VANCOUVER, BC, May 9, 2022
/PRNewswire/ - Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP) (TSX:
BLDP) today announced consolidated financial results for the first
quarter ended March 31, 2022. All
amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted and have been
prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS).
"The converging macro drivers of energy security and climate
crisis have irreversibly shifted global views on the need to
accelerate our energy transition," said Mr. Randy MacEwen, President and CEO. "This is the
context as Ballard continues to build a valuable business that will
help to decarbonize medium- and heavy-duty motive applications,
including certain bus, truck, rail and marine market segments. We
continue to focus on our customer relationships and achieve
platform wins where Ballard's leading fuel cell technology offers a
future zero-emission value proposition based on range, payload,
rapid refueling, and attractive total cost of ownership."
Mr. MacEwen remarked, "In the first quarter, we achieved revenue
of $21.0 million, a 19% increase from
Q1 2021, while also securing new orders totaling $27.8 million, driven primarily by European
customers. Our gross margin compression is consistent with our 2022
plan, reflecting expected changes in our revenue mix, selling
prices, and cost structure. On revenue mix, we have a heavier
weighting of module product sales, including new modules in early
volume production. On selling prices, we have been pricing certain
low-volume customer pilot projects to secure platform wins with
strategic accounts. On costs, fixed overhead costs are elevated as
we invested in advanced manufacturing and production capacity
expansion. Like others, we have also seen some inflationary cost
pressures in our supply chain and freight. While we expect
compressed gross margin in the near term, we are confident in
margin expansion in the mid- to long-term driven by higher
production volumes as customers transition from pilot projects to
commercial deployment and as we continue to progress on our product
cost reduction program."
"We ended the quarter with strong cash reserves of $1.1 billion, which enables us to execute our
growth strategy. Our escalated investment is consistent with our
outlook as we increase our spending on talent, technology,
products, capabilities, and customer experience. We are confident
investing ahead of the curve will position the company for
significant market share as the adoption of hydrogen accelerates
over the coming years," Mr. MacEwen added.
Q1 2022 Financial
Highlights
(all comparisons are to Q1 2021 unless otherwise
noted)
- Total revenue was $21.0 million
in the quarter, up 19% year-over-year. This increase was driven by
growth in Power Product sales, more than offsetting the decline in
Technology Solutions revenue.
-
- Power Products generated revenue of $13.3 million in the quarter, an increase of 41%,
driven by higher shipments of fuel cell products.
-
- Stationary Power Generation revenues of $4.1 million increased 447%, supported by an
increase in sales of stationary power generation fuel cell modules,
stacks, products and service revenues.
- Heavy-Duty revenues of $6.9
million increased by a nominal amount.
- Material Handling revenues of $2.2
million increased 28%, primarily as a result of higher
shipments to Plug Power.
- Technology Solutions generated revenue of $7.8 million in the quarter, a decrease of 5% due
primarily to variance in timing of underlying program
requirements.
- Gross margin was (1)% in the quarter, a decrease of 16-points,
driven by a combination of higher fixed overhead costs, a shift in
revenue mix, and increased labor, supply, and freight
expenses.
- Operating Expenses and Cash Operating Costs were $30.3 million and $26.1
million in the quarter, respectively, an increase of 69% and
82%, respectively. Increases were driven primarily by higher
expenditure on research, technology and product development
activities, including the development of next-generation fuel cell
stacks and engines for target markets, as well as increased
continuation engineering investments in existing fuel cell
products. Costs were also higher as a result of increased
general and administrative expenses and sales and marketing
expenses.
- Adjusted EBITDA was ($27.5)
million, compared to ($14.0)
million in Q1 2021, primarily a result of the decrease in
gross margin and increase in Cash Operating Costs.
- Ballard received approximately $27.8
million of new orders in Q1, and delivered orders valued at
$21.0 million, resulting in an Order
Backlog of approximately $99.8
million at end-Q1.
- The 12-month Order Book was $65.8
million at end-Q1, a decrease of $1.6
million from the end of Q4 2021.
