SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE: BE) today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2021.
First Quarter Financial Highlights
- Revenue of $194.0 million in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 23.8% compared to revenue of $156.7 million in the first quarter of 2020. Product revenue of $137.9 million in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 38.5% from the first quarter of 2020, primarily driven by a 40.2% increase in acceptances.
- 359 acceptances, or 35.9 megawatts (MW) in the first quarter of 2021, a 40.2% increase year-over-year. Acceptance typically occurs upon transfer of control to our customers, which is either at the time when systems are shipped and delivered to our customers, or when the system is turned on and producing full power.
- Gross margin of 28.2% in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 15.5 percentage points compared to gross margin of 12.7% in the first quarter of 2020, primarily driven by an improvement in product gross margin from 27.2% to 36.7% over the same period, a decline in installation revenue and associated margin dilution, and achievement of positive service gross margin.
- Non-GAAP gross margin was 29.7% in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 13.5 percentage points compared to non-GAAP gross margin of 16.2% in the first quarter of 2020, primarily driven by an improvement in product and service gross margin.
- Operating margin of (7.4%) in the first quarter of 2021, an improvement of 22.2 percentage points compared to operating margin of (29.6%) in the first quarter of 2020, driven by the improvements in gross margin.
- Non-GAAP operating margin was 1.4% in the first quarter of 2021, an improvement of 16.3 percentage points compared to non-GAAP operating margin of (14.9%) in the first quarter of 2020, driven by the improvements in gross margin.
- GAAP EPS of $(0.15) and Adjusted EPS of $(0.07) in the first quarter of 2021, compared to GAAP EPS of $(0.61) and Adjusted EPS of $(0.34) in the first quarter of 2020, driven by improvements in gross margin and reduction in interest expenses due to refinancing of our notes at a lower interest rate in 2020.
KR Sridhar, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer, Bloom Energy, commented: “We are off to a strong start in 2021 and are performing just as we thought we would. We are continuing to make progress on our five growth levers that capitalize on the flexibility and adaptability of our core platform technology – the Bloom Energy Server. The focus on infrastructure, resiliency, reliability and clean energy solutions in the U.S. and around the world is significant and we are confident that our solutions fit the need and demand, which will lead to growth for years to come.”
Greg Cameron, EVP and chief financial officer, Bloom Energy, commented: “We delivered solid financial results – growing revenue and increasing margins, while achieving record acceptances. We continue to make great strides in reducing costs, while investing for the future. We are confident in our guidance and are on the way to being a $1 billion revenue business that is well positioned for future growth.”
Summary of Key Financial Metrics
Preliminary Summary GAAP Profit and Loss Statements
Revenue
Revenue of $194.0 million in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 23.8% compared to revenue of $156.7 million in the first quarter of 2020, primarily driven by a $38.4 million increase in product revenue and a $11.3 million increase in service revenue partially offset by a $14.0 million decrease in installation revenue.
Product revenue increased $38.4 million, or 38.5%, in the first quarter of 2021 as compared to the prior year period, primarily driven by the 40.2% increase in product acceptances enabled by the expansion of our Community Distributed Generation program. Product revenue was minimally impacted by price reduction on a per unit basis in the first quarter of 2021 as compared to the prior year period.
Installation revenue decreased $14.0 million, in the first quarter 2021 as compared to the prior year period. This decrease in installation revenue was driven by site mix as many of the acceptances did not have installation, either because the installation was done by our partner in the Republic of Korea, or, for a specific customer, the final installation will be completed later in the year although the Energy Servers were delivered and accepted in the current quarter.
Margin
GAAP gross margin in the first quarter of 2021 was 28.2%, up 15.5 percentage points compared to 12.7% in the first quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP gross margin in the first quarter of 2021 was 29.7%, up 13.5 percentage points compared to 16.2% in the first quarter of 2020. The improvement in gross margin was primarily driven by higher product and service margins.
Product gross margin in the first quarter of 2021 was 36.7%, up 9.5 percentage points compared to 27.2% in the first quarter of 2020 as our per unit product cost reduction of 12.3% outpaced our minimal product price reductions.
