Fluence Energy, Inc. (FLNC)
SIC breadcrumb: Manufacturing > Electronic And Other Electrical Equipment And Components, Except Computer Equipment > SIC 3690 Miscellaneous Electrical Machinery, Equipment & Supplies
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1868941. Latest filing source: 0001868941-25-000081.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read FLNC's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read FLNC's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2,262,830,000 | USD | 2025 | 2025-11-25 |
| Net income | -48,314,000 | USD | 2025 | 2025-11-25 |
| Assets | 2,357,000,000 | USD | 2025 | 2025-11-25 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2025-11-25. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001868941.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 561,323,000 | 680,766,000 | 1,198,603,000 | 2,217,978,000 | 2,698,562,000 | 2,262,830,000 |
| Net income | -104,485,000 | -69,620,000 | 22,716,000 | -48,314,000 | ||
| Gross profit | 7,923,000 | -69,144,000 | -62,354,000 | 140,955,000 | 341,080,000 | 295,785,000 |
| Diluted EPS | -1.50 | -0.60 | 0.13 | -0.37 | ||
| Operating cash flow | -14,016,000 | -265,269,000 | -282,385,000 | -111,927,000 | 79,685,000 | -145,538,000 |
| Capital expenditures | 1,780,000 | 4,292,000 | 7,934,000 | 2,989,000 | 8,115,000 | 14,884,000 |
| Assets | 717,675,000 | 1,745,654,000 | 1,352,149,000 | 1,902,188,000 | 2,357,000,000 | |
| Liabilities | 773,874,000 | 1,116,446,000 | 795,819,000 | 1,295,049,000 | 1,808,152,000 | |
| Stockholders' equity | 435,830,000 | 402,346,000 | 472,104,000 | 429,595,000 | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 36,829,000 | 357,296,000 | 345,896,000 | 448,685,000 | 690,768,000 | |
| Free cash flow | -15,796,000 | -269,561,000 | -290,319,000 | -114,916,000 | 71,570,000 | -160,422,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | -8.72% | -3.14% | 0.84% | -2.14% | ||
| Return on equity | -23.97% | -17.30% | 4.81% | -11.25% | ||
| Return on assets | -5.99% | -5.15% | 1.19% | -2.05% | ||
| Liabilities / equity | 2.56 | 1.98 | 2.74 | 4.21 | ||
| Current ratio | 0.86 | 1.44 | 1.60 | 1.33 | 1.51 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
ROE peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Bridges
Free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital expenditures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Operating cash flow: accession 0001868941-25-000081; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | Capital expenditures: accession 0001868941-25-000081; concept PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | Free cash flow: accession 0001868941-25-000081; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-09-30; accession 0001868941-25-000081; filed 2025-11-25. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-09-30; accession 0001868941-25-000081; filed 2025-11-25. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-09-30; accession 0001868941-25-000081; filed 2025-11-25. Concept: GrossProfit. Source concepts: us-gaap:GrossProfit.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-09-30; accession 0001868941-25-000081; filed 2025-11-25. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-09-30; accession 0001868941-25-000081; filed 2025-11-25. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-09-30; accession 0001868941-25-000081; filed 2025-11-25. Concept: PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-09-30; accession 0001868941-25-000081; filed 2025-11-25. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-09-30; accession 0001868941-25-000081; filed 2025-11-25. Concept: Liabilities. Source concepts: us-gaap:Liabilities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-09-30; accession 0001868941-25-000081; filed 2025-11-25. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-09-30; accession 0001868941-25-000081; filed 2025-11-25. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-09-30; accession 0001868941-25-000081; filed 2025-11-25. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-05-06. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001868941.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-06-30 | -0.35 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2022-12-31 | -0.21 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-03-31 | -0.21 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-06-30 | 536,351,000 | -23,390,000 | -0.20 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-09-30 | 672,981,000 | 3,268,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2023-12-31 | 363,956,000 | -16,743,000 | -0.14 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-03-31 | 623,141,000 | -9,169,000 | -0.07 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-06-30 | 483,317,000 | 785,000 | 0.00 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-09-30 | 1,228,148,000 | 47,843,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2024-12-31 | 186,788,000 | -41,466,000 | -0.32 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-03-31 | 431,618,000 | -31,046,000 | -0.24 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-06-30 | 602,533,000 | 6,252,000 | 0.01 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-09-30 | 1,041,891,000 | 17,946,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2025-12-31 | 475,234,000 | -45,070,000 | -0.34 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2026-Q2 | 2026-03-31 | 464,891,000 | -20,927,000 | -0.16 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001104659-26-056304; filed 2026-05-06. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001104659-26-056304; filed 2026-05-06. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001104659-26-056304; filed 2026-05-06. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001104659-26-056304.
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Overview
The following analysis provides information that management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of the consolidated financial condition and results of operations of Fluence and should be read in conjunction with the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included in this Report and in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on November 25, 2025 (the “2025 Annual Report”). In addition to historical data, this discussion contains forward-looking statements about our business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition, and prospects based on current expectations that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results could differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to those differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of the 2025 Annual Report and the section titled “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information” included elsewhere in this Report. Additionally, our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any period in the future.
Fluence Energy, Inc. is a holding company whose sole material assets are the limited liability interests in Fluence Energy, LLC (the “LLC Interests”). All of our business is conducted through Fluence Energy, LLC, together with its subsidiaries, and the financial results of Fluence Energy, LLC are consolidated in our financial statements. Except where the context clearly indicates otherwise, “Fluence,” “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company” refers to Fluence Energy, Inc. and all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including Fluence Energy, LLC.
Our fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. References to “fiscal year 2025,” and “fiscal year 2026” refer to the twelve months ended September 30, 2025 and ending September 30, 2026, respectively.
Key Factors, Trends, and Uncertainties Affecting our Performance
We believe that our performance and future success depend on several factors that present significant opportunities for us but also pose risks and challenges, including those discussed below and in Part I, Item 1. “Business” and in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” within our 2025 Annual Report.
Industry Outlook
The utility-scale battery storage industry continues to experience unprecedented growth fueled in large part by: (i) the global transition toward renewable energy, (ii) heightened focus on grid resilience, (iii) overall declining lithium-ion battery prices in the last decade or so, (iv) increased electricity demand, and (v) supportive regulatory frameworks. BloombergNEF estimated in its 2H 2025 Energy Storage Market Outlook published on October 20, 2025 that the global utility scale market, excluding China, will add approximately 3,201 GWh between 2024 and 2035.
Growth of the battery storage industry and the continued adoption of energy storage solutions by our customers has been driven in part by the overall decrease in cost of lithium-ion energy storage hardware, mainly the cost of lithium-ion batteries, over the last decade or so. However, we have recently seen an increase in prices of lithium carbonate and other commodities since December 2025. The market for energy storage continues to rapidly evolve and while we believe lithium-ion battery costs will continue to decline over the long-term, they may not decline or decline at the rates we expect, if at all over the long-term. Our revenue growth is directly tied to the continued adoption of energy storage products by our customers, which may be affected by commodity raw material price fluctuations and component price fluctuations. As we have not historically been the buyer of raw materials for our components and energy storage products, we have not historically entered into hedging arrangements to mitigate commodity risk. Significant price changes or reduced availability for our raw materials and components has had and may in the future have a deleterious effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Regulatory and Supply Chain Updates
Our energy storage business is supported by a strategically diversified global supply chain. We continue to work to align our U.S. procurement strategy with the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”) and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) as well as related agency guidance relating thereto. We believe that continued expansion and emphasis on domestic content under the IRA, as
38
Table of Contents
modified by the OBBBA, will provide Fluence with a competitive advantage. As of the date of this Report, we believe that under the current language of the OBBBA, which is subject to Treasury guidance issued on February 12, 2026 and any future regulations, our U.S. domestic suppliers are in compliance with the new applicable prohibited foreign entity (“PFE”) restrictions set forth in the OBBBA. Our procurement operations, however, remain subject to a complex and evolving supply chain and regulatory landscape. For more information about the potential risks relating to regulation and compliance and our supply chain, see Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in our 2025 Annual Report.
Our energy storage solutions incorporate many components and materials sourced from a variety of countries, resulting in exposure to international supply chain risks and logistics disruptions. Uncertain potential actions, policies, and legislation of various government authorities on international and domestic trade, including new or increased tariffs or quotas, border taxes, embargoes, safeguards, duties arising out of various governmental investigations, trade controls, and customs restrictions may impact our ability to manage our costs of production which may then impact our business and results of operations. For example, on February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated tariffs imposed by the U.S. government under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”). In March 2026, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) must refund duties imposed under IEEPA. In response, CBP launched the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries portal within the Automated Commercial Environment on April 20, 2026, and the Company has filed a claim for a refund of IEEPA tariffs previously paid. In addition, immediately after issuance of the decision regarding the IEEPA tariffs, the U.S. government initiated new tariffs under alternative authorities. There remains substantial uncertainty regarding the duration of existing and newly announced tariffs and surcharges, potential changes or pauses to such tariffs, the tariff refund process and timing related thereto, tariff levels, and whether further additional tariffs or other retaliatory actions may be imposed, modified, or suspended, and the impacts of such actions on Fluence’s business. Fluence continues to monitor and evaluate these developments and assess their potential impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in our 2025 Annual Report for further discussion on risks relating to changes in the trade environment.
Legal Proceedings and Legal Contingencies
The results of any current or future litigation, government investigations, or other regulatory or legal proceedings to which we are a party cannot be predicted with certainty, and regardless of the outcome, we may incur significant costs and experience a diversion of management resources as a result of claims, litigation, government investigations, and other regulatory or legal proceedings.
For a description of our material pending legal contingencies, please see “Note 14 - Commitments and Contingencies”, to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Report.
Key Operating Metrics
The following tables present our key operating metrics as of March 31, 2026 and September 30, 2025. The tables below present the metrics in either Gigawatts (GW) or Gigawatt hours (GWh). Our key operating metrics focus on project milestones to measure our performance and designate each project as either “deployed”, “assets under management”, “contracted backlog”, or “pipeline”.
| | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | March 31, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | Change | | Change % | |
| Energy Storage Products and Solutions | | | | | | | | | |
| Deployed (GW) | 7.4 | 6.8 | 0.6 | 9 | % | ||||
| Deployed (GWh) | 19.2 | 17.8 | 1.4 | 8 | % | ||||
| Contracted Backlog (GW) | 10.1 | 9.1 | 1.0 | 11 | % | ||||
| Pipeline (GW) | 41.3 | 35.7 | 5.6 | 16 | % | ||||
| Pipeline (GWh) | 147.0 | 122.0 | 25.0 | 20 | % |
| | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (amounts in GW) | | March 31, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | Change | | Change % | |
| Services | | | | | | ||||
| Assets under Management | 6.3 | 5.6 | 0.7 | 13 | % | ||||
| Contracted Backlog | 7.7 | 7.0 | 0.7 | 10 | % | ||||
| Pipeline | 33.7 | 29.4 | 4.3 | 15 | % |
39
Table of Contents
| | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (amounts in GW) | | March 31, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | Change | | Change % | |
| Digital Contracts | | | | | | ||||
| Asset under Management | 22.9 | 22.0 | 0.9 | 4 | % | ||||
| Contracted Backlog | 14.4 | 12.1 | 2.3 | 19 | % | ||||
| Pipeline | 53.5 | 63.7 | (10.2) | (16) | % |
The following table presents our order intake for the three and six months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025. The table is presented in Gigawatts (GW):
[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["\u200b","\u200b","Three Months Ended March 31,","\u200b","Six Months Ended March 31,"],["(amounts in GW)","\u200b \u200b \u200b","2026","\u200b \u200b \u200b","2025","\u200b \u200b \u200b","Change","\u200b \u200b \u200b","Change %","\u200b \u200b \u200b","2026","\u200b \u200b \u200b","2025","\u200b \u200b \u200b","Change","\u200b \u200b \u200b","Change %"],["Energy Storage Products and Solutions","\u200b","","\u200b","\u200b","","\u200b","","\u200b","","\u200b","","\u200b","","\u200b","","\u200b","\u200b"],["Contracted","\u200b","0.6","\u200b","0.2","","0.4","","200","%","1.6","\u200b","1.3","","0.3","","23","%"],["Services","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","","\u200b","","\u200b","","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","","\u200b","","\u200b","\u200b"],["Contracted","\u200b","0.5","\u200b","0.2","","0.3","","150","%","1.3","\u200b","0.6","","0.7","","117","%"],["Digital","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","","\u200b","","\u200b","","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","","\u200b","","\u200b","\u200b"],["Contracted","\u200b","1.1","\u200b","1.3","","(0.2)","","
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations provides information that management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our audited consolidated financial statements and results of operations and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and the section entitled “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information” and in other parts of this Annual Report. The discussion of changes in our financial condition and results of operations from the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024 to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023 is included in Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2024 filed with the SEC on November 29, 2024. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any periods in the future.
Upon the completion of our IPO and a series of organization transactions (collectively with the IPO, the “Transactions”) on November 1, 2021, Fluence Energy, Inc. became a holding company whose sole material assets are the limited liability interests in Fluence Energy, LLC (the “LLC Interests”). All of our business is conducted through Fluence Energy, LLC, together with its subsidiaries, and the financial results of Fluence Energy, LLC are consolidated in our financial statements. Except where the context clearly indicates otherwise, “Fluence,” “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” refers to Fluence Energy, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries.
Our fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. References to “fiscal year 2023”, “fiscal year 2024” and “fiscal year 2025” refer to the fiscal years ended September 30, 2023, September 30, 2024 and September 30, 2025, respectively.
Key Factors, Trends, and Uncertainties Affecting our Performance
We believe that our performance and future success depend on several factors that present significant opportunities for us but also pose risks and challenges, including those discussed below and in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” within this Annual Report. See also subsections “Our Industry and Market Opportunity”, “Our Growth Strategy”, “Manufacturing”, “Supply Chain”, “Government Regulation and Compliance”, and “Competition” under Part I, Item 1. “Business” of this Annual Report for additional discussion of certain key factors, trends and uncertainties that may affect our performance.
