Ballard Power Systems (BLDP.TO)(BLDP) shares dropped in pre-market trading on Tuesday after the Canadian fuel cell-maker reported a US$204.5 million net loss in the third quarter. The company posted a US$16.1 million restructuring charge, and non-cash impairments totalling approximately US$147 million.
The charges relate to Ballard’s global corporate restructuring announced in September in response to slow adoption of transportation-focused hydrogen technology.
Vancouver-based Ballard’s Nasdaq-listed stock fell over seven per cent in U.S. pre-market trading, adding to a more than 53 per cent decline so far in 2024. The stock gained about six per cent in Monday’s session, after Ballard announced a 200 engine order from Canadian bus maker NFI Group (NFI.TO) for an undisclosed sum.
Chief executive officer Randy MacEwen says the company is aligning itself with a “multi-year push-out in market adoption of hydrogen.”
“We had a tough quarter marked by weak revenue, strained gross margin, soft new order intake, adverse order book adjustments, a restructuring charge of US$16.1 million, and non-cash impairments totalling approximately US$147.0 million,” he stated in a news release on Tuesday. “With the backdrop of a challenging industry context, we had soft revenue and new order intake performance in Q3.”
Ballard reported a US$204.5 million net loss for the three months ended Sept. 30, up from US$34.7 million in the same quarter last year. Its adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization widened to US$60.1 million, from US$34.9 million. The company says revenue in the quarter was down 45 per cent year-over-year due to slowing customer demand.
Ballard says it also removed previously booked orders valued at US$39.2 million from its order backlog relating to certain high-risk markets and customers, including in China.
More to follow.
Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist.
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