Strong order backlog reflects growing demand
for forklift battery products
TORONTO, Dec. 23, 2019 /CNW/ - Electrovaya Inc.
("Electrovaya" or the "Company") (TSX: EFL; OTCQX: EFLVF), a
lithium ion battery manufacturer with industry-leading performance
and substantial intellectual property, today reported its
financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended
September 30, 2019 ("Q4 2019" and "FY
2019", respectively). All dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars unless
otherwise noted.
Financial Highlights:
- Revenue in FY 2019 was $4.9
million (C$6.4 million),
compared to $5.6 million
(C$7.4 million) for the fiscal year
ended September 30, 2018 ("FY
2018").
- Gross profit in FY 2019 was $1.9
million (C$2.5 million),
compared to gross profit of $1.8
million (C$2.4 million), in FY
2018.
- The Company has been concentrating on containing costs while
continuing to pursue revenue opportunities. Operating expenses were
reduced to $8.9 million (C$11.7 million) for FY 2019 from $11.6 million (C$15.3
million) for FY 2018.
- Net loss from continued operations in FY 2019 was $2.8 million (C$3.7
million), compared to $10.2
million (C$13.4 million) in FY
2018. The decreased net loss was primarily attributable to a gain
on the sale of its former head office building and reductions in
overhead expenses and finance costs.
Business Highlights and Outlook:
- Electrovaya anticipates revenue of approximately $6 million (C$7.9
million) for the first half of fiscal 2020 due to completion
of deliveries on the recently announced purchase orders. EBITDA is
expected to be positive by the second quarter ending March 31, 2020, barring unforeseen
circumstances.
- The Company's order backlog exceeds $9.2
million (C$12 million) due to
strong customer demand.
- In December 2019, Electrovaya
moved its corporate head office to 6688 Kitimat Road in
Mississauga, Ontario. The new
location, which comprises approximately 62,000 square feet, is
designed to enhance the Company's productivity and efficiency.
- On September 5, 2019, the Company
announced that it received a C$7.3
million purchase order from Walmart Canada. Electrovaya
understands Walmart plans to convert all the forklifts at two of
its distribution centres to Electrovaya's lithium ion batteries.
Following installation, Walmart will have three distribution
centres in which the forklifts are fully powered by Electrovaya
batteries. A fourth Walmart distribution center in the Americas has
also started outfitting its forklifts with Electrovaya
batteries.
- Electrovaya has secured a C$7
million credit facility from a Canadian financial
institution to fulfill its growing volume of sales orders.
- On May 9, 2019, the Company
announced the signing of a sales agreement with The Raymond
Corporation ("Raymond"), enabling Electrovaya's forklift batteries
to be sold through Raymond's distribution network.
- Electrovaya has developed more than 25 different lithium ion
ceramic battery models to date for the Materials Handling Electric
Vehicle ("MHEV") sector (primarily for electric forklifts). The
Company currently sells 24V, 36V, 48V and 80V batteries through
both direct sales to large global companies and through Original
Equipment Manufacturer ("OEM") distribution. Electrovaya is focused
on providing batteries for mission-critical applications in which
MHEVs operate multiple shifts per day, work the equivalent of up to
250,000 kilometres per year, and require multiple fast charges each
day. The Company's batteries have exceptional cycle life and safety
standards, along with excellent energy, power and fast-charging
capabilities.
- During FY 2019, the Company also delivered several hundred
batteries to an Automated Guided Vehicle ("AGV") OEM to power new
AGVs.
- Electrovaya is targeting the electric bus market. Similar to
the MHEV market, electric buses operate for long hours, and a long
cycle life and strong safety standards are important battery
parameters. During FY 2019, the Company received a purchase order
for a 300 kWh, 600V battery system to power an electric bus.
Electrovaya's research and development in the electric bus sector
is being supported by a $2.9 million
(C$3.8 million) contract with
Sustainable Development Technology Canada.
- The Company's battery products were showcased at a number of
trade shows during FY 2019. At the ProMat 2019 conference in
Chicago, the batteries were
displayed in both Electrovaya's booth and its OEM partner's
booth.
- Electrovaya's intellectual property continues to increase with
fresh patents and know-how. The Company currently has more than 100
registered patents.
The Company's complete Annual Audited Financial Statements,
Management Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form for
the year ended September 30, 2019 are
available at www.sedar.com or on the Company's website at
www.electrovaya.com.
Conference Call Details:
The Company will hold a
conference call following the holiday season on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) to discuss the FY
2019 financial results and to provide a business update.
