Adrian G. Goldfarb
Thank you, Chuck. As usual, before covering the specific results for the second quarter, I will discuss the state of the company and the transformation that we have undergone in the past 15 months since I returned as Chief Financial Officer. At that time, Chuck expressed his desire to put the company on a different trajectory. He asked me and other senior leadership to work as a team to identify ways in which we might direct the considerable talent that had been assembled to redirect available resources, specifically financial, operational and technical, such we might put Duos on the path to significant growth and profitability. During the strategic planning that has led us to where we are today, we recognize that despite the outstanding achievements we had made in developing the technology underlying the Railcar Inspection Portal, the speed at which the rail industry would adopt our solutions and as a small company, our ability to influence the industry seemed as if the time it might take and the financial resources needed might not be compatible with providing the returns our shareholders are expecting and shareholders whom I should say have been extremely supportive. The management team under Chuck's leadership, identified that we needed to diversify the business into at least two distinct businesses where the existing personnel had the skills and talent to rapidly undertake such a transition and make it successful in a relatively short space of time. Chuck has previously discussed the thinking behind teaming up with Fortress Investment Group to pursue a multi-hundred million dollar purchase of gas turbines for power generation, resulting in an estimated $42 million contract for Duos to operationally manage those assets as well as a 5% stake in the New APR entity, which we expect to be very accretive to shareholder value in the future. The other transition, Duos Edge AI, takes our expertise in Edge Data Centers, which are referred to as EDCs or pods developed for the Railcar Inspection Portal and under the leadership of Doug Recker, a 30-year veteran of the data center space, gives us the opportunity to participate in the rapidly growing market for data centers where the demand is considerable. These two initiatives put us in a completely different position than where we were just 12 months ago. With the support of our Board of Directors and major shareholders, we have been able to successfully negotiate the expansion of the business to the point where we have significant short- term revenue growth combined with longer-term sustainable growth, putting us on the path to profitability. Whereas we have been disappointed with the results of our legacy technology business in recent years, I am pleased to report that in many respects, we are beginning to make progress in this area as well and which we expect will make a contribution to the financial results in the second half of this year. We are carefully evaluating our cost structure as it applies to the three subsidiaries with the expectation that we will rationalize accordingly and achieve economies of scale that were not previously possible with just a single line of business. As you are all no doubt aware, we have been active in the capital markets in the past 15 months, raising more than $50 million at an average price of $5.97 or more than double from just 12 months previously. For the first time in the company's history, we are sufficiently capitalized to take advantage of the new markets we have entered. In addition to the rise in the share price, our average trading volume has increased from less than 10,000 shares a day, what the Street calls trade by appointment, to more than 300,000 shares per day. Before reviewing the formal results for the second quarter and first half and giving formal guidance, it is my expectation that revenues will continue to grow in each of the next 2 quarters. Chuck will discuss the individual business lines and give progress reports, but whereas our much improved results were largely driven by the execution of the asset management agreement in the first half. I expect to start seeing a broadening of the revenue sources to include the revenues from our EDC deployments as they come online and also better performance from our technology systems revenue line, all of which are anticipated to support a movement towards and achieving breakeven to profitability by Q4. With that in mind, here are the results for the second quarter and first half. Total revenues for Q2 2025 increased 280% to $5.74 million compared to $1.51 million in the second quarter of 2024. And for the 6 months ended 2025, total revenues increased 314% to $10.69 million from $2.58 million in the same period last year. The substantial majority of our revenues for Q2 2025 was approximately $5.69 million in recurring services and consulting revenue, of which $4.76 million was primarily driven by Duos Energy beginning to execute against the asset management agreement with New APR. As a reminder, under the AMA, Duos Energy oversees the deployment and operations of a fleet of mobile gas turbines and related balance of plant inventory, providing management, sales and operational support services to New APR. Cost of revenues for Q2 2025 increased 144% to $4.22 million compared to $1.73 million for Q2 2024. And for the 6 months ended 2025, cost of revenue increased 191% to $7.86 million from $2.7 million in the same period last year. The significant increase in cost of revenues was largely due to supporting the AMA with New APR. Overall, the cost of revenues on technology systems decreased compared to the equivalent period in 2024. This reduction is primarily driven by our ability in Q2 2025 to reallocate certain fixed operating and servicing costs for technology systems to support the AMA, an allocation we could not make in the comparative period because the agreement was not yet in effect. It also reflects the ramp down of manufacturing ahead of field installation of our two high-speed Railcar Inspection Portals, which has continued to temporarily slow project activity and further reduce the cost