• Fluence Energy, Inc. Reports First Quarter Results

    Источник: Nasdaq GlobeNewswire / 09 фев 2022 19:26:45   America/New_York

    ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fluence Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: FLNC) (“Fluence” or the “Company”), a leading global pure-play provider of energy storage products, services, as well as digital applications for renewables and storage, today announced its results for the three months ended December 31, 2021.

    Strategic and Operational Highlights

    First Fiscal Quarter Ended December 31, 2021

    • Significant growth across the organization
      • Awarded a 200 MW transmission and distribution enhancement contract following a successful 1 MW pilot with Litgrid AB.
      • Awarded a 320 MW Fluence IQ contract in Australia for Fluence IQ to optimize the portfolio of renewable assets for a major telecommunication company.   
      • Added 139 full-time employees during the quarter, including two new executives for software controls and software engineering.
    • Executed supply chain improvements focused on targeting long term value creation.
      • Increased supply chain and manufacturing organization by 57% since September 30, 2021.
      • Selected contract manufacturers for new locations in North America and Europe.

    January and February 2022

    • Signed a 1.1GW Fluence IQ contract with AES for the optimization of solar and energy storage portfolio in the Western United States.
    • Signed a term sheet with ReNew Power to enter into a 50:50 joint venture in India.
    • Entered into a partnership with Pexapark to provide innovative energy sales advisory services and roll out digital applications to the Fluence IQ ecosystem. This is the first partnership between Fluence and a third-party developer to further strengthen and amplify the capabilities of the Fluence IQ ecosystem.
    • Entered into a strategic agreement to collaborate with QuantumScape, a leader in solid-state battery technology, setting the stage for a possible large-scale supply agreement in the future.

    Financial Highlights

    • First quarter financial results showcase strong order intake and delayed revenue recognition.
      • Total revenues for the first fiscal quarter were $175 million, up 50% from the same quarter last year.
      • Net loss for the first fiscal quarter was $(111) million, compared to $(12) million for the same quarter last year.
      • Adjusted EBITDA* for the first fiscal quarter was $(43) million, compared to $(11) million for the same quarter last year.
    • Reaffirm our fiscal year 2022 total revenue guidance of $1.1 to $1.3 billion.
    • Total backlog of $1.9 billion as of December 31, 2021; comprised of approximately $1.6 billion from energy storage products, and approximately $0.3 billion from recurring revenues (energy storage services and Fluence IQ). This is compared to our September 30, 2021 Total backlog of $1.7 billion.

    *Non-GAAP Financial Metric. See the section below titled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for details, as well as a reconciliation to the most directly comparable financials measure stated in accordance with GAAP.

    Executive Summary

    Commenting on the quarter, Manuel Perez Dubuc, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said “I’m pleased to report that we exceeded expectations for new customer orders of our energy storage products during the first fiscal quarter despite short-term headwinds. We take comfort in our $1.9 billion backlog that continues to grow and provide additional visibility to future cash flow. Operationally, we now have 4.2 GWs of energy storage products deployed or contracted worldwide and have strong visibility to future cash flows through our backlog. More importantly, we continue to see strong growth in our digital business providing us with confirmation of our strategy and execution.

    I am most excited about the progress we've made in our digital business, first with our Pexapark partnership and more recently with our 1.1 GW Fluence IQ contract with AES. This contract is the largest digital award ever and enables us to meet our 2022 annual recurring revenue target for Fluence IQ, seven months ahead of schedule.

    We are still seeing some headwinds associated with supply chain disruptions from COVID-19 as well as project cost overruns from our first Gen 6 product installations and commissioning. We've taken swift action to mitigate these challenges that provide us the confidence to reaffirm our fiscal year 2022 guidance. This guidance assumes that ongoing energy storage supply chain disruptions and temporary closures of customer constructions sites will be resolved during 2022.

    We also positioned ourselves for continued long-term success through several key initiatives executed in January 2022. First, we signed a term sheet with ReNew Power, India’s leading renewable company, to form a 50:50 joint venture in India. By partnering with ReNew, a well-respected, established, and pure renewables player in India, Fluence has the first mover advantage to quickly capture Indian market share. This independent joint venture will license and sell our products and services to anyone in India, including ReNew. We are pleased this announcement is accompanied by the announcement of the joint venture’s first contract, which will consist of a 150 MWh order.