Conference ID: 13697623
US and Canada toll free: (877)
407-8291
International: + 1 (201) 689-8345
To help ensure that the conference begins in a timely manner,
please dial in 10 minutes prior to the start of the call.
For those unable to participate in the conference call, a
replay will be available for two weeks beginning on January 7, 2020 through January 21, 2020. To access the replay, the U.S.
dial-in number is (877) 660-6853 and the non-U.S. dial-in number is
+1 (201) 612-7415. The replay conference ID is 13697623.
About Electrovaya Inc.
Electrovaya Inc. (TSX:EFL) (OTCQX:EFLVF) designs,
develops and manufactures proprietary Lithium Ion batteries,
battery systems, and battery-related products for energy storage,
clean electric transportation and other specialized applications.
Electrovaya is a technology focused company with extensive IP.
Headquartered in Ontario, Canada,
Electrovaya has production facilities in Canada with customers around the globe.
To learn more about how Electrovaya is powering mobility and
energy storage, please explore www.electrovaya.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements,
including statements that relate to, among other things, revenue
forecasts and in particular the forecast for the first half of
fiscal 2020, anticipated positive EBITDA by the second quarter
2020, anticipated further sequential revenue growth in fiscal 2020,
anticipated increased collaboration with OEMs in fiscal 2020,
anticipated continued increase in sales momentum in fiscal 2020
through OEMs and directly to large global companies, including
Fortune 500 companies, the future direction of the Company's
business and products, the Company's ability to source supply to
satisfy demand for its products and satisfy current order volume,,
technology development progress, pre-launch plans, plans for
product development, plans to work with OEMs, plans to sell
directly to user, plans for shipment using the Company's
technology, production plans, the Company's markets, objectives,
goals, strategies, intentions, beliefs, expectations and estimates,
and can generally be identified by the use of words such as "may",
"will", "could", "should", "would", "likely", "possible", "expect",
"intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "objective"
and "continue" (or the negative thereof) and words and expressions
of similar import. Although the Company believes that the
expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are
reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and
undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Certain
material factors or assumptions are applied in making
forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ
materially from those expressed or implied in such statements.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from expectations include but are not limited to: that
current customers will continue to make and increase orders for the
Company's products, and in accordance with communicated
intentions, that the Company's alternate supply chain will be
adequate to replace material supply and manufacturing, that the
Company's interpretation of the effect of any comfort given to
Litarion's auditors of the Company's financial support for
Litarion's operations is correct, and that Litarion's insolvency
process will proceed in an orderly fashion that will satisfy
Litarion's debt without a significant negative effect on the
Company or its assets, actions taken by creditors and remedies
granted by German courts in the Litarion insolvency proceedings and
their effect on the Company's business and assets, negative
reactions of the Company's existing customers to Litarion's
insolvency process, general business and economic conditions
(including but not limited to currency rates and creditworthiness
of customers), Company liquidity and capital resources, including
the availability of additional capital resources to fund its
activities, level of competition, changes in laws and regulations,
legal and regulatory proceedings, the ability to adapt products and
services to the changing market, the ability to attract and retain
key executives, and the ability to execute strategic plans.
Additional information about material factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from expectations and about
material factors or assumptions applied in making forward-looking
statements may be found in the Company's Annual Information Form
for the year ended September 30, 2019
under "Risk Factors", and in the Company's most recent annual and
interim Management's Discussion and Analysis under "Qualitative And
Quantitative Disclosures about Risk and Uncertainties" as well as
in other public disclosure documents filed with Canadian securities
regulatory authorities. The Company does not undertake any
obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the
forward-looking statements contained in this document, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by law.
Revenue and EBITDA forecasts herein constitute
future‐oriented financial information and
financial outlooks (collectively, "FOFI"), and
generally, are, without limitation, based on the assumptions
and subject to the risks set out above under
"Forward‐Looking Statements". Although
management believes such assumption to be reasonable, a number of
such assumptions are beyond the Company's control and there can be
no assurance that the assumptions made in preparing the FOFI
will prove accurate. FOFI is provided for
the purpose of providing information
about management's current expectations
and plans relating to the Company's future
performance, and may not be appropriate for other purposes.
The FOFI does not purport to present the Company's financial
condition in accordance with IFRS, and it is expected that
there may be differences between
actual and forecasted results, and
the differences may be material. The
inclusion of the FOFI in this news release disclosure should not be
regarded as an indication that the Company considers the FOFI to be
a reliable prediction of future events, and the FOFI should not be
relied upon as such.
SOURCE Electrovaya Inc.