Earnings Call Transcript - INMD Q1 2021

Operator, Operator

Good day, and welcome to the InMode Ltd. First Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. I would now like to turn the conference over to Miri Segal of MS-IR. Please go ahead.

Miri Segal, Investor Relations

Thank you, operator, and good day to everybody. I would like to welcome all of you to InMode's First Quarter 2021 Financial Results Conference Call. Before we begin, I would like to remind our listeners that certain information provided on this call may contain forward-looking statements, and the safe harbor statement outlined in today's earnings release also pertains to this call. If you have not received a copy of the release, please view it in the Investor Relations section of the company's website. Changes in business, competitive, technological, regulatory, and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed by the forward-looking statements made today. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. As such, we can give no assurance as to the accuracy of our forward-looking statements and assume no obligation to update them, except as required by law. Moshe Mizrahy, InMode's Chairman of the Board and CEO, will begin the call with the business update and pass it over to Shakil Lakhani, InMode's President of North America, to discuss our North American operations. He will be followed by Yair Malca, InMode's CFO, with an overview of the financials. We will then open for the question-and-answer session. I'll now hand over the call to Mr. Moshe Mizrahy. Moshe, please go ahead.

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Thank you, Miri, and thanks to all of you for joining our first quarter 2021 financial results conference call. With me on the call today are also Dr. Michael Kreindel, our Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer; Dr. Spero Theodorou, our Chief Medical Officer; and Rafael Lickerman, our VP of Finance. All of us will be available for Q&A later. In the first quarter of 2021, InMode generated revenue of $65.5 million, a 62% increase over the first quarter of 2020. First quarter record net income on a GAAP basis was $26.6 million and $29.3 million of net income on a non-GAAP basis. In Q1, 2021, we derived approximately 69% of our global revenue from InMode proprietary surgical technology platforms engaged in minimally invasive and subdermal ablative treatment. 24% derived from our hands-free platforms and 7% from our traditional laser and noninvasive RF platforms. We are happy to report that all segments continue to grow. The impressive growth in the first quarter was driven by demand for our minimally invasive proprietary platforms and the Hands-Free platforms. In fact, during the past year, the number of consumables sold has reached a new record every quarter. Overall, we have more than doubled the numbers of consumables sold in the last 4 quarters. This indicates an ever-growing use of our system. We continue to see demand from new and repeat patients seeking to improve how they look and how they feel. On a global scale, we are working to duplicate our success in the United States by expanding our sales capability and engaging with new distributors and entering new countries to expand our international presence. Since the beginning of 2021, we have added five new distributors and ten new countries to our international network. Our excellent first quarter includes international revenue growth of 123% year-over-year, as our revenue outside the U.S. grew from 24% in Q1, 2020 to 33% in Q1, 2021. Currently, our U.S. installed base totals approximately 4,250 systems, representing about 53% of our worldwide installed base of approximately 8,050 systems. While we expect continued growth in the U.S., we also anticipate even faster expansion in the OUS market. As we have yet to fully penetrate many markets across Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Our North American sales team consists of 135 fully trained specialists, and our global team totals 156 individuals. As for our installed base, we expect these numbers to organically increase as we expand our innovative technology to other parts of the world and enter new verticals. We are constantly working to get more regulatory approvals across the globe to expand our product offering in each country. At any given time, we are engaged in at least 12 to 15 regulatory projects all the way from Brazil to China. We're also expanding our verticals beyond aesthetics. Our R&D pipeline includes over a dozen projects for other medical areas such as gynecology, ophthalmology, ENT, urology, and several others. As part of our strategy, we expect to launch two new platforms this year, in which our advanced bipolar RF technology will provide significant quality of life improvement. One of these platforms is called Empower, which we expect to launch in the third quarter of 2021. Empower will be the gold standard in women's health and wellness, and we are excited to announce that it has earned FDA approval for all of its applicators. Based on our successful performance in the first quarter of 2021 and the visibility we have into the rest of 2021, we are increasing our full year 2021 revenue guidance range to be between $270 million to $280 million. And we intend to maintain a non-GAAP gross margin of 84% to 86%. Lastly, we continue to support and augment our team worldwide, while complying with all local and regional health and safety guidelines for the welfare of our employees and customers. With that, I would like to turn the call over to Shakil, our President in North America. Shakil?

