Microvast Q2 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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Provided by Quartr
August 8, 2024

There are 3 speakers on the call.

Operator

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the MicroVast Second Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. As a reminder, all participants are in a listen only mode. And the conference is being recorded.

Operator

I would now like to turn the conference to Mr. Yasser Ali, Chief Financial Officer of MicroVas Holdings. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today. Joining me on today's call is Mr. Yang Wu, Founder, Chairman and CEO of MicroVast Holdings. Mr. Wu will start off with a high level overview of the quarter before providing some operational updates.

Speaker 1

I will then discuss our financials in more detail before handing it back to Mr. Wu to wrap up with our Q2 2024 outlook. Ahead of this call, MicroVest issued its 2nd quarter earnings press release, which can be found on the Investor Relations section of the company's website, ir. Microvast.com. In addition, we have posted a slide presentation the company's website to accompany management's prepared remarks.

Speaker 1

As a reminder, please note that statements made in this call may include forward looking statements and based on current expectations and assumptions. They should not be relied upon as representative of views for subsequent dates, and we undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward looking statements due to new information or future events. Actual results may differ materially from that could affect our financial results, please refer to our filings with the SEC. We may also discuss non GAAP financial measures during this call. These measures should be considered in addition to and not as a substitute for or in isolation from GAAP results.

Speaker 1

These non GAAP measures have been reconciled to their most comparable GAAP metrics in the tables included at the end of our press release. After the conclusion of this call, a webcast replay will be available on the Investor Relations section of MicroVast's website. And now, I will turn the call over to Mr. Wu for opening remarks.

Speaker 2

Thank you, and thank you, everyone, for joining today's call. Please turn to Slide 3 as I cover a few highlights from the Q2. The business posted record 2nd quarter revenue with 12% growth year over year in Q2 2024, delivering revenue of RMB83,700,000. We achieved this growth while maintaining a gross margin of 32.5 percent a 17.2% improvement year over year. This incredible growth comes largely from sales increases in EMEA Business year over year.

Speaker 2

We saw triple digit percentage growth of 4 0 1 percent for EMEA. Please join me on Slide 5. The company was successful in further expanding its commercial vehicle footprint. We have entered into a strategic partnership with Invoy, a Norwegian Pioneer in electric boat motor system. We have begun to tap into the Korean market and have secured a $40,000,000 order from a Korean e Bus customer.

Speaker 2

We closed the Q2 with a backlog of $278,600,000 and continue to strive for operational efficiency. The company posted significant improvements to adjusted gross margin at 34.3%, a 17 percentage point increase year over year. The company posted yet another banner quarter and we expect continued growth and successes. So this also come with challenges. In addition, to decelerate the rollout of light commercial vehicle platforms in European market, we experienced delay in CV customer deliveries push into second half of this year.

Speaker 2

Turning to Slide 6. We have some exciting new customer globally in various commercial vehicle segments. These customers will utilize Gen4 Packs and MV iPac with our 53.amp hour and a 48 amp hour cell technology. While we aren't quite ready to announce the projects publicly, We have made significant progress with the customers on product ramp up and prototype development. Additionally, we are excited to be working with Invoy on e boat motor systems.

Speaker 2

I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Ali to discuss our financials in more detail.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Mr. Wu, and thank you, everyone, for tuning in. I'll spend the next few minutes discussing our Q2 2024 financial results. Please turn to Slide 8, and I will summarize the main line items from our Q2 P and L. We booked a record 2nd quarter with Q2 revenue of $83,700,000 an increase of 12% from $75,000,000 in Q2 2023.

Speaker 1

This growth was driven primarily by strong sales demand in EMEA markets for commercial vehicles as OEMs continue to adopt our technologies. Our gross margin improved to 32.5% in Q2 2024 compared to 15.3% in Q2 2023 after adjusting for non cash settled share based compensation expense and cost of sales, adjusted gross margin increased to 34 point 3% in Q2 2024 compared to 17.3% in Q2 2023. That's a 17 percentage point improvement. This increase in gross margin was due to a combination of factors, including better economies of scale through improving utilization, more favorable product mix and lower raw material prices. Operating expenses were $103,600,000 in Q2 2024 compared to $39,000,000 in Q2 2023, an increase of 166 percent from the prior year period.