    Second, we expanded our digital ecosystem by adding Pexapark and its four applications to our Fluence IQ platform. This is a significant milestone that corroborates our vision for Fluence IQ and provides us with additional upside through revenue sharing.

    And finally, we signed a strategic agreement with QuantumScape, to collaborate and test QuantumScape’s solid-state technology in Fluence’s proprietary products. We are excited to partner with them as we strive to increase our ability to develop higher density and lower cost products, while also increasing total safety features.

    Looking forward, we continue to see record levels of demand and we believe our recent strategic actions bolster our ability to capitalize on these opportunities and deliver value to our shareholders as we transform the way we power our world for a more sustainable future.”

    Commenting on the company’s financial results, Dennis Fehr, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, said “During the first fiscal quarter, we made progress towards completing several key orders. Like the prior quarter, the recent COVID-19 surge resulted in product-related revenues being delayed, thereby shifting the timing of revenue recognition. However, in spite of the compounding effects of COVID-19, based on our corrective measures, we expect to catch up on these orders in the short-term. As we focus on delivering against our backlog, we are also continuing to experience strong demand for our products and services, providing us solid visibility for future growth.”  

    Fiscal Year 2022 Total Revenue Guidance and Annual Seasonality

    The Company reaffirmed its fiscal year 2022 total revenue guidance of $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion. This guidance assumes that ongoing energy storage product shipping delays and temporary closures of customer constructions sites will be resolved during 2022.  

    Fluence’s business has historically been subject to seasonality due to the timing of many projects coming online around the northern hemisphere summer peak season. As a result, revenue recognition as a percentage of annual revenue has historically been approximately 15% during Q1, approximately 15% during Q2, approximately 40% during Q3, and approximately 30% during Q4 of the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30.

    Fiscal year ending September 30FY Q1
    (Oct – Dec)
    FY Q2
    (Jan – Mar)
    FY Q3
    (Apr – Jun)
    FY Q4
    (July – Sept)
    Approximate Percentage of Annual Revenue and Percentage of Annual Contracted Megawatts15%15%40%30%


    Calendar year ending December 31CY Q1
    (Jan – Mar)
    CY Q2
    (Apr – Jun)
    CY Q3
    (Jul – Sep)
    CY Q4
    (Oct – Dec)
    Approximate Percentage of Annual Revenue and Percentage of Annual Contracted Megawatts15%40%30%15%

    Share Count

    The shares of the Company’s common stock are presented below:

    in millionsCommon Shares
    Class B-1 common stock held by AES Grid Stability, LLC58.587
    Class B-1 common stock held by Siemens Industry, Inc.58.587
    Class A common stock held by Qatar Holding LLC18.493
    Class A common stock issued in IPO35.650
    Total Class A and Class B-1 common stock outstanding (1)171.317

    (1) Before incentive compensation award plans

    Conference Call Information

    Fluence will conduct a teleconference starting at 8:30 a.m. EST on Thursday, February 10th, 2022, to discuss the first fiscal quarter results. To participate, dial +1 (855)-638-9362 (US/Canada toll-free) or +1 (281)-456-4059 (international) and refer to conference ID 3382519 approximately 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

    The teleconference will be simulcast in a listen-only mode at: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/xvhgex5h, or on https://ir.fluenceenergy.com/news-events. Supplemental materials including the quarterly earnings presentation may be referenced during the teleconference will be available on our website.

    A replay of the conference call will be available after 1 p.m. EST on Thursday, February 10, 2022. The replay will be available on the Company’s website at https://ir.fluenceenergy.com/news-events and will remain available for the next 12 months.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    We present our operating results in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”). We believe certain financial measures, such as Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Profit Margin, Adjusted Net Loss, and Free Cash Flow, which are non-GAAP measures, provide users of our financial statements with supplemental information that may be useful in evaluating our operating performance. We believe that such non-GAAP measures, when read in conjunction with our operating results presented under GAAP, can be used to better assess our performance from period to period and relative to performance of other companies in our industry, without regard to financing methods, historical cost basis or capital structure. Such non-GAAP measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. These measures have limitations as analytical tools, including that other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate these measures differently, reducing their usefulness as comparative measures. Please refer to the reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures included in this press release and the accompanying tables contained at the end of this release.  

