Andy Marsh – Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) – President & CEO
PLUG – Plug Power Inc Business Update Conference Call
Event Date/Time: April 21, 2014
Thank you, Teal. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining the call today. It’s a busy time here at the Company as the business opportunities continue to expand every day. The product mix is right, customers are happy, we’ve added on to great people, technology and products from ReliOn, and we are attracting attention from additional customers, investors, and partners because we are the industry-leading company.
Plug Power closed nine GenKey deals
Let me start with an update on bookings. Currently, Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) has almost $80 million in bookings versus our 2014 goal of $150 million. We attribute this success with bookings to the increasing customer acceptance of our GenKey solution. GenKey, as you recall, is our turnkey hydrogen fuel-cell offering that includes proven GenDrive fuel-cell units combined with GenFuel hydrogen and fueling infrastructure and GenCare customer service and technical support. To date, Plug Power has closed nine GenKey deals. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) sits as our largest GenKey customer as we highlighted in our last call with a milestone order for over 1700 GenDrive units for six North American sites.
We’ve already initiated construction and manufacturing the GenFuel infrastructure for the first of those six Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) facilities. GenFuel hydrogen dispensers are currently being assembled in our Latham, New York plant, and the GenFuel deployment team is on site installing the outdoor groundwork for hydrogen storage and dispensing. We expect this first GenKey deployment to be completed on schedule by the second quarter of 2014.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has clearly demonstrated its trust in Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) through its ongoing orders and partnerships. GenKey customers also include Kroger for facilities in Stapleton, Colorado, in Louisville, Kentucky and Volkswagen, Plug Power’s newest auto manufacturing customer for a site in Tennessee.
For these and other potential Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) customers, we will make the switch from lead acid batteries to hydrogen fuel cells for the material handling operation. GenKey dramatically simplifies the conversion process. For Plug Power investors, GenKey adds a returning revenue stream from fuel and service contracts, in addition to our product sales. It is because of this increased customer adoption of GenKey that we believe Plug Power will achieve our revenue targets for 2014. Plug Power is leveraging this rapid expansion to build a business for stable, long-term growth and profitability.
Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) will also consider dramatically increasing our sales team in 2014. This could layer added SG&A expenses in the year, but could significantly increase revenue in 2015. Now let’s turn to some of the other activities that will impact our business in the near future. With regard to market expansion, Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) is focused on leveraging our leadership position in the fuel-cell industry. We are currently capitalizing on several opportunities.
Plug Power will expand in Asia
The next path for Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG)’s geographical expansion is into Asia. As we did in Europe with JV partner, Air Liquide, Plug Power will expand in Asia through a strategic partnership. And today I’d like to announce that Plug Power and Hyundai Hysco have signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding to form a fuel-cell joint venture to develop and sell hydrogen fuel-cell products in countries throughout Asia. You’re most likely familiar with Hyundai as a South Korean manufacturer and automotive giant. The Company’s Hysco subsidiary is now known worldwide for its advanced products and material development, including work on fuel-cell systems. The company is known within Hyundai for its legendary Korean R&D center.
