Seeing Machines Ltd CEO Paul McGlone and CFO Martin Ive talked with Proactive about the company’s latest KPI update, automotive momentum and a new US aftermarket deal.
McGlone said that while aftermarket volumes saw some Q1 slippage, it was due to contract complexity and timing, noting, “We’re actually very confident that we will get to where we want to be by the end of this year.”
A key focus of the interview was the company’s new aftermarket customer in the US, with an initial order of 1,100 Guardian units. “Our technology was proven through trial in a competitive environment,” McGlone explained, adding that full deployment potential with this fleet could reach the high tens of thousands of units.
In automotive, McGlone reported growing royalty volumes and reaffirmed confidence in volume growth as the EU’s General Safety Regulation (GSR) deadline of July 2026 approaches.
CFO Martin Ive confirmed the company remains on track to hit its cash flow breakeven run rate by the end of 2025. He outlined operational targets, including 750,000 units in auto royalties and 6,000 Guardian unit sales in Q2, stating: “We expect to achieve that number of Guardian sales.”
Proactive: Paul, Martin, very good to speak with you. Paul, I’ll start with you. Two announcements in quick succession today — shall we start with the KPIs? Can you give us a general comment, please?
Paul McGlone: I'd be happy to do that, and thank you. Our general view on the KPIs is that in aftermarket, as mentioned in the announcement, there's been some slippage from Q1 to Q2 — a bit of a timing issue only, really, so the numbers aren’t what we expected them to be. The good news is that we are expecting them to increase, and the pipeline is pretty solid.
That’s the key comment on aftermarket. In terms of automotive, we’ve seen an increase in our royalties — again, it’s up from last quarter. The makeup of those numbers includes one program that’s off and another slightly delayed, but our major program is up. All of that augurs well for the big story here, which is dramatically increasing volumes, driven by GSR towards July 2026.
So we have no concerns there and we feel really confident that that will continue — it’s really locked in.
Proactive: And can you comment on the automotive industry dynamics and the way OEMs in Europe are working towards meeting pending regulations?
Paul McGlone: Yeah. The automotive environment globally is super complex at the moment. There’s hyper competition, particularly from China, and that’s having a big impact on Europe. We’re also seeing all kinds of movements around software-defined vehicles and autonomy.
In Europe, we have legislation going live in July 2026 mandating all vehicles sold to have camera-based driver monitoring systems. OEMs are trying to minimise costs ahead of this, with that competitive backdrop.
So we expect volatility in our ability to forecast quarter by quarter until we get to Q3 and Q4. At that point, we expect all OEMs to push aggressively to ensure vehicles meet the GSR requirements.
Our engagement with OEMs and tier ones is increasing. We're gaining better visibility not only at the program level but by model — which is important. That’s giving us much more confidence in our medium-term outlook, through to 30 June, which is our year end.
Outside Europe, particularly in the US, there’s a strong push for our technology. That’s being driven by semi-autonomous driving and new features like impairment and intoxication detection.
The final thing I’d say is about RFQs — we’ve been working on a number and we confidently expect some awards in the next month or two. So I feel pretty confident about automotive.
Proactive: Paul, Guardian volumes are off in the first quarter. Could you give a brief explanation and maybe comments on the current quarter?
Paul McGlone: Yeah, last quarter was a bit disappointing. The key reason is that we’ve been working on deals with much bigger companies than before. As a result, getting to closure on terms and conditions for multi-year service contracts has taken longer than we expected.
There’s been slippage — really just timing — from one quarter to the next. The announcement we made this morning is really important in that context.
As of early November, we’ve sold around 2,600 units. Compared to Q1, that’s dramatically up. Some of that is slippage, but we’re confident we’ll reach around 6,000 units sold in Q2 and exceed that in Q3. The pipeline is strong.
We’re also in the middle of a number of discussions that are either at the end of trial or in deep commercial negotiations. That gives us optimism.
Our relationship with Mitsubishi — both in the US and in Europe — is starting to build the pipeline in a very positive way. We’ve had a few small wins, but we expect that will yield significant results.
Proactive: Let’s go to that US win you announced this morning before the KPIs. What's the near-term potential with this customer?
Paul McGlone: This is great news for us. It’s our first new significant US customer. Of course, we’ve worked with Caterpillar for years — they’re still very substantial.
With this new customer and product, we’ve received an initial order of 1,100 units. The fantastic part is they’ll all be installed in trucks in December — very unusual during a busy period.
They have a risk profile that our technology proved it could mitigate, through competitive trials. Based on that performance, they made the decision to proceed. The full potential with this customer is in the high tens of thousands of units.
We’ve secured the first 1,100 and expect more positive news in the future.
Proactive: Martin, turning to you — Paul mentioned the company remains committed to the cash flow breakeven run rate by the end of the calendar year. Have Q1 results impacted that?
Martin Ive: Q1 results have put a little pressure on the December quarter but haven’t impacted the target. The main impact was missing out on additional monthly monitoring revenue from Guardian unit sales.
But we’ve got really good momentum with Guardian in Q2. That should continue and get us the sales required to hit breakeven. We’ll use adjusted EBITDA for the run rate, focused on operational performance.
To achieve it, we need 750,000 units from auto royalties and around 6,000 Guardian sales in Q2. Based on what’s been closed already, we expect to achieve that number.
Auto has a tailwind from the upcoming GSR rules. Volumes in Q3 are expected to top 1 million units. In aftermarket, the follow-on volumes from today’s announced deal show the ongoing opportunity.
We expect to close Q2 with the breakeven run rate and to be generating cash in H2 of FY26. Calendar 2026 will be cash positive.
Proactive: Martin, last time we spoke you mentioned a range of financing options to cover the convertible notes. Could you give us an update?
Martin Ive: Yes. We’re actively progressing a number of options. These include working with existing partners to revisit terms and timelines, and we’ve initiated activity with one of our banking partners in London to secure a facility.
We have different funding pathways, and may use a combination of these plus cash reserves. In terms of timing, I’d expect something in place by the end of the March quarter.
Proactive: Gents, I hope you’ll continue to keep us updated on all of those fronts. Thank you both very much for your time today.