Spark Power Sees Profitability Improve from Prior Quarter as Margins Show Signs of Recovery and Initial Cost Cuts Take Hold; Achieves Record Quarterly Revenue

Rhea-AI Summary

Spark Power Group reported Q1 2022 revenue of $70.0 million, a 25.0% year-over-year increase. Sequential growth of 7.0% from Q4 2021 was also noted. The Technical Services and Renewables segments grew by 26.8% and 20.0%, respectively. Gross margins improved to 23.7%, while adjusted EBITDA reached $2.8 million. Cost reductions of $1.3 million in SG&A were achieved. A significant $39.6 million equity injection supports ongoing integration and growth strategies, including new power purchase agreements and leadership additions.

Positive

• Q1 2022 revenue of $70.0 million, up 25.0% YoY and 7.0% QoQ.
• Gross margins increased to 23.7%, up 4.5% from Q4 2021.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $2.8 million, representing 4.0% of revenue.
• Achieved $4.5 million in annualized SG&A cost savings.
• Sustainability segment revenue grew 37.4% YoY.

Negative

• None.

• First Quarter revenue grows 25.0% Year over Year to $70.0 million; up 7.0% from prior quarter
• Technical Services and Renewables segments up 26.8% and 20.0% respectively, Year over Year
• (Spark Power reports in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified)

OAKVILLE, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 13, 2022 / Spark Power Group Inc. (TSX:SPG), parent company of Spark Power Corp. ("Spark Power" or the "Company"), has announced its financial results for the three-month period, ended March 31, 2022. All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified.

"As expected, the Company experienced early signs of margin recovery amid continued very strong demand for our services," said Richard Jackson, President & CEO, Spark Power Corp. "Although challenging market conditions persist, we are confident that we will continue to see our margins improve and our business integration initiatives further reduce overhead costs; painting a more profitable path forward through the balance of 2022 and beyond," added Jackson.

"We are pleased to see sequential growth quarter-on-quarter for both Revenues and Adjusted EBTIDA Margins as we execute on our plans to improve margin realization and rationalize our cost structure," said Richard Perri, Executive Vice President & CFO, Spark Power Corp. "With the tail winds of the equity injection of $39.6 million and the continued support of our lender, we will continue the final stages of the wholesale integration of all acquired companies under our ‘One Spark' platform; positioning us well for scalability and profitable, long-term growth," added Perri.

Financial Highlights - Q1 2022

• Revenue of $70.0 million in Q1 2022, as compared to $56.0 million in Q1 2021 and $65.4 million in Q4 2021, representing increases of 25.0% and 7.0% respectively.
• Gross margins, excluding depreciation and amortization, were 23.7% in Q1 2022, up 4.5% from Q4 2021.
• Selling, general and administration costs, excluding depreciation and amortization, were $13.8 million, down $1.3 million or 8.6% from Q4 2021.
• $4.5 million of pro-forma annualized Selling, General and Administration cost savings executed through the start of Q2.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $2.8 million or 4.0% of revenue in Q1 2022, and $3.9 million or 5.6% of revenue on a pro-forma basis, as compared to $2.5 million or 3.6% of revenue in Q4 2021.

Business Highlights - Q1 2022

• Spark's sustainability business segment, which accounted for over 5.4% of total revenue in the first quarter, continued its robust growth in Q1 up 37.4%. This momentum is expected to be further powered by the signing of a power purchase agreement ("PPA") contract for a particularly large utility-scale wind project in partnership with RBC, Shopify, and Berkshire Hathaway Energy Canada.
• Key addition to the Spark's Leadership Team with the hiring of April Currey as Vice President, Sales & Marketing.
  • Experienced and operationally focused to support Spark through its next stage of maturity.
  • Directly focused on growing Spark's footprint across Canada and the US., expanding sales pipeline, and building a functional 4P marketing organization.
• Launching of several new commercialization initiatives including target market and segmentation, pricing standardization, management, and developing a fully integrated and standardized sales team.
• Closing of Rights Offering and the combined $39.6 million of equity financing primarily from the founders and three new institutional investors
  • providing Company with additional capital to execute our operational strategy and expansion opportunities.
• Continued momentum of integration of acquired companies under the "One Spark" project Darwin platform- delivering business stability, scalability, and profitability for the long-term.

