Earnings call transcript: Westport Fuel Systems Q1 2025 sees revenue drop

Westport Fuel Systems Inc. (WPRT) reported a 9% decline in revenue for the first quarter of 2025, amounting to $71 million. Despite the drop, the company showed improvements in net loss and gross profit. The stock price of Westport Fuel saw a slight decrease of 0.66%, closing at $3.03. According to InvestingPro data, the stock has shown remarkable resilience with a 12.64% gain over the past week, though trading at a modest market capitalization of $52.25 million. Analysis suggests the stock is currently undervalued based on InvestingPro’s Fair Value model.

Key Takeaways

• Q1 2025 revenue decreased by 9% year-over-year to $71 million.
• Net loss improved significantly from $13.6 million in Q1 2024 to $2.5 million.
• Operating income turned positive, reaching $1.7 million.
• The company is focusing on heavy-duty and high-pressure fuel system technologies.

Company Performance

Westport Fuel Systems reported a mixed performance for Q1 2025. While revenue fell by 9% compared to the same period last year, the company managed to reduce its net loss substantially to $2.5 million from $13.6 million. This improvement was driven by a $3.5 million increase in gross profit and an $8 million reduction in operating expenditures. The company is realigning its focus on heavy-duty vehicle markets and high-pressure fuel systems, which are expected to drive future growth.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue: $71 million, down 9% year-over-year
• Net loss: $2.5 million, improved from $13.6 million in Q1 2024
• Gross profit increased by $3.5 million
• Operating income: $1.7 million, improved from a loss of $12.5 million

Outlook & Guidance

Westport Fuel Systems is anticipating the closure of its light-duty business divestiture by the end of Q2 2025. The company is optimistic about growth in natural gas markets and is focusing on expanding its presence in the high-pressure fuel system segment. The development of new hydrogen and CNG solutions remains a priority, with significant potential seen in European and emerging markets.

Executive Commentary

CEO Dan Celay emphasized the strategic importance of natural gas, stating, "Natural gas is no longer viewed as a bridge to hydrogen but rather as the foundation of the future." He highlighted the company’s efforts to provide OEMs with solutions to decarbonize, reflecting a shift in market dynamics towards sustainable energy solutions.

Risks and Challenges

• Slowdown in hydrogen infrastructure development may impact future growth.
• Market competition in alternative fuels could affect market share.
• Economic fluctuations in key markets like China may pose financial risks.
• Dependence on successful execution of divestiture and joint ventures.

Q&A

During the earnings call, analysts inquired about the timeline for the light-duty business divestiture, which is expected to close by the end of Q2 2025. Questions also focused on the profitability of the Suspira joint venture, with executives noting that it will depend on volume and cost management. There was also a discussion on the growing opportunities in the North American CNG market.

Westport Fuel Systems is navigating a challenging market environment with strategic shifts and continued innovation in fuel technologies. The company’s focus on high-pressure systems and natural gas as a foundational energy source positions it for potential growth, despite current revenue challenges.

Full transcript - Westport Fuel Systems Inc (WPRT) Q1 2025:

Ashley, Conference Call Moderator, Westport Fuel Systems: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Westport Fuel Systems conference call regarding its first quarter twenty twenty five financial and operational results. This call is being held to coincide with the press release containing Westport’s financial results that were issued yesterday after market close. On today’s call, speaking on behalf of Westport is Chief Executive Officer and Director, Dan Celay and Chief Financial Officer, Bill Larkin. Attendance on this call is open to the public, but questions will be restricted to the investment community.

You are reminded that statements made on this call and our responses to certain questions may contain may constitute forward looking statements within the meaning of The U. S. And applicable Canadian securities laws. And as such, looking statements are made based on our current expectations and involve certain risks and uncertainties. With that, I turn the call over to you, Dan.