Order Backlog
($M)
|
Order Backlog
at End-Q4 2021
|
Orders Received
in Q1 2022
|
Orders Delivered
in Q1 2022
|
Order Backlog
at End-Q1 2022
|
Total Fuel Cell
Products & Services
|
$93.1
|
$27.8
|
$21.0
|
$99.8
|
Post-Quarter Commercial
Update
- On April 6, 2022, Ballard
announced it received Europe's
industry first Type Approval by DNV, one of the world's leading
classification and certification bodies, for its marine fuel cell
module FCwaveTM. The Type Approval marks an important
step in commercializing Ballard's fuel cell technology for marine
applications and is key to including fuel cells as part of
zero-emission solutions for the marine industry.
2022 Outlook
Ballard's 2022 outlook remains in line with previously stated
2022 guidance of Total Operating Expense4 between
$140 - $160
million and Capital Expenditure5 between
$40 - $60
million.
Q1 2022 Financial
Summary
(Millions of U.S.
dollars,
except per share amounts)
|
Three months
ended March 31,
|
|
2022
|
2021
|
% Change
|
REVENUE
|
|
|
|
Fuel Cell Products
& Services:1,2
|
|
|
|
Heavy Duty
Motive
|
$6.9
|
$6.9
|
0%
|
Material
Handling
|
$2.2
|
$1.7
|
28%
|
Stationary Power
Generation
|
$4.1
|
$0.8
|
447%
|
Sub-Total
|
$13.3
|
$9.4
|
41%
|
Technology
Solutions
|
$7.8
|
$8.2
|
(5)%
|
Total Fuel Cell
Products & Services Revenue
|
$21.0
|
$17.6
|
19%
|
PROFITABILITY
Gross Margin
$
|
($0.2)
|
$2.6
|
(108)%
|
Gross Margin
%
|
(1)%
|
15%
|
(16)-points
|
Operating
Expenses
|
$30.3
|
$18.0
|
69%
|
Cash Operating
Costs3
|
$26.1
|
$14.3
|
82%
|
Equity gain (loss) in
JV & Associates
|
($2.2)
|
($3.0)
|
27%
|
Adjusted
EBITDA3
|
($27.5)
|
($14.0)
|
(97)%
|
Net Income (Loss) from
continuing operations
|
($40.4)
|
($17.8)
|
(127)%
|
Earnings Per
Share
|
($0.14)
|
($0.06)
|
(133)%
|
CASH
|
|
|
|
Cash provided by (used
in) Operating Activities:
|
|
|
|
Cash
Operating Income (Loss)
|
($24.6)
|
($10.3)
|
(139)%
|
Working
Capital Changes
|
($17.1)
|
($5.4)
|
(217)%
|
Cash provided by (used
in) Operating Activities
|
($41.7)
|
($15.7)
|
(166)%
|
Cash
Reserves
|
$1,068.2
|
$1,270.9
|
(16)%
|
For a more detailed discussion of Ballard Power Systems' first
quarter 2022 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.
Conference Call
Ballard will hold a conference call on Monday, May 9, 2022 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time (11:00 a.m. Eastern Time) to review first quarter
2022 operating results. The live call can be accessed by dialing
+1.604.638.5340. Alternatively, a live audio and webcast can
be accessed through a link on Ballard's homepage (www.ballard.com).
Following the call, the audio webcast and presentation materials
will be archived in the 'Earnings, Interviews & Presentations'
area of the 'Investors' section of Ballard's website
(www.ballard.com/investors).
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.
Important Cautions Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements concerning the
hydrogen economy and markets for our products and the effects of
governmental regulations on such markets, expected revenues,
operating expenses, capital expenditures, corporate development
activities, impacts of investments in manufacturing and R&D
capabilities and market growth, and our carbon emissions goals.
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. Any such statements are based on Ballard's
assumptions relating to its financial forecasts and expectations
regarding its product development efforts, manufacturing capacity,
and market demand. For a detailed discussion of the factors and
assumptions that these statements are based upon, and factors that
could cause our actual results or outcomes to differ materially,
please refer to Ballard's most recent management discussion &
analysis. Other risks and uncertainties that may cause Ballard's
actual results to be materially different include general economic
and regulatory changes, detrimental reliance on third parties,
successfully achieving our business plans and achieving and
sustaining profitability. For a detailed discussion of these and
other risk factors that could affect Ballard's future performance,
please refer to Ballard's most recent Annual Information Form.
