Wallbox N.V. executives have announced they will not provide further financial guidance in 2023 after the car charger manufacturer posted lower-than-expected gross margins during the second quarter.
“To retain the flexibility to achieve our goals, we believe it's necessary to remove the restrictions that sometimes a public sales target might place on a company,” CEO Enric Asuncion said.
However, the company will continue to provide updates “regarding units, customers, production milestones, and partnerships, so you are better able to follow our successes,” and may resume issuing sales guidance in 2024.
Asuncion attributed Wallbox’s low Q2 gross margin to two main factors: a higher revenue contribution from DC charging and a component supplier issue causing extra return and warranty costs. CFO Jordi Lainz said the company had remedied the latter issue and didn’t expect a material impact from it in the coming quarters.
So far this year, Wallbox —which has focused intensely this year on trimming its expenses, going as far as to lay off 15% of its workforce— has managed to reduce costs by $24.3 million (€22.1 million) from 2022 levels, $13.4 million (€12.3 million) of which was in Q2. This puts the company on track to make good on its promised $54.9 million (€50 million) reduction for 2023. Operating loss for the quarter came in at $32.9 million (€31 million), a 15% improvement from the last quarter.
“We do see additional opportunities to reduce costs further and will aggressively go after them depending on the demand environment in the third and fourth quarter,” Lainz said.
“We also remain committed to achieving breakeven of adjusted EBITDA as we exit the year,” Asuncion said, adding that it would be achieved through “disciplined cost control, personnel cost management, and improvement of gross margin.”
Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was -$23.3 million (€ -21.2 million), a slight improvement compared to Q1’s $ -23.7 million (€ -21.6 million), and Wallbox ended the quarter with $122 million (€111 million) of cash and equivalents and nearly $77 million (€70 million) of long-term debt.
Q2 also saw the finalization of a deal between Costco and Wallbox, where Wallbox will supply the retailer with its Pulsar Pro 40-amp charger, the sales of which will impact Q3. Costco currently has 700 locations throughout North America and sees 125 million customers a year.
While they gave no specific guidance, executives did say the company expects sequential revenue increases in the third and fourth quarters, with a 300% increase in DC fast charging sales compared to 2022. It also hopes to expand its share of the U.S. market while maintaining or expanding its share in Europe.
“The pieces are falling into place for a very strong 2024 and 2025, from subsidies and CO2 targets that will drive a meaningful uptick in demand for EVs and charging infrastructure, both in Europe and the U.S.,” Asuncion said.
Wallbox reported earnings before the opening bell on Aug. 2, opening at $4.01 per share after closing at $4.18 the previous day. As of writing, it sits at $3.17, which has cut its market capitalization to $623 million.
