Spark Power Builds Momentum With Solid Second Quarter Performance
Gross Profit Margins Continue to Improve; 25.6% Realized in the Quarter
Core Business Adjusted EBITDA of $5.6 million
Net Working Capital reduction of $2.3 million in the Quarter
(Spark Power reports in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified)
OAKVILLE, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 10, 2023 / Spark Power Group Inc. (TSX:SPG), parent company of Spark Power ("Spark Power" or the "Company"), has announced its financial results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2023. All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified.
"We are building positive momentum as we come out of our second quarter and we are starting to realize early wins from the rollout of our new go-to-market plan, particularly in the US market. We will continue to execute on the key strategic initiatives in support of our Let's Grow Better strategy, and we will prioritize sales channel expansion and the next phase of our Project Darwin rollout for Canada," said Richard Jackson, President & CEO of Spark Power. "We have added key leadership talent to support the maturing of the Company, and we are seeing the efforts of our teams in operations, sales, and overall management come to life through the ongoing expansion of our US business in Technical and Renewable Services - with significant customer acquisitions in both segments," added Jackson.
"With our intentional shift to higher margin service work, we are seeing steady improvement in gross margin realizations over the last several quarters, despite challenging prior year revenue comparatives tied to large projects," said Richard Perri, Executive Vice President & CFO of Spark Power. "We also generated positive free cash flow in the quarter as a result of lower net working capital and our focus on speed to cash. We have aggressive plans to continue decreasing net working capital through the second half of the year through targeted reductions in days sales outstanding for both accounts receivable and contract assets," added Perri.
Financial Highlights - Q2 2023
Revenue from continuing operations was $66.2 million in Q2 2023, as compared to $70.6 million in Q2 2022, representing a decrease of 6.3% year-over-year. The year-over-year change was anticipated as it reflects the ramp-up of our go-to-market strategy to pursue smaller ticket, higher margin service work and prior period comparatives include large project work in the Technical Services and Renewables segments.
Gross Profit Margins from continuing operations, excluding depreciation and amortization, were 25.6% in Q2 2023, as compared to 26.0% in Q2 2022 and 25.1% in Q1 2023. The decrease from prior year is tied to a shift in the Renewables mix, while the sequential improvements over the prior two quarters reflects the ramp up of our go to market strategy.
Selling, General and Administration (S,G&A) expenses from continuing operations, excluding depreciation and amortization, were $11.4 million, down $0.6 million, or 5.0% from Q2 2022, demonstrating the benefits of the actions executed in 2022 to scale the business for growth.
Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was $5.6 million or 8.5% of revenue in Q2 2023, excluding foreign exchange losses of $0.4 million in the quarter. This compares to Adjusted EBITDA of $6.5 million or 9.2% of revenue in Q2 2022. The year-over-year change reflects lower volumes due to large projects in the prior year, partially offset by lower S,G&A costs.
Cash flow from continuing operations was $5.0 million in the quarter, compared to cash used by operations of $4.2 million in Q2 2022 tied to a reduction in net working capital of $8.3 million as compared to Q2 2022.
Business Highlights - Q2 2023
In the second quarter, Spark Power continued the build out of its go-to-market plan to support the Let's Grow Better strategy, with an acute focus on driving sustainable growth, to create long-term value for shareholders as a fully integrated platform company.
Focus on continued integration of the Company to complete its enterprise-wide technology and business process integration initiative, Project Darwin. The new system is expected to provide an improved customer experience, operational efficiencies in both the field and back office and the creation of a scalable platform to support future growth.
The final integration of the Canadian business is planned to be completed over the next six months.
The Company invested in key leadership talent to support the maturing of the Company.
New Canadian leadership and sales team in place to drive volume in the business and focus on key areas within the go-to-market strategy.
Significant progress made on the Company's training and development initiatives.
Awarded a further $2.5 million grant tied directly to the funding of training and skills development of Spark's skilled trades team.
Customer wins in the Renewables space and US Technical Services.
