2/28/2024

speaker
Charlie
Operator

and I'll be the operator for today's call. At this time, all participants' lines have been placed in listen-only mode to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. Analysts who wish to ask a question can place themselves into the queue by pressing star 1. I would now like to turn the call over to Matt Trachtenberg, Wallbox's Vice President of Investor Relations, to begin. Matt, please go ahead.

speaker
Matt Trachtenberg
Vice President of Investor Relations

Thank you, Charlie, and good morning and good afternoon to everyone listening in. Thank you for joining today's webcast to discuss Wallbox's fourth quarter and full year 2023 results. This event is being broadcast over the web and can be accessed from the investor section of our website at investors.wallbox.com. I'm joined today by Enrique Asuncion, Wallbox's CEO, and Jordi Lines, our CFO. Earlier today, we issued our press release announcing results from the fourth quarter and year-ended December 31st, 2023, which can also be found on our website. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that certain statements made on today's call are forward-looking that may be subject to risks and uncertainties relating to future events and or the future financial performance of the company. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated. The risk factors that may affect results are detailed in the company's most recent public filings with the SEC, including in the annual report on Form 20F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed on March 31, 2023. We will be presenting unaudited financial statements in IFRS format that reflect management's best assessment of actual results. Also, please note that we use certain non-IFRS financial measures on this call, and reconciliations of these measures are included in the presentation posted on the investor section of our website. Also, a copy of these prepared remarks can be obtained from the investor relations website under the quarterly results section, so you can more easily follow along with us today. So with that out of the way, I'll turn it over to Enrique.

