Bloom Energy narrows loss

Bloom Energy Corporation narrowed its loss in the first quarter.

The Generally Accepted Accounting Principles loss was $24.9 million, compared to nearly $76 million during the same period a year ago.

Bloom is based in San Jose, CA, and has a manufacturing site in Newark, DE.

According to a largely favorable report on the Motley Fool site, Bloom shares were down due to lower-than-forecast revenues.

Other information

• Revenue of $194  million in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 23.8% compared to revenue of $156.7 million in the first quarter of 2020. Product revenue of $137.9 million in the first quarter of 2021 increased 38.5% from the first quarter of 2020, primarily driven by a 40.2% increase in acceptances.
• 359 acceptances, or 35.9 megawatts (MW) in the first quarter of 2021, a 40.2% increase year-over-year. Acceptance typically occurs upon transfer of control to our customers, either when systems are shipped and delivered to our customers or when the system is turned on and producing full power.
• Gross margin of 28.2% in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 15.5 percentage points compared to gross margin of 12.7% in the first quarter of 2020, primarily driven by an improvement in product gross margin from 27.2% to 36.7% over the same period, a decline in installation revenue and associated margin dilution, and achievement of positive service gross margin.
• The operating margin of  minus 7.4%  in the first quarter of 2021 improved 22.2 percentage points compared to an operating margin of minus 29.6%  in the first quarter of 2020, driven by the improvements in gross margin.

KR Sridhar, founder and CEO of Bloom Energy stated: “We are off to a strong start in 2021 and are performing just as we thought we would. We are continuing to make progress on our five growth levers that capitalize on the flexibility and adaptability of our core platform technology – the Bloom Energy Server. The focus on infrastructure, resiliency, reliability and clean energy solutions in the U.S. and around the world is significant, and we are confident that our solutions fit the need and demand, which will lead to growth for years to come.”

 Greg Cameron, EVP and chief financial officer, Bloom Energy, added, “We delivered solid financial results – growing revenue and increasing margins while achieving record acceptances. We continue to make great strides in reducing costs while investing for the future. We are confident in our guidance and are on the way to being a $1 billion revenue business that is well-positioned for future growth.”

Preliminary Summary GAAP Profit and Loss Statements       

1. Non-Operating Expenses and tax provision