Shakil Lakhani, President of North America

Thank you, Moshe, and hello, everyone. We delivered an impressive performance in the first quarter with sales reaching an all-time high in March as momentum for our minimally invasive and Hands-Free devices carried over into the new year. The strength of our capital equipment sales during what is typically a seasonally slow quarter was driven by underlying demand for our in-office-based procedures. This was demonstrated by another consecutive quarter of record consumable sales in North America, which more than tripled year-over-year. Doctors are using our systems with increased frequency, which is a great indication of the growing acceptance, endorsement, and implementation of our technology. In North America, we continued to build out our sales force and seamlessly integrated our new hires from 2020. Leveraging our online platform InMode University, our sales team was easily able to disseminate and expand knowledge of InMode's leading technology and stay connected to physicians across the country. As a result, the team successfully fulfilled the growing demand for our products as physicians and patients pursued effective, easy, and frequently used social distancing-friendly aesthetic procedures in in-office-based settings. Additionally, our now fully staffed post-sales support team was a significant driver of our consumable sales growth this quarter. Each quarter, the volume of consumable sales continues to grow, and we believe that this trend will continue. Looking further into 2021, we are excited to see a growing number of in-person events scheduled, yielding abundant opportunities for us to connect with the medical and aesthetic communities, as we bring our solutions to the market. Concurrently, with the upcoming launch of our women's health and wellness platform, we expect to introduce this technology to the women's health and wellness community later this year in order to build awareness and educate practitioners on the various medical applications available. Furthermore, we will continue to recruit industry sales talent over the course of the year to fuel our ongoing growth. We are extremely proud of our North American team for all the hard work and dedication they put in on a daily basis. Their ability to execute and maintain a positive attitude during challenging times in the industry and our world has been extremely impressive, and we anticipate this trend to continue as we move forward. Now let me hand over the call to Yair to review our financial results in detail. Yair?

Yair Malca, CFO

Thanks, Shakil. Good day, everyone. Total revenue in the first quarter of 2021 increased 62% year-over-year to $65.5 million, with a gross margin of 85% on a GAAP basis. The increase in revenues was primarily attributable to continued strong demand for our platforms in the beginning of the new year, highlighting significant growth in each of our technologies, minimally invasive and subdermal ablative treatments grew 75%, Hands-Free platform increased by 33%, and laser and noninvasive grew 68%. The growth in each of these technologies exemplifies how we've learned to adjust and operate in a world with COVID-19 and maintained growth across the board. In addition, international sales have increased dramatically year-over-year, as we successfully replicate our U.S. growth strategy on a global level. Geographically, we saw the highest growth rate in Asia and Europe, which increased by 273% and 63% year-over-year, respectively. Our capital equipment accounted for 88% of our revenue, while consumables and service revenue were 12%. GAAP operating expenses in the first quarter of 2021 totaled approximately $28.7 million, a 1.5% increase from the first quarter of 2020. Sales and marketing expenses increased 6.8% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020. Stock-based compensation decreased to $2.7 million in the first quarter of 2021 compared to $6.1 million in the first quarter of 2020. On a non-GAAP basis, operating expenses totaled approximately $26.2 million in the first quarter of 2021 compared to operating expenses of $22.3 million in the same quarter of 2020, an increase of 17.6%. GAAP operating margin was 41% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to 15% in the first quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP operating margin in the first quarter of 2021 was 45% compared to 30% in the first quarter of 2020. This increase derived from the March 2020 interruption of the sales cycle by the COVID-19 outbreak and consequently marketing expenditure did not result in sales at the end of the first quarter of 2020. Also in the first quarter of 2021, marketing activities in the United States such as event and conference participation were still minimal due to public health restrictions prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in lower expenses. GAAP diluted earnings per share in the first quarter of 2021 was $0.63 compared to $0.15 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share in the first quarter of 2021 was $0.69 compared to $0.30 per diluted share for the same quarter of 2020. We've completed the first quarter with a strong balance sheet. As of March 31, 2021, the compound had cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, and deposits of $293.4 million. On a cash flow front, the company generated $24.8 million from operating activities for the first quarter of 2021. Lastly, I would like to highlight that this quarter, we have implemented additional metrics, including a breakdown of our revenue streams by geography, category, and technology. This data is available in tables that accompany our filings. We believe that publishing this information will provide better transparency and enhance investors' understanding of our business. With that, I will turn the call back over to Moshe.

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Thank you, everybody. Thank you, Yair. Thank you, Shakil. Thank you, Miri. I believe now we have to start with the Q&A.

Operator, Operator

Our first question today will come from Matt Taylor with UBS.