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Thank you, Ashley, and good morning, everyone. We continue to make meaningful progress in transforming Westport and sharpening our strategic focus. Our priorities do remain clear, driving success through Suspira, our HPDI joint venture with Volvo, pursuing operational excellence by streamlining operations and reducing costs, and positioning Westport as a leader in the shift to alternative fuels. These three pillars are guiding us toward a stronger future. In Q1 twenty twenty five, our efforts translated into measurable results.

Reported revenue was $71,000,000 for the quarter. In addition, S aspira generated $16,700,000 in revenue, which isn’t reflected in our top line due to the equity method of accounting. When adjusting for our 55% ownership share, total revenue would have exceeded $80,000,000 higher than the $77,600,000 reported in Q1 twenty twenty four. Net loss improved significantly to $2,500,000 from a net loss of $13,600,000 in Q1 twenty twenty four. Gross profit rose by $3,500,000 while operating expenditures dropped by $8,000,000 Adjusted EBITDA also showed marked improvement year over year.

At the end of Q1, we also announced the proposed sale of our light duty business, through which I aim to align Westport more with the hardest to decarbonize applications, primarily long haul and heavy duty transport. Our HPDI and high pressure technologies offer a clear path forward in these segments. This transaction is expected to deliver immediate cash proceeds to strengthen our balance sheet and fuel growth in both Suspira and our high pressure controls and systems business. This is an exciting time to be doing this. It is clear the market recognizes that the internal combustion engine utilizing alternative fuels will be instrumental in decarbonizing long haul heavy duty transport.

And natural gas is no longer viewed as a bridge to hydrogen but rather as the foundation of the future. At our core, we are a cleantech innovation company positioned to help drive this change. Through Suspira, the HPDI fuel system does the on engine work to our high pressure controls and systems business where our components do the off engine work. We are providing OEMs with simplified solutions to decarbonize. As you know, we welcomed Carlos Gonzalez as President of Suspira back in April.

Carlos is already fully engaged and leading Suspira into its future of growth and success. As stated before, Carlos comes to Suspira with many years of Tier one supplier experience and connections. Earlier this month, we were pleased to see Volvo Trucks highlight the success they achieved with their gas powered solution using Suspira’s HPDI technology. In 2024, sales increased by more than 25%, and we saw demand continue to grow into the first quarter of twenty twenty five. Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, the UK have been the key markets, and we are also excited to see increased interest from the Indian market for this solution.

We continue to do things to right size the business and cut costs where we can. In Q1, margin improved significantly compared to last quarter, as well as an increase in efficiencies partly evidenced through the material reduction in operating expenditures. As we mentioned last quarter, we are still charging ahead with the sale of Westport’s light duty business. Once we close this deal, will we have the liquidity and therefore the opportunity to further rationalize our costs? We will continue to remain diligent when it comes to cost and decreasing expenses, ensuring that the business runs more efficiently and effectively over time.

We are pleased with our progress so far, but acknowledge that there is still much work ahead of us on this front. We remain confident in the role that alternative fuels will play in driving sustainability in the future of transportation and industrial application spaces. Over the last several months, we have addressed that there is a slowdown in hydrogen infrastructure development, which is leading to a slower adoption of automotive and industrial applications powered by hydrogen. We have also presented the solutions that Westport can bring to fruition today, specifically related to natural gas applications. While we remain focused on scaling our alternative fuel solutions including LNG, CNG and RNG and hydrogen systems, we are matching the cleanest gaseous fuels with the most efficient engine technologies.

We are committed to delivering practical, commercially viable low carbon solutions today and providing sustainable, high performance solutions that help our customers achieve their goals now and for years to come. Westport is focused on its future and the proposed divestment of our light duty business will lead us to what’s next. The transaction allows Westport to significantly strengthen its financial perspective and taper our focus on creating solutions for hard to decarbonize segments of the long haul heavy duty transport and industrial space. In the evolving landscape of sustainable transportation, Spera and Westport stand at the forefront redefining what’s possible with internal combustion engines. This commitment to innovation has led our teams to the latest breakthrough, a CNG HPDI solution running on 700 bar storage without a compressor.