speaker
Enrique Asuncion
Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Matt, and thanks everyone for joining us today. In addition to reviewing highlights from the full year and fourth quarter 2023, we'll spend some time discussing the current EV market and our position in it. We will also dig into the Generac announcement from December and why we are so excited about joining forces. Jordi will review our cost reduction achievements. He will offer some additional color on our quarterly financial performance and share some thoughts on our balance sheet as we prepare for a new year. And finally, I will return to discuss our view of the market and what we are focused on in 2024. We will end by taking questions from our covering research analysts, so let's get started. 2023 was a busy year for us, with some challenges driving both reflection and action, as well as exciting milestones and celebrations. Revenue for the full year totaled 143.8 million euros, essentially flat from the prior year. This was a result of a softer demand environment than many anticipated paired with corresponding inventory adjustments by our channel partners. While the EV adoption curve is in the process of crossing the chasm and moving from early adopters to mainstream, these items drove variability in our forecast and results. And although those disruptions make for a challenging year, we focus on executing our long-term strategic plan and achieve several outstanding milestones. We deliver 166,000 AC units and more than 1,400 DC units during the year, a solid outcome. We launch exciting new products, streamline our cost base to accelerate our path to profitability, and forge meaningful new partnerships with global brands, including Generac, Costco, Kia, and Free2Move. We acquired an industry leader in ADL, placing us at the forefront of the largest EV market in Europe, and we raised almost €143 million of cash through debt and equity financing. It was a year of efficiency and innovation, of operational improvements, of cost reductions, and it has set us up extremely well for a successful 2024. Turning to the quarter, revenue came in within our expected range of €43.3 million, of almost 34% from the year-ago period, driven both by organic and inorganic growth. ABL contributed €6 million of inorganic revenue as anticipated. Organic growth was once again a result of strong performance from our DC offering, with sales growth of almost 150% year-over-year. Our AC portfolio saw some moderate stocking in Europe and North America. but AC unit growth was almost 38% quarter over quarter in Europe on a selling basis, which we view as a positive sign for the region. Sell-through was healthy as well and points towards continued growth. In total, we delivered almost 44,000 AC units globally, including ABL, and almost 500 units of DC during the period. Growth margins were 32.8% in the fourth quarter. impacted by product mix shift and warranty and obsolescence costs. We continue to believe that through cost engineering, changes to our product mix, and strategic sourcing, gross margins in the mid-term can return to the 38 to 40% range. We will work very hard to implement actions in 2024 to achieve this. Our cost reduction program in 2023 was front and center. and allow us to reduce a lot of quarterly cash expenses by an additional €4.8 million sequentially. We are proud to announce that we have exceeded the original €50 million reduction target previously discussed and have achieved a total reduction of more than €60 million in 2023. Jordi will spend more time on that in a minute. Fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA loss was €14.7 million on a consolidated basis, which includes the impact of KDL. representing a year-over-year improvement of 54%. Due to the timing of the transaction and iteration, AVL brought with it one month of sales and two months of costs. Excluding AVL, Wallbox's standalone adjusted EBITDA loss was €11.9 million in the quarter, representing a 63% improvement from Q4 of 2022. We continue to be focused on achieving positive adjusted EBITDA in the June quarter and look forward to celebrating that important milestone with you on the Q2 call. For the fourth quarter of 2023, Europe contributed €34.3 million of consolidated sales, or 79% of total revenue. North America contributed €6.4 million, or 15%. APAC was €1.5 million, or 4%, and LATAM was €1 million, or 2%. These mixed shifts were largely driven by the addition of ABL, whose sales are entirely in the MIA region. AC sales of 26.5 million euros represented approximately 61% of our global consolidated revenue, down 7 percentage points driven by strength from our DC offering. Supernova 150, our second generation DC fast charger, continues to see strong reception from customers and drove the DC revenue contribution to 27% up 12 percentage points. Software services and accessories contributed the remaining 11%. 2023 saw numerous new large customers, including Iberdrola, Atlante, Paui, Osprey and B-Charge. In November, we announced that Atlante, which recently was selected to receive a 49.9 million euros grant from the EU, aims to install 5,000 fast charging points by 2025 and over 35,000 points by 2030 across Spain, Italy, France and Portugal. And they chose Wallbox as a preferred partner in the project due to our production capacity and high-quality innovative offering. Margins continue to be impacted by product mix, which we expect to ease as we make our way through 2024. To provide color, approximately 60% of DC units sold in the quarter were Supernova 150, similar to last quarter. Recall that while the 150 brings higher gross margins profile than Supernova 60, our first-generation product, It's still lower than AC. So in time, as that mix shift continues and the cost profile of the new product declines, we anticipate that impact to less. Generac is one of the most well-respected names in the energy transition space. The transaction is one of the most exciting and impactful events in our history and has the power to accelerate our commercial presence in North America at a critical time by opening important global opportunities for both companies. The announcement included a $31.6 million strategic investment led by Generac and an upcoming commercial agreement. The minority investment was completed at a price of $3.05 per share, highlighting the inherent value both companies see and includes a seat on World Works Board of Directors. Through the execution of the commercial relationship, Generac will offer its customers our full suite of EV charging solutions, including Pulsar Plus for residential, Pulsar Pro for commercial, and multi-tenant applications, our bi-directional charger, Quasar 2, and our DC fast-charging Supernova, as well as installation services through COIL. Generating 60-plus years of experience distributing energy-resilient devices and its extensive network of over 8,700 dealers will be a strategic addition to Wallbox's distribution network in the US. The European brand Pramac will offer DC fast chargers through their energy storage sales network in some selected markets, strengthening the offering for commercial and industrial customers. In turn, our strong relationship with Tier 1 utilities and OEMs will open new doors. Bidirectional charging, enabled by Quasar 2, will be extremely important for both companies. Providing EV owners independence and security against outages, while saving money and tapping renewable sources, is quickly becoming a reality. And giving utilities access to a vast network of stored energy during peak load times will allow huge populations to balance demand with supply, removing the need for new investment in power generation. Governments are starting to see the light, and it's remarkable to watch. It has the unique ability to change the way we store and consume energy. Together, we plan on bringing that solution to market in 2024. So look for it. We're also exploring new architectures to adapt to the needs of applications in environments that lack the necessary power. Pairing a supernova with battery storage from Generac has the potential to reduce reliance on the grid, reduce installation costs and utility requirements, and accelerate time to market. That's just one of numerous new configurations given the combined capabilities we have. It's exciting to watch, and I think customers will like what they see. We look forward to collaborating with the leadership team aligning product roadmaps and aggressively competing in the global marketplace. The combination will be unstoppable. I want to spend a moment discussing the markets which we operate in. As you know, there is a high correlation of sales of our AC products to EV deliveries. Deliveries have been lumpy based on geography in 2023, and price actions and commentary by large OEMs have created some noise. There were almost 13.6 million EVs sold globally in 2023. Promotion forecasts global EV deliveries are set to reach 18 million units in 2024, representing growth of more than 32% year-over-year. To OEMs spending billions on new factories and developing new models, that number might be disappointing. To us, this continues to present attractive opportunities. There are a number of elements that we see as key to driving continued adoption, including the success of new models like Kia's EV9 and Nissan's Ariya. Innovative technological breakthroughs that improve range and quality. Accessible and reliable public charge infrastructure, which we expect Volvo will be a major driver of. Economies of scale, which will help bring down vehicle costs and improve industry margins. and continued financial incentives for EV buyers to bring price parity with ICE vehicles. We believe that early adopters are fully bought in into the value proposition of EVs. Their pocket you are reading about in the media is a function of where we are in the adoption curve. It's understandable and expected in any large-scale technology adoption, and we are prepared and well positioned to exit the current environment stronger than we enter and well ahead of the competition. Jordi? I'll turn it over to you to comment further on our financial details.

Disclaimer

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