ESS Tech, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Rhea-AI Summary

ESS Tech (NYSE: GWH), a long-duration energy storage systems manufacturer, reported Q3 2024 results highlighting operational progress despite revenue challenges. The company projects $9-11 million in revenue for the year. ESS has secured the first $20 million tranche from EXIM Bank as part of a $50 million funding package. The company has installed and is testing its second Energy Center for Portland General Electric, with commercial shipments expected in Q4 2024. A recent 1-for-15 reverse stock split has brought the company back into NYSE compliance.

Positive

• Secured first $20M tranche of $50M non-dilutive EXIM Bank funding
• Projected annual revenue of $9-11M, indicating year-over-year growth
• Successfully installed second Energy Center with high reliability
• Regained NYSE listing compliance through reverse stock split

Negative

• Delayed revenue recognition due to funding completion issues with Australian partner
• Revenue ramp challenges affecting quarterly performance
• Required 1-for-15 reverse stock split to maintain NYSE listing

Insights

Financial Analyst

ESS Tech's Q3 results reveal significant operational challenges impacting revenue recognition. The company's revised $9-11 million revenue guidance for the year, while representing year-over-year growth, indicates execution hurdles in their Australian partnership. The recent $20 million EXIM bank funding provides important non-dilutive capital for manufacturing expansion, though cash burn remains a concern given the $96 million market cap.

The successful installation of the second Energy Center for Portland General Electric demonstrates technical progress, but the delayed revenue ramp and ongoing cash requirements pose significant risks. The recent 1-for-15 reverse split to maintain NYSE listing compliance signals financial pressure. While the long-duration energy storage market opportunity remains substantial, the company's path to profitability requires careful monitoring of cash management and execution improvements.

Energy Industry Analyst

The deployment of Energy Center products marks a strategic pivot toward utility-scale applications, with doubled capacity in the same footprint compared to Energy Warehouses. This positions ESS to better compete in the utility market segment where scale is crucial. The operational success of the first Portland General Electric installation provides important validation of the technology's reliability.

However, the Australian market delays highlight the challenges of international expansion and supply chain management. The EXIM bank support through the Make More in America Initiative is particularly significant, as it represents the first such backing for an energy storage manufacturer, potentially setting a precedent for future industry support. The market opportunity remains robust as utilities increasingly seek long-duration storage solutions for grid stability.

Installed and Commissioned Second Energy Center

WILSONVILLE, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ESS Tech, Inc. (“ESS,” “ESS, Inc.” or the “Company”) (NYSE: GWH), a leading manufacturer of long-duration energy storage systems (LDES) for commercial and utility-scale applications, today announced financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2024.

“The core investment thesis for ESS remains as strong as ever – we have a massive and important emerging market opportunity in front of us, a top tier, forward-thinking customer base, and a differentiated, IP-protected, scalable technology tailor made to serve them. We continue to make strong progress on our key operational initiatives, but have faced challenges that have delayed our revenue ramp. Our Australian partner has had great success signing contracts with major utilities and securing funding to build a factory to help meet the high demand for long-duration energy storage in Queensland. However, delays in completion of this funding affected our ability to ship and recognize revenue in Q3 for units that were already built. We are receiving payments and are shipping units now so we are optimistic we will get this over the finish line in the fourth quarter and that, coupled with EC product shipments, should lead to $9 to $11 million in revenue for the year, leading to meaningful year-on-year growth,” said Eric Dresselhuys, CEO of ESS. “On the operational side, our first Energy Center for Portland General Electric has been operating with high reliability and availability and we successfully built and are testing our second EC product on the same site. We’ve been gleaning valuable insights from these units – from build to test to operation – to further improve our processes and design as we prepare for the ramp of our EC products. Optimized for larger scale deployments to meet the needs of the broader utility industry, our EC products can provide double the capacity of our Energy Warehouses with the same footprint. We continue to aggressively execute on our cost reduction activities as we scale our operations, efficiently manage our resources and drive to profitability.”