Legal Proceedings and Legal Contingencies
The results of any current or future litigation, government investigations, or other regulatory or legal proceedings to which we are a party cannot be predicted with certainty, and regardless of the outcome, we may incur significant costs and experience a diversion of management resources as a result of claims, litigation, government investigations, and other regulatory or legal proceedings.
For a description of our material pending legal contingencies, please see “Note 15 - Commitments and Contingencies,” to the audited condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
68
Key Operating Metrics
The following tables present our key operating metrics for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2025 and 2024. The tables below present the metrics in either Gigawatts (GW) or Gigawatt hours (GWh). Our key operating metrics focus on project milestones to measure our performance and designate each project as either “deployed”, “assets under management”, “contracted backlog”, or “pipeline”.
| Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Energy Storage Products | ||||||||
| Deployed (GW) | 6.8 | 5.0 | 1.8 | 36.0% | ||||
| Deployed (GWh) | 17.8 | 12.8 | 5.0 | 39.1% | ||||
| Contracted backlog (GW) | 9.1 | 7.5 | 1.6 | 21.3% | ||||
| Pipeline (GW) | 35.7 | 25.8 | 9.9 | 38.4% | ||||
| Pipeline (GWh) | 122.0 | 80.5 | 41.5 | 51.6% |
| (amounts in GW) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Service Contracts | ||||||||
| Assets under management | 5.6 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 30.2% | ||||
| Contracted backlog | 7.0 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 70.7% | ||||
| Pipeline | 29.4 | 25.6 | 3.8 | 14.8% |
| (amounts in GW) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Digital Contracts | ||||||||
| Assets under management | 22.0 | 18.3 | 3.7 | 20.2% | ||||
| Contracted backlog | 12.1 | 10.6 | 1.5 | 14.2% | ||||
| Pipeline | 63.7 | 64.5 | (0.8) | (1.2%) |
The following table presents our order intake for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2025 and 2024. The table is presented in Gigawatts (GW):
| (amounts in GW) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Change | Change % | |||||
| Energy Storage Products and Solutions | ||||||||
| Contracted | 3.4 | 5.2 | (1.8) | (34.6)% | ||||
| Service Contracts | ||||||||
| Contracted | 4.5 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 50.0% | ||||
| Digital Contracts | ||||||||
| Contracted | 6.6 | 8.6 | (2.0) | (23.3)% |
Deployed
Deployed represents cumulative energy storage products and solutions that have achieved substantial completion and are not decommissioned. Deployed is monitored by management to measure our performance towards achieving project milestones.
Assets Under Management
Assets under management for service contracts represents our long-term service contracts with customers associated with our completed energy storage system products and solutions. In general, we start providing maintenance, monitoring, or other operational services after the storage product projects are completed. This is not limited to energy storage solutions delivered by Fluence. Assets under management for digital software represents contracts signed and active (post go live). Assets under management serves as an indicator of expected revenue from our customers and assists management in forecasting our expected financial performance.
69
Contracted Backlog
For our energy storage products and solutions contracts, contracted backlog includes signed customer orders or contracts under execution prior to when substantial completion is achieved. For service contracts, contracted backlog includes signed service agreements associated with our storage product projects that have not been completed and the associated service has not started. For digital applications contracts, contracted backlog includes signed agreements where the associated subscription has not started.
We cannot guarantee that our contracted backlog will result in actual revenue in the originally anticipated period or at all. Contracted backlog may not generate margins equal to our historical operating results. Our customers may experience project delays or cancel orders as a result of external market factors and economic or other factors beyond our control. If our contracted backlog fails to result in revenue as anticipated or in a timely manner, we could experience a reduction in revenue, profitability, and liquidity.
Contracted/Order Intake
Contracted, which we use interchangeably with “order intake”, represents new energy storage product and solutions contracts, new service contracts. and new digital contracts signed during each period presented. We define “Contracted” as a firm and binding purchase order, letter of award, change order, or other signed contract (in each case an “Order”) from the customer that is received and accepted by Fluence. Our order intake is intended to convey the dollar amount and gigawatts (operating measure) contracted in the period presented. We believe that order intake provides useful information to investors and management because the order intake provides visibility into future revenue and enables evaluation of the effectiveness of the Company’s sales activity and the attractiveness of its offerings in the market.
Pipeline
Pipeline represents our uncontracted, potential revenue from energy storage products and solutions, service, and digital software contracts, which have a reasonable likelihood of contract execution within 24 months. Pipeline is an internal management metric that we construct from market information reported by our global sales force. Pipeline is monitored by management to understand the anticipated growth of our Company and our estimated future revenue related to customer contracts for our battery-based energy storage products and solutions, services, and digital software.
We cannot guarantee that our pipeline will result in actual revenue in the originally anticipated period or at all. Even if our pipeline generates revenue, it may not generate margins equal to our historical operating results. Among other factors, our pipeline may be impacted by customer project delays or cancelled orders as a result of external market factors and economic or other factors beyond our control. If our pipeline fails to result in revenue or margins as anticipated or in a timely manner, we could experience a reduction in anticipated revenue, profitability, and liquidity.
Key Components of Our Results of Operations
The following discussion describes certain line items in our consolidated statements of operations.
Total Revenue
We generate revenue from battery-based energy storage solutions, service agreements with customers to provide operational services related to battery-based energy storage solutions, and from digital application contracts. Fluence enters into contracts with utility companies, developers, and commercial and industrial customers.
We derive the majority of our revenue from selling battery-based energy storage solutions. Generally, we must design the project, as each energy storage solution is customized depending on a customer’s energy needs, procure the major equipment, obtain manufacturing slots from our contract manufacturers, coordinate the logistics, and assemble the solution prior to delivery and installation at our customer project sites. The Company recognizes revenue over time when we have enforceable right to payment for work performed to date and the solution, in its completed state, does not have an alternative use to the Company.
Our revenue from selling battery-based energy storage solutions is affected by volume fulfilled, which is dependent on customer schedules and demand, changes in price, which is primarily dependent on the cost of lithium-ion energy storage hardware, and mix of products and solutions purchased by our customers.
Cost of Goods and Services
Cost of goods and services consists primarily of product costs, including purchased materials and supplies, as well as costs related to shipping, customer support, product warranty, and personnel. Personnel costs in cost of goods and services include both direct labor costs as well as costs attributable activities related to the transformation of raw materials or component parts into finished goods or the
70
transportation of materials to the customer. Cost of goods and services are recognized when services are performed or when goods are included in our measure of progress as progress relevant costs, which is when they are restricted to a specific customer’s project.
Our product costs are affected by the underlying cost of raw materials, such as lithium-ion, and components to our solutions including inverters. Our product costs are also affected by technological innovation, economies of scale resulting in lower supply costs, and improvements in production processes and automation. We do not currently hedge against changes in the price of raw materials as we do not directly purchase raw materials; instead, we buy the components of energy storage products from our suppliers and we rely on our suppliers to hedge the underlying raw materials. We generally expect the ratio of cost of goods and services to revenue to decrease as sales volumes increase due to economies of scale, however, some of these costs, primarily personnel-related costs, are not directly affected by sales volume.
Gross Profit and Gross Profit Margin
Gross profit and gross profit margin may vary from quarter to quarter and are primarily affected by our volume fulfilled, product prices, product costs and project execution.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses consist of research and development, sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses as well as depreciation and amortization. Personnel-related expenses are the most significant component of our operating expenses and include salaries, stock-based compensation, and employee benefits.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel-related costs across our global research and development (“R&D”) centers for engineers engaged in the design and development and testing of our integrated products and technologies and costs of materials and services procured for research and development projects. Engineering competencies include data science, machine learning, software development, network and cybersecurity, battery systems engineering, industrial controls, UI / UX, mechanical design, power systems engineering, certification, and more. R&D expenses also support three product testing labs located across the globe: a system-level testing facility in Pennsylvania that is used for quality assurance and the rapid iteration, testing, and launching of new Fluence energy storage technology and products, a testing facility located in Erlangen, Germany, and a deployment center located in Long Beach, California. We have established an additional Hardware in the Loop testing facility, which is co-located with our technical team in Bangalore, India. We expect R&D expenses to generally increase in future periods to support our growth as we continue to invest in R&D activities that are necessary to achieve our technology and product roadmap goals. These expenses may vary from period to period as a percentage of revenue, depending primarily upon when we choose to make more significant investments.
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, stock-based compensation, employee benefits and factoring discounts on receivables sold. We have and intend to continue to expand our sales presence and marketing efforts to additional countries in the future.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, stock-based compensation, and employee benefits, for our executives, finance, human resources, information technology, engineering and legal organizations that do not relate directly to the sales or research and development functions, as well as travel expenses, facilities costs, bad debt expense, and fees for professional services. Professional services consist of audit, legal, tax, insurance, information technology, and other costs.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation consists of costs associated with property, plant, and equipment (“PP&E”) and amortization of intangibles consisting of patents, licenses, developed technology, and capitalized software over their expected period of use. We expect that as we increase both our revenues and the number of our general and administrative personnel, we will invest in additional PP&E to support our growth resulting in additional depreciation and amortization.
Interest Expense (Income), net
Interest expense (income), net consists primarily of interest income net of interest expense. Interest income consists of interest earned on cash deposits and interest on customer notes receivables. Interest expense consists primarily of interest on borrowings
71
against notes receivable pledged as collateral, interest on the 2030 Convertible Senior Notes, unused line fees and commitment fees related to credit facilities, and amortization of debt issuance costs.
Other Income, net
Other income, net primarily consists of expense or income from foreign currency exchange gains and losses on monetary assets and liabilities, factoring income from sale of receivables, and income or expense due to estimated payments to be made to related parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement, dated October 27, 2021, by and among Fluence Energy, Inc., Fluence Energy, LLC, Siemens Industry, Inc. and AES Grid Stability, LLC (the “Tax Receivable Agreement”).
Income Tax Expense
We are subject to U.S. federal and state income taxes with respect to our allocable share of any taxable income or loss of Fluence Energy, LLC and are taxed at the prevailing corporate tax rates. We are also subject to foreign income taxes with respect to our foreign subsidiaries and our expectations are that valuation allowances will be recorded in certain tax jurisdictions. In addition to tax expenses, we also will incur expenses related to our operations, as well as payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, which we expect could be significant over time. We will receive a portion of any distributions made by Fluence Energy, LLC. Any cash received from such distributions from our subsidiaries will be first used by us to satisfy any tax liability and then to make payments required under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
Net Income (Loss)
Net income (loss) may vary from quarter to quarter and is primarily affected by our gross profit and operating expenses as defined above.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2025 to the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2024
The following table sets forth our operating results for the periods indicated.
| in thousands | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 2,262,830 | $ | 2,698,562 | $ | (435,732) | (16.1)% | |||||
| Cost of goods and services | 1,967,045 | 2,357,482 | (390,437) | (16.6) | ||||||||
| Gross profit | 295,785 | 341,080 | (45,295) | (13.3) | ||||||||
| Gross profit margin % | 13.1 | % | 12.6 | % | ||||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | 86,217 | 66,195 | 20,022 | 30.2 | ||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 79,489 | 63,842 | 15,647 | 24.5 | ||||||||
| General and administrative | 163,068 | 172,996 | (9,928) | (5.7) | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 13,348 | 11,426 | 1,922 | 16.8 | ||||||||
| Interest expense (income), net | 4,110 | (5,676) | 9,786 | NM | ||||||||
| Other income, net | (5,375) | (7,276) | 1,901 | (26.1) | ||||||||
| (Loss) Income before income taxes | (45,072) | 39,573 | (84,645) | NM | ||||||||
| Income tax expense | 22,917 | 9,206 | 13,711 | 148.9 | ||||||||
| Net (loss) income | $ | (67,989) | $ | 30,367 | $ | (98,356) | NM |
NM = not meaningful.
Total Revenue
Total revenue decreased by $435.7 million, or 16.1%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. The decrease in total revenue for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 was mainly attributable to a $475.7 million decrease in revenue from our energy storage solutions which was primarily driven by lower average price per GWh of our newer Gridstack Pro solutions projects as the cost of lithium-ion batteries has continued to decline, as described above in “Part I, Item 1, Business,” while the total volume of solutions projects fulfilled was relatively consistent year over year. Notwithstanding this consistency, volume was less than expected, primarily due to (i) delays in signing large contracts in Australia that were expected to be signed at the beginning of the year, (ii) delays in fulfilling certain projects in the U.S. due to tariff uncertainties and (iii) delays due to
72
our contract manufacturer scaling newly commissioned U.S. production facility in Arizona. The decrease in revenue from our energy storage solutions was partially offset by a $39.1 million increase of services revenue primarily due to additional energy storage solutions being deployed and transitioned to assets under management and increases in augmentation activities performed for certain projects.
Cost of Goods and Services
Cost of goods and services decreased by $390.4 million, or 16.6%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. The decrease in cost of goods and services for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 was primarily attributable to (i) a decrease in related cost of lithium-ion batteries while the total volume of solutions project fulfilled remained consistent year over year as described above in “Total Revenue,” and (ii) improved operational efficiencies on our legacy Gridstack solutions projects. The improved operational efficiencies were reflected by the net improvement of gross margins on the portfolio of Gridstack solutions projects in the current period. The cost decrease was slightly offset by a corresponding increase in services costs related to the increases in services revenue described above in “Total Revenue.”
Gross Profit and Gross Profit Margin
Gross profit decreased by $45.3 million, or 13.3%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. The decrease in gross profit for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, was primarily due to decrease in related cost of lithium-ion batteries in connection with fulfilling consistent volumes of solutions projects year over year as described above in “Revenue” and “Cost of Goods and Services.” However, as described above the total volumes of solutions projects fulfilled were lower than expected. The reduction in costs due to the improved operational efficiencies on legacy Gridstack solutions projects were the primary driver of the improvement in gross profit margin.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development increased by $20.0 million, or 30.2% in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. The increase in research and development expenses for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 was primarily attributable to (i) a $16.1 million increase in expenditures for materials and supplies and consulting services related to Smartstack and Gridstack Pro product lines and (ii) a $4.1 million increase in salaries and personnel-related expenses, including stock-based compensation, due to an increase in headcount.