This advancement not only enhances performance but also expands the horizons for cleaner fuel alternatives. Successfully operating at pressures up to 600 bar, the HPDI fuel system demonstrated normal operation even with a five to 10% hydrogen blend by volume. This innovation opens up new decarbonization pathways, especially in regions where CNG is more accessible than LNG. Developed in collaboration with GFI, our High Pressure Controls and Systems team, this project exemplifies our commitment to innovation and sustainability. Speaking to our GFI brand, or High Pressure Controls and Systems business, we are excited about the upcoming completion of our new hydrogen innovation center and manufacturing facility located in China.

Production at the facility is anticipated to come online later this year and will focus on delivering the Chinese market. Westport’s GFI branded hydrogen fuel system components have had a strong presence in the Chinese marketplace for over ten years, supporting both fuel cell and internal combustion engine applications that use hydrogen fuel. Currently, China represents approximately half of our high pressure controls and systems revenue. I’ll now hand the call over to Bill so he can provide some more information on the financial results. Bill?

Bill Larkin, Chief Financial Officer, Westport Fuel Systems: Thanks, Ann, and good morning to everyone. Moving on to our first quarter twenty twenty five results. We reported $71,000,000 of revenue for the quarter, which was a 9% decrease compared to the same period last year. As expected, the transition of the heavy duty OEM business into Suspira shifted revenue to the JV in Q1 of twenty twenty five as we’re accounting for the Suspira JV under the equity method of accounting. This impact to our reported revenue was partially offset by an increase in sales in our light duty segment.

We continue to deliver improved margins. In Q1 of twenty twenty five, gross margin increased to $15,200,000 or 21% of revenue. This is up from $11,700,000 or 15% of revenue in Q1 of twenty twenty four. This improvement was driven by sales mix with higher OEM and DOEM sales, plus we are seeing the benefits of our cost reduction initiatives. Also, had significant reduction in our Q1 twenty twenty five operating costs, where R and D and SG and A expenses declined by $8,000,000 compared to the prior year period.

The reduction in operating expenses for Q1 twenty twenty five is a combination of transitioning the heavy duty OEM business to Saphir, which accounted for approximately $5,000,000 reduction and continuing our disciplined approach to cost reductions and operational efficiency. For Q1 twenty twenty five, we generated operating income of $1,700,000 compared to operating loss of $12,500,000 in the prior year period, which is a $14,200,000 improvement. We also demonstrated continued improvement in our adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ended 03/31/2025, reporting adjusted EBITDA of nil, which is a significant improvement over the reported adjusted EBITDA loss of $6,600,000 in Q1 of ’twenty four. Our light duty revenue for Q1 ’twenty five was $64,200,000 as compared to $63,300,000 for Q1 ’twenty four. This increase was primarily driven by an increase in sales in our light duty OEM as a result of the Euro six program, an increase in delayed OEM businesses compared to Q1 of twenty twenty four, where we saw a significant decline in sales because of an inventory build within our key delayed OEM customer.

Gross margin in our light duty business increased in the quarter to $14,000,000 or 22% of revenue as compared to $12,400,000 or 20% of revenue in Q1 of twenty twenty four. This improvement was primarily driven by a change in sales mix with an increase in sales to European customers and a reduction in sales to developing regions and an increase in sales volumes. High pressure controls and systems revenue for Q1 twenty five was 1,400,000 This is a decrease as compared to $2,400,000 for Q1 twenty four. This decline was primarily driven by a slowdown in the hydrogen industry. Gross margin decreased in the quarter to $200,000 or 14% of revenue as compared to $400,000 or 17% of revenue in Q1 ’twenty four.