    About Fluence

    Fluence is a leading global provider of energy storage products and services and AI-enabled digital applications for renewables and storage. Our energy storage products are built on our sixth-generation technology stack (“Tech Stack”), which combines our modular, factory-built hardware (“Fluence Cube”) with a proprietary edge-based controls system (“Fluence OS”). Our service offerings include delivery services and recurring operational services, as well as financing structuring services, such as energy-storage-as-a-service (“ESaaS”). The Fluence IQ Digital Platform includes the Fluence Bidding Application, which delivers AI-powered market bidding optimization for solar, wind, and energy storage assets, including non-Fluence energy storage systems.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    The statements described herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements set forth above under “Fiscal Year 2022 Total Revenue Guidance and Annual Seasonality” and other statements regarding future financial performance, business strategies, expansion plans, future results of operations, future revenue recognition and estimated revenues, losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management. Such statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. When used in this presentation, words such as such as “may,” ”possible,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “targets,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. and variations thereof and similar words and expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.

    The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events, and their potential effects on our business. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance, and there can be no assurance that future developments affecting our business will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, which include, but are not limited to, our ability to achieve or maintain profitability, our ability to successfully execute our business and growth strategy, our ability to develop new product offerings and services, the potential adverse effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including capacity constraints within the shipping industry, increased shipping costs and delays in the shipping of our energy storage products, and other factors set forth under Part I, Item 1A.“Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on December 14, 2021 and in other filings we make with the SEC from time to time. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the effect of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements made in this press release. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur, or which we become aware of, after the date hereof, except as otherwise may be required by law.

    Contacts

    Analyst
    Samuel Chong
    +1 872-301-2501
    Email : InvestorRelations@fluenceenergy.com

    Lexington May
    +1 713-909-5629
    Email : InvestorRelations@fluenceenergy.com

    Media
    Alison Mickey
    +1 703-721-8818
    Email: media.na@fluenceenergy.com


    FLUENCE ENERGY, INC.

    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND
    COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (UNAUDITED)
    (U.S. Dollars in Thousands, except share and per share amounts)

     Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      2021   2020 
    Revenue$27,054  $97,828 
    Revenue from related parties 147,833   18,405 
    Total revenue 174,887   116,233 
    Cost of goods and services 228,036   111,434 
    Gross (loss) profit (53,149)  4,799 
    Operating expenses:   
    Research and development 10,758   4,144 
    Sales and marketing 13,059   4,741 
    General and administrative 31,201   6,722 
    Depreciation and amortization 1,427   1,070 
    Interest expense 682   89 
    Other income (expense), net (826)  156 
    Loss before income taxes (111,102)  (11,811)
    Income tax expense 358   685 
    Net loss (111,460)  (12,496)
    Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests (82,655) $(12,496)
    Net loss attributable to Fluence Energy, Inc.$(28,805) n/a
        
    Weighted average number of Class A common shares outstanding:   
    Basic and diluted 54,143,275  n/a
    Loss per share of Class A common stock   
    Basic and diluted$(0.53) n/a
        
    Foreign currency translation gain (loss), net of income tax (expense) benefit of $0 in each period$299  $(851)
    Total other comprehensive income (loss) 299   (851)
    Total comprehensive loss (111,161)  (13,347)
    Comprehensive loss attributable to non-controlling interest (82,570) $(13,347)
    Total comprehensive loss attributable to Fluence Energy, Inc.$(28,591) n/a


    FLUENCE ENERGY, INC.

    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)
    (U.S. Dollars in Thousands, except share and per share amounts)