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Sales and marketing expenses increased by $15.6 million, or 24.5%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. The increase in sales and marketing expenses for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 was primarily attributable to a $12.0 million increase in salaries and personnel-related expenses, including stock-based compensation, due to an increase in headcount to support our growth.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses decreased by $9.9 million, or 5.7%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. The decrease in general and administrative expenses for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 was primarily attributable to a $23.7 million decrease in salaries and personnel-related expenses, including stock-based compensation, due to less bonus accruals recognized and a decrease in headcount, partially offset by (i) a $7.4 million increase in insurance costs due to higher corporate coverage and (ii) a $5.8 million increase in amortization of the capitalized software development costs associated with hosting arrangements.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation and amortization increased by $1.9 million, or 16.8%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, primarily attributable to an increase in amortization of capitalized software.
Interest Expense (Income), Net
Interest expense (income), net increased by $9.8 million in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, primarily attributable to interest expense of $8.6 million recognized for the 2030 Convertible Senior Notes.
Other Income, Net
Other income, net decreased by $1.9 million, or 26.1%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. The decrease in other income, net was primarily attributable to a $2.7 million net decrease in favorable foreign currency exchange gains on monetary assets and liabilities compared to the prior period.
73
Income Tax Expense
Income tax expense increased by $13.7 million, or 148.9%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. The increase in tax expense is primarily due to increased profitability at the Company’s foreign subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia.
Net (Loss) Income
Net loss increased by $98.4 million in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. The increase is primarily attributable to (i) a decrease in “Gross profit,” (ii) an increase in “Research and development expenses,” and (iii) an increase in “Sales and marketing expenses,” each as described above.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This section contains references to certain non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Profit Margin, and Free Cash Flow.
Adjusted EBITDA is calculated from the consolidated statements of operations using net income (loss) adjusted for (i) interest expense (income), net, (ii) income taxes, (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) stock-based compensation, and (v) other non-recurring income or expenses. Adjusted EBITDA also includes amounts impacting net income related to estimated payments due to related parties pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement.
Adjusted Gross Profit is calculated using gross profit, adjusted to exclude (i) stock-based compensation expenses, (ii) depreciation and amortization, and (iii) other non-recurring income or expenses. Adjusted Gross Profit Margin is calculated using Adjusted Gross Profit divided by total revenue.
Free Cash Flow is calculated from the consolidated statements of cash flows and is defined as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, less purchase of property and equipment made in the period. We expect our Free Cash Flow to fluctuate in future periods as we invest in our business to support our plans for growth.
These non-GAAP measures are intended as supplemental measures of performance and/or liquidity that are neither required by, nor presented in accordance with, U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). We believe that such non-GAAP measures, when read in conjunction with our operating results presented under GAAP, can be used to better assess our performance from period to period and relative to performance of other companies in our industry, without regard to financing methods, historical cost basis or capital structure.
These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. Readers are cautioned that these non-GAAP measures should not be construed as alternatives to other measures of financial performance calculated in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures and their reconciliation to GAAP financial measures are shown below. With respect to Free Cash Flow, limitations on its use include that (i) it should not be inferred that the entire Free Cash Flow amount is available for discretionary expenditures (for example, cash is still required to satisfy other working capital needs, including short-term investment policy, restricted cash, and intangible assets); (ii) Free Cash Flow has limitations as an analytical tool, and it should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of other GAAP financial measures, such as net cash provided by operating activities; and (iii) this metric does not reflect our future contractual commitments.
The following tables present our non-GAAP measures for the periods indicated.
| in thousands | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| Net (loss) income | $ | (67,989) | $ | 30,367 | ||
| Add (deduct): | ||||||
| Interest expense (income), net | 4,110 | (5,676) | ||||
| Income tax expense | 22,917 | 9,206 | ||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 29,343 | 14,482 | ||||
| Stock-based compensation(a) | 19,650 | 23,875 | ||||
| Other non-recurring expenses, net(b) | 11,424 | 5,852 | ||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 19,455 | $ | 78,106 |
(a) Includes incentive awards that will be settled in either shares or cash.
74
(b) Amount for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 includes approximately $11.8 million in severance costs related to restructuring, $0.9 million of impairment expense related to equity method investment and $1.2 million in income as a result of a reduction in our Tax Receivable Agreement liability. Amount for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024 includes approximately $2.5 million in costs related to the termination of the Revolver and Amendment No. 3 to the ABL Credit Agreement, $1.5 million in expenses related to the Tax Receivable Agreement, $1.0 million in severance costs related to restructuring and $0.8 million in costs related to the secondary offering completed in December 2023.
| in thousands | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||
| Total revenue | $ | 2,262,830 | $ | 2,698,562 | |
| Cost of goods and services | 1,967,045 | 2,357,482 | |||
| Gross profit | 295,785 | 341,080 | |||
| Gross profit margin % | 13.1% | 12.6% | |||
| Add: | |||||
| Stock-based compensation(a) | 2,597 | 4,080 | |||
| Depreciation and amortization | 9,936 | 2,696 | |||
| Other non-recurring expenses(b) | 1,220 | — | |||
| Adjusted Gross Profit | $ | 309,538 | $ | 347,856 | |
| Adjusted Gross Profit Margin % | 13.7% | 12.9% |
(a) Includes incentive awards that will be settled in either shares or cash.
(b) Amount for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 includes $1.2 million in severance costs related to restructuring.
| in thousands | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities | $ | (145,538) | $ | 79,685 | ||
| Less: Purchase of property and equipment | (14,884) | (8,115) | ||||
| Free Cash Flow | $ | (160,422) | $ | 71,570 |
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Since inception and through September 30, 2025, our principal sources of liquidity have been the proceeds from our IPO, our cash and cash equivalents from operations, short-term borrowings, borrowings available under our debt agreements, proceeds from the issuance of the 2030 Convertible Senior Notes (as defined below), supply chain financing, capital contributions from AES Grid Stability, LLC (“AES Grid Stability”) and Siemens Industry, LLC (“Siemens Industry”) and proceeds from the investment by QIA Florence Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of Qatar Holding LLC in 2021, proceeds from short term investments, borrowings against note receivables, and proceeds from sale of accounts receivable under the MRPA (as defined below).
We believe our existing cash and cash equivalents, which includes proceeds from our IPO, cash flows from operations, and proceeds from the issuance of the 2030 Convertible Senior Notes, in addition to our supply chain financing arrangements, and availability under our 2024 Revolver (as defined below) will be sufficient to meet our expense and capital requirements for at least the next 12 months following the filing of this Annual Report.
Our capital requirements, and ability to generate cash flow, have been and may in the future vary materially from those planned and will depend on many factors, including our rate of revenue growth, the timing and extent of our growth initiatives, our introduction of new products, services, and digital application offerings and related costs and expenses, and overall regulatory and macroeconomic conditions, including, among others, factors relating to inflation, interest rate environment, impacts of tariffs and trade restrictions, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, changing consumer behavior, increased competition, and pandemics like COVID-19. To the extent that current and anticipated future sources of liquidity are insufficient to fund our future business activities and cash requirements, we may be required to seek additional equity or debt financing. The sale of additional equity would result in additional dilutions to our stockholders. The incurrence of additional debt financing would result in debt service obligations and the instruments governing such debt could provide for operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations. If we are unable to raise additional capital or generate cash flows necessary to expand our operations and invest in continued innovation, we may not be able to compete successfully, which would harm our business, operations, and financial condition.
2030 Convertible Senior Notes
In December 2024, the Company issued $400.0 million aggregate principal amount of 2.25% convertible senior notes due 2030. The 2030 Convertible Senior Notes were issued pursuant to, and are governed by, an indenture, dated as of December 12, 2024,
75
between the Company and UMB Bank, National Association, as trustee (the “Indenture”). The net proceeds from the issuance of the 2030 Convertible Senior Notes were $389.4 million, net of $10.6 million of debt issuance costs.
In connection with the 2030 Convertible Senior Notes, the Company entered into privately negotiated capped call transactions with certain financial institutions pursuant to capped call confirmations (collectively the “Capped Calls”). The premiums paid for the purchases of the Capped Calls were $29.0 million. The Capped Calls have an initial strike price of approximately $21.35 per share, subject to certain adjustments, which corresponds to the initial conversion price of the 2030 Convertible Senior Notes. The Capped Calls have an initial cap price of $28.74 per share, subject to certain adjustments substantially similar to those applicable to the corresponding 2030 Convertible Senior Notes.
For further discussion of the 2030 Convertible Senior Notes and the Capped Calls, refer to “Note 13 - Convertible Senior Notes, Net” to our condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Supply Chain Financing
We provide certain of our suppliers with access to two different supply chain financing programs through two different third-party financing institutions (each a “SCF Bank”). These supply chain financing (“SCF”) programs allows us to seek extended payment terms with our suppliers and allows our suppliers to monetize their receivables prior to the payment due date, subject to a discount. Once a supplier elects to participate in either program and reaches an agreement with the respective SCF Bank, the supplier elects which individual invoices to sell to the respective SCF Bank. We then pay the respective SCF Bank on the applicable due date. We have no economic interest in a supplier’s decision to sell a receivable to the SCF Banks. The agreements between our suppliers and the SCF Banks are solely at their discretion and are negotiated directly between them. Under our original supply chain financing arrangement (the “Original SCF Facility”), our suppliers’ ability to continue using such agreements is primarily dependent upon the strength of our financial condition and guarantees issued by The AES Corporation and Siemens Corporation, a subsidiary of Siemens AG, pursuant to the terms of the Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement (as defined below). As of September 30, 2025, The AES Corporation and Siemens Corporation issued guarantees of $50.0 million each, for a total of $100.0 million, to the original SCF Bank on our behalf.
The Company entered into a new $150.0 million supply chain financing arrangement (the “New SCF Facility”) with a third-party financial institution (the “New SCF Bank”) on August 8, 2025. This New SCF Facility allows the Company to seek extended payment terms with our suppliers and allows our suppliers to monetize their receivables prior to the payment due date, subject to a discount. Such sales are at the sole discretion of the supplier, and on terms and conditions that are negotiated between the supplier and the New SCF Bank. The Company is not a party to the arrangement between its suppliers and the New SCF Bank and the Company has no economic interest in a supplier’s decision to sell an underlying receivable to the New SCF Bank. The Company does not provide secured legal assets or other forms of guarantees under this arrangement, nor do any of the Company’s affiliates. Under the New SCF Facility, we are required to maintain a liquidity ratio of 2:1 as of the last day of each calendar month. Liquidity ratio is defined as the ratio of (i) liquidity to (ii) the sum of (x) the aggregate outstanding notional amount of all receivables, bills of exchange or similar negotiable instruments purchased by the original SCF Bank under the existing supply chain financing arrangement described above and (y) the aggregate outstanding notional amount of payables outstanding under this New SCF Facility. Liquidity under the New SCF Facility includes the Company’s cash and cash equivalents and aggregate availability under the Company’s committed credit facilities, including the 2024 Revolver. As of September 30, 2025, no suppliers participated in the New SCF Facility, and the Company had no outstanding payment obligations to the New SCF Bank.
Shelf Registration Statement
On August 11, 2023, we filed an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the SEC (the “Form S-3”) which became effective upon filing and will remain effective through August 11, 2026, subject to our continued eligibility to use such form. The Form S-3 allows us to offer and sell from time-to-time Class A common stock, preferred stock, depository shares, debt securities, warrants, purchase contracts or units comprised of any combination of these securities for our own account and allows certain selling stockholders to offer and sell 135,666,665 shares of Class A common stock in one or more offerings.
The Form S-3 is intended to provide us flexibility to conduct registered sales of our securities, subject to market conditions, and our future capital needs. The terms of any future offering under the Form S-3 will be established at the time of such offering and will be described in a prospectus supplement filed with the SEC prior to the completion of any such offering.
76
Revolving Credit Facility
On November 1, 2021, we entered into a credit agreement for a revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”), by and among Fluence Energy, LLC, as borrower, Fluence Energy Inc., as a parent guarantor, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto, the lenders party thereto, and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent (as amended, the “Revolving Credit Agreement”). The aggregate amount of commitments was $200.0 million. The Revolving Credit Agreement was terminated effective November 22, 2023, in conjunction with the entry into the ABL Credit Agreement (as further described below), and at such time, the Company prepaid all amounts outstanding under the Revolver and terminated all commitments thereunder. No penalties were required to be paid as a result of the termination.
For further discussion of the Revolver, refer to “Note 12 - Debt” to our condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Asset-Based Lending Facility
On November 22, 2023, the Company entered into an asset-based syndicated credit agreement (the “ABL Credit Agreement”) by and among Fluence Energy, LLC, as parent borrower, Fluence Energy, Inc., as parent, the other borrowers party thereto, the other guarantors party thereto, the lenders party thereto (the “ABL Lenders”), and Barclays Bank PLC, as administrative agent, which was amended by the Master Assignment and Assumption and Issuing Bank Joinder, effective December 15, 2023 (the “ABL Joinder”), Amendment No. 1, dated April 8, 2024 (“Amendment No. 1”), and Amendment No. 2, dated May 8, 2024 (“Amendment No. 2”), which provided for revolving commitments in an aggregate principal amount of $400.0 million (the "ABL Facility"). The ABL Facility was secured by (i) a first priority pledge of Fluence Energy, Inc.’s equity interests in Fluence Energy, LLC and (ii) first priority security interests in, and mortgages on, substantially all tangible and intangible personal property and material fee-owned real property of Fluence Energy, Inc., Fluence Energy, LLC, and Fluence Energy Global Production Operation, LLC, in each case, subject to customary exceptions and limitations. Borrowings under the ABL Facility were scheduled to mature, and lending commitments thereunder would terminate, on November 22, 2027, which remains the maturity date of borrowings under the 2024 Revolver. As of the time of our entry into Amendment No. 3 to the ABL Credit Agreement (as discussed below), there were no outstanding borrowings under the ABL Facility or letters of credit outstanding.
