Highlights
- Record quarterly revenue, up 76 percent from one year ago
- $63 million of cash and investments in U.S Treasuries at October 31, 2011
- Executing global growth strategy with markets in Asia, Europe, and Latin America
DANBURY, Conn., Dec. 12, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL), the world's leading manufacturer of ultra-clean, efficient and reliable fuel cell power plants, today reported results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended October 31, 2011 along with its latest accomplishments.
Download the full press release here.
FuelCell Energy will host a conference call with investors beginning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on December 13, 2011 to discuss the Fourth Quarter and fiscal year 2011 results. The live webcast of this call will be available on the Company website at www.fuelcellenergy.com
Financial Results
Fourth Quarter 2011
FuelCell Energy (the Company) reported total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2011 of $34.7 million compared to $19.7 million in the same period last year. Product sales and revenues in the fourth quarter increased 94 percent to $33.3 million compared to $17.2 million in the prior year quarter, reflecting higher demand for megawatt-class Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) power plants. Fourth quarter product revenue included $25.1 million of power plants and fuel cell kits, revenue from power plant component sales and installation services of $4.8 million, and revenue from service and power purchase agreements of $3.4 million. Product sales and service backlog totaled $209.9 million as of October 31, 2011 compared to $154.3 million as of October 31, 2010. Product backlog was $131.8 million and $87.2 million as of October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Service agreement backlog was $78.1 million and $67.1 million as of October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
Research and development contract revenue was $1.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to $2.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2010, decreasing due to lower activity under the solid oxide fuel cell development contract with the U.S. Department of Energy compared to the prior year period. The Company's research and development contract backlog totaled $15.8 million as of October 31, 2011 compared to $9.7 million as of October 31, 2010 with the increase due to the awarding of two contracts by the U.S. Department of Energy during the fourth quarter of 2011, including a $3.0 million carbon capture contract and a $1.0 million contract to further research on hydrogen separation and compression.
Total gross profit was $0.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to a gross loss of $3.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. The product cost-to-revenue ratio was 0.98-to-1.00 for the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to 1.21-to-1.00 for the fourth quarter of 2010. Margins for product sales and revenues improved $4.3 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Improvements in cost ratio and margin compared to the prior year period are primarily attributable to higher production volume and lower product costs.
Loss from operations for the fourth quarter of 2011 decreased to $7.9 million compared to $12.1 million for the comparable prior year period as higher sales volume drove cost improvements. Net loss to common shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2011 decreased to $7.9 million, or $0.06 per basic and diluted share, compared to $12.9 million or $0.11 per basic and diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2010. The year-over-year improvements are primarily the result of increasing volumes of commercial product sales and lower product costs.
Full Year 2011
For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2011, FuelCell Energy reported revenue of $122.6 million compared to $69.8 million for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2010, an increase of 76 percent. Product sales and revenues were $115.1 million compared to $59.2 million for the prior year period. Research and development contract revenue was $7.5 million compared to $10.6 million for the prior year period.
The product cost-to-revenue ratio improved to 1.11-to-1.00 compared to 1.32-to-1.00 for the same period one year ago due to sales of higher margin products and improved absorption of fixed overhead costs from increased volume. Cost of product sales and revenues for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2011 exceeded product sales and revenues by $12.2 million, compared to $18.8 million for the comparable prior year period as a result of higher sales volume and lower product costs. Cost of product sales and revenues for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2011 included a charge of $8.3 million recorded in fiscal 2011 related to a repair and upgrade program.
Loss from operations for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2011 was $45.7 million, compared to $54.4 million for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2010. Excluding the charges incurred in 2011 related to the repair and upgrade program, adjusted loss from operations for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2011 was $37.4 million, an improvement of 31 percent compared to the prior year period. The year-over-year improvement is the result of increasing volumes of commercial product sales, lower product costs and lower operating expenses.
Net loss to common shareholders for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2011 was $57.9 million or $0.47 per basic and diluted share compared to $58.9 million or $0.63 per basic and diluted share for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2010. Excluding the charges incurred in 2011 related to the repair and upgrade program and the modification and revaluation of the Series 1 Preferred Shares (as explained in our reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP information), net loss to common shareholders for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2011 was $40.6 million or $0.33 per basic and diluted share.
Cash and investments in U.S. Treasuries
Total cash, cash equivalents and investments in U.S. Treasuries were $63.4 million as of October 31, 2011. Net cash, cash equivalents and investments generated in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $13.9 million, consisting of $9.5 million net cash generated from operating activities reflecting milestone payments from contracts in backlog, $2.2 million net cash used in investing activities, and $6.6 million net cash generated from financing activities. Financing activities in the fourth quarter included net proceeds of approximately $8.7 million from the issuance of 10 million shares under the Put instrument associated with the January 2011 Registered Direct common stock offering transaction, common stock sales of $1.7 million, borrowings on the revolving line of credit of $1.4 million, partially offset by preferred stock dividends, repayment of debt and return of capital payments totaling $5.2 million. Capital spending for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $2.2 million and depreciation expense was $1.6 million.
Net use of cash, cash equivalents and investments for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2011 was $21.6 million, excluding revolver borrowings of $4.0 million and net proceeds of $26.5 million from the registered direct offering of common stock, compared to $42.4 million for the prior year, excluding net proceeds of $32.1 million from the public offering of common stock. Capital spending for fiscal year 2011 was $3.4 million and depreciation expense was $6.4 million.