Revenue up 215% to Record $13.7 Million, Driving Record Net Income of $1.2 Million
ECOtality, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECTY), a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.
Q1 2012 Summary of Financial Results
Revenue in the first quarter of 2012 increased 215% to a record $13.7 million, as compared to $4.3 million in the same year-ago quarter. The increase in revenue was largely attributed to the continued roll out of network infrastructure for the EV Project and by a Blink® network licensing agreement. The EV Project is a public-private partnership with the Department of Energy that seeks to develop, implement and study techniques for optimizing the deployment of a commercially viable EV charging infrastructure.
The first quarter of 2012 represented the company's first profitable quarter, which was driven primarily by EV Project revenue and a Blink® network licensing agreement. Net income in the first quarter of 2012 was $1.2 million or $0.04 per basic and diluted share, as compared to a net loss of $6.8 million or $(0.51) per basic and diluted share in the same year-ago quarter.
Combined cash, restricted cash and cash equivalents at March 31, 2012 totaled $4.5 million, as compared to $10.2 million at December 31, 2011. The decrease in cash was primarily attributed to the rapid increase in both the production and installation of Blink® DC Fast Chargers required for the EV Project.
Q1 2012 Operational Highlights
Approximately 1,100 Blink® chargers were installed during the quarter, bringing the total number of charging stations to approximately 6,700, and maintaining the Blink® network as the largest connected electric vehicle (EV) charging network in the world.
The Blink® network has delivered in total more than 5,000 megawatt-hours to EV drivers, who generated nearly 23 million miles of data for the EV Project.
Signed a $5 million licensing agreement with ABB Technology Ventures Ltd to utilize the Blink® electric vehicle charging network.
ABB made a $5 million follow-on investment in the form of a convertible note due in 2015.
Received the Bloomberg New Energy Pioneer Award, which was presented to the top 10 companies around the world that are "forever changing the energy landscape." In addition, the company's Blink® Level 2 charger won an Edison Award, "honoring the best in innovation and excellence in the development of new products and services."
Partnered with Regency Centers to install approximately 40 Blink® electric vehicle charging stations at 19 Regency locations nationwide.
Partnered with South Lake Union Discovery Center, operated by Vulcan Real Estate, to install the first Blink® DC Fast Charger in the Seattle area, while also installing the company's first DC Fast Charger in Northern California at Volkswagen Group of America Electronics Research Laboratory.
Strengthened management team with the appointments of Murray Jones as chief operating officer, Paul Gordon as chief technology officer and Martin Felli as vice president and general counsel.
Management Commentary
"We are pleased by our record first quarter results, in terms of both profitability and operational performance," said Jonathan Read, president and CEO of ECOtality. "These achievements were driven in part by our new licensing agreement with ABB. Its follow-on investment, along with our recent management hires, ideally positions ECOtality for the successful execution of the EV Project and the national rollout of the Blink® network.
"As the project manager of the EV Project, the largest EV research project ever undertaken, ECOtality continues to collect valuable insight into how to more efficiently and effectively build-out a national EV infrastructure. As we move forward in 2012, we look forward to accelerating the roll-out of our national Blink® charging network, while further developing and testing numerous opportunities to monetize this network, as well as deriving continued benefits from the EV Project."