For further discussion of the ABL Credit Agreement, refer to “Note 12 - Debt” to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
2024 Revolver
On August 6, 2024 (the "Amendment Effective Date"), Fluence Energy, Inc. entered into Amendment Number Three ("Amendment No. 3") to that certain ABL Credit Agreement by and among Fluence Energy, LLC, as parent borrower, the Company, as parent, the other borrowers party thereto, the other guarantors party thereto, the lenders party thereto, and Citibank, N.A., as administrative agent (as successor to Barclays Bank PLC) (such agreement, as so amended, the "2024 Credit Agreement") in order to (i) convert the existing ABL Facility to a senior secured cash flow revolving credit facility in an initial aggregate principal amount of up to $500.0 million (the "2024 Revolver"), (ii) replace Barclays Bank PLC as administrative agent under the 2024 Credit Agreement with Citibank, N.A., and (iii) make certain other modifications to the 2024 Credit Agreement as set forth therein. Capitalized terms used in this subsection that are not otherwise defined are defined in the 2024 Credit Agreement.
The 2024 Revolver is secured by (i) a first priority pledge of the Company's equity interests in Fluence Energy, LLC and Fluence Energy Global Production Operation, LLC, (ii) first priority security interests in substantially all tangible and intangible personal property of the Company, Fluence Energy, LLC, Fluence Energy Global Production Operation, LLC and certain of its foreign subsidiaries, in each case, subject to customary exceptions and limitations, and (iii) a pledge of the Company's equity interests in certain of its foreign subsidiaries and security interests in certain assets of such foreign subsidiaries.
The 2024 Credit Agreement sets forth that (i) loans comprising each ABR Borrowing shall bear interest at the Alternate Base Rate plus 2.00%, (ii) loans comprising each Term Benchmark Borrowing shall bear interest at the Term SOFR Rate or the Adjusted EURIBOR Rate, as applicable, plus 3.00%, and (iii) the loans comprising each RFR Borrowing shall bear interest at the Daily Simple RFR plus 3.00%, in each instance subject to customary benchmark replacement provisions including, but not limited to, alternative benchmark rates, customary spread adjustments with respect to borrowings in foreign currencies and benchmark replacement conforming changes. Fluence Energy, LLC is required to pay to the lenders a commitment fee on the average daily unused portion of the commitments through maturity, which shall accrue at the rate of 0.50% per annum. The 2024 Credit Agreement provides for a cash draw sublimit of $150.0 million as well as a letter of credit sublimit in the amount of $500.0 million if certain conditions are met.
The 2024 Credit Agreement contains customary covenants for this type of financing, including, but not limited to, covenants that restrict our and certain of our subsidiaries’ ability to: incur indebtedness; incur liens; sell, transfer, or dispose of property and assets; make investments or acquisitions; pay dividends, make distributions or other restricted payments; and engage in affiliate transactions. The 2024 Credit Agreement limits our ability to make certain payments, including dividends and distributions on Fluence Energy, LLC's equity, the Company's equity and other restricted payments. Under the terms of the 2024 Credit Agreement, Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries are currently limited in their ability to pay cash dividends to, lend to, or make other investments in the
77
Company, subject to certain exceptions. In addition, we are required to maintain (i) from the Amendment Effective Date through December 31, 2025, Total Liquidity of no less than $150,000,000, (ii) from January 1, 2026 and thereafter, Total Liquidity of no less than $100,000,000 or a Consolidated Leverage Ratio as of the last day of any Measurement Period not to exceed 3.50:1.00, and (iii) certain other financial requirements at each Guarantor Coverage Test Date. Such covenants are tested on a quarterly basis and upon the occurrence of other certain restricted payments, the incurrence of indebtedness, certain dispositions, and other specified transactions. As of September 30, 2025, we were in compliance with all such covenants.
The 2024 Credit Agreement contains customary events of default for this type of financing. If an event of default occurs with respect to a borrower, the lenders will be able to, among other things, terminate the commitments immediately, cash collateralize any outstanding letters of credit, declare any loans outstanding to be due and payable in whole or in part, and exercise other rights and remedies. The maturity date and the date of termination of lending commitments under the 2024 Credit Agreement is November 22, 2027. As of September 30, 2025, there are no cash borrowings under the 2024 Revolver, and there are $194.4 million letters of credit outstanding under the 2024 Revolver, with remaining availability of $305.6 million, net of letters of credit issued.
Borrowings Against Note Receivable - Pledged as Collateral
In December 2022, we transferred $24.3 million in customer receivables to Standard Chartered Bank (“SCB”) in the Philippines for proceeds of $21.1 million. The receivables all related to our largest customer in that country. The underlying receivables transferred were previously aggregated into a long-term note, with interest, and a maturity date of September 30, 2024. In April 2023, we aggregated into an additional long-term note and transferred an additional $30.9 million in receivables with the same customer to SCB for proceeds of $27.0 million, upon substantially similar terms as the December 2022 transfer and with a maturity date of December 27, 2024. These transactions were treated as secured borrowings as we did not transfer the entire note receivables due from the customer to SCB. We continued to receive quarterly interest income from the customer, while SCB was responsible for collecting payments on the principal balances which represented the initial receivable balances from the customer. We had no other continuing involvement or exposure related to the underlying receivables. On September 16, 2024 and December 27, 2024, $24.3 million and $30.9 million of receivables, respectively, were paid in full, resulting in the release of the corresponding notes and borrowings.
Sale of Receivables under Master Receivables Purchase Agreement
On February 27, 2024, Fluence Energy, LLC entered into a Master Receivables Purchase Agreement (the “MRPA”), by and among Fluence Energy, LLC and any other seller from time to time party thereto, as sellers and servicers, and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank ("CACIB"), as purchaser. Pursuant to the MRPA, Fluence Energy, LLC may sell certain receivables (the “Purchased Receivables”) to CACIB from time to time, and CACIB may agree to purchase the Purchased Receivables in each case, on an uncommitted basis. The MRPA provides that the outstanding amount of all purchased receivables under the MRPA will not exceed $75.0 million, with sublimits for each account debtor and for certain kinds of receivables. The MRPA may be terminated by either party at any time by 30 days’ prior written notice. Fluence Energy, LLC has granted CACIB a security interest in the purchased receivables, and proceeds thereof, as more fully described in the MRPA, in order to perfect CACIB’s ownership interest in the purchased receivables and secure the payment and performance of all obligations of Fluence Energy, LLC to CACIB under the MRPA. The MRPA contains other customary representations and warranties and covenants.
When receivables are sold under the MRPA, they are sold without recourse, and our continuing involvement is limited to their servicing, for which the Company receives a fee commensurate with the service provided and therefore no servicing asset or liability related to these receivables was recognized for any period presented. The fair value of the sold receivables approximated their book value due to their short-term nature.
Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement
We are party to an Amended and Restated Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement, dated June 9, 2021, with The AES Corporation (“AES”) and Siemens Industry (the “Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement”) whereby they may, from time to time, agree to furnish credit support to us in the form of direct issuances of credit support to our lenders or other beneficiaries or through their lenders’ provision of letters of credit to backstop our own facilities or obligations. Pursuant to the Amended and Restated Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement, if AES or Siemens Industry agree to provide a particular credit support (which they are permitted to grant or deny in their sole discretion), they are entitled to receipt of a credit support fee, reimbursement of actual costs and expenses incurred in having a credit support instrument issued and maintained, and reimbursement for all amounts paid to our lenders or other counterparties, payable upon demand. The Amended and Restated Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement had an initial expiration date of June 9, 2025 (the “initial expiration date”), but will automatically and indefinitely continue thereafter pursuant to its terms until either AES or Siemens Industry terminates the agreement upon six months’ prior notice. No notice of termination has been provided by the time of filing of this Annual Report. Any credit support under the Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement will remain in effect after any such termination until such credit support has been replaced by the Company.
78
Currently, the Company has outstanding performance guarantees provided by AES and Siemens Industry and their respective affiliates that guarantee Fluence’s performance obligations under certain contracts with Fluence’s customers. These performance guarantees are issued pursuant to the terms of the Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement. Fluence paid performance guarantee fees to its affiliates in exchange for guaranteeing Fluence’s performance obligations under certain contracts with Fluence’s customers. The guarantee fees are included in “Cost of goods and services” on Fluence’s condensed consolidated statements of operations. Guarantees are also issued by AES and Siemens Corporation, pursuant to the terms of the Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement, in connection with one of our supplier chain financing programs (as described in greater detail above).
Tax Receivable Agreement
In connection with the IPO, we entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement with Fluence Energy, LLC and Siemens Industry and AES Grid Stability (together, the “Founders”). Under the Tax Receivable Agreement, we are required to make cash payments to the Founders equal to 85% of the tax benefits, if any, that we actually realize, or in certain circumstances are deemed to realize, as a result of (1) the increases in our share of the tax basis of assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries resulting from any redemptions or exchanges of LLC Interests from the Founders and certain distributions (or deemed distributions) by Fluence Energy, LLC; and (2) certain other tax benefits arising from payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. The payment obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement is an obligation of Fluence Energy, Inc. and not of Fluence Energy, LLC. We expect to use distributions from Fluence Energy, LLC to fund any payments that we will be required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. To the extent we are unable to make timely payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement for any reason, such payments generally will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid; provided, however, that nonpayment for a specified period may constitute a material breach of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement resulting in the acceleration of payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Fluence Energy, Inc. expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of cash tax benefits, if any, it realizes from such tax benefits. For purposes of the Tax Receivable Agreement, the cash tax benefits will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of Fluence Energy, Inc. to the amount of such taxes that Fluence Energy, Inc. would have been required to pay had there been no such tax basis adjustments of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC or its subsidiaries as a result of redemptions or exchanges and had Fluence Energy, Inc. not entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement.
On June 30, 2022, Siemens Industry, Inc. exercised its redemption right pursuant to the terms of the Third Amended and Restated Limited Liability Agreement of Fluence Energy, LLC, dated October 27, 2021, as may be amended from time to time (the “LLC Agreement”) with respect to its entire holding of 58,586,695 LLC Interests of Fluence Energy, LLC, together with the corresponding cancellation of an equivalent number of shares of our Class B-1 common stock, par value $0.00001 per share (“Class B-1 common stock”). On December 8, 2023, AES Grid Stability exercised its redemption right pursuant to the terms of the LLC Agreement with respect to 7,087,500 LLC Interests of Fluence Energy, LLC, together with the corresponding cancellation of an equivalent number of shares of our Class B-1 common stock.
The redemptions resulted in increases in the tax basis of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and certain of its subsidiaries. The increases in tax basis and tax basis adjustments increases (for tax purposes) the depreciation and amortization deductions available to Fluence Energy, Inc. and, therefore, may reduce the amount of U.S. federal, state, and local tax that Fluence Energy, Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the Internal Revenue Service may challenge all or part of the validity of that tax basis, and a court could sustain such a challenge.
As a result of the tax basis adjustment of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries upon the redemptions and our possible utilization of certain tax attributes, the payments that we may make under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be substantial. The redemptions will result in future tax savings of $137.6 million. The Founders will be entitled to receive payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement equaling 85% of such amount, or $117 million; assuming, among other factors, (i) we will have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize the tax benefits; (ii) Fluence Energy, LLC is able to fully depreciate or amortize its assets; and (iii) there are no material changes in applicable tax law. The payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement are not conditioned upon continued ownership of us by the Founders. Although the timing and extent of future payments could vary significantly under the Tax Receivable Agreement, we anticipate funding payments from the Tax Receivable Agreement from cash flow from operations of our subsidiaries, available cash or available borrowings under any future debt agreements.
With the exception of an estimated $0.3 million of Tax Receivable Agreement payment realized as of September 30, 2025, we have determined it is not probable payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement would be made, given the projected inability to fully utilize the related tax benefits over the term of the agreement. Therefore, the Company has not recognized the remaining liability. Should we determine that the additional Tax Receivable Agreement payment is probable, a corresponding liability will be recorded and as a result, our future results of operations and earnings could be impacted as a result of these matters.
Commitments, Contingencies, and Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of September 30, 2025, the Company had outstanding bank guarantees, parent guarantees, letters of credit, and surety bonds issued as performance security arrangements for a large number of customer projects. In addition, we have a limited number of parent company guarantees and letters of credit issued as payment security to certain vendors. The Company also has certain battery purchase
79
obligations and spending requirements under our master supply agreement with suppliers. We are also party to both assurance and service-type warranties for various lengths of time. Refer to “Note 15 - Commitments and Contingencies” to our condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for more information regarding our contingent obligations, including off-balance sheet arrangements, and legal contingencies.
Historical Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities for the periods presented.
| Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| in thousands | 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities | $ | (145,538) | $ | 79,685 | $ | (225,223) | 282.6 | % | |||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (29,799) | (18,975) | (10,824) | (57.0) | % | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 356,880 | (8,676) | 365,556 | (4213.4) | % |
Net cash flows used in operating activities was $145.5 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $79.7 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. The $225.2 million increase in net cash used in operating activities compared to last year was primarily due to a decrease in working capital balances of $134.6 million and an increase of $98.4 million in net loss. Below we describe in more detail the cash flows (used in) provided by operating activities for each period:
•Net cash flows used in operating activities of $145.5 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, was primarily due to (i) net loss of $68.0 million, (ii) increases in inventory balances of $278.7 million due to cash expenditures on inventory, and (iii) decreases in accounts payable of $119.2 million and current accruals and provisions of $93.6 million due to the timing of purchases and payments to various vendors. These cash outflows were partially offset by net effects of changes in customer contract assets and liabilities. Specifically, deferred revenue, inclusive of related parties, increased in aggregate by $403.6 million, due to timing of various customer project billings and cash collections in accordance with contract milestone payment schedules.
•Net cash flows provided by operating activities of $79.7 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, were primarily due to (i) net income of $30.4 million and (ii) increases in accounts payable of $370.1 million and current accruals and provisions of $160.2 million due to the timing of purchases and payments to various vendors. These cash inflows were partially offset by net effects of changes in customer contract assets and liabilities. Specifically, receivables, inclusive of trade, unbilled accounts receivable and receivables from related parties, increasing in aggregate by $393.8 million and (ii) deferred revenue, inclusive of related parties, decreasing in aggregate by $82.0 million, due to timing of various customer project billings and cash collections in accordance with contract milestone payment schedules.
Net cash flows used in investing activities were $29.8 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 which were primarily due to capital expenditures on software of $14.9 million and purchases of property and equipment of $14.9 million.
Net cash flows used in investing activities were $19.0 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024 which were primarily due to capital expenditures on software of $10.9 million and purchases of property and equipment of $8.1 million.
