Cepton, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPTN) CEO Jun Pei told shareholders that the company is starting fiscal 2024 on strong footing to position itself as a leader in the automotive lidar market.
The technology company reported first-quarter 2024 total revenue of $1.9 million, reflecting a 31% increase compared to the prior year's corresponding period.
In terms of business accomplishments, Cepton celebrated securing a multi-year series production award with a global OEM for their near-range lidar. Additionally, an engineering services contract valued at approximately $10 million was inked with Koito to support execution and product development for the new OEM series production award during the second quarter of 2024.
Moreover, Cepton disclosed the submission of a request for quotation (RFQ) response to a Top 10 global automotive OEM for their long-range lidar, alongside the debut RFQ response from a top 3 global automotive OEM for both long-range and near-range lidar solutions.
On the technology front, Cepton achieved a significant milestone with the completion of the B sample for Cepton Ultra, their next-generation long-range lidar boasting the smallest form factor in the industry to date. Furthermore, the integration of MagnoSteer, Cepton's proprietary scanning and imaging technology, into Ultra B samples marked a pivotal advancement.
The company also launched StudioViz, an end-to-end lidar simulation platform aimed at expediting lidar-based Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Vehicle (AV) development while minimizing physical implementation costs.
“We started fiscal year 2024 with strong results in our commercial activities, securing a new series production award along with our tier 1 partner, Koito, from a global OEM for our near-range lidar,” said Jun Pei, Cepton’s CEO. “We believe we have positioned ourselves as a leader in industrializing lidar for the automotive market.”
The company incurred a GAAP net loss of $6.8 million, or $0.43 per share, basic and diluted, in the same period.
Notably, Cepton recorded a $4 million gain from the cost recovery of a cancelled OEM project in the first quarter of 2024, receiving a subsequent cash payment. The review of the cost recovery claim is ongoing, with the gain representing an initial recovery payment.
Looking ahead, Cepton provided a full-year 2024 financial outlook, anticipating revenue to range between $15 to $25 million, with operating expenses expected to remain below $50 million for the year.