This decrease was primarily driven by lower sales volumes, therefore increasing the per unit manufacturing costs of the components in the quarter. Heavy duty OEM revenue for the first quarter of twenty twenty five was $5,400,000 The revenue decrease compared to the same period last year was the result of the transfer and continuation of the business in Suspira. Revenue earned in the first quarter of twenty twenty five relates to our transitional services agreement with Suspira, which is expected to be in place until mid-twenty twenty five. Gross margin in our heavy duty OEM business in the first quarter of twenty twenty five was $1,000,000 or 19% of revenue compared to negative $1,100,000 or negative 9% of revenue in Q1 of twenty twenty four. Gross margin in Q1 twenty twenty five was positively impacted by realizing $900,000 in credits from component suppliers for inventory sold during the quarter.

Dispira generated $16,700,000 in Q1 of ’twenty five in the prior year heavy duty OEM segment, which at that time include our HPI business, had revenues of $11,900,000 This was primarily driven by an increase in HPI fuel systems sold in the quarter. Gross profit for Cispera was $500,000 for the three months ended 03/31/2025. In the prior year, the heavy duty OEM segment had negative $1,100,000 in gross profits. The increase in gross profit was primarily driven by the increase in sales lines compared to the prior year and reductions in manufacturing costs. Regarding liquidity, our cash and cash equivalents at 03/31/2025 was $32,600,000 as compared to $37,600,000 at 12/31/2024.

For Q1 twenty twenty five, net cash used in operating activities was $4,900,000 Cash used in operating activities were primarily driven by $8,100,000 increase in net working capital, specifically in inventory and accounts receivable related to our light duty business. Net cash provided by investment activities was $2,700,000 for the quarter, driven by the collection of a total of 11,400,000 from Cummins for our holdback receivable, of which $10,500,000 was allocated to the holdback and the remainder was allocated to interest. We purchased capital assets of $3,100,000 mostly for our European operations. And finally, we contributed $4,700,000 into Suspira in the quarter, representing approximately a quarter of our anticipated 2025 cash contributions to Suspira. Net cash used in financing activities was $3,900,000 in Q1 of twenty twenty five, due to payments on our long term credit facilities.

This compared to $17,700,000 in the prior year period, as we had higher payments related to the revolving financing facility that was closed in November of twenty four. We’ve had a strong start to 2025 and truly believe that the proposed divestiture transaction will shift our business in the right direction while allowing us to follow through our commitment to strengthening the balance sheet as well as continue to develop the HPDI and High Pressure Controls and Systems segments. With that, I’ll pass the call back to Dan.

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Thank you, Bill. To recap, the proposed light duty transaction allows for the company to return to its strategic roots with a focus on providing solutions for hard to decarbonize mobility and industrial applications, significantly strengthen the balance sheet and provide essential proceeds to focus on strategic growth opportunities and continued leadership in fuel system solutions for clean, low carbon fuels. Thank you to everyone who joined the earnings call today. Your continued support is immensely important to us. We are excited about Westport’s future and we want to move through 2025 with purpose, creating value for our shareholders and cultivating opportunities to grow as a company.

We believe that shifting our focus to our HPDI and High Pressure Controls and Systems segment will provide us with the best possible future. Finally, we are holding a virtual Annual General Meeting tomorrow morning, 7AM Pacific Time, ten am Eastern Time, and encourage current and prospective investors to join us. The details for the call can be found on our website. Thank you again for joining us today.

Operator: Thank you. Our first question comes from the line of Amit Dayalah from H. C. Wainwright.

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Good morning, Amit.

Amit Dayalah, Analyst, H.C. Wainwright: Hey, good morning, guys. Thank you for taking my questions. Just to clarify on the divestiture, is this closing in 2Q or is it already been closed?

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Closing in Q2.

Amit Dayalah, Analyst, H.C. Wainwright: Okay, understood. And that is when the cash proceeds, etcetera, will show up in the Q2 financials? Or will we see those in the third quarter financials?