Large utility scale O&M agreements have been awarded in key markets including Texas, Arizona, California, particularly in solar and battery storage.
Transactional service projects on a T&M basis with major utilities in Florida.
Significant T&M projects in various southern states with further expansion into new states in the Technical Services segment.
Quarterly Conference Call
Management is hosting an investor conference call and webcast on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss its financial results in greater detail. To join by telephone dial: +1-888-506-0062 (toll-free in North America) or +1-973-528-0011 (local and international), with conference ID: 48670 and entry code: 455150. To listen to a live webcast of the call, please visit the investor relations section of Spark Power's website at https://sparkpowercorp.com/about-us/investor-relations/. An archived replay of the webcast will be available following the conclusion of the call.
Please dial in or log on 10 minutes prior to the start time to provide sufficient time to register for the event.
Spark Power's Second-Quarter 2023 Interim Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are available on Spark Power's website www.sparkpowercorp.com and will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca.
About Spark Power
Spark Power is the leading independent provider of end-to-end electrical services and operations and maintenance services to the industrial, utility, and renewable asset markets in North America. We work to earn the right to be our customers' Trusted Partner in Power™. Our highly skilled and dedicated people, located in the communities we serve, combined with our knowledge of the power industry, technology expertise, and commitment to safety, ensures we deliver the right solutions that keep our customers' operations up and running today and better equipped for tomorrow. Learn more at www.sparkpowercorp.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws), which reflect Spark Power's current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as "believe", "anticipate", "project", "expect", "intend", "plan", "will", "may", "estimate" and other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this press release include statements regarding the Company's opportunities for future growth, acquisitions and expansions, future liquidity, pro forma annualized costs, the calculation of charges, and other statements that are not historical fact, and without limitation, include statements by Messrs. Jackson and Perri regarding execution on Spark Power's growth strategy, earnings growth, SG&A efficiency realizations, the stabilizing global economy, the support of third parties, and the successful implementation Spark Power's technology platform. The forward-looking statements in this news release are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Several factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the ability of the Company to implement its planned efficiency measures; currency fluctuations; disruptions or changes in the credit or security markets; results of operations; and general developments, market and industry conditions. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, these forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as expressly required by applicable law, neither Spark Power Group Inc. nor Spark Power Corp. assumes any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Non-IFRS Measures
The Company prepares and releases unaudited consolidated interim financial statements and audited consolidated annual financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS. In this and other earnings releases and investor conference calls, as a complement to results provided in accordance with IFRS, the Company also discloses and discusses certain financial measures not recognized under IFRS and that do not have standard meanings prescribed by IFRS. These include "EBITDA", "Adjusted EBITDA", "Pro-forma Adjusted EBITDA", "EBITDA Margin", "Adjusted EBITDA Margin", "Pro-forma Adjusted EBITDA Margin", "Pro-forma Revenue", "Pro-forma Annualized Selling, General and Administration Costs", "Adjusted Working Capital", and "Adjusted Net and Comprehensive Income (Loss)". These non-IFRS measures are used to provide investors with supplemental measures of Spark Power's operating performance and highlight trends in Spark Power's business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS measures. Spark also believes that providing such information to securities analysts, investors and other interested parties who frequently use non-IFRS measures in the evaluation of issuers will allow them to better compare Spark Power's performance against others in its industry. Management also uses non-IFRS measures in order to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period, to prepare annual operating budgets and forecasts and to determine components of management compensation. For a reconciliation of these non-IFRS measures, see the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023. The non-IFRS measures should not be construed as alternatives to results prepared in accordance with IFRS.
Selected Consolidated Financial Information:
Reconciliation of net loss to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA:
The following table is a summary of Spark Power's results for the periods indicated:
Investor and Regulatory Inquiries:
Richard Perri, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
investor@sparkpowercorp.com
+1 (905) 829-3336
Media Inquiries:
Lauren D'Andrea, Manager of Corporate Communications & Brand
media@sparkpowercorp.com
+1 (416) 902-4393
SOURCE: Spark Power Group Inc.
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