Net cash flows provided by financing activities were $356.9 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, which were primarily related to the proceeds received from the issuance of the 2030 Convertible Senior Notes of $400.0 million, partially offset by (i) premiums paid for the purchases of the Capped Calls of $29.0 million and (ii) payments for the debt issuance costs of $12.1 million primarily related to the 2030 Convertible Senior Notes.
Net cash flows used in financing activities were $8.7 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, which were primarily driven by (i) $8.5 million in payments related to debt issuance costs for the ABL Facility and 2024 Revolver, (ii) $3.9 million in payments for a previously acquired company (Nispera), and (iii) $1.7 million related to Class A common stock withheld related to settlement of employee taxes for stock-based compensation awards, partially offset by $5.3 million of proceeds from the exercise of stock options during the period.
80
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. In the preparation of these financial statements, we consider an accounting judgment, estimate or assumption to be critical when (1) the estimate or assumption is complex in nature or requires a high degree of judgment and (2) the use of different judgments, estimates, and assumptions could have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements. We believe that the accounting policies discussed below are critical to understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates.
Revenue Recognition - Sale of Energy Storage Products and Solutions
The Company enters into contracts with utility companies, developers, and commercial and industrial customers to design and build battery-based energy storage products. Our projects have a lead time from date of contract execution to substantial completion, typically ranging from approximately twelve up to eighteen months. Generally, we must design the project, as each storage solution is customized depending on the customer’s energy needs, procure the major equipment, obtain manufacturing slots from our contract manufacturers, coordinate the logistics, and assemble the solution prior to delivery and installation at our customer project sites. These actions must be completed timely to adhere to customer schedules and milestones. Depending on the scope of the project we may be responsible for the installation of the equipment. After the equipment is installed, we are responsible for commissioning. The Company recognizes revenue over time when we have enforceable right to payment for work performed to date and the solution, in its completed state, does not have an alternative use to the Company. Revenue is recognized using the percentage of completion (“POC”) method based on actual cost incurred as a percentage of total estimated contract costs. Standard inventory materials (including batteries, enclosures, chillers, and others, which are assembled into “integrated systems”) are included in our measure of progress when they are restricted to a specific customer’s project such that we no longer have the ability to direct their use for other purposes. Contract costs include all direct material and labor costs related to contract performance. As the cost of the assembled integrated systems comprise a substantial portion of the total estimated contract costs, our pattern of revenue recognition may vary materially from period to period. Our judgment on when costs should be included in the measure of progress may have a material impact on revenue recognition.
Since the revenue recognition of these contracts depends on estimates, which are assessed continually during the term of the contract, recognized revenues and profit are subject to revisions as the contract progresses to completion. The cumulative effects of revisions of estimated total contract costs and revenues, together with any contract reserves which may be deemed appropriate, are recorded in the period in which they occur. Due to the uncertainties inherent in the estimation process, it is reasonably possible that these estimates will be revised in a different period. The Company determines the transaction price based on the consideration expected to be received which includes estimates of variable consideration that are included in the transaction price in accordance with ASC 606. The transaction price identified is allocated to each distinct performance obligation to deliver a good or service based on the relative standalone selling prices. For our energy storage products and solutions, services, and digital applications contracts where there are multiple performance obligations in a single contract or we sign separate contracts at or near the same time with the same customer that meet the criteria for combination, the Company allocates the transaction price to the various obligations in the contract based on the relative standalone selling price. Standalone selling prices are estimated based on estimated costs plus margin taking into consideration pricing history and market factors. Generally, our revenues recognized are not sensitive to the Company’s determination of standalone selling prices. We assess any variable consideration using an expected value method which computes a weighted average amount based on a range of potential outcomes. Variable consideration is included in the transaction price only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty is resolved. Estimating variable consideration requires certain estimates and assumptions, including whether and by how much a project will be delayed or if we will not meet certain performance specifications per the contract.
Our contracts generally provide our customers the right to liquidated damages (“LDs”) against Fluence in the event specified milestones are not met on time or equipment is not delivered according to contract specifications. Liquidated damages are accounted for as variable consideration and the contract price is reduced by the expected LD amount when recognizing revenue. The existence and measurement of LDs may also be impacted by our judgments about the probability of favorable outcomes of customer disputes involving whether certain events qualify as force majeure or the reason for the events that caused project delays. Variable consideration for liquidated damages is estimated using the expected value method.
Fluence may incur additional costs to execute on the performance of a contract. When this happens, we typically attempt to recover these costs via a change order with the customer. When this fact pattern occurs, it can create a timing difference between when we have incurred the cost versus when we record the proportionate revenue, since costs are recognized immediately when incurred and the revenue is recognized based upon the transaction price, which is usually increased upon signing a respective change order with the customer.
When shipping and handling activities are performed after the customer obtains control of the product, we elect to account for shipping and handling as activities to fulfill the promise to transfer the product.
Revenue is recorded net of any taxes assessed on and collected from customers, which are remitted to the governmental authorities.
81
Customer payments are due upon meeting certain milestones as defined in the contract, which are generally consistent with contract-specific phases of a project.
Pre-contract costs with no future benefit are expensed in the period in which they are incurred. Generally, pre-contract costs are not material.
Refer to “Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Estimates” to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for further discussion of other accounting policies and estimates including income taxes, goodwill, and loss contracts.
MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001868941-24-000070.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations provides information that management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our audited consolidated financial statements and results of operations and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and the section entitled “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information” and in other parts of this Annual Report. The discussion of changes in our financial condition and results of operations from the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023 to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 is included in Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2023 filed with the SEC on November 29, 2023. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any periods in the future.
Upon the completion of our initial public offering (the “IPO”) and a series of organization transactions (collectively with the IPO, the “Transactions”) on November 1, 2021, Fluence Energy, Inc. became a holding company whose sole material assets are the limited liability interests in Fluence Energy, LLC (the “LLC Interests”). All of our business is conducted through Fluence Energy, LLC, together with its subsidiaries, and the financial results of Fluence Energy, LLC are consolidated in our financial statements. Except where the context clearly indicates otherwise, “Fluence,” “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” refers to Fluence Energy, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries.
The Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) is its Chief Executive Officer. The Company’s CODM reviews financial information on a consolidated basis for purposes of making operating decisions, allocating resources, and evaluating financial performance. As such, the Company has determined that it operates in one operating segment, which corresponds to one reportable segment.
Our fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. References to “fiscal year 2022”, “fiscal year 2023” and “fiscal year 2024” refer to the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022, September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2024, respectively.
Key Components of Our Results of Operations
The following discussion describes certain line items in our consolidated statements of operations and our consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss).
Total Revenue
We generate revenue from battery-based energy storage solutions, service agreements with customers to provide operational services related to battery-based energy storage solutions, and from digital application contracts. Fluence enters into contracts with utility companies, developers, and commercial and industrial customers.
We derive the majority of our revenue from selling battery-based energy storage solutions. Generally, we must design the project, as each energy storage solution is customized depending on a customer’s energy needs, procure the major equipment, obtain manufacturing slots from our contract manufacturers, coordinate the logistics, and assemble the solution prior to delivery and installation at our customer project sites. The Company recognizes revenue over time for our energy storage solutions as we transfer control of our product to the customer.
Our revenue from selling battery-based energy storage solutions is affected by volume fulfilled, which is dependent on customer schedules and demand, changes in price, which is primarily dependent on the cost of lithium-ion energy storage hardware, and mix of products and solutions purchased by our customers.
Our revenue growth is directly tied to the continued adoption of energy storage solutions by our customers and our ability to increase our share of demand in the geographic regions where we currently compete and plan to compete in the future, which is driven by the demand for our products, geographic mix of our customers, strength of competitors’ product offerings, and availability of government incentives to the end-users of our products as well as our ability to continue to develop and commercialize new and innovative solutions that address the changing technology and performance requirements of our customers.
61
Cost of Goods and Services
Cost of goods and services consists primarily of product costs, including purchased materials and supplies, as well as costs related to shipping, customer support, product warranty, and personnel. Personnel costs in cost of goods and services includes both direct labor costs as well as costs attributable to any individuals whose activities relate to the transformation of raw materials or component parts into finished goods or the transportation of materials to the customer. Cost of goods and services are recognized when services are performed or control of goods are transferred to the customers. Standard inventory materials that could be used interchangeably on other projects are included in cost of goods sold when they are integrated into, or restricted to, the production of a customer’s project.
Our product costs are affected by the underlying cost of raw materials, such as lithium-ion, and components to our solutions including inverters. Our product costs are also affected by technological innovation, economies of scale resulting in lower supply costs, and improvements in production processes and automation. We do not currently hedge against changes in the price of raw materials as we do not directly purchase raw materials; instead, we buy the components of energy storage products from our suppliers and we rely on our suppliers to hedge the underlying raw materials. We generally expect the ratio of cost of goods and services to revenue to decrease as sales volumes increase due to economies of scale, however, some of these costs, primarily personnel-related costs, are not directly affected by sales volume.
Gross Profit and Gross Profit Margin
Gross profit and gross profit margin may vary from quarter to quarter and are primarily affected by our volume fulfilled, product prices, and product costs.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses consist of research and development, sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses as well as depreciation and amortization. Personnel-related expenses are the most significant component of our operating expenses and include salaries, stock-based compensation, and employee benefits. We expect to invest in additional resources to support our growth which will increase our operating expenses in the near future.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel-related costs across our global research and development (“R&D”) centers for engineers engaged in the design and development and testing of our integrated products and technologies and costs of materials and services procured for research and development projects. Engineering competencies include data science, machine learning, software development, network and cyber security, battery systems engineering, industrial controls, UI / UX, mechanical design, power systems engineering, certification, and more. R&D expenses also support three product testing labs located across the globe: a system-level testing facility in Pennsylvania that is used for quality assurance and the rapid iteration, testing, and launching of new Fluence energy storage technology and products, a testing facility located in Erlangen, Germany, and a deployment center located in Long Beach, California. We have established an additional Hardware in the Loop testing facility, which is co-located with our technical team in Bangalore, India. We expect R&D expenses to generally increase in future periods to support our growth and as we continue to invest in R&D activities that are necessary to achieve our technology and product roadmap goals. These expenses may vary from period to period as a percentage of revenue, depending primarily upon when we choose to make more significant investments.
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, stock-based compensation, employee benefits, and related personnel technology costs, and factoring discounts on receivables sold. We have and intend to continue to expand our sales presence and marketing efforts to additional countries in the future.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, stock-based compensation, and employee benefits, for our executives, finance, human resources, information technology, engineering and legal organizations that do not relate directly to the sales or research and development functions, as well as travel expenses, facilities costs, bad debt expense, and fees for professional services. Professional services consist of audit, legal, tax, insurance, information technology, and other such costs.
62
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation consists primarily of costs associated with property, plant, and equipment (“PP&E”) and amortization of intangibles consisting of patents, licenses, and developed technology over their expected period of use. We expect that as we increase both our revenues and the number of our general and administrative personnel, we will invest in additional PP&E to support our growth resulting in additional depreciation and amortization.
Interest Income, net
Interest income, net consists primarily of interest income net of interest expense. Interest income consists of interest earned on cash deposits and interest on customer notes receivables. Interest expense consists primarily of interest on borrowings against notes receivable pledged as collateral, unused line fees and commitment fees related to credit facilities, and amortization of debt issuance costs.
Other (Income) Expense, net
Other (income) expense, net primarily consists of expense or income from foreign currency exchange gains and losses on monetary assets and liabilities, expense due to estimated payments to be made to related parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement, dated October 27, 2021, by and among Fluence Energy, Inc., Fluence Energy, LLC, Siemens Industry, Inc. and AES Grid Stability, LLC (the “Tax Receivable Agreement”), and factoring income from sale of receivables.
Income Tax Expense
We are subject to U.S. federal and state income taxes with respect to our allocable share of any taxable income or loss of Fluence Energy, LLC and are taxed at the prevailing corporate tax rates. We are also subject to foreign income taxes with respect to our foreign subsidiaries and our expectations are that valuation allowances will be recorded in certain tax jurisdictions. In addition to tax expenses, we also will incur expenses related to our operations, as well as payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, which we expect could be significant over time. We will receive a portion of any distributions made by Fluence Energy, LLC. Any cash received from such distributions from our subsidiaries will be first used by us to satisfy any tax liability and then to make payments required under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
Net Income (Loss)
Net income (loss) may vary from quarter to quarter and is primarily affected by our gross profit and operating expenses as defined above.
Key Factors, Trends, and Uncertainties Affecting our Performance
We believe that our performance and future success depend on several factors that present significant opportunities for us but also pose risks and challenges, including those discussed below and in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” within this Annual Report. See also subsections “Our Industry and Market Opportunity”, “Our Growth Strategy”, “Manufacturing”, “Supply Chain”, “Government Regulation and Compliance”, and “Competition” under Part I, Item 1. “Business” of this Annual Report for additional discussion of certain key factors, trends and uncertainties that may affect our performance.
Industry Outlook
The utility-scale battery storage industry as a whole is witnessing unprecedented growth, fueled by global transitions toward renewable energy, heightened focus on grid resilience, and supportive regulatory frameworks. Deployment of renewable energy resources has accelerated over the last decade. Industry-wide, the push for decarbonization is creating increasing demand for grid-scale energy storage, which is critical to enabling the integration of variable renewable energy sources, reducing the intermittency and volatility of renewable energy generation, and meeting ambitious net-zero targets. BloombergNEF estimates that the global utility scale market, excluding China, will add approximately 2,529 GWh between 2024 and 2035.
Our revenue growth is directly tied to the continued adoption of energy storage solutions by our customers. One factor that impacts this continued adoption of energy storage solutions is the cost of lithium-ion energy storage hardware. The cost of lithium-ion energy storage hardware has declined significantly in the aggregate in the last decade and has resulted in a large addressable market today. In fiscal year 2022, we saw prices for lithium-ion battery packs increase from prior years, though prices returned to their historical trend of declining year-over-year in fiscal years 2023 and 2024. The market for energy storage continues to rapidly evolve and while we believe lithium-ion battery pack costs will continue to decline over the long term, there is no guarantee that they will decline or decline at the rates we expect. If costs do not continue to decline long term and instead remain steady or increase, as seen in fiscal year 2022, this could adversely affect our ability to increase our revenue, our order intake, and grow our business.