of revenues while we await customer readiness for site deployment. Gross margin for Q2 2025 increased 808% to $1.52 million compared to negative $215,000 for Q2 2024. And for the 6 months ended 2025, gross margin increased 2,462% to $2.83 million from negative $120,000 in the same period last year. Gross margin improved primarily due to Duos Energy beginning performance at the AMA with New APR. This includes over $900,000 in revenue recognized during the 3 months ended June 30, 2025, related to the company's 5% nonvoting equity interest in the ultimate parent of New APR, which carried no associated costs and therefore, contributed at a 100% margin. These revenues and the associated margin contribution were not present in the prior year period. As I mentioned earlier, the increase in business from the AMA has improved gross margins with further improvements expected due to the greater profitability for Duos on certain aspects of the anticipated work it will perform on behalf of New APR. Operating expenses for Q2 2025 increased 65% to $4.96 million compared to $3 million for Q2 2024. And for the 6 months ended 2025, operating expenses increased 38% to $8.06 million from $5.86 million in the same period last year. The increase in expenses is largely attributed to noncash stock-based compensation charged for restricted stock granted to the executive team on January 1, 2025, under new employment agreements with a 3-year cliff vesting schedule. In addition, the company recorded additional compensation expenses for commissions and bonuses, of which are onetime in nature related to the closure of the APR transaction and the associated asset management agreement and 5% ownership grant. Overall, sales and marketing costs declined as resources were allocated to the cost of service and consulting revenues in support of the AMA with New APR. Additionally, research and development expenses decreased owing to completed development and testing of prospective technologies. The company continues to focus on stabilizing operating expenses, including evaluating reductions in some areas while continuing to meet the increased requirements of our new businesses. Net operating loss for Q2 2025 totaled $3.44 million compared to a net operating loss of $3.22 million for Q2 2024. And for the 6 months ended 2025, net operating loss totaled $5.23 million compared to a net operating loss of $5.98 million in the same period last year. The increase for the 3 months, but decrease in loss from operations for 6 months was primarily the result of increased revenues compared to the equivalent periods driven by revenue generated by Duos Energy through the AMA with New APR. Net loss for Q2 2025 totaled $3.52 million compared to a net loss of $3.2 million for Q2 2024. The 10% increase in net loss was mostly attributed to the noncash stock-based compensation charge for restricted stock and onetime compensation expenses that were not in that -- in the comparative period, offset by an increase in revenues generated by Duos Energy through the AMA with New APR as described above. For the 6 months ended 2025, net loss totaled $5.6 million or negative $0.48 per share compared to a net loss of $5.96 million or negative $0.81 per share in the same period last year. The 6% decrease in net loss was mostly attributed to the increase in revenues generated by Duos Energy through the asset management agreement with New APR as described previously. In our last call, I highlighted the substantial improvement in the company's balance sheet as of 12/31/2024 and 3/31/2025. In the second quarter, we have largely maintained that strength, notably shareholders' equity, which now stands at over $4.7 million. We ended the quarter with $3.81 million in cash and expected short-term liquidity. As previously discussed, a significant asset for Duos is the equity investment in Sawgrass APR Holdings, now referred to as New APR Energy. Our 5% holding in this business is currently valued at over $7.2 million and is expected to generate profits in future years as a profits interest structure. As Chuck will discuss, the tremendous progress that New APR is making will be additive in the short term through the AMA and in the longer term through the expected increase in valuation of our equity holding. All of this is positive for Duos' future potential, and I look forward to updating you further in our earnings call later this year. On the liability side, the company has traditionally operated with little to no debt other than some minor financing contracts related to insurance or IT equipment. As a reminder, in 2024, we received $2.2 million in debt funding for our initial 3 EDCs, and we're able to secure that for around 10% cost of capital, which is an attractive rate for a company of our size. We also secured additional financing for a further 3 EDCs in the form of a master capital lease with a similar cost of capital and flexible payment terms as we deploy these assets in preparation for the associated cash flows. I'm pleased to announce that shortly after the quarter, we retired the remainder of the $2.2 million in debt funding. Next, I would like to update you on our backlog and pipeline. with expected revenues for the management and operations of New APR Energy, expected deployments of our Edge Data Centers and current and anticipated contracts in our Rail business. Our current contracts in backlog represent more than $40 million in revenue with approximately $12.3 million or more of that projected to be recognized in 2025, plus a further $5 million to $6 million in expected near-term awards and renewals. During the last call, we confirmed annual revenue guidance, and I'm pleased to report that we are again maintaining that guidance where we expect to record between $28 million and $30 million in consolidated revenue from our 3 subsidiaries. I would further add that we are making good progress on moving the company toward profitability and expect that we will achieve that goal in Q4 of this year on an adjusted EBITDA basis. This concludes my formal remarks. And at this point, I will turn the call back to Chuck for his commentary.