Speaker 1

This increase in operating expense is mainly due to impairment loss of the long lived assets of $129,700,000 of which was for impairment losses in the U. S. As we decided to seize use of certain buildings and facilities under our strategic shift towards LFP technology in the U. S. Without adjustments or impairment loss, our operating expense would have been $38,700,000 in Q2 2024.

Speaker 1

After adjusting for non cash SBC expense in SG and A, our adjusted operating expense in Q2 2024 were $92,900,000 compared to $22,700,000 in Q2 2023, an increase of $70,200,000 mainly due to the impairment loss mentioned just now. GAAP net loss was $78,400,000 in Q2 2024 compared to net loss of $26,100,000 in Q2 2023. After adjusting for non cash SBC expense and changes in fair value of our warrant liability and convertible loan with shareholder, adjusted net loss was $64,700,000 in Q2 2024 compared to an adjusted net loss of $8,300,000 in Q2 2023. The impact of these adjustments is shown in Slide 9 and reconciliations of these non GAAP metrics to the most comparable GAAP metrics are included in the tables at the end of our earnings press release. Slide 10 shows the geographic breakdown of our revenue for Q2 2024 compared to the prior year period.

Speaker 1

As you can see, we booked outstanding sales increases. Our EMEA business was up by 4 0 1% year over year and accounted for 55% of our revenue, up from 13% a year ago as key customers began their vehicle ramps. And with that, I will turn it back over to Mr. Wu to briefly go over our outlook for the Q3.

Speaker 2

Thank you. Please turn to Slide 12, which provides a summary outlook for upcoming months. For the Q3, we expect revenue to be in the range of $85,000,000 to $90,000,000 up 9% from Q3 a year ago at the midpoint. This anticipated growth is primarily expected to be generated through increased deliveries to our APAC and EMEA commercial vehicle customers. We continue to strive for operational efficiencies, and we are maintaining our target gross margin of 25%.

Speaker 2

For APAC, we will be delivering 21 ampourer cells from our Huzhou facility. We plan to do this while we also targeting growth in Southeast Asia and continuing R and D progress on new upcoming products. In EMEA, we anticipate Q3 2024 revenue to grow more than 100% year over year and expect to ramp up the series deliveries to the European commercial vehicle OEMs. For the Americas, we continue to focus on financing solutions to compete at Clarksville. While exploring new commercial vehicle markets in the Americas.

Speaker 2

Turning to Slide 13. We are excited to launch our new battery technology, the 5 65 amp hour LFP cell. This is the newest product line in our extensive battery portfolio. The 565 ampoule LFP cell provides a host of specifications designed to meet the needs of renewable energy customers, including lower cost, enhanced reliability and a longer lifespan. Our domestically produced LFP batteries are expected to qualify for Aira Section 45X, enhancing their economic attractiveness for Microbus and our customers.

Speaker 2

Please join me on Slide 14, where you can see our new LFP based ME6 Energy Storage solution. This new product offers a compelling combination of benefits, including up to 30 year lifespan with Microvast's new overhaulable battery design, boosting a high energy density offering a 6 megawatt hour in a compact 21 foot container, high efficiency and optimized total cost ownership with a robust design, we are excited to work to bring this product to market. Thank you all for joining us today. We look forward to updating you on our progress again next quarter.

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Key Takeaways

  • MicroVast delivered a record Q2 revenue of RMB 83.7 million, up 12% year-over-year, while gross margin improved to 32.5% (34.3% adjusted), a 17-point increase driven by better scale, product mix and lower raw material costs.
  • Sales in EMEA surged 401% year-over-year, accounting for 55% of total revenue, and the company secured a $40 million Korean e-bus order and a strategic partnership with Invoy for electric boat motors.
  • Operating expenses jumped principally due to a ¥129.7 million impairment loss on U.S. assets amid its shift to LFP technology, resulting in a GAAP net loss of ¥78.4 million (adjusted net loss of ¥64.7 million).
  • For Q3, MicroVast targets revenue of $85–90 million (about 9% growth), more than 100% growth in EMEA, a maintained 25% gross margin and will launch its new 565 Ah LFP cell plus the ME6 6 MWh energy storage solution.
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Earnings Conference Call
Microvast Q2 2024
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