63
Overall, we believe Fluence is well-positioned to continue to capitalize on the utility-scale battery storage market as we continue to deliver solutions that address the complex needs of a transforming energy landscape. However, there is no guarantee that the deployment of renewable energy will occur at the rate estimated by BloombergNEF or that such renewable energy will rely on lithium-ion battery technology for energy storage. Macroeconomic uncertainties, supply chain disruptions, geo-political conflicts, government regulations and incentives, and other factors could result in fluctuations in demand for and deployment of renewable energy resources, adversely affecting our revenue and ability to generate profits in the future. See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for further discussion on these risks.
Increased Electricity Demand
According to a publication from the Office of Policy of the U.S. Department of Energy in August 2024, electricity demand is forecasted to grow substantially in the United States over the next decade. Electricity demand is expected to be driven primarily by new data centers, artificial intelligence, new manufacturing facilities, and sector-wide electrification. We are seeing similar trends of increasing electricity demand in other countries, including in those in which we operate. We believe that such increase in electricity demand will cause an increase in demand for our energy storage solutions globally.
2021 Overheating Event at Customer Facility
On September 4, 2021, a 300 MW energy storage facility owned by one of our customers experienced an overheating event. Fluence served as the energy storage technology provider and designed and installed portions of the facility, which was completed in fiscal year 2021. No injuries were reported from the incident. The facility was taken offline as teams from Fluence, our customer, and the battery designer/manufacturer investigated the incident. Our customer released initial findings in the second fiscal quarter of 2022 on what it contends is the root cause of the incident. The customer’s stated findings, if ultimately confirmed and proven, could relate to certain scopes of work for which Fluence or its subcontractors could be responsible. The customer’s stated findings, however, could also relate to certain scopes of work for which other parties were responsible and/or relate to other causes, including the design and installation of portions of the facility over which Fluence did not have responsibility or control. The customer has alleged that Fluence is liable for the incident. At this time, Fluence cannot accept the customer’s stated findings and has denied liability. No formal legal proceedings have been commenced, but it is reasonably possible that litigation may result from this matter if a resolution cannot be achieved. Any such dispute would also likely include claims by Fluence and counterclaims by the customer relating to disputed costs arising from the original design and construction of the facility. The customer announced in July of 2022 that a large portion of the facility was back online. We are currently not able to estimate the impact, that this incident may have on our financial results. To date, we do not believe that this incident has impacted the market’s adoption of our products and solutions.
2023 Project-Related Litigation
In October 2023, Fluence filed a complaint in the Superior Court of California, Contra Costa County, against Diablo Energy Storage, LLC, Empire Business Park, LLC, the Bank of New York Mellon and others, seeking approximately $37.0 million in damages arising from the supply and construction of an energy storage facility for the defendants, including for the defendants’ nonpayment of contractual amounts owed. On or about November 10, 2023, Defendant Diablo Energy Storage, LLC filed a cross-complaint against Fluence, seeking a minimum of $25.0 million of alleged damages and disgorgement of all compensation received by Fluence for the project, in the amount of approximately $230.0 million. The disgorgement claim was based upon an alleged deficiency in Fluence’s contractor license. Fluence denies the allegations in the cross-complaint and intends to vigorously defend against them and to enforce our claims against the defendants. We are currently not able to estimate the impact, if any, that this litigation may have on our reputation or financial results, or on market adoption of our products.
Key Operating Metrics
The following tables presents our key operating metrics for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2024 and 2023. The tables below present the metrics in either Gigawatts (GW) or Gigawatt hours (GWh). Our key operating metrics focus on project milestones to
64
measure our performance and designate each project as either “deployed”, “assets under management”, “contracted backlog”, or “pipeline”.
| Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||
| Energy Storage Products | ||||||||||||
| Deployed (GW) | 5.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 66.7 | % | |||||||
| Deployed (GWh) | 12.8 | 7.2 | 5.6 | 77.8 | % | |||||||
| Contracted backlog (GW) | 7.5 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 63.0 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline (GW) | 25.8 | 12.2 | 13.6 | 111.5 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline (GWh) | 80.5 | 34.2 | 46.3 | 135.4 | % |
| (amounts in GW) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||
| Service Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Assets under management | 4.3 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 53.6 | % | |||||||
| Contracted backlog | 4.1 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 41.4 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline | 25.6 | 13.7 | 11.9 | 86.9 | % |
| (amounts in GW) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||
| Digital Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Assets under management | 18.3 | 15.5 | 2.8 | 18.1 | % | |||||||
| Contracted backlog | 10.6 | 6.8 | 3.8 | 55.9 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline | 64.5 | 24.4 | 40.1 | 164.3 | % |
The following table presents our order intake for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2024 and 2023. The table is presented in Gigawatts (GW):
| (amounts in GW) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | Change % | |||||||||
| Energy Storage Products and Solutions | ||||||||||||
| Contracted | 5.2 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 136.4 | % | |||||||
| Service Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Contracted | 3.0 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 66.7 | % | |||||||
| Digital Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Contracted | 8.6 | 6.2 | 2.4 | 38.7 | % |
Deployed
Deployed represents cumulative energy storage products and solutions that have achieved substantial completion and are not decommissioned. Deployed is monitored by management to measure our performance towards achieving project milestones.
Assets Under Management
Assets under management for service contracts represents our long-term service contracts with customers associated with our completed energy storage system products and solutions. We start providing maintenance, monitoring, or other operational services after the storage product projects are completed. In some cases, services may be commenced for energy storage solutions prior to achievement of substantial completion. This is not limited to energy storage solutions delivered by Fluence. Assets under management for digital software represents contracts signed and active (post go live). Assets under management serves as an indicator of expected revenue from our customers and assists management in forecasting our expected financial performance.
65
Contracted Backlog
For our energy storage products and solutions contracts, contracted backlog includes signed customer orders or contracts under execution prior to when substantial completion is achieved. For service contracts, contracted backlog includes signed service agreements associated with our storage product projects that have not been completed and the associated service has not started. For digital applications contracts, contracted backlog includes signed agreements where the associated subscription has not started.
We cannot guarantee that our contracted backlog will result in actual revenue in the originally anticipated period or at all. Contracted backlog may not generate margins equal to our historical operating results. We have only recently begun to track our contracted backlog on a consistent basis as performance measures, and as a result, we do not have significant experience in determining the level of realization that we will achieve on these contracts. Our customers may experience project delays or cancel orders as a result of external market factors and economic or other factors beyond our control. If our contracted backlog fails to result in revenue as anticipated or in a timely manner, we could experience a reduction in revenue, profitability, and liquidity.
Contracted/Order Intake
Contracted, which we use interchangeably with “order intake”, represents new energy storage product and solutions contracts, new service contracts. and new digital contracts signed during each period presented. We define “Contracted” as a firm and binding purchase order, letter of award, change order, or other signed contract (in each case an “Order”) from the customer that is received and accepted by Fluence. Our order intake is intended to convey the dollar amount and gigawatts (operating measure) contracted in the period presented. We believe that order intake provides useful information to investors and management because the order intake provides visibility into future revenue and enables evaluation of the effectiveness of the Company’s sales activity and the attractiveness of its offerings in the market.
Pipeline
Pipeline represents our uncontracted, potential revenue from energy storage products and solutions, service, and digital software contracts, which have a reasonable likelihood of contract execution within 24 months. Pipeline is an internal management metric that we construct from market information reported by our global sales force. Pipeline is monitored by management to understand the anticipated growth of our Company and our estimated future revenue related to customer contracts for our battery-based energy storage products and solutions, services, and digital software.
We cannot guarantee that our pipeline will result in actual revenue in the originally anticipated period or at all. Pipeline may not generate margins equal to our historical operating results. We have only recently begun to track our pipeline on a consistent basis as performance measures, and as a result, we do not have significant experience in determining the level of realization that we will achieve on these contracts. Our customers may experience project delays or cancel orders as a result of external market factors and economic or other factors beyond our control. If our pipeline fails to result in revenue as anticipated or in a timely manner, we could experience a reduction in revenue, profitability, and liquidity.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This section contains references to certain non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Profit Margin, and Free Cash Flow.
Adjusted EBITDA is calculated from the consolidated statements of operations using net income (loss) adjusted for (i) interest income, net, (ii) income taxes, (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) stock-based compensation, and (v) other non-recurring income or expenses. Adjusted EBITDA also includes amounts impacting net income related to estimated payments due to related parties pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement.
Adjusted Gross Profit is calculated using gross profit, adjusted to exclude (i) stock-based compensation expenses, (ii) amortization, and (iii) other non-recurring income or expenses. Adjusted Gross Profit Margin is calculated using Adjusted Gross Profit divided by total revenue.
Free Cash Flow is calculated from the consolidated statements of cash flows and is defined as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, less purchase of property and equipment made in the period. We expect our Free Cash Flow to fluctuate in future periods as we invest in our business to support our plans for growth. Limitations on the use of Free Cash Flow include (i) it should not be inferred that the entire Free Cash Flow amount is available for discretionary expenditures (for example, cash is still required to satisfy other working capital needs, including short-term investment policy, restricted cash, and intangible assets); (ii) Free Cash Flow has limitations as an analytical tool, and it should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of other GAAP financial measures, such as net cash provided by operating activities; and (iii) this metric does not reflect our future contractual commitments.
66
These non-GAAP measures are intended as supplemental measures of performance and/or liquidity that are neither required by, nor presented in accordance with, GAAP. We believe that such non-GAAP measures, when read in conjunction with our operating results presented under GAAP, can be used to better assess our performance from period to period and relative to performance of other companies in our industry, without regard to financing methods, historical cost basis or capital structure.
These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. Readers are cautioned that these non-GAAP measures should not be construed as alternatives to other measures of financial performance calculated in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures and their reconciliation to GAAP financial measures are shown below.
The following tables present our non-GAAP measures for the periods indicated.
| in thousands | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 30,367 | $ | (104,818) | $ | 135,185 | 129 | % | |||||||
| Add (deduct): | |||||||||||||||
| Interest income, net | (5,676) | (5,388) | (288) | 5 | % | ||||||||||
| Income tax expense | 9,206 | 4,549 | 4,657 | 102 | % | ||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 14,482 | 10,665 | 3,817 | 36 | % | ||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation(a) | 23,875 | 26,920 | (3,045) | (11) | % | ||||||||||
| Other non-recurring expenses(b) | 5,852 | 6,684 | (832) | (12) | % | ||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 78,106 | $ | (61,388) | $ | 139,494 | 227 | % |
(a) Includes incentive awards that will be settled in shares and incentive awards that will be settled in cash.
(b) Amount for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024 includes approximately $2.5 million in costs related to the termination of the Revolver and Amendment No. 3 to the ABL Credit Agreement, $1.5 million in expenses related to the Tax Receivable Agreement, $1.0 million in severance costs related to restructuring and $0.8 million in costs related to the secondary offering completed in December 2023. Amount for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023 includes approximately $6.7 million in severance costs and consulting fees related to the restructuring plan from November 2022.
| in thousands | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 2,698,562 | $ | 2,217,978 | $ | 480,584 | 22 | % | |||||||
| Cost of goods and services | 2,357,482 | 2,077,023 | 280,459 | 14 | % | ||||||||||
| Gross profit | 341,080 | 140,955 | 200,125 | 142 | % | ||||||||||
| Gross profit margin % | 12.6 | % | 6.4 | % | |||||||||||
| Add: | |||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation(a) | 4,080 | 4,164 | (84) | (2) | % | ||||||||||
| Amortization(b) | 2,696 | 830 | 1,866 | 225 | % | ||||||||||
| Other non-recurring expenses(c) | — | 946 | (946) | (100) | % | ||||||||||
| Adjusted Gross Profit | $ | 347,856 | $ | 146,895 | $ | 200,961 | 137 | % | |||||||
| Adjusted Gross Profit Margin % | 12.9 | % | 6.6 | % |
(a) Includes incentive awards that will be settled in shares and incentive awards that will be settled in cash.
(b) Amount related to amortization of capitalized software included in cost of goods and services.
(c) Amount for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023 includes $0.9 million in severance costs related to the restructuring plan from November 2022.
| in thousands | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | $ | 79,685 | $ | (111,927) | $ | 191,612 | 171 | % | |||||||
| Less: Purchase of property and equipment | (8,115) | (2,989) | (5,126) | 171 | % | ||||||||||
| Free Cash Flow | $ | 71,570 | $ | (114,916) | $ | 186,486 | 162 | % |
67
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2024 to the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2023
The following table sets forth our operating results for the periods indicated.
| in thousands | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 2,698,562 | $ | 2,217,978 | $ | 480,584 | 21.7 | % | |||||||
| Costs of goods and services | 2,357,482 | 2,077,023 | 280,459 | 13.5 | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 341,080 | 140,955 | 200,125 | 142.0 | |||||||||||
| Gross profit margin % | 12.6 | % | 6.4 | % | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 66,195 | 66,307 | (112) | (0.2) | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 63,842 | 41,114 | 22,728 | 55.3 | |||||||||||
| General and administrative | 172,996 | 136,308 | 36,688 | 26.9 | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 11,426 | 9,835 | 1,591 | 16.2 | |||||||||||
| Interest income, net | (5,676) | (5,388) | (288) | 5.3 | |||||||||||
| Other income, net | (7,276) | (6,952) | (324) | 4.7 | |||||||||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes | 39,573 | (100,269) | 139,842 | 139.5 | |||||||||||
| Income tax expense | 9,206 | 4,549 | 4,657 | 102.4 | |||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 30,367 | $ | (104,818) | $ | 135,185 | 129.0 | % |
Total Revenue
Total revenue increased by $480.6 million, or 21.7%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. The increase was mainly attributable to (i) the expansion of sales of our battery-based energy storage solutions by $454.6 million primarily driven by increased volumes of Gridstack cubes fulfilled and (ii) an increase of services revenue primarily due to additional battery-based energy storage products and solutions being deployed and transitioned to assets under management and increases in augmentation activities performed for certain projects.