Matt Taylor, Analyst

Congrats on a really nice outcome here in the quarter. So I appreciate you mentioned that March was a record month for the company. I was wondering if you could talk about any trends into the second quarter? And maybe just offer some views on how long you expect this elevated demand that we've been seeing from the pandemic lasting?

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Shakil, maybe you'll start from North America and then I will continue.

Shakil Lakhani, President of North America

Sure, absolutely. Yes, we anticipated some pent-up demand following the pandemic. However, what we've achieved through our efforts indicates that there are positive developments with patients eager to proceed with their care. It’s important to stick to the core fundamentals of our business, which has been reinforced by the new talent we've brought on and the development of our team during our recent hiring push. This strategy has already paid off. Looking ahead, we expect to see similar demand from patients for the remainder of the year. Ultimately, our continued success stems from maintaining our focus on the fundamentals of InMode and executing our strengths, which is why we've experienced such significant growth.

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Matt, this is Moshe. Well, Apple was a very strong month internationally and also worldwide. I mean, usually, as you know, the second quarter is better than the first quarter as far as seasonality in this business, and we expect the second quarter to be strong as well. Although we have some countries worldwide, like Canada, India, some of the European countries, and of course, Latin America, Brazil, and Mexico are not in a good shape. But I have to say that unlike March, April of 2020, people learned how to live with COVID, and they don't stop seeing patients, doctors do not stop seeing patients, and do not stop working in the clinic. So maybe it's a little bit slower than in certain countries than what we expected. But as I said, April was a good month, and we believe that, for example, in Europe, now they start to vaccinate on a full scale. Things will get better in May and June, and the second quarter will be a good one as always.

Matt Taylor, Analyst

Got it. So I wanted to ask one about your sales force and the addition of these distributors. It seems like you continue to expand in North America. I was wondering if you could give us a more specific update there? And can you talk about the expansion to these additional countries impressive OUS growth this quarter to the extent that you continue? And are you going to be adding any other countries this year?

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Yes, we have been adding countries since the beginning of 2021, as I mentioned earlier. We've added ten new smaller countries since all the larger markets are already covered. These smaller countries are being managed by five distributors, primarily in Europe, with one in Africa and another in the Middle East. We are committed to these smaller markets, and our current coverage spans 63 countries, including our subsidiary. Additionally, we have fully acquired our partners in our joint venture in China and the U.K., which will allow us to invest more in these two regions as we take control of the operations and distribution. We aim to increase our sales staff across all subsidiaries, though India is currently facing challenges. Our small subsidiary in India consists of six people, but the situation is stagnant at the moment. We are supporting them and not letting anyone go because we see significant potential there. In contrast, we are experiencing rapid growth in countries like China and Korea. We are also planning to establish another subsidiary in Europe and possibly one in Asia, although I can't confirm if this will occur in the second or third quarter. Regarding our revenue, most of it is currently coming from direct sales, with the international market contributing $22 million out of $65 million, split evenly between direct operations and distributors. We intend to boost our direct sales as it offers us the full revenue value and a higher gross margin. That sums up our strategy. Did I answer your question?

Matt Taylor, Analyst

Yes, that was great.

Operator, Operator

Our next question will come from Kyle Rose, who is with Canaccord Genuity.

Kyle Rose, Analyst

Congrats on a really strong quarter, everybody. I wanted to see if we could touch on one big picture question with respect to guidance. And then just a follow-on for first on the Shak's comments. On the big picture, you've obviously got major products launching this year. Empower, sounds like that's moved out a little bit from the Q2 into the Q3. So maybe just help us understand what your guidance really contemplates from the contribution of new products in 2021? And how that mix shift of the technologies between MIS to Hands-Free will shift to include the new Empower platform? And then, Shak, you talked about really the post-sales support team helping drive consumables. Maybe just help us understand what that team looks like and kind of the contribution you can expect that focus to have moving forward on the consumable side of things?

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Shak, you can start.

Shakil Lakhani, President of North America

I'll begin with the post-sale aspect and then pass it to Moshe for the guidance questions. We have two directors of acquiring operations who have done an outstanding job assembling their teams. This rollout could not happen all at once; it required a gradual approach. As I mentioned, our teams are now fully established, and we aim to expand them as demand increases in the consumable business. This has been a significant factor in our accomplishments. Our primary goal is to support our physicians and equipment owners by helping them pay off their units quickly and maximize their return on investment in a short timeframe. We avoid making unrealistic promises, but achieving this is very important to us. When clients succeed with their first investment, it encourages them to reinvest. We have several physicians who are reinvesting with us due to their satisfaction with their initial purchase and the support they received. Moshe, could you address the guidance question for Kyle?

