ClearOne Reviews 2023 Operational and Financial Progress, Provides Early 2024 Highlights

ClearOne, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLRO) (“ClearOne” or the "Company"), a global provider of audio and visual communication solutions, is providing a review of its 2023 operational and financial progress, along with several recent 2024 highlights.

“2023 represented a key transition year for ClearOne,” said Derek Graham, CEO of ClearOne. “Since my appointment as permanent CEO last January, we have focused on recovering from our multi-year litigation process and navigating the transition of our outsourced manufacturing from China to Singapore. Through our work on these fronts, we drove improvements in our manufacturing output and reduced our backlog in the second and third quarters of 2023. We also meaningfully enhanced our balance sheet and continued to reduce our operating expenses on a year-over-year and sequential basis.

“I am proud to announce that our outsourced manufacturing transition is now complete as of the fourth quarter of 2023. Finishing the transition marks a significant milestone as we continue to increase our production output, improve lead times, and support greater normalization in our customers’ ordering patterns. Our progress over the past year has allowed us to operate from a lean, efficient, and well-capitalized foundation in these early months of 2024.”

2023 Financial and Operational Highlights

• Significantly Enhanced Balance Sheet
  • Received over $56 million in cash from the Company’s legal settlements in the first quarter of 2023. The Company subsequently distributed approximately $29.0 million to shareholders as a one-time $1.00 special cash dividend on May 31^st.
  • Received a $6.9 million income tax refund on December 8^th.
  • Completed the final $1.0 million principal payment on the Company’s senior secured convertible notes on December 17^th, which fully repaid and eliminated the Company’s aggregate debt.
  • Finalized a non-exclusive patent cross-licensing agreement on December 27^th. The Company expects to receive an additional $4.0 million from the agreement in Q1 2024.
• Drove Consistent OpEx Efficiencies Through Q3 2023
  • GAAP operating expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 decreased 23% relative to the comparable prior year period.
  • Third quarter 2023 GAAP operating expenses decreased 16% compared to the third quarter of 2022 and decreased 3% compared to the second quarter of 2023.
• Achieved Major Production Improvements and Milestones
  • Completed the transition of the Company’s outsourced manufacturing from China to Singapore in Q4 2023.
  • Drove significant backlog reductions in the second and third quarter as a result of increased production output from contract manufacturer.
  • Restored production levels to pre-transition volumes. Orders for ClearOne’s most popular products are now shipped same-day for quicker delivery to customers.

Product Highlights