Recent Business Highlights

• On November 1, ESS executed the credit agreement with the Export-Import Bank of the United States, or EXIM, for the first $20 million tranche of the $50 million funding package previously announced, becoming the first energy storage manufacturer to be supported by the Make More in America Initiative of EXIM. This funding is long-term, low interest, and non-dilutive capital to finance expanding manufacturing capacity. For further details, see the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on November 5, 2024.
• We have built and installed the second Energy Center for Portland General Electric and are now in testing. Final hand-off to PGE is expected in Q4. We've started building and expect to start shipping our first commercial EC products in the fourth quarter of 2024.
• On August 23, 2024, ESS executed a 1-for-15 reverse split, following a listing notice from the NYSE received in March, bringing the Company back into compliance with the listing requirements and enabling continued operations as a publicly-listed company.

Conference Call Details

ESS will hold a conference call on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. EST to discuss financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2024. Interested parties may join the conference call beginning at 5:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 via telephone by calling (833) 470-1428 in the U.S., or for international callers, by calling +1 (404) 975-4839 and entering conference ID 385282. A telephone replay will be available until November 20, 2024, by dialing (866) 813-9403 in the U.S., or for international callers, +1 (929) 458-6194 with conference ID 356245. A live webcast of the conference call will be available on ESS’ Investor Relations website at http://investors.essinc.com/.

A replay of the call will be available via the web at http://investors.essinc.com/.

About ESS, Inc.

ESS Inc. (NYSE: GWH) is the leading manufacturer of long-duration iron flow energy storage solutions. ESS was established in 2011 with a mission to accelerate decarbonization safely and sustainably through longer lasting energy storage. Using easy-to-source iron, salt, and water, ESS iron flow technology enables energy security, reliability and resilience. We build flexible storage solutions that allow our customers to meet increasing energy demand without power disruptions and maximize the value potential of excess energy. For more information visit www.essinc.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this press release and the accompanying earnings call, the Company includes Non-GAAP Operating Expenses and Adjusted EBITDA, which are non-GAAP performance measures that the Company uses to supplement its results presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. As required by the rules of the SEC, the Company has provided herein a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures contained in this press release and the accompanying earnings call to the most directly comparable measures under GAAP. The Company’s management believes Non-GAAP Operating Expenses and Adjusted EBITDA are useful in evaluating its operating performance and are similar measures reported by publicly-listed U.S. companies, and regularly used by securities analysts, institutional investors, and other interested parties in analyzing operating performance and prospects. By providing these non-GAAP measures, the Company’s management intends to provide investors with a meaningful, consistent comparison of the Company’s profitability for the periods presented. Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be a substitute for net income/loss or any U.S. GAAP financial measure and, as calculated, may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of performance of other companies in other industries or within the same industry. Further, Non-GAAP Operating Expenses are not intended to be a substitute for GAAP Operating Expenses or any U.S. GAAP financial measure and, as calculated, may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of performance of other companies in other industries or within the same industry.

The Company defines and calculates Non-GAAP Gross Margin as sales price less direct labor, direct materials, and other direct costs and includes the benefits of the 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit. The Company defines and calculates Non-GAAP Operating Expenses as GAAP Operating Expenses adjusted for stock-based compensation and other special items determined by management as they are not indicative of business operations. The Company defines and calculates Adjusted EBITDA as net loss before interest, other non-operating expense or income, (benefit) provision for income taxes, and depreciation and amortization, and further adjusted for stock-based compensation and other special items determined by management, including, but not limited to, fair value adjustments for certain financial liabilities associated with debt and equity transactions as they are not indicative of business operations.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding ESS and its management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. The words “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intends”, “may”, “might”, “plan”, “possible”, “potential”, “predict”, “project”, “should”, “will” and “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding the Company’s manufacturing plans, the Company’s order and sales pipeline, the Company’s ability to execute on orders, the Company’s ability to effectively manage costs, the Company’s relationship with its Australian partner and the development and commercialization of the EC product. These forward-looking statements are based on ESS’ current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on ESS. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this communication. There can be no assurance that the future developments affecting ESS will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond ESS' control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, which include, but are not limited to, continuing supply chain issues; delays, disruptions, or quality control problems in the Company’s manufacturing operations; the Company’s ability to hire, train and retain an adequate number of manufacturing employees; issues related to the shipment and installation of the Company’s products; issues related to customer acceptance of the Company’s products; issues related to the Company’s partnerships with third parties; inflationary pressures; risk of loss of government funding for customer projects; issues related to raising additional capital; and the Company’s need to achieve significant cost reductions and business growth to achieve sustained, long-term profitability. Except as required by law, ESS is not undertaking any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

