Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) released its June quarter results on August 14. The fuel cell company’s YoY losses narrowed and its revenue grew faster than analysts had expected. The company reported adjusted loss of 4 cents a share, in line with the consensus estimates and better than last year’s loss of $9.3 million or 14 cents a share.
Plug Power more than doubles its revenue
Plug Power’s Q2 revenue soared a whopping 131% YoY to $17.3 million, surpassing the Wall Street forecast of $16.7 million. Product revenue surged 125% to $12.57 million. Services revenue grew 185% to $4.4 million. The Latham, New York-based company shipped 687 GenDrive units during the June quarter, compared to the management guidance of 650 units.
The fuel cell company’s gross margins improved to 17%, thanks to increased scale. Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh expects gross margins to continue to improve in coming quarters to reach mid-20% by Q4, 2014. The company’s R&D expenses rose about 75% YoY to $1.4 million. Increasing R&D investment will help Plug Power come up with more fuel-efficient solutions.
However, many investors were disappointed by absence of a higher bookings guidance. Plug Power said at the earnings call that its full-year revenue and booking goals remained unchanged at $75 million and $150 million, respectively. Bookings stood at $87 million by the end of Q2. Plug Power had previously said that it would achieve two-thirds of the full-year booking forecast by second-quarter (two-third of $150 million is $100 million). So, bookings of $87 million worried some on the Wall Street.
Plug Power has an important catalyst ahead
Andy Marsh told investors that he expected some lumpiness in bookings growth. He forecasts bookings of $115-$120 million by the end of current quarter. What’s more, there is an important catalyst ahead that could significantly boost its growth. Plug Power might do a large deal worth at least $30 million. This deal, when announced, will be a major catalyst to the stock.
Plug Power ended the June quarter with $168.6 million in cash. Shares of the company fell 2.19% to $5.81 at 12:55 PM EDT on Tuesday.