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Yes. The new guidance that we gave, $270 million to $280 million, is mainly based on the existing portfolio. Even if we launch the Empower in the third quarter, which we will, sometime at the end of the third quarter for the fourth quarter, we do not expect to sell many. Because when you launch a product, you do a soft launch and gradually increase the numbers of users; you want to make sure that everybody is well-trained. You want to make sure that everybody knows the protocols. We want to publish studies, continue to publish studies on the product. We want to introduce the product to luminary doctors. It's a process. It's not a consumer product. It's not file and forget. It's not something that you can put on the Internet and then you get, I don't know, many millions of dollars of revenue. Every product that we launch in the U.S. first and then in Canada and then internationally, it's a gradual process, which we do very carefully, to make sure that there are enough training centers, to make sure that there are enough doctors that can help other doctors to do the first treatment. So I don't anticipate a lot of revenue coming from the Empower in the fourth quarter, if we launch it in the third quarter. But in 2022, hopefully, it will become one of our important platforms in our portfolio.

Shakil Lakhani, President of North America

I want to expand on what Moshe mentioned regarding Empower. We recognize that this is a significant market, but as with all of our strategies at InMode, we take a careful approach. We want to ensure that patients receive what they expect and that physicians have access to the patients they wish to treat and support in improving their lives. This is a large segment that has been somewhat overlooked in recent years. As Moshe pointed out, we see considerable potential for 2022. Currently, our focus is on the products we offer, including our minimally invasive and hands-free options, as well as our traditional aesthetics. We're busy right now. As we grow and expand our sales team for women's health and wellness, we see substantial future opportunities, but we intend to take advantage of that carefully.

Kyle Rose, Analyst

Okay. That's very helpful. And then just my last question was, I appreciate the updates as far as system placements, obviously making good progress there. Can you maybe just give us an update on the U.S. installed base? You've seen the really strong demand for consumables and procedures, both in your business but then the broader aesthetics market, how much of that 4,250 account base in the U.S. owns multiple machines? How much of that is like core versus 'non-core physicians?' Just trying to really understand that, particularly as you launch these products that are going to expand into additional medical specialties.

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Sure. Yair, did you want to chime in on that?

Yair Malca, CFO

Sure. So we have 4,250 units installed. I would say about 20% of our accounts have more than one system. Most of them, I can comfortably say that they are core physicians.

Operator, Operator

Our next question will come from Jeff Johnson with R.W. Baird.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

This is Dane on for Jeff. My first one is kind of piggybacking off Matt earlier. Just wondering if you can provide a little bit more insight kind of on the gaining of revenue over the remainder of this year. I mean even if we kind of assume fairly stable sequential revenue in 2Q versus 1Q, which I know Moshe mentioned 2Q is seasonally higher, that even implies kind of year-over-year revenue growth of 5% to 10% in the back half of this year, if my math is right. So obviously, we know 3Q recovered very quickly in 4Q last year saw strong growth as well. But is that 5% to 10% growth kind of the way to think about the second half for now? Or is that a little bit of conservatism applied in there?

Yair Malca, CFO

The 5% to 10% growth estimation may not be the most accurate approach. In the second half of 2020, we experienced significant pent-up demand after a three-month pause on elective procedures in the U.S. that lasted from mid-March to June. Many business activities anticipated for this quarter were deferred to the latter half of the year. Therefore, assessing our business based on the second half alone may not be the best strategy; it's more beneficial to consider the entire year as this will provide a clearer view of our growth potential. Does that make sense?

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

This is Moshe. I want to add that our business experiences seasonality. The fourth quarter is usually our strongest, while the third quarter tends to be slower due to summertime closures in certain regions, such as Europe. I previously mentioned that the second quarter performs better than the first, but the third quarter didn't meet expectations. The year 2020 was unusual and shouldn't be used to gauge our seasonality since the strong third quarter was a result of lockdowns that left people eager to work rather than vacation. I hope that in 2021, as COVID fades, we can return to a more typical year. To reiterate, the second quarter is typically better than the first in the aesthetic market. Currently, we project revenues between $270 and $280 million based on our visibility. I want to emphasize that we do not operate with a backlog; all sales in the second quarter are generated within that quarter itself. I hope this explanation clarifies things.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Yes, that was very helpful. And then my second question was just kind of be from a geographic perspective, following up there. Just wondering if you can provide any details on markets that you think could be probably the most meaningful growth drivers for this year and then maybe even into next?