ESS Tech, Inc. Condensed Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss (unaudited) (in thousands, except share and per share data)
		Three Months Ended September 30,								Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2024				2023				2024				2023
Revenue:
Revenue		$	355			$	1,544			$	2,911			$	4,741
Revenue - related parties			4				1				534			$	3
Total revenue			359				1,545				3,445			$	4,744
Cost of revenue			12,741				10,183				35,615				10,183
Gross profit (loss)			(12,382	)			(8,638	)			(32,170	)			(5,439	)
Operating expenses
Research and development			2,684				1,609				9,066				38,790
Sales and marketing			2,529				2,056				7,274				5,648
General and administrative			6,087				5,831				17,791				16,963
Total operating expenses			11,300				9,496				34,131				61,401
Loss from operations			(23,682	)			(18,134	)			(66,301	)			(66,840	)
Other income, net
Interest income, net			807				1,155				3,097				3,737
Gain on revaluation of common stock warrant liabilities			343				344				459				917
Other income, net			39				17				2				738
Total other income, net			1,189				1,516				3,558				5,392
Net loss and comprehensive loss to common stockholders		$	(22,493	)		$	(16,618	)		$	(62,743	)		$	(61,448	)
Net loss per share - basic and diluted		$	(1.90	)		$	(1.59	)		$	(5.35	)		$	(5.93	)
Weighted-average shares used in per share calculation - basic and diluted			11,814,580				10,471,738				11,722,378				10,358,503

ESS Tech, Inc. Condensed Balance Sheets (unaudited) (in thousands, except share data)
	September 30, 2024				December 31, 2023
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	12,822			$	20,165
Restricted cash, current		906				1,373
Accounts receivable, net		413				1,990
Short-term investments		42,292				87,899
Inventory		7,037				3,366
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		5,084				3,305
Total current assets		68,554				118,098
Property and equipment, net		19,857				16,266
Intangible assets, net		4,723				4,923
Operating lease right-of-use assets		1,853				2,167
Restricted cash, non-current		947				945
Other non-current assets		763				833
Total assets	$	96,697			$	143,232
Liabilities and stockholders' equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	10,937			$	2,755
Accrued and other current liabilities		10,178				10,755
Accrued product warranties		3,298				2,129
Operating lease liabilities, current		1,631				1,581
Deferred revenue, current		6,034				2,546
Total current liabilities		32,078				19,766
Operating lease liabilities, non-current		451				957
Deferred revenue, non-current		—				3,835
Deferred revenue, non-current - related parties		14,400				14,400
Common stock warrant liabilities		458				917
Other non-current liabilities		109				—
Total liabilities		47,496				39,875
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock ($0.0001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023)		—				—
Common stock ($0.0001 par value; 1,000,000,000 shares authorized, 11,882,581 and 11,614,127 shares issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively)		1				1
Additional paid-in capital		808,100				799,513
Accumulated deficit		(758,900	)			(696,157	)
Total stockholders' equity		49,201				103,357
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$	96,697			$	143,232

ESS Tech, Inc. Condensed Statements of Cash Flows (unaudited) (in thousands)
	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2024				2023
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss	$	(62,743	)		$	(61,448	)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization		3,302				3,187
Non-cash interest income		(2,094	)			(2,438	)
Non-cash lease expense		1,000				916
Stock-based compensation expense		8,538				7,673
Inventory write-down and losses on noncancellable purchase commitments		5,170				11,422
Change in fair value of common stock warrant liabilities		(459	)			(917	)
Other non-cash (income) expenses, net		311				(34	)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net		1,352				3,874
Inventory		(9,768	)			(13,132	)
Prepaid expenses and other assets		(1,709	)			3,701
Accounts payable		5,671				275
Accrued and other liabilities		(219	)			(4,305	)
Accrued product warranties		1,169				993
Deferred revenue		(122	)			12,532
Operating lease liabilities		(1,142	)			(1,050	)
Net cash used in operating activities		(51,743	)			(38,751	)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment		(3,823	)			(4,209	)
Maturities and purchases of short-term investments, net		47,709				20,208
Net cash provided by investing activities		43,886				15,999
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of common stock and common stock warrants, net of issuance costs		—				27,132
Payments on notes payable		—				(1,733	)
Proceeds from stock options exercised		80				236
Proceeds from contributions to Employee Stock Purchase Plan		214				332
Repurchase of shares from employees for income tax withholding purposes		(245	)			(165	)
Other, net		—				(214	)
Net cash provided by financing activities		49				25,588
Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash		(7,808	)			2,836
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period		22,483				36,655
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period	$	14,675			$	39,491

