as a back-up plan if CRH option does not go ahead. Base would be Miami or Florida.
MY THOUGHTS: good to see some sign of strength in negotiations with alternative options.
Focus has moved away from Aus and Europe in favor of USA due to current favorable building and partner environment available in USA.
FBR may come across as not willing to openly communicate with shareholders but this is due to commercial sensitivities.
MY THOUGHTS: He doesn't want to inadvertently jeopardies some commercial discussions/negotiations with partners.
Focus is on getting to a level of units that makes it possible to secure third party financing. CRH financing deal was needed due to limited financing options. Future deals won't need to price in funding needed from JV partner so should be on more favorable terms. Getting to this level of sustainability and self financing is the focus. Third party financing opportunities may come at around 20 to 25 units on the ground working in USA.
MY THOUGHTS: The CRH deal has been a difficult deal due to this need for financing. Future deals won't rely on financing and will therefore be more skewed in FBR favor.
Expect to see more content coming our way on work being done in Floriday.
MY THOUGHTS: it seems they have a promotional and awareness plan and we should expect more comms.
This is not investment advice. I might have misheard some of the above information so do not rely on it being correct in any way. Do your own research, etc etc.
(20min delay)