     December 31,
    2021
     September 30,
    2021
    Assets   
    Current assets:   
    Cash and cash equivalents$632,143  $36,829 
    Trade receivables, net of allowances ($88 and $90 at December 31 and September 30, 2021, respectively) 56,136   46,664 
    Unbilled receivables 86,933   101,975 
    Receivables from related parties 48,388   33,362 
    Advances to suppliers 40,586   9,741 
    Inventory, net 442,356   389,787 
    Other current assets 74,793   43,157 
    Total current assets 1,381,335   661,515 
    Non-current assets:   
    Property and equipment, net 8,567   8,206 
    Intangible assets, net 35,145   36,057 
    Goodwill 9,167   9,176 
    Deferred income tax asset 1,184   1,184 
    Other non-current assets 47,256   1,537 
    Total non-current assets 101,319   56,160 
    Total assets$1,482,654  $717,675 
    Liabilities, Stockholders’ Equity, Members’ Deficit, and Mezzanine Equity   
    Current liabilities:   
    Accounts payable$92,802  $158,366 
    Deferred revenue 145,765   71,365 
    Borrowing from line of credit    50,000 
    Borrowing from related parties    50,000 
    Personnel related liabilities 22,990   12,861 
    Accruals and provisions 214,838   186,143 
    Payables and deferred revenue with related parties 206,021   227,925 
    Taxes payable 17,764   12,892 
    Other current liabilities 2,175   1,941 
    Total current liabilities 702,355   771,493 
    Non-current liabilities:   
    Personnel related liabilities 1,859   1,607 
    Accruals and provisions 340   774 
    Total non-current liabilities 2,199   2,381 
    Total liabilities 704,554   773,874 
    Commitments and contingencies (Note 12)   
    Mezzanine equity (0 and 18,493,275 units issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and September 30, 2021, respectively)    117,235 
    Stockholders’ Equity / Members’ Deficit   
    Members’ capital contributions   106,152 
    Preferred stock, $0.00001 per share, 10,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021.     
    Class A common stock, $0.00001 par value per share, 1,200,000,000 shares authorized; 54,143,275 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021.     
    Class B-1 common stock, $0.00001 par value per share, 300,000,000 shares authorized; 117,173,390 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021 1    
    Class B-2 common stock, $0.00001 par value per share, 300,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021     
    Additional paid-in capital 281,347    
    Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) 4   (285)
    Accumulated deficit (28,805)  (279,301)
    Total stockholders’ equity attributable to Fluence Energy, Inc./ Members’ deficit 252,547   (173,434)
    Non-controlling interests 525,553    
    Total stockholders’ equity and members’ deficit 778,100   (173,434)
    Total liabilities, stockholders’ equity, members’ deficit, and mezzanine equity$1,482,654  $717,675 


    FLUENCE ENERGY, INC.

    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED)
    (U.S. Dollars in Thousands)

     Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      2021   2020 
    Operating activities   
    Net loss$(111,460) $(12,496)
    Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:   
    Depreciation and amortization 1,427   1,070 
    Amortization of debt issuance costs 137    
    Inventory provision 3,517    
    Stock based compensation expense 24,877    
    Provision (benefit) on loss contracts 5,668   (1,399)
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities:   
    Trade receivables (9,472)  4,094 
    Unbilled receivables 15,042   (21,961)
    Receivables from related parties (15,026)  (13,857)
    Advances to suppliers (30,845)  (5,219)
    Inventory (56,086)  (141,213)
    Other current assets (134)  (718)
    Other non-current assets (35,371)  (15)
    Accounts payable (59,244)  (27,353)
    Payables and deferred revenue with related parties (21,904)  26,727 
    Deferred revenue 74,400   30,609 
    Current accruals and provisions 23,027   110,491 
    Taxes payable 4,872   (3,340)
    Other current liabilities (4,794)  (3,935)
    Other non-current liabilities (182)  207 
    Net cash used in operating activities (191,551)  (58,308)
    Investing activities   
    Cash paid for business acquisition    (18,000)
    Purchase of property and equipment (870)  (1,055)
    Net cash used in investing activities (870)  (19,055)
    Financing activities   
    Proceeds from issuance of Class A common stock sold in the IPO, net of underwriting discounts 947,991    
    Payment of IPO costs (5,465)   
    Payment of transaction cost related to issuance of membership units (6,320)   
    Payment of debt issuance costs (2,719)   
    Repayment of promissory notes – related parties (50,000)   
    Borrowing from line of credit    22,000 
    Repayment to line of credit (50,000)   
    Net cash provided by financing activities 833,487   22,000 
    Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 280   (868)
    Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 641,346   (56,231)
    Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash as of the beginning of the period 38,069   95,051 
    Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash as of the end of the period$679,415  $38,820 


    FLUENCE ENERGY, INC.