Bill Larkin, Chief Financial Officer, Westport Fuel Systems: No, I expect it should. We expect it to close by the end of the quarter. So therefore, expect the cash to show up in our June 30 balance sheet when we present that.

Amit Dayalah, Analyst, H.C. Wainwright: Okay, understood. And then sort of with respect to Sespira margins going forward, any color on what the path to higher margins looks like? Is it just more volume that will drive this? Or are there any other factors that we should keep in mind?

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Well, know, getting Sispira profitable is a combination of things. Volume is the number one key to that business, and and we’re on our on our projected growth path. Also, the the efforts of the team to reduce their costs to come become more efficient and manage the supply base better. So as in many businesses, it’s a multifaceted attack to profitability.

Amit Dayalah, Analyst, H.C. Wainwright: Understood. And then last quarter, you mentioned the CNG related opportunity in North America. I know it’s still sort of early in your transition phase, but any progress on that front and any new developments that we should be aware of?

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Well, so I actually just came back from California from the Clean Truck Show and sat through all of the discussion panels, the presentations, talked to a lot of customers on the floor. And I can tell you the pendulum is swinging hard back to the natural gases. Think the world has recognized that, you know, the hydrogen solutions are farther off than, you know, anyone would like, and that’s a reality. So the combination of that in the in the new administration in The US pushing for natural gas, I think we’re going to see the pendulum swing even further and I think the opportunities are going to start rolling in fairly quickly. And on the back of that, we still have a very strong liquid natural gas market in Europe that’s starting to pick up volume.

Heard me talk about a 25% growth on HPDI. It’s on LNG in Europe. I think that we’re all going to be participating in a natural gas market that is a foundational market, not a bridge to hydrogen.

Amit Dayalah, Analyst, H.C. Wainwright: Understood. And and with respect to China, is China going to be a focus for you as well in the new emerging Westport?

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, China has been an important piece of our business. It’s been, you know, 50 of our high pressure components business for some time. And that GFI brand is very much a world leader. And in China and specifically for those markets.

We are seeing natural gas accelerate in China. Hydrogen is still being developed in China. We’re developing lots of products for customers there. So yes, China is a very important cog in our wheel that we’re going to continue to develop.

Amit Dayalah, Analyst, H.C. Wainwright: Okay. Thank you, Dan. That’s all I have. I’ll take my other questions offline.

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Thanks, Amit. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from the line of Eric Stine from Craig Hallum Capital Group.

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Good morning, Eric.

Bill Larkin, Chief Financial Officer, Westport Fuel Systems: Morning.

Eric Stine, Analyst, Craig Hallum Capital Group: Hi Dan, hi Bill. Good morning. Well, you just kind of touched on it, everything going on out in California a couple of weeks ago and I did talk to Volvo and it sounds to me like they do not have a natural gas product in North America, which would sure seem to be an opportunity for Westport down the road. But that begs the question, you mentioned the development of a CNGHPDI solution that you have done. But how long, if Volvo were to make that decision to bring it to North America, because their customers clearly want it, how long would that take from a development perspective?

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Sure. So, you know, we talked a little bit about this when we were together in in California, but, engine development, and, you know, whether you’re talking like you’re heavy duty, engine development is a fairly long cycle. And the biggest part of that cycle always ends up being the certification process where you have to accumulate so many miles or kilometers in testing and that’s a big time lag. The typical engine development for heavy duty truck is about four years and you know, the work that we’ve been doing, most it’s all been quite recent, demonstrating that we can have CNG and even CNG hydrogen blends run on the same HPDI system is a the first step in in hoping to get Volvo to bring a CNG engine to North America. But there’s other customers as well, right?

Our solution can fit on any platform. And, you know, as we’ve talked about for the last year, the Suspira joint venture was structured, and its mandate was to, have multiple OEMs. It was never structured to be simply a Volvo joint venture. It was structured to build out and and become an independent business supplying all the OEMs.

