VivoPower International PLC Reports Preliminary Unaudited Financial Results For the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2020 and Strategic Pivot to Enter Commercial Electric Vehicle Market
Record annual revenues of $48.7 million, despite COVID-19 lockdowns
Strong turnaround in adjusted EBITDA with an increase of $7.7m to $3.9 million
Strategic pivot to enter commercial electric vehicle (EV) market
LONDON, Aug. 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — VivoPower International PLC (Nasdaq: VVPR) (“VivoPower”, the “Company”) today announced its preliminary results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020.
Highlights for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020:
- Record annual group revenues of $48.7 million, up 12% year-on-year, driven by strong growth in Aevitas, VivoPower’s Critical Power Services business unit in Australia, despite strict COVID-19 lockdowns in Australia over a three month period causing extensive delays to scheduled work projects;
- Gross profit increased by 28% as a result of revenue growth combined with operational efficiencies and gross profit margin improvements driven in part by new pricing initiatives;
- Reduction of $1.7 million in group overheads, reflecting continued execution of lean management initiatives in Solar Development and Corporate Office segments, in addition to a 2% reduction in Aevitas overheads notwithstanding revenue growth;
- A $4.3 million improvement in Solar development project net gains, resulting from sale of VivoRex and SunConnect in the year;
- An increase in adjusted EBITDA of $7.7 million to $3.9 million, compared to a $3.8 million EBITDA loss in FY19;
- Statutory net after-tax loss of ($5.1) million for FY20 and earnings per share (“EPS”) of ($0.38) per share, as compared to a ($11.3) million loss and ($0.83) per share in FY19; and
- Adjusted net after-tax loss of ($1.7) million and adjusted EPS of ($0.12) per share as compared to a ($8.9) million loss and ($0.66) per share respectively for FY19.
A reconciliation of IFRS (“International Financial Reporting Standards”) to non-IFRS financial measures has been provided in the financial statement table included in the full earnings press release, which can be found here. An explanation of these measures is also included in the press release, under the heading “About Non-IFRS Financial Measures”.
All amounts shown for the year ended June 30, 2019 are unaudited.
In addition, VivoPower is pleased to announce that, following the completion of a twelve month strategic review, VivoPower has decided to expand into the electric vehicle (“EV”) sector. The decision to expand into EV was driven by interest from VivoPower’s existing customer base. VivoPower expects to initially focus on providing light electric vehicles (“LEV”) to customers in the mining and infrastructure sectors in Australia, before expanding globally in these sectors. The light commercial vehicle fleet market (encompassing pick-up trucks) is worth an estimated $12 billion in Australia alone, with the majority of the market represented by the mining and infrastructure sectors. VivoPower’s EV strategy will be differentiated in that it comprises of a holistic, three-pronged sustainable energy solution (“SES”) to customers, which will include:
- EV and battery leasing;
- Critical power retrofits of premises (e.g. warehouses and depots) to enable optimised EV battery charging and microgrids; and
- EV battery second life applications.
“Overall, we are pleased with the financial results for the year ended June 30, 2020, delivering record revenue and a strong turnaround in adjusted group EBITDA, notwithstanding COVID-19 lockdown disruptions. Importantly, we were able to effectively activate our business continuity plans across our various sectors and keep our employees, customers and suppliers safe,” said Kevin Chin, VivoPower’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Strong tailwinds continue to support a positive outlook across our businesses and we are delivering on work delayed from last fiscal year as well as gaining new customers. We are also excited to be embarking on a customer driven EV strategy that encompasses the provision of a total sustainable energy solution for an electric vehicle future, drawing upon our expertise in critical power services and our newly established battery technology division. There are over 700 active customers in our Aevitas business unit, many of whom have significant light commercial vehicle fleets which are powered by high cost diesel and the economic case for electrification is already compelling. We expect to share a number of updates over the coming months in relation to this new strategy.”
VivoPower’s Full Year Results Presentation can be found here. A recording of the results teleconference can be found on our Investor Relations page under ‘Events and Presentations.’
