FuelCell's stock drops after revenue falls below expectations

By Tomi Kilgore

Product revenue sinks 56%, while losses narrow more than what was forecast

Shares of FuelCell Energy Inc. were knocked lower Tuesday, after the fuel cell technology company reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue that fell more than expected, as product revenue tanked more than 50%.

The stock (FCEL) slumped 3.9% in premarket trading. That puts it on track for a third straight loss, after closing Dec. 14 at a four-month high.

Net losses for the quarter to Oct. 31 narrowed to $31.2 million, or 7 cents a share, from $43.3 million, or 11 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. That beat the FactSet consensus for a per-share loss of 8 cents.

Revenue dropped 42.7% to $22.5 million to miss the FactSet consensus of $25.0 million, as product revenue tanked 56.3% to $10.5 million.

Among FuelCell's other business segments, service agreements revenue was negative $829,000, compared with negative $1.1 million a year ago, amid higher future-cost estimates. Generation revenue declined 2.7% to $8.5 million and advanced technologies revenue dropped 43.1% to $4.3 million.

Backlog decreased 5.7% to $1.03 billion.

The company ended the quarter with total cash and short-term investments of $403.3 million, down from $414 million at the end of the third quarter.

"We remain committed to maintaining our liquidity position and the strength of our balance sheet," said Chief Executive Jason Few. "We are focused on prudently managing our cash and prioritizing capital expenditures with a disciplined approach to capital allocation," Few added.

The stock has rallied 26.5% over the past three months through Monday but has tumbled 45% year to date. In comparison, the S&P 500 has climbed 23.5% this year.

-Tomi Kilgore

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12-19-23 0844ET

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