ESS Tech, Inc. Condensed Statements of Cash Flows (continued) (unaudited) (in thousands)
	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2024			2023
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
Cash paid for operating leases included in cash used in operating activities	$	1,306		$	1,246
Non-cash investing and financing transactions:
Purchase of property and equipment included in accounts payable and accrued and other current liabilities		2,844			747
Adjustment to right-of-use assets from lease modification		686			—
Common stock warrants issued for the acquisition of intangible assets		—			4,990
Transfers between inventory and property and equipment, net		1,051			—
Cash and cash equivalents	$	12,822		$	37,173
Restricted cash, current		906			1,373
Restricted cash, non-current		947			945
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the condensed statements of cash flows	$	14,675		$	39,491

ESS Tech, Inc. Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Operating Expenses (unaudited) (in thousands)
		Three Months Ended September 30,								Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2024				2023				2024				2023
Research and development		$	2,684			$	1,609			$	9,066			$	38,790
Less: stock-based compensation			(614	)			(278	)			(1,923	)			(2,401	)
Non-GAAP research and development		$	2,070			$	1,331			$	7,143			$	36,389
Sales and marketing		$	2,529				2,056			$	7,274			$	5,648
Less: stock-based compensation			(209	)			(211	)			(467	)			(526	)
Non-GAAP sales and marketing		$	2,320			$	1,845			$	6,807			$	5,122
General and administrative		$	6,087			$	5,831			$	17,791			$	16,963
Less: stock-based compensation			(1,306	)			(1,522	)			(4,280	)			(3,868	)
Non-GAAP general and administrative		$	4,781			$	4,309			$	13,511			$	13,095
Total operating expenses		$	11,300			$	9,496			$	34,131			$	61,401
Less: stock-based compensation			(2,129	)			(2,011	)			(6,670	)			(6,795	)
Non-GAAP total operating expenses		$	9,171			$	7,485			$	27,461			$	54,606

ESS Tech, Inc. Reconciliation of GAAP Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA (unaudited) (in thousands)
		Three Months Ended September 30,								Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2024				2023				2024				2023
Net loss		$	(22,493	)		$	(16,618	)		$	(62,743	)		$	(61,448	)
Interest income, net			(807	)			(1,155	)			(3,097	)			(3,737	)
Stock-based compensation			2,658				2,889				8,538				7,673
Depreciation and amortization			781				1,082				3,302				3,187
Gain on revaluation of common stock warrant liabilities			(343	)			(344	)			(459	)			(917	)
Environmental, Health & Safety compliance estimate			390				—				390				—
Financing costs			983				—				983				—
Other income, net			(39	)			(17	)			(2	)			(738	)
Adjusted EBITDA		$	(18,870	)		$	(14,163	)		$	(53,088	)		$	(55,980	)

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241113260859/en/

Investors:

Erik Bylin

investors@essinc.com

Media:

Morgan Pitts

503.568.0755

Morgan.Pitts@essinc.com

Source: ESS, Inc.

FAQ

What is ESS Tech's (GWH) projected revenue for 2024?

ESS Tech projects revenue of $9 to $11 million for 2024, indicating meaningful year-over-year growth.

How much funding did ESS Tech (GWH) secure from EXIM Bank in November 2024?

ESS Tech secured the first $20 million tranche of a $50 million funding package from EXIM Bank.

What was the ratio of ESS Tech's (GWH) reverse stock split in August 2024?

ESS Tech executed a 1-for-15 reverse stock split on August 23, 2024, to maintain NYSE compliance.