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

That's a great question. One of the key factors in the international market is the regulations in each country. As you know, in the U.S., we have the FDA as the sole regulatory body, but internationally, we're navigating 27 different regulatory bodies, from ANVISA in Brazil to CFDA in China. We submit approval requests for all of our platforms, but this process can take time. ANVISA is the longest process in Brazil, and China has also become quite lengthy. Currently, we’ve only received approval for three out of nine platforms in China, and we're actively working on the remaining six, though the timeline is uncertain. Similarly, with ANVISA, we have three out of nine approved, and we continue to submit studies, applications, and tests as required. Once regulations are cleared in each country, we can access additional markets. It's not just a matter of territory; it also depends on the strength of our portfolio in that country. The three primary growth drivers for us internationally right now, especially in major countries that are already covered, include regulation, building a network of leading doctors to use the system, and establishing training centers for other physicians. This process takes time, similar to what we experienced in the U.S. As I mentioned earlier, we expect the international market to grow at a faster rate than the U.S. market percentage-wise. We began our U.S. operations in 2015 after receiving FDA approval, while our international efforts started three years later, when we began investing money. Currently, our international sales are at 66% compared to 33% for the U.S., and I believe this will shift to 60% international and 40% U.S. within the next two years.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Okay. Just wondering, are there any specific countries that maybe you haven't touched on earlier before that we could see kind of additional growth coming from?

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Yes. There are four countries in which we believe in 2021 will deliver well for us: China, Korea, Brazil, and hopefully, Germany. These are slow countries in 2020. And I hope that in 2021, they will deliver better. We invest heavily in those four countries because there is a big market there.

Operator, Operator

Our next question will come from Asaf Chandali, who's with Oppenheimer.

Asaf Chandali, Analyst

And again, congratulations on the exceptional performance. So I guess, kind of echoing other people's statements, we appreciate the higher level of disclosure on the segment reporting. Staying here on international, we know it takes some time on some of the approvals in other regions, and you made it very clear that Brazil and China are particularly challenging, but can three remains a very small portion of the international business, what kind of opportunities do you guys see over the long-term in introducing some of the Hands-Free products?

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Okay. Thank you. Thank you for the question. Yes, you're right. The hands-free devices are not yet penetrated in the international market. And the reason for that is that in 2020, the international market all the way from South America, Asia, and Europe were hit heavily by the virus. And we have decided internally not to launch this product, the Hands-Free product, in this country and spend the marketing money that we wanted because we felt like the timing was not good. Right now, we're starting to do it again, and we take it into the countries. The Evoke and Evolve are not yet approved in most of the countries in Europe, Asia, and South America; we're in the process. For example, in China and Brazil, our two main markets, they're not yet approved, but it's in the process. In other countries, it's already been approved. In Europe, only part of it is approved, and we're still waiting for the approval of the others. But once we get the approval country by country, if the opportunity presents itself as far as the status of the COVID, we will launch the platforms, these two platforms, Evoke and Evolve. And hopefully, it will be the same success as in the United States. But the delay was made because of the situation of the COVID and because of the decision we made not to spend marketing money that we had budgeted for the Evoke and Evolve in the international market; we felt like we would spend the money, but the acceptance would not be as high as we want.

Asaf Chandali, Analyst

Okay. Great. That's very clear. It's helpful. And this is a pretty broad question. But I imagine it will become kind of increasing importance as we move forward. The company has demonstrated very clearly that it will kind of develop technology for the medical aesthetics market and deliver very strong sales performance on it. How should we be thinking about your approach to the non-aesthetics market, whether it be in terms of the target kind of use cases? How you've gone about selecting them, maybe if there are any kind of critical differences in your sales approach? And just any color there on how you guys would be looking to execute it?

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Spero, I think this question is for you. Can you answer that?

Spero Theodorou, Chief Medical Officer

Sure. My understanding is, so your question is how we're approaching the nonaesthetic market. Is that your question?

Asaf Chandali, Analyst

Yes.

