Plug Power shares ticked up 1.33% on Tuesday after upbeat comments from the company’s CEO Andy Marsh. Earlier this week, Plug Power revealed that it has signed a $20 million multi-year contract with SouthernLINC Wireless, a unit of Southern Company. It will provide ReliOn integrated fuel cell backup stations and GenFuel hydrogen services to SouthernLINC Wireless.
First of many deals expected this year
The Latham, New York-based company had successfully demonstrated ReliOn to the Atlanta-based wireless network before the contract was awarded. The wireless network supports Southern Company’s communication needs. The Atlanta energy company has 4.4 million customers in the Southeastern United States. Plug Power claims its ReliOn system requires very little space for deployment and has a relatively lower cost of ownership.
It was first of many deals Andy Marsh expects to announce this year. Over the past few months, the fuel cell company has signed multiple deals with giants like Walmart, Volkswagen, FedEx, BMW and others. The company is also expanding into markets beyond material handling. The company has started producing fuel cells for refrigerated trucks and the ground support equipment (GSEs) at airports.
Plug Power to focus on deployment numbers this year
Andy Marsh told Albany Business Review that the company was on track for $130 million revenue in 2015. The deal with SouthernLINC will represent a portion of the company’s revenue goal. By comparison, Wall Street forecasts $123.7 million revenue for the current fiscal year. Plug Power was targeting $75 million revenue in 2014, compared to the consensus estimate of $69 million.
This year, the company will focus on meeting its deployment numbers for the material handling market. Andy Marsh said fuel cells used to power forklift trucks for its major clients represent over 80% of its revenue. The company will also focus on the hydrogen fuel market. Hydrogen will play a crucial role in expanding the fuel cell market. In November, Plug Power signed a deal with Praxair for hydrogen distribution.
Plug Power shares inched up 0.33% to $3.06 in pre-market trading Wednesday.