Costs of Goods and Services
Cost of goods and services increased by $280.5 million, or 13.5%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. The increase in cost of goods and services for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024 was primarily attributable to (i) the increase of volume of Gridstack cubes fulfilled, (ii) a corresponding increase in services costs related to the increases in services revenue described above, and (iii) the favorable settlement of contractual claims with our largest battery module vendor of $19.5 million that had occurred in the prior period, which had the effect of reducing our costs, but did not reoccur in the current period. The overall increase in cost of goods and services was less than the increase in revenue during fiscal year 2024 due to net improvement of gross margins on portfolio of newer Gridstack solutions projects during the current period due to operational efficiencies.
Gross Profit and Gross Profit Margin
Gross profit increased by $200.1 million, or 142%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. The increase in gross profit for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024 was primarily due to the net improvement of gross margins on the portfolio of newer Gridstack solutions projects in the current period due to operational efficiencies described above in “Costs of goods and services.”
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses were relatively flat in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.
68
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Sales and marketing expenses increased by $22.7 million, or 55.3%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. The increase in sales and marketing expenses for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024 was primarily attributable to (i) a $15.6 million increase in salaries and personnel-related expenses, including stock-based compensation and information technology costs related to personnel, due to an increase in headcount to support our growth, and (ii) a $2.1 million factoring discount on sale of accounts receivable under the Master Receivables Purchase Agreement (“MRPA”) recorded in the current period.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses increased by $36.7 million, or 26.9%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. The increase in general and administrative expenses for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024 was primarily attributable to a $38.8 million increase in salaries and personnel-related expenses, including stock-based compensation, due to higher headcount to support our growth, partially offset by a net decrease in other general and administrative expenses.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation and amortization increased by $1.6 million, or 16.2%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, primarily attributable to a $1.2 million cumulative adjustment in depreciation recognized in June 2024 resulting from changing the useful life of IT equipment from five years to three years.
Interest Income, Net
Interest income, net was relatively flat in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.
Other Income, Net
Other income, net increased by $0.3 million, or 4.7%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. The increase in other income, net was primarily attributable to the factoring income of $2.1 million from sale of accounts receivable under the MRPA offset by an increase in expense of $1.5 million due to change in estimated payments due to related parties under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
Income Tax Expense
Income tax expense increased by $4.7 million, or 102.4%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. The increase in tax expense is primarily due to increases in foreign pre-tax book income and U.S. tax on foreign earnings in fiscal year 2024, partially offset by the release of valuation allowances.
Net Income (Loss)
Net income increased by $135.2 million, or 129.0%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. The increase is primarily attributable to increase in “gross profit,” partially offset by increases in operating expenses as described above.
Comparison of the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2023 to the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2022
For a discussion of our results of operations for the year ended September 30, 2023 compared to fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, please see Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, filed with the SEC on November 29, 2023.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Since inception and through September 30, 2024, our principal sources of liquidity were the proceeds from our IPO, our cash and cash equivalents from operations, short-term borrowings, borrowings available under our debt agreements, supply chain financing, capital contributions from AES Grid Stability, Siemens Industry, and proceeds from the investment by QIA Florence Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of QIA in 2021, proceeds from short-term investments, and borrowings against note receivables and proceeds from sale of accounts receivable under the MRPA.
We believe the proceeds received from our IPO, our existing cash and cash equivalents, cash flows from operations, sales of accounts receivable under the MRPA, borrowings against note receivables and availability under our 2024 Revolver will be sufficient to meet our expense and capital requirements for at least the next 12 months following the filing of this Annual Report.
69
Our future capital requirements may vary materially from those currently planned and will depend on many factors, including our rate of revenue growth, the timing and extent of our growth initiatives, our introduction of new products, services, and digital application offerings, and overall regulatory and economic conditions. To the extent that current and anticipated future sources of liquidity are insufficient to fund our future business activities and cash requirements, we may be required to seek additional equity or debt financing. The sale of additional equity would result in additional dilutions to our stockholders. The incurrence of additional debt financing would result in debt service obligations and the instruments governing such debt could provide for operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations. If we are unable to raise additional capital or generate cash flows necessary to expand our operations and invest in continued innovation, we may not be able to compete successfully, which would harm our business, operations, and financial condition.
On November 1, 2021, upon the closing of our IPO, we received net proceeds of $935.8 million. The net proceeds from the IPO were used to purchase 35,650,000 newly issued LLC Interests directly from Fluence Energy, LLC. Fluence Energy, LLC used the net proceeds from the sale of LLC Interests to Fluence Energy, Inc. to repay all outstanding borrowings relating to a line of credit and promissory notes. The remainder of the proceeds has been and continues to be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Prior to the IPO, the Company had an Uncommitted Line of Credit Agreement (“Line of Credit’) with Citibank, N.A. (“Citibank”) which allowed us to borrow an amount in aggregate not to exceed $50.0 million, with the expiration date on March 31, 2023. Outstanding borrowings from the Line of Credit were $50.0 million as of September 30, 2021. The weighted average annual interest rate of the borrowing was 2.83%. On November 1, 2021, the $50.0 million outstanding borrowings from the Line of Credit was paid off using the proceeds from our IPO and the Line of Credit was canceled shortly thereafter.
Additionally, prior to the IPO, we funded our liquidity through borrowings from AES Grid Stability and Siemens Industry. On August 11, 2021, Fluence Energy, LLC entered into a promissory note with each of Siemens Industry and AES Grid Stability, under which Fluence Energy, LLC received a bridge financing of an aggregate of $50.0 million. In connection with the bridge financing, Fluence Energy, LLC issued a $25.0 million promissory note to each of Siemens Industry and AES Grid Stability (together, the “Promissory Notes”). The Promissory Notes bore interest at a rate of 2.86%. The Promissory Notes were repaid on November 1, 2021 using proceeds from the IPO.
We have provided certain of our suppliers with access to a supply chain financing program through a third-party financing institution (the “SCF Bank”). This program allows us to seek extended payment terms with our suppliers and allows our suppliers to monetize their receivables prior to the payment due date, subject to a discount. Once a supplier elects to participate in the program and reaches an agreement with the SCF Bank, the supplier elects which individual invoices to sell to the SCF Bank. We then pay the SCF Bank on the invoice due date. We have no economic interest in a supplier’s decision to sell a receivable to the SCF Bank. The agreements between our suppliers and the SCF Bank are solely at their discretion and are negotiated directly between them. Our suppliers’ ability to continue using such agreements is primarily dependent upon the strength of our financial condition and guarantees issued by AES and Siemens. As of September 30, 2024, AES and Siemens each have outstanding issued guarantees of $50.0 million each, for a total of $100.0 million, to SCF Bank on our behalf. As of September 30, 2024, two suppliers were actively participating in the supply chain financing program, and we had $81.3 million of payables outstanding subject to the program. All outstanding payments owed under the program are recorded within “Accounts payable” in our consolidated balance sheets.
On August 11, 2023, we filed an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the SEC which became effective upon filing and will remain effective for three years from the effectiveness date. The Form S-3 allows us to offer and sell from time-to-time Class A common stock, preferred stock, depository shares, debt securities, warrants, purchase contracts or units comprised of any combination of these securities for our own account and allows certain selling stockholders to offer and sell up to 135,666,665 shares of Class A common stock in one or more offerings. The Form S-3 is intended to provide us flexibility to conduct registered sales of our securities, subject to market conditions and our future capital needs. The terms of any future offering under the shelf registration statement will be established at the time of such offering and will be described in a prospectus supplement filed with the SEC prior to the completion of any such offering.
Revolving Credit Facility
We entered into a Revolving Credit Agreement for a revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”) on November 1, 2021, by and among Fluence Energy, LLC, as the borrower, Fluence Energy, Inc., as a parent guarantor, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto, the lenders party thereto, and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent. The aggregate amount of commitments was $200.0 million. The Revolver was originally scheduled to mature on November 1, 2025. The Revolving Credit Agreement was terminated effective November 22, 2023, in conjunction with the entry into the ABL Credit Agreement (as further described below), and at such time, the Company prepaid all amounts outstanding under the Revolver and terminated all commitments thereunder. No penalties were required to be paid as a result of the termination.
For further discussion of the Revolver, refer to “Note 12 - Debt” to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
70
Asset-Based Lending Facility
On November 22, 2023, the Company entered into an asset-based syndicated credit agreement (the “ABL Credit Agreement”) by and among Fluence Energy, LLC, as parent borrower, Fluence Energy, Inc., as parent, the other borrowers party thereto, the other guarantors party thereto, the lenders party thereto (the “ABL Lenders”), and Barclays Bank PLC (“Barclays”), as administrative agent, which was amended by the Master Assignment and Assumption and Issuing Bank Joinder, effective December 15, 2023 (the “ABL Joinder”), Amendment No. 1, dated April 8, 2024 (“Amendment No. 1”), and Amendment No. 2, dated May 8, 2024 (“Amendment No. 2”), which provided for revolving commitments in an aggregate principal amount of $400.0 million (the "ABL Facility"). The ABL Facility was secured by (i) a first priority pledge of Fluence Energy, Inc.’s equity interests in Fluence Energy, LLC and (ii) first priority security interests in, and mortgages on, substantially all tangible and intangible personal property and material fee-owned real property of Fluence Energy, Inc., Fluence Energy, LLC, and Fluence Energy Global Production Operation, LLC, in each case, subject to customary exceptions and limitations. Borrowings under the ABL Facility were scheduled to mature, and lending commitments thereunder would terminate, on November 22, 2027, which remains the maturity date of borrowings under the 2024 Revolver.
As of the time of our entry into Amendment No. 3 to the ABL Credit Agreement (as discussed below), there were no outstanding borrowings under the ABL Facility or letters of credit outstanding.
For further discussion of the ABL Credit Agreement, refer to “Note 12 - Debt” to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
2024 Revolver
On August 6, 2024 (the "Amendment Effective Date"), Fluence Energy, Inc. entered into Amendment No. 3 to the ABL Credit Agreement (such agreement, as amended, the "2024 Credit Agreement") in order to (i) convert the existing ABL Facility to a senior secured cash flow revolving credit facility in an initial aggregate principal amount of up to $500.0 million (the "2024 Revolver"), (ii) replace Barclays as administrative agent under the 2024 Credit Agreement with Citibank, N.A., and (iii) make certain other modifications to the 2024 Credit Agreement as set forth therein. Capitalized terms used in this subsection that are not otherwise defined in this subsection are defined in the 2024 Credit Agreement.
The 2024 Revolver is secured by (i) a first priority pledge of the Company's equity interests in Fluence Energy, LLC and Fluence Energy Global Production Operation, LLC, (ii) first priority security interests in substantially all tangible and intangible personal property of the Company, Fluence Energy, LLC, Fluence Energy Global Production Operation, LLC and certain of its foreign subsidiaries, in each case, subject to customary exceptions and limitations, and (iii) a pledge of the Company's equity interests in certain of its foreign subsidiaries and security interests in certain assets of such foreign subsidiaries.
The 2024 Credit Agreement sets forth that (i) loans comprising each ABR Borrowing shall bear interest at the Alternate Base Rate plus 2.00%, (ii) loans comprising each Term Benchmark Borrowing shall bear interest at the Term SOFR Rate or the Adjusted EURIBOR Rate, as applicable, plus 3.00%, and (iii) the loans comprising each RFR Borrowing shall bear interest at the Daily Simple RFR plus 3.00%, in each instance subject to customary benchmark replacement provisions including, but not limited to, alternative benchmark rates, customary spread adjustments with respect to borrowings in foreign currencies and benchmark replacement conforming changes. Fluence Energy, LLC is required to pay to the lenders a commitment fee on the average daily unused portion of the commitments through maturity, which shall accrue at the rate of 0.50% per annum. The 2024 Credit Agreement provides for a cash draw sublimit of $150.0 million as well as a letter of credit sublimit in the amount of $500.0 million if certain conditions are met.
The 2024 Credit Agreement contains customary covenants for this type of financing, including, but not limited to, covenants that restrict our and certain of our subsidiaries’ ability to: incur indebtedness; incur liens; sell, transfer, or dispose of property and assets; make investments or acquisitions; pay dividends, make distributions or other restricted payments; and engage in affiliate transactions. The 2024 Credit Agreement limits our ability to make certain payments, including dividends and distributions on Fluence Energy, LLC's equity, the Company's equity, and other restricted payments. Under the terms of the 2024 Credit Agreement, Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries are currently limited in their ability to pay cash dividends to, lend to, or make other investments in the Company, subject to certain exceptions. In addition, we are required to maintain (i) from the Amendment Effective Date through December 31, 2025, Total Liquidity of no less than $150,000,000 at any time, (ii) from January 1, 2026 and thereafter, Total Liquidity of no less than $100,000,000 at any time or a Consolidated Leverage Ratio as of the last day of any Measurement Period not to exceed 3.50:1.00, and (iii) certain other financial requirements at each Guarantor Coverage Test Date. Such covenants are tested on a quarterly basis and upon the occurrence of other certain restricted payments, the incurrence of indebtedness, certain dispositions, and other specified transactions. As of September 30, 2024, we were in compliance with all such covenants.
If an event of default occurs with respect to a borrower, the lenders will be able to, among other things, terminate the commitments immediately, cash collateralize any outstanding letters of credit, declare any loans outstanding to be due and payable in whole or in part, and exercise other rights and remedies. The maturity date and the date of termination of lending commitments under the 2024 Credit Agreement remain unchanged at November 22, 2027. As of September 30, 2024, there are no cash borrowings under the 2024 Revolver, and there are $74.9 million letters of credit outstanding under the 2024 Revolver, with remaining availability of $425.1 million, net of letters of credit issued.
71
Borrowings Against Note Receivable - Pledged as Collateral
In December 2022, we transferred $24.3 million in customer receivables to Standard Chartered Bank (“SCB”) in the Philippines for proceeds of $21.1 million. The receivables all related to our largest customer in that country. The underlying receivables transferred were previously aggregated into a long term note, with interest, with a maturity date of September 30, 2024. In April 2023, we aggregated and transferred an additional $30.9 million in receivables into a second long term note with the same customer to SCB for proceeds of $27.0 million, upon substantially similar terms as the December 2022 transfer and with a maturity date of December 27, 2024. These transactions are treated as secured borrowings as we did not transfer the entire note receivables due from the customer to SCB. We continue to receive quarterly interest income from the customer, while SCB is responsible for collecting payments on the principal balances which represent the initial receivable balances from the customer. We have no other continuing involvement or exposure related to the underlying receivables. On September 16, 2024, the $24.3 million of receivables were paid in full, resulting in release of the corresponding note and borrowing. As of September 30, 2024, the Company recorded net interest income of $0.3 million, which represents the net of $4.4 million in interest income and $4.1 million in interest expense recorded in “Interest income, net.” As of September 30, 2023, the Company recorded net interest income of $1.0 million, which represents the aggregate of $3.4 million in interest income and $2.4 million in interest expense.