Quarterly Conference Call
Management is hosting an investor conference call and webcast on Monday, May 16, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss its financial results in greater detail. To join by telephone dial: +1-888-506-0062 (toll-free in North America) or +1-973-528-0011 (local and international), with conference ID: 45326. To listen to a live webcast of the call, please visit the investor relations section of Spark Power's website at https://sparkpowercorp.com/about-us/investor-relations/. An archived replay of the webcast will be available following the conclusion of the call.

Please dial in or log on 10 minutes prior to the start time to provide sufficient time to register for the event.

Spark Power's First-Quarter 2022 Interim Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are available on Spark Power's website at www.sparkpowercorp.com, and will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

About Spark Power
Spark Power is a leading independent provider of end-to-end electrical services, operations and maintenance services, and energy sustainability solutions to the industrial, commercial, utility, and renewable asset markets in North America. We work to earn the right to be our customers' Trusted Partner in Power™. Our highly skilled and dedicated people, located in the communities we serve, combined with our knowledge of the power industry, technology expertise, and commitment to safety, ensures we deliver the right solutions that keep our customers' operations up and running today and better equipped for tomorrow. Learn more at www.sparkpowercorp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws), which reflect Spark Power's current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as "believe", "anticipate", "project", "expect", "intend", "plan", "will", "may", "estimate" and other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this press release include statements regarding the Company's opportunities for future growth, acquisitions and expansions, future liquidity, pro forma annualized costs, the calculation of charges, and other statements that are not historical fact, and without limitation, include statements by Messrs. Jackson and Perri regarding execution on Spark Power's growth strategy, earnings growth, SG&A efficiency realizations, the stabilizing global economy, the support of third parties, and the successful implementation Spark Power's technology platform. The forward-looking statements in this news release are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Several factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the ability of the Company to implement its planned efficiency measures; currency fluctuations; disruptions or changes in the credit or security markets; results of operations; and general developments, market and industry conditions. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, these forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as expressly required by applicable law, neither Spark Power Group Inc. nor Spark Power Corp. assumes any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Non-IFRS Measures
The Company prepares and releases unaudited consolidated interim financial statements and audited consolidated annual financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS. In this and other earnings releases and investor conference calls, as a complement to results provided in accordance with IFRS, the Company also discloses and discusses certain financial measures not recognized under IFRS and that do not have standard meanings prescribed by IFRS. These include "EBITDA", "Adjusted EBITDA", "Pro-forma Adjusted EBITDA", "EBITDA Margin", "Adjusted EBITDA Margin", "Pro-forma Adjusted EBITDA Margin", "Pro-forma Revenue", "Pro-forma Annualized Selling, General and Administration Costs", "Adjusted Working Capital", and "Adjusted Net and Comprehensive Income (Loss)". These non-IFRS measures are used to provide investors with supplemental measures of Spark Power's operating performance and highlight trends in Spark Power's business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS measures. Spark also believes that providing such information to securities analysts, investors and other interested parties who frequently use non-IFRS measures in the evaluation of issuers will allow them to better compare Spark Power's performance against others in its industry. Management also uses non-IFRS measures in order to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period, to prepare annual operating budgets and forecasts and to determine components of management compensation. For a reconciliation of these non-IFRS measures see the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the three-months ended March 31, 2022. The non-IFRS measures should not be construed as alternatives to results prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Selected Consolidated Financial Information

(in $000's)
		Three months ended
		31-Mar-22				31-Mar-21				31-Dec-21
Revenue		$	70,043			$	56,028			$	65,424
Cost of sales			56,479				41,907				55,907
Gross profit			13,564				14,121				9,517
Selling, general and administrative expenses			15,653				12,555				17,210
Provision for expected credit losses			8				24				517
Change in fair value of derivative instruments			(428	)			(1,408	)			157
Reorganization costs			-				1,530				1,862
Realized gain on settlement of derivative instrument			289				-				65
Gain on Sale of Asset			(71	)			-				-
Foreign exchange (gain) loss			252				282				503
Loss from operations			(2,139	)			1,138				(10,797	)
Finance costs			(1,558	)			(1,611	)			(2,233	)
Transaction costs			(502	)			-				(580	)
Impairment Loss			-				-				(4,000	)
			(2,060	)			(1,611	)			(6,813	)
Loss before income taxes			(4,199	)			(473	)			(17,610	)
Income tax recovery (expense):
Current			441				(490	)			1,807
Deferred			501				252				(2,073	)
			942				(238	)			(266	)
Net loss			(3,257	)			(711	)			(17,876	)
Cumulative translation adjustment			153				641				241
Comprehensive loss		$	(3,104	)		$	(70	)		$	(17,635	)
EBITDA		$	2,265			$	5,766			$	(10,241	)
EBITDA margin			3.2	%			10.3	%			-15.7	%
Adjusted EBITDA			2,775				7,296				2,516
Pro-forma Revenue			70,043				56,028				65,424
Pro-forma EBITDA margin			4.0	%			13.0	%			3.8	%