These forward-looking statements are provided to enable external
stakeholders to understand Ballard's expectations as at the
date of this release and may not be appropriate for other purposes.
Readers should not place undue reliance on these statements and
Ballard assumes no obligation to update or release any revisions to
them, other than as required under applicable legislation.
_________________________________
Endnotes
1 We report our results in the single operating segment of
Fuel Cell Products and Services. Our Fuel Cell Products and
Services segment consists of the sale and service of PEM fuel cell
products for our power product markets of Heavy Duty Motive
(consisting of bus, truck, rail and marine applications), Material
Handling and Stationary Power Generation, as well as the delivery
of Technology Solutions, including engineering services, technology
transfer and the license and sale of our extensive intellectual
property portfolio and fundamental knowledge for a variety of fuel
cell applications.
2 The UAV market has been classified as a discontinued
operation in our third quarter of 2020 consolidated condensed
financial statements. As such, the assets of the UAV market have
been classified as assets held for sale as of September 30, 2020. Furthermore, the historic
operating results of the UAV market for 2020 have been removed from
continuing operating results and are instead presented separately
in the statement of comprehensive income as income from
discontinued operations.
3 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.
Cash Operating Costs measures operating expenses excluding
stock-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization,
impairment losses or recoveries on trade receivables, restructuring
charges, acquisition related costs, the impact of unrealized gains
or losses on foreign exchange contracts, and financing charges.
EBITDA measures net loss from continuing operations excluding
finance expense, income taxes, depreciation of property, plant and
equipment, and amortization of intangible assets. Adjusted EBITDA
adjusts EBITDA for stock-based compensation expense, transactional
gains and losses, asset impairment charges, finance and other
income, the impact of unrealized gains or losses on foreign
exchange contracts, and acquisition related costs.
4 Total Operating Expenses refer to the measure
reported in accordance with IFRS.
5 Capital Expenditure is defined as Additions to
property, plant and equipment and Investment in other
intangible assets as disclosed in the Consolidated Statements of
Cash Flows
(Expressed in
thousands of U.S. dollars)
|
Three months ended
March 31,
|
Cash Operating
Costs
|
2022
|
2021
|
$
Change
|
Total Operating
Expenses
|
$
30,311
|
$
17,967
|
$
12,344
|
|
Stock-based
compensation expense
|
(2,329)
|
(2,338)
|
9
|
|
Impairment
recovery (losses) on trade
receivables
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
Acquisition
related costs
|
(118)
|
-
|
(118)
|
|
Restructuring
(charges) recovery
|
(20)
|
(105)
|
85
|
|
Impact of
unrealized gains (losses) on foreign
exchange contracts
|
347
|
(118)
|
465
|
|
Depreciation and
amortization
|
(2,102)
|
(1,087)
|
(1,015)
|
|
Cash Operating
Costs
|
$
26,089
|
$
14,319
|
$
11,770
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Expressed in
thousands of U.S. dollars)
|
Three months ended
March 31
|
EBITDA and Adjusted
EBITDA
|
2022
|
2021
|
$
Change
|
Net loss from
continuing operations
|
$
(40,395)
|
$
(17,802)
|
$
(22,593)
|
Depreciation and
amortization
|
3,109
|
1,869
|
1,240
|
Finance
expense
|
347
|
316
|
31
|
Income taxes
(recovery)
|
(200)
|
11
|
(211)
|
EBITDA
|
$
(37,139)
|
$
(15,606)
|
$
(21,533)
|
Stock-based compensation expense
|
2,329
|
2,338
|
(9)
|
Acquisition related costs
|
118
|
-
|
118
|
Finance and other (income) loss
|
7,491
|
(822)
|
8,313
|
Impairment loss on assets
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Impact of unrealized (gains) losses on foreign
exchange
contracts
|
(347)
|
$
118
|
(465)
|
Adjusted
EBITDA
|
$
(27,548)
|
$
(13,972)
|
$
(13,576)
|
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SOURCE Ballard Power Systems Inc.