    KEY OPERATING METRICS (UNAUDITED)

    The following tables present our key operating metrics as of December 31, 2021 and September 30, 2021, and for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

    (amounts in MW) December 31, 2021 September 30, 2021Change  Change %
    Energy Storage Products     
    Deployed 1,033 97162 6.4%
    Contracted Backlog 3,217 2,679538 20.1%
    Pipeline 13,894 14,161(267)(1.9%)
    Service Contracts    
    Asset under Management 83277260 7.8%
    Contracted Backlog 2,1081,918190 9.9%
    Pipeline 11,75810,930828 7.6%
    Digital Contracts    
    Asset under Management 3,8713,108763 24.5%
    Contracted Backlog 1,2011,629(428)(26.3%)
    Pipeline 4,4933,3011,192 36.1%


    (amounts in MW)

     Three Months Ended December 31,
     20212020ChangeChange %
    Energy Storage Products
    Contracted600 96504 525.0%
    Service Contracts    
    Contracted250 279(29)(10.4)%
    Digital Contracts    
    Contracted335 521(186)(35.7)%


    FLUENCE ENERGY, INC.

    RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP MEASURES (UNAUDITED)

    The following tables present our non-GAAP measures for the periods indicated.

    ($ in thousands)

    Three Months Ended December 31,Change


    Change %
     2021  2020 
    Net loss$(111,460) $(12,496)$(98,964)(792.0)%
    Add (deduct):
    Interest expense (income), net 615  86  529 (615.1)
    Income tax expense 358  685  (327)(47.7)
    Depreciation and amortization 1,427  1,070  357 33.4 
    Stock-based compensation(a)   24,877      24,877 n/a 
    Non-recurring expenses(b)  41,350    41,350 n/a 
    Adjusted EBITDA $(42,833) $(10,655) $(32,178)(302.0)%

    (a) Includes awards that will be settled in shares and awards that will be settled in cash.
    (b) Amount in 2021 included $5.6 million related to non-recurring excess shipping costs and $31.3 million of project charges and other costs which are compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, $4.3 million related to the 2021 cargo loss incident, and $0.1 million non-recurring IPO-related expenses which did not qualify for capitalization.

    ($ in thousands)

     Three Months Ended December 31, Change


    Change %
      2021  2020 
    Total Revenue $174,887 $116,233  58,654 50.5%
    Cost of goods and services 228,036  111,434  116,602 104.6 
    Gross (loss) profit (53,149) 4,799  (57,948)(1207.5)
    Add (deduct):   
    Stock-based compensation(a)   3,528      3,528 n/a 
    Non-recurring expenses(b)  41,266    41,266 n/a 
    Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) $(8,355)$4,799 $(13,154)(274.1)%
    Adjusted Gross Profit Margin %  (4.8)% 4.1%

    ​​​(a) Includes awards that will be settled in shares and awards that will be settled in cash.
    (b) Amount in 2021 included $5.6 million related to non-recurring excess shipping costs and $31.3 million of project charges and other costs which are compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and $4.3 million related to the 2021 cargo loss incident.

    ($ in thousands)

     Three Months Ended December 31, Change


    Change %
      2021  2020 
    Net loss $(111,460) $(12,496)$(98,964)(792.0)        %
    Add (deduct):
    Amortization of intangible assets  918  800  118 14.8
    Stock-based compensation(a)  24,877      24,877  n/a
    Non-recurring expenses(b)  41,350    41,350 n/a
    Adjusted Net Loss  $(44,315)$(11,696)$(32,619)(278.9)%

    ​​​​(a) Includes awards that will be settled in shares and awards that will be settled in cash.
    (b) Amount in 2021 included $5.6 million related to non-recurring excess shipping costs and $31.3 million of project charges and other costs which are compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, $4.3 million related to the 2021 cargo loss incident, and $0.1 million non-recurring IPO-related expenses which did not qualify for capitalization.

    ($ in thousands)

     Three Months Ended December 31, Change



    Change %

      2021   2020 
    Net cash used in operating activities $(191,551) $(58,308)$(133,243)(228.5)%
    Less: Purchase of property and equipment  (870) (1,055) 185 (17.5)
    Free Cash Flows  $(192,421)$(59,363)$(133,058)(224.1)%

     


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