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Ballard Power Systems Reports Q1 2024 Results, Q1 Revenue Up 9% Year-Over-Year to US $14.5 Million
Friday, May 10, 2024Company Profile | Follow Company
Burnaby, BC, May 10, 2024--(T-Net)--Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP; TSX: BLDP) today announced consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.
All amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted and have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Randall Macewen, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ballard Power Systems Inc.
"In our last earnings report, we indicated that we expected continued growth in our Order Backlog, major order announcements from customers in our Bus and Stationary verticals, and the announcement of our next manufacturing facility," said Randy MacEwen, Ballard's President and CEO. "In Q1, we delivered on each of these milestones, highlighting our continuing journey to becoming a commercial products company. We booked $64.5 million in new orders, increased our Order Backlog by 38%, announced total non-dilutive funding of $94 million for the planned build-out of our Rockwall Gigafactory, grew revenue by 9%, improved gross margin by 5 points, and reduced cash operating costs1 slightly while continuing to invest in next generation products and product cost reduction."
"We are particularly encouraged with our progress over the past 6 months with new order intake," added Mr. MacEwen. "After booking $64.7 million of new orders in the fourth quarter of 2023, we booked another $64.5 million of new orders in Q1, bringing total new bookings over the past two quarters to $129.2 million. We are seeing growth indicators across our Bus, Rail, Marine and Stationary verticals. In our Bus segment, so far in 2024, we have announced or secured repeat orders from three customers totaling approximately 1,200 fuel cell engines. We also announced an order for 15 MW of fuel cell engines from a repeat customer in our Stationary vertical. We are excited by the increasing order sizes as customers transition from demonstrations to larger scale deployments."
Mr. MacEwen continued, "Q1 revenue of $14.5 million, up 9% year-over-year, was overwhelmingly generated by Power Products revenue, which contributed 88% of revenue compared to 71% in Q1 2023. Despite the continued shift in revenue mix to Power Products and the burden of fixed production overhead costs on seasonally low revenue, gross margin of (37%) improved 5 points compared to Q1 2023. Similar to prior years, we expect 2024 revenue to be back-half weighted and expect to realize corresponding gross margin expansion. We also continued our discipline on operating expenses and balance sheet strength. Notwithstanding inflationary pressures, our cash operating costs1 were slightly down compared to Q1 2023, and we ended the quarter with $720.7 million in cash and cash equivalents."
"During the quarter, we were pleased to announce certain non-dilutive funding awards for our proposed Gigafactory in Rockwall, Texas," stated Mr. MacEwen. "The planned 3-gigawatt facility will feature advanced manufacturing of next-generation fuel cells at scaled production volumes and significantly reduced costs. The $40 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, and an award valued up to $54 million from the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Tax Credit (48C) funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), provide Ballard with a total of up to $94 million of U.S. federal funding."
Mr. MacEwen concluded, "In the context of an increasingly constructive policy environment, a growing Order Backlog, and with sustained investments in product cost reduction, advanced manufacturing, and capacity expansion, we see an exciting set-up for a strong second half of 2024 and growth in 2025. We are well positioned to enable our customers to compete in the energy transition and the adoption of hydrogen fuel cells to decarbonize heavy-duty mobility and select stationary power applications."
Q1 2024 Financial Highlights
(all comparisons are to Q1 2023 unless otherwise noted)
Order Backlog ($M) | Order Backlog at End-Q4 2023 |
Orders Received in Q1 2024 |
Orders Delivered in Q1 2024 |
Order Backlog at End-Q1 2024 |
Total Fuel Cell Products & Services |
$130.5 | $64.5 | $14.5 | $180.5 |
2024 Outlook
Consistent with the Company's past practice, and in view of the early stage of hydrogen fuel cell market development, specific revenue or net income (loss) guidance for 2024 is not provided. The Company expects revenue in 2024 will be back-half weighted, with roughly 30% in the first half and 70% in the second half, similar to 2023. Ballard's Total Operating Expense2 and Capital Expenditure3 guidance ranges for 2024 are as follows:
2024 |
Guidance |
Total Operating Expense2 |
$145 - $165 million |
Capital Expenditure3 |
$50 - $70 million |
Q1 2024 Financial Summary
For a more detailed discussion of Ballard Power Systems' first quarter 2024 results, please see the company's financial statements and management's discussion & analysis, which are available at www.ballard.com/investors, www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
About Ballard Power Systems
Ballard Power Systems' (NASDAQ: BLDP; TSX: BLDP) vision is to deliver fuel cell power for a sustainable planet. Ballard zero-emission PEM fuel cells are enabling electrification of mobility, including buses, commercial trucks, trains, marine vessels, and stationary power. To learn more about Ballard, please visit www.ballard.com.
Additional Details on Earnings Report Endnotes 1 Note that Cash Operating Costs, EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP measures. Non-GAAP measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and therefore are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Ballard believes that Cash Operating Costs, EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA assist investors in assessing Ballard's operating performance. These measures should be used in addition to, and not as a substitute for, net income (loss), cash flows and other measures of financial performance and liquidity reported in accordance with GAAP. For a reconciliation of Cash Operating Costs, EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA to the Consolidated Financial Statements, please refer to the tables below. [ MORE ] |
Forward-looking statements This release contains forward-looking statements concerning the development and delivery of fuel cell products, and the benefits and anticipated market adoption of them. These forward-looking statements reflect Ballard's current expectations as contemplated under section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. [ MORE ] |
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