Reconciliation of net loss to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA:

(in $000's)
Reconciliation of net loss to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA		Three months ended
		31-Mar-22				31-Mar-21				31-Dec-21
Net loss		$	(3,257	)		$	(711	)		$	(17,876	)
Adjustments:
Finance expense			1,558				1,611				2,233
Income tax expense			(942	)			238				266
Amortization and depreciation			4,906				4,628				5,136
EBITDA		$	2,265			$	5,766			$	(10,241	)
EBITDA Margin			3.2	%			10.3	%			-15.7	%
Adjustments:
Provision for expected credit loss			8				-				517
Reorganization costs			-				1,530				1,862
Transaction costs			502				-				580
Change in estimate			-				-				3,740
Year end provisions			-				-				2,058
Impairment Loss			-				-				4,000
Adjusted EBITDA		$	2,775			$	7,296			$	2,516
Adjusted EBITDA Margin			4.0	%			13.0	%			3.8	%

The following table is a summary of Spark Power's results for the periods indicated:

(in $000's)		Three months ended												Three months ended
		31-Mar-22				31-Mar-21				% Change				31-Dec-21				% Change
Revenue		$	70,043			$	56,028				25.0	%		$	65,424				7.1	%
Gross Profit			13,564				14,121				(3.9	%)			9,517				42.5	%
Gross Profit Margin			19.4	%			25.2	%							14.5	%
Selling, General & Administration			15,653				12,555				24.7	%			17,210				(9.0	%)
Provision for expected credit losses			8				24				(67.9	%)			517				(98.5	%)
Change in fair value of derviative instruments			(428	)			-								157				371.6	%
Reorganization costs			-				1,530				(100.0	%)			1,862				(100.0	%)
Realized gain on settlement of derivative instruments			289				-								65				346.0	%
Gain on sale of asset			(71	)			-								-				-
Foreign exchange (gain) loss			252				282				6.2	%			503				(49.8	%)
Income (Loss) from Operations		$	(2,139	)		$	(269	)						$	(10,797	)			80.2	%
EBITDA (1)		$	2,265			$	5,766				60.7	%		$	(10,241	)			122.1	%
EBITDA Margin (1)			3.2	%			10.3	%							-15.7	%
Adjusted EBITDA (1)		$	2,775			$	7,296				(62.0	%)		$	2,516				10.3	%
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (1)			4.0	%			13.0	%							3.8	%
			Q1 2022				Q4 2021				Q3 2021				Q2 2021				Q1 2021
Bank Indebtedness		$	16,410			$	29,344			$	28,401			$	19,806			$	28,226
Senior Secured Long-term Debt		$	60,376			$	62,459			$	64,540			$	66,622			$	62,858
Promissory Notes		$	2,500			$	10,738			$	10,738			$	10,738			$	10,738
Total Debt (2)		$	79,286			$	102,542			$	103,679			$	97,166			$	101,822

1 EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin are non-IFRS measures. Refer to Non-IFRS measures for definitions of these terms.

2 Total debt includes bank indebtedness, senior secured long-term debt and promissory notes.

Investor and Regulatory Inquiries:
Richard Perri, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
investor@sparkpowercorp.com
+1 (905) 829-3336

Media Inquiries:
April Currey, Vice President, Sales & Marketing
media@sparkpowercorp.com
+1 (905) 829-3336

SOURCE: Spark Power Group Inc.

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FAQ

What was Spark Power's revenue in Q1 2022?

Spark Power reported a revenue of $70.0 million in Q1 2022.

How much did Spark Power's revenue grow year-over-year?

The revenue grew by 25.0% year-over-year.

What were the gross margins for Spark Power in Q1 2022?

Gross margins were 23.7% in Q1 2022.

What is the adjusted EBITDA for Spark Power in Q1 2022?

The adjusted EBITDA was $2.8 million, or 4.0% of revenue.

What were the cost savings achieved by Spark Power in Q1 2022?

Spark Power achieved $4.5 million in annualized selling, general and administrative cost savings.