COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP DE

We have established leading technology positions in our fields through internal and customer-funded research and development activities.

Internal research and development expenses are reported as research and development expenses for financial reporting purposes and were $24.1 million, $48.6 million and $52.5 million in fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, representing 4.5%, 8.8% and 10.8% of total consolidated net sales, respectively, for these periods. Customer-funded research and development activities relate to the adaptation of our basic technology to specialized customer requirements which is recoverable under contracts and is reflected in net sales with the related costs included in cost of sales. Certain of our government customers also contract with us from time to time to conduct research on telecommunications software, equipment and systems. During fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, we were reimbursed by customers for such activities in the amounts of $18.9 million, $14.0 million and $9.8 million, respectively.

In addition to the recent increases in customer-funded research and development activities, in fiscal 2024, we also experienced an increase in engineering efforts related to cost to fulfill contract assets and internal use software, for which we capitalized $2.9 million and $3.8 million, respectively. As a result of these trends and the impact of prior reductions in force announced in fiscal 2023, our research and development expenses for financial reporting purposes significantly decreased in fiscal 2024 as compared to historical periods.

During fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, we incurred $4.1 million, $3.8 million and $1.2 million, respectively, of strategic emerging technology costs for next-generation satellite technology to advance our solutions offerings to be used with new broadband satellite constellations. A significant portion of the fiscal 2024 costs related to our steerable antenna operations in Basingstoke, United Kingdom, which we decided to exit in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, as discussed above in the section "Strategic Transformation." We are evaluating this new market in relation to our long-term business strategies, and expect to incur additional costs in fiscal 2025. However, such costs will be reported in the future as part of our ongoing research and development activities and not added back to our Adjusted EBITDA.