Eric Stine, Analyst, Craig Hallum Capital Group: Got it. And you touched on your own development and you said kind of well, recent. But I’m just curious, I mean, that in response to requests from OEMs? Is that more proactive on your part just to show that, or at least get a jump on it, so maybe it can shorten that long development cycle to some extent, or is it a mix of both?

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Well, it’s actually very proactive on our part trying to pull the market. I mean, HPDI was born and raised on pulling the market to it and we intend to continue to do that type of activity while the OEMs evaluate the business cases for each of their regions. And I think that the head start that we have would help any OEM that chooses to move forward. And one of the things, I think you probably heard it as well in California, the market only has one solution today, and they’re looking for alternative solutions.

Eric Stine, Analyst, Craig Hallum Capital Group: Yep. Absolutely. Okay. So maybe just last one for me. Just on the divestiture, can you just remind us of the steps that are needed?

I mean, clearly, you’ve got a high level of confidence that, that closes, but maybe things to look for between now and the end of the second quarter?

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Sure. We’re I mean, we’re down to the the it’s a countdown now. The all the work has been done. It’s it’s a transition time to the actual close itself. So all the work has been done.

It’s just getting to the close date here in q two, and we anticipate no issues to block that. Okay. Thank you. All right. Thanks, Eric.

Bill Larkin, Chief Financial Officer, Westport Fuel Systems: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from the line of Rob Brown from Lake Street Capital Markets.

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Good morning, Rob.

Rob Brown, Analyst, Lake Street Capital Markets: Good morning.

Bill Larkin, Chief Financial Officer, Westport Fuel Systems: Good morning.

Rob Brown, Analyst, Lake Street Capital Markets: Just want to get a sense on the high pressure controls business, what you sort of think that runs at this year and kind of where you see some of the growth opportunities in that segment.

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Sure. If you go back a couple of quarters to the reporting we were doing on high pressures, we were winning new contracts on components for the hydrogen sector at quite a rate. We were, I think we had won 70,000,000 or $80,000,000 in new contracts. Those contracts are still moving forward. They’ve just been delayed as most hydrogen projects around the world are slowing down.

We still have that book of business coming on over the next few years. And in the meantime, we’ve been winning more. We continue to we can’t even keep up with the number of quotes we are dealing with for hydrogen contracts. The thing that we are also doing is we are trying to reestablish a pivot to take those same type of pressure control components into the CNG world. As CNGs here, as I talked about the pendulum swinging, the CNG presence is going to grow dramatically and these components can run on CNG as well with slight modifications.

And so our view of high pressure controls is that it’s a growth business. It’s early in that growth swing, but it’s coming. And it’s one of the reasons, you know, we’re we’re finalizing the plant in China because the market is pulling hard for us to be there for local supply of all those components.

Rob Brown, Analyst, Lake Street Capital Markets: Okay. Thank you. And then on the Suspira business, you talked about nice growth, 25% or better. Where is that coming from? I know in Europe in general, but specifically, where do you see the activity there and what sort of dynamics of the pickup?

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Sure. It is primarily in Europe and in those countries I mentioned in my earlier statements. Volvo is starting to market heavier. Volvo is starting to put their foot on the gas pedal, no pun intended, to build that market out. They’re also looking at India as a beachhead.

They’ve got trucks going to India. So the 25% growth that we’re seeing was was always actually built into the business plan to build out Suspira, and we anticipate to see continued growth.

Rob Brown, Analyst, Lake Street Capital Markets: Okay. Thank you. I’ll turn it over.

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. At this time, I would now like to turn the conference back over to Daniel Seely, CEO, for closing remarks.

Dan Celay, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Westport Fuel Systems: Thank you. I’d like to thank everyone again for participating in our call. I hope you are going to share in our excitement on the future of Westport. I think we have reestablished our positioning strategically to take advantage of what’s happening in our markets, and we’ll continue to drive for efficient, well run business. And again, thank you very much.

Operator: This concludes today’s conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

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