Spero Theodorou, Chief Medical Officer

So I want to bring up a reminder that a large part of InMode's sales force came from Cynosure. Shak had actually commented on that in a little more detail and given some color. That's important because both Shak and I worked with Cyno back in the day and with the launch of Mona Lisa at that time, a large part of the sales force is really comfortable and used to actually sell that product in women's health. So Shak, you could certainly talk about that part. But as far as the KOLs and the network we've put together to go into that, it's very different than aesthetics. You need some real heavy-duty research because the aspects of what we're trying to accomplish are not aesthetic or more functional like SQI and stuff like that. So about two, three years ago, two years ago when all the issues happened with the FDA, Moshe and the whole team doubled down on their studies instead of running for the gates. And that's what you're going to see coming out this year: the benefit of doing that. So investing in the studies, investing in the research and accomplishing things; we believe, we feel very strongly about moving forward is going to be a combination of that. So a very strong KOL network that's already in place and an experienced sales force has already done women's health and wellness in the past. Shak, do you want to give a little color on that?

Shakil Lakhani, President of North America

Thank you for the question. The key point to understand is that while we've seen impressive growth in our consumables, we have always been a capital equipment company. As long as we can offer treatments that patients want, whether aesthetic or medical, we can effectively support physicians in generating additional revenue. Looking at the situation with reimbursements and managed care, there hasn't been a year in a long time where reimbursements have remained steady or increased. At the same time, overhead and expenses are either holding steady or rising. As long as this situation persists, we will be well-positioned to help practitioners enhance their revenue while assisting patients in achieving their goals. We have a solid strategy for distribution in various markets, including GYN and ophthalmology, and it's integrated seamlessly with our current operations. Additionally, as previously mentioned by Spero and Moshe, a significant part of our efforts will involve raising awareness around procedures and available treatment options, an area where we also possess expertise. While there are differences in the approach, it is manageable and we have previous experience to draw on from past products and companies.

Asaf Chandali, Analyst

Okay. Great. That's very helpful. Last question on my end. The company has done really an exceptional job selling, kind of executing, performing throughout COVID. I'll just once again point out kind of some of the other medical aesthetics comps maybe struggling on a relative basis. What is the company doing in terms of online sales presence that maybe can carry through post-COVID?

Shakil Lakhani, President of North America

Yes. So I discussed MODE University. Obviously, it's a platform that we have, which not only helps train our people internally, but it also provides physicians with updated techniques and tips and things that they can actually apply to their practices. So as much as I would prefer to stay away from talking about other comps because I think we kind of stand out in our own way. I think from our perspective, the way we look at this is it's actually back to business as usual pre-COVID in terms of our approach and how we're actually targeting and marketing to doctors. So we've made some changes to obviously cater to the new world, as you might call it. But at the same time, I do think it's very important to note that we are now seeing business and activity getting back to exactly or very similar to what it was beforehand. So the online stuff we've obviously been able to do, like I said, with InMode University and getting that out there, and we've invested in that platform, of course, and it's paid off very well. But you now have things, and I mentioned in my script, but in-person meetings and events; those things are starting to happen almost like back to business as regular, right? Different things that we're doing. And just keeping people safe when we do have crowds of people. We've taken all these kinds of precautions in terms of how we actually implement it into the business and our business world. So I think that's helped out, and we'll see it continue that way. And again, we'll continue to assimilate as things change.

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Yes. And another reason why we're successful now post-COVID is the way we treated all of our employees worldwide. Some of our competitors, without mentioning names, when the crisis started, decided to save money by firing their salespeople, R&D people, and others because they said they don't know what will happen. We decided differently. We decided that we wanted to keep everybody as a family, even if it will cost us money. And even if for three months we did not sell. But we continued to work, as Shakil said, on training on the InMode University. We continued to develop products. We continued to train the sales team and the doctors on a virtual way. And we waited to see what would happen. And once the crisis show some endpoint in June last year, it was like a bullet train. Everybody on to the market and capture market share, while the other competitors or what you call the comp started to hire people and we train them and lose another three months. I think that was a very good and important decision made by Shakil and supported by myself. And the payback, we see the payback post-COVID in a big way.

Asaf Chandali, Analyst

Okay. Great. Yes. Really, a credit to you guys, really the whole team for pulling through a very difficult period with that.

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Appreciate that. Thank you.

Operator, Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, this will conclude our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Moshe Mizrahy, CEO, for any closing remarks.

Moshe Mizrahy, CEO

Thanks again, thank you all for joining our first quarter earnings call. I want to thank all of our employees worldwide. They help us to achieve what we're achieving quarter-over-quarter. I also want to thank our investors for the trust they're giving us. I hope that we will continue to please them and to deliver what they expect. I want to take my management team with me on the line today who participated in the call and helped to facilitate that. I want to see all of you again in August, in the second quarter earnings call, which probably will be on the first week of August. Thank you for everything. Now I will turn it to the operator.

Operator, Operator

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.