Service gross margin in the first quarter of 2021 was positive at 0.8%, up 24.0 percentage points compared to (23.2%) in the first quarter of 2020. This increase was due to the significant improvements in power module life, cost reductions, our actions to proactively manage the fleet optimizations, and international growth, primarily in the Republic of Korea.
Balance Sheet
Our cash position, including restricted cash, as of March 31, 2021 was $365.7 million, compared to $416.7 million as of December 31, 2020. We ended the first quarter of 2021 with $522.2 million of debt, a decrease of $4.9 million from the fourth quarter of 2020.
2021 Outlook
We announced the following outlook for the full year of 2021:
- Revenue: $950 million – $1 billion
- Non-GAAP Gross Margin*: ~25%
- Non-GAAP Operating Margin*: ~3%
- Cash Flow from Operations: Approaching Positive
*Non-GAAP gross margin and non-GAAP operating margin only exclude stock-based compensation.
Conference Call Details
We will host a conference call today, May 5, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time) to discuss our financial results. To participate in the live call, analysts and investors may call +1 (833) 520-0063 and enter the passcode: 8548909. Those calling from outside the United States may dial +1 (236) 714-2197 and enter the same passcode: 8548909. A simultaneous live webcast will also be available under the Investor Relations section on our website at https://investor.bloomenergy.com/. Following the webcast, an archived version will be available on our website for one year. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available for one week following the call, by dialing +1 (800) 585-8367 or +1 (416) 621-4642 and entering passcode 8548909.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined by the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These non-GAAP financial measures are in addition to, and not a substitute for or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of these non-GAAP financial measures versus their nearest GAAP equivalents. For example, other companies may calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently or may use other measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP financial measures as tools for comparison. We urge you to review the reconciliations of our non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures set forth in this press release, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business. With respect to our expectations regarding our 2021 Outlook, we are not able to provide a quantitative reconciliation of non-GAAP gross margin and non-GAAP operating margin measures to the corresponding GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts.
About Bloom Energy
Bloom Energy’s mission is to make clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone in the world. Bloom’s product, the Bloom Energy Server, delivers highly reliable and resilient, always-on electric power that is clean, cost-effective, and ideal for microgrid applications. Bloom’s customers include many Fortune 100 companies and leaders in manufacturing, data centers, healthcare, retail, higher education, utilities, and other industries. For more information, visit www.bloomenergy.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “should,” “will,” and “would” or the negative of these words or similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, priorities, plans or intentions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, our ability to continue to make progress on our five growth levers; our expectations that our solutions fit the need and demand for future growth; our ability to continue to reduce costs and invest in the future; and our financial outlook for 2021. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to, our limited operating history, the emerging nature of the distributed generation market, the significant losses we have incurred in the past, the significant upfront costs of our Energy Servers and our ability to secure financing for our products, our ability to service our existing debt obligations, our ability to be successful in new markets, the risk of manufacturing defects, the accuracy of our estimates regarding the useful life of our Energy Servers, delays in the development and introduction of new products or updates to existing products, our ability to drive cost reductions, the availability of rebates, tax credits and other tax benefits, our reliance on tax equity financing arrangements, our reliance upon a limited number of customers, our lengthy sales and installation cycle, construction, utility interconnection and other delays and cost overruns related to the installation of our Energy Servers, business and economic conditions and growth trends in commercial and industrial energy markets, global economic conditions and uncertainties in the geopolitical environment, overall electricity generation market, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy and its potential impact on our business, our ability to protect our intellectual property, and other risks and uncertainties detailed in our SEC filings from time to time. More information on potential factors that may impact our business are set forth in our periodic reports filed with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended on December 31, 2020 as filed with the SEC on February 26, 2021, as well as subsequent reports filed with or furnished to the SEC from time to time. These reports are available on our website at www.bloomenergy.com and the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. We assume no obligation to, and do not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements.
The Investor Relations section of our website at investor.bloomenergy.com contains a significant amount of information about Bloom Energy, including financial and other information for investors. We encourage investors to visit this website from time to time, as information is updated and new information is posted. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (preliminary & unaudited) (in thousands)