Sale of Receivables under Master Receivables Purchase Agreement
On February 27, 2024, Fluence Energy, LLC entered into the MRPA, by and among Fluence Energy, LLC and any other seller from time to time party thereto, as sellers and servicers, and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank ("CACIB"), as purchaser, of certain receivables on an uncommitted basis. The MRPA provides that the outstanding amount of all purchased receivables under the MRPA will not exceed $75.0 million, with sublimits for each account debtor and for certain kinds of receivables. The MRPA may be terminated by either party at any time by 30 days’ prior written notice. Fluence Energy, LLC has granted CACIB a security interest in the purchased receivables, and proceeds thereof, as more fully described in the MRPA, in order to perfect CACIB’s ownership interest in the purchased receivables and secure the payment and performance of all obligations of Fluence Energy, LLC to CACIB under the MRPA. The MRPA contains other customary representations and warranties and covenants.
When receivables are sold under the MRPA, they are sold without recourse, and our continuing involvement is limited to their servicing, for which the Company receives a fee commensurate with the service provided and therefore no servicing asset or liability related to these receivables was recognized for any period presented. The fair value of the sold receivables approximated their book value due to their short-term nature.
During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, we sold receivables to CACIB under the MRPA for net proceeds of $71.5 million. At the date of the true sale, the receivables were de-recognized in their entirety from the consolidated balance sheets. We charged a fee to our customer, primarily for providing extended payment terms, in relation to the sale of receivables. We recorded factoring income of $2.1 million and related factoring discount of $2.1 million during the period. The factoring income is recorded in “Other (income) expense, net” and the factoring discount is recorded in “Sales and marketing expense” on the consolidated statements of operations. Proceeds from the sold receivables are reflected in operating cash flows on the consolidated statements of cash flows.
Tax Receivable Agreement
In connection with the IPO, we entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement with Fluence Energy, LLC and Siemens Industry and AES Grid Stability (together, the “Founders”). Under the Tax Receivable Agreement, we are required to make cash payments to the Founders equal to 85% of the tax benefits, if any, that we actually realize, or in certain circumstances are deemed to realize, as a result of (1) the increases in our share of the tax basis of assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries resulting from any redemptions or exchanges of LLC Interests from the Founders and certain distributions (or deemed distributions) by Fluence Energy, LLC; and (2) certain other tax benefits arising from payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. The payment obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement is an obligation of Fluence Energy, Inc. and not of Fluence Energy, LLC. We expect to use distributions from Fluence Energy, LLC to fund any payments that we will be required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. To the extent we are unable to make timely payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement for any reason, such payments generally will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid; provided, however, that nonpayment for a specified period may constitute a material breach of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement resulting in the acceleration of payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Fluence Energy, Inc. expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of cash tax benefits, if any, it realizes from such tax benefits. For purposes of the Tax Receivable Agreement, the cash tax benefits will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of Fluence Energy, Inc. to the amount of such taxes that Fluence Energy, Inc. would have been required to pay had there been no such tax basis adjustments of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC or its subsidiaries as a result of redemptions or exchanges and had Fluence Energy, Inc. not entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement.
Redemptions or exchanges of LLC Interests post-IPO are expected to result in increases in the tax basis of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and certain of its subsidiaries. Increases in tax basis and tax basis adjustments generated over time may increase (for tax purposes) the depreciation and amortization deductions available to Fluence Energy, Inc. and, therefore, may reduce the amount of U.S. federal, state, and local tax that Fluence Energy, Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the IRS may
72
challenge all or part of the validity of that tax basis, and a court could sustain such a challenge. Fluence Energy, Inc.’s allocable share of tax basis and the anticipated tax basis adjustments upon redemptions or exchanges of LLC Interests may also decrease gains (or increase losses) on future dispositions of certain assets to the extent tax basis is allocated to those assets. Actual tax benefits realized by Fluence Energy, Inc. may differ from tax benefits calculated under the Tax Receivable Agreement as a result of the use of certain assumptions in the Tax Receivable Agreement, including the use of an assumed state and local income tax rate to calculate tax benefits. The payment obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement is an obligation of Fluence Energy, Inc. and not of Fluence Energy, LLC. We expect to use distributions from Fluence Energy, LLC to fund any payments that we will be required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. To the extent we are unable to make timely payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement for any reason, such payments generally will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid; provided, however, that nonpayment for a specified period may constitute a material breach of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement resulting in the acceleration of payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Fluence Energy, Inc. expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of cash tax benefits, if any, it realizes from such tax benefits. For purposes of the Tax Receivable Agreement, the cash tax benefits will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of Fluence Energy, Inc. to the amount of such taxes that Fluence Energy, Inc. would have been required to pay had there been no such tax basis adjustments of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC or its subsidiaries as a result of redemptions or exchanges and had Fluence Energy, Inc. not entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement. The actual and hypothetical tax liabilities determined in the Tax Receivable Agreement will be calculated using the actual U.S. federal income tax rate in effect for the applicable period and an assumed state and local income tax rate (along with the use of certain other assumptions). The term of the Tax Receivable Agreement will continue until all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired, unless Fluence Energy, Inc. exercises its right to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement early, certain changes of control occur or Fluence Energy, Inc. breaches any of its material obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement, in which case, all obligations generally (and in the case of such a change of control or such breach, only if the Founders elect) will be accelerated and due as if Fluence Energy, Inc. had exercised its right to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement. The payment to be made upon an early termination of the Tax Receivable Agreement will generally equal the present value of payments to be made under the Tax Receivable Agreement using certain assumptions. Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the Tax Receivable Agreement is by its nature imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. The tax basis adjustments upon the redemption or exchange of LLC Interests, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of purchases or exchanges, the price of shares of our Class A common stock at the time of the purchase or exchange, the extent to which such purchases or exchanges do not result in a basis adjustment, the amount of tax attributes, changes in tax rates and the amount and timing of our income.
On June 30, 2022, Siemens Industry, Inc. exercised its redemption right pursuant to the terms of LLC Agreement with respect to its entire holding of 58,586,695 LLC Interests of Fluence Energy, LLC, together with the corresponding cancellation of an equivalent number of shares of Class B-1 common stock of Fluence Energy, Inc., par value $0.00001 per share.
On December 8, 2023, AES Grid Stability exercised its redemption right pursuant to the terms of the LLC Agreement with respect to 7,087,500 LLC Interests of Fluence Energy, LLC, together with the corresponding cancellation of an equivalent number of shares of Class B-1 common stock of Fluence Energy, Inc., par value $0.00001 per share (the “AES Redemption” and, together with the Siemens Redemptions, the “Siemens and AES Redemptions”). The Siemens and AES Redemptions resulted in increases in the tax basis of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and certain of its subsidiaries. The increases in tax basis and tax basis adjustments increases (for tax purposes) the depreciation and amortization deductions available to Fluence Energy, Inc. and, therefore, may reduce the amount of U.S. federal, state, and local tax that Fluence Energy, Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the IRS may challenge all or part of the validity of that tax basis, and a court could sustain such a challenge.
As a result of the tax basis adjustment of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries upon the Siemens Redemption and our possible utilization of certain tax attributes, the payments that we may make under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be substantial. The Redemptions will result in future tax savings of $126.4 million. Siemens and AES will be entitled to receive payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement equaling 85% of such amount, or $107.4 million; assuming, among other factors, (i) we will have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize the tax benefits; (ii) Fluence Energy, LLC is able to fully depreciate or amortize its assets; and (iii) no material changes in applicable tax law. The payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement are not conditioned upon continued ownership of us by the Founders. Although the timing and extent of future payments could vary significantly under the Tax Receivable Agreement for the factors discussed above, we anticipate funding payments from the Tax Receivable Agreement from cash flow from operations of our subsidiaries, available cash or available borrowings under any future debt agreements, and such payments are not anticipated to be dependent upon the availability of proceeds of the IPO. We recorded $1.5 million of Tax Receivable Agreement payment to related party expense for the 2024 tax year. The payment will be finalized after the filing of the Fluence Energy, Inc. U.S. income tax return during the year-ending September 30, 2025.
With the exception of the $1.5 million of Tax Receivable Agreement payment recorded as of September 30, 2024, we determined it is not probable additional payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement would be made, given there is no expectation of future sufficient taxable income over the term of the agreement to utilize deductions in the future. Therefore, the Company has not recognized additional liability, outside of the $1.5 million. Should we determine that the Tax Receivable Agreement payment is probable, a corresponding liability will be recorded and as a result, our future results of operations and earnings could be impacted as a result of these matters.
73
Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement
We are party to an Amended and Restated Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement, dated June 9, 2021, with AES and Siemens Industry (the “Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement”) whereby they may, from time to time, agree to furnish credit support to us in the form of direct issuances of credit support to our lenders or other beneficiaries or through their lenders’ provision of letters of credit to backstop our own facilities or obligations. Pursuant to the Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement, if AES or Siemens Industry agree to provide a particular credit support (which they are permitted to grant or deny in their sole discretion), they are entitled to receipt of a credit support fee, reimbursement of actual costs and expenses incurred in having a credit support instrument issued and maintained, and reimbursement for all amounts paid to our lenders or other counterparties, payable upon demand. The Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement initially expires on June 9, 2025 (the “initial expiration date”), and will automatically and indefinitely continue after such date; except that either AES or Siemens Industry is permitted to terminate the agreement effective at any time on or after the initial expiration date by providing not less than six months prior notice. Any credit support under the Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement will remain in effect after any such termination until such credit support has been replaced by the Company.
Currently, the Company has outstanding performance guarantees provided by AES and Siemens Industry and their respective affiliates that guarantee Fluence’s performance obligations under certain contracts with Fluence’s customers. These performance guarantees are issued pursuant to the terms of the Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement. Fluence paid performance guarantee fees to its affiliates in exchange for guaranteeing Fluence’s performance obligations under certain contracts with Fluence’s customers. The guarantee fees are included in “Costs of goods and services” on Fluence’s consolidated statements of operations. Guarantees are also issued by AES and Siemens, pursuant to the terms of the Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement, in connection with the supplier chain financing program.
Commitments, Guarantees, Letter of Credits, Surety Bonds, and other Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of September 30, 2024, the Company had outstanding bank guarantees, parent guarantees, letters of credit, and surety bonds issued as performance security arrangements for a large number of customer projects. In addition, we have a limited number of parent company guarantees issued as payment security to certain vendors. The Company also has certain battery purchase obligations and spending requirements under our master supply agreement with suppliers. We are also party to both assurance and service-type warranties for various lengths of time. Refer to “Note 14 - Commitments and Contingencies” to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for more information regarding our contingent obligations, including off-balance sheet arrangements and legal contingencies.
Historical Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities for the periods presented.
| Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| in thousands | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | $ | 79,685 | $ | (111,927) | $ | 191,612 | 171.2 | % | |||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | (18,975) | 94,437 | (113,412) | 120.1 | % | ||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (8,676) | 52,595 | (61,271) | (116.5) | % |
Net cash flows provided by operating activities was $79.7 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, compared to net cash used in operating activities of $111.9 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, representing a change of $191.6 million in net cash provided by operating activities. The change was mainly due an increase of $135.2 million in net income and improvement in cash provided by working capital balances of $37.8 million. The details of cash provided by (used in) operations for each period are described below:
Net cash flows provided by operating activities of $79.7 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, was primarily due to (i) net income of $30.4 million (ii) increases in accounts payable of $370.1 million due to the timing, as compared to fiscal year 2023, payments to various vendors, and (iii) net positive effects of changes in current accruals and provisions of $160.2 million. These cash inflows were partially offset by (i) deferred revenue, inclusive of related parties decreasing in aggregate by $82.0 million, and (ii) receivables, inclusive of trade, unbilled accounts receivable and related parties increasing in aggregate by $393.8 million, due to timing of various customer project billings and cash collections in accordance with contract milestone payment schedules.
Net cash flows used in operating activities of $111.9 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, were primarily due to (i) net loss of $104.8 million, (ii) decreases in accounts payable of $242.3 million due to timing of purchases and payments to various vendors (iii) deferred revenue, inclusive of related parties decreasing in aggregate by $198.4 million, due to timing of various customer project billings and cash collections in accordance with contract milestone payment schedules. These cash outflows were offset by positive effects of utilization of inventory of $432.8 million.
74
Net cash flows used in investing activities were $19.0 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024 which were primarily due to capital expenditures on software of $10.9 million and purchases of property and equipment of $8.1 million. Net cash flows provided by investing activities were $94.4 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023 which were primarily due to $111.7 million from proceeds from maturities of short-term investments, offset by $5.0 million in payments for purchase of investment in joint venture, $9.2 million in capital expenditures on software, and $3.0 million in purchases of property and equipment.
Net cash flows used in financing activities were $8.7 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, which were primarily related to (i) $8.5 million in payments related to debt issuance costs for the ABL Facility and 2024 Revolver, (ii) $3.9 million in payments for a previously acquired company (Nispera), and (iii) $1.7 million related to Class A common stock withheld related to settlement of employee taxes for stock-based compensation awards, partially offset by $5.3 million of proceeds from the exercise of stock options during the period. Net cash flows provided by financing activities in fiscal year ended September 30, 2023 of $52.6 million were primarily driven by $48.2 million in proceeds from the borrowing against note receivable - pledged as collateral and $7.2 million in proceeds from the exercise of stock options, partially offset by $2.8 million in cash outflows related to Class A common stock withheld related to settlement of employee taxes for stock-based compensation awards.
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. In the preparation of these financial statements, we consider an accounting judgment, estimate or assumption to be critical when (1) the estimate or assumption is complex in nature or requires a high degree of judgment and (2) the use of different judgments, estimates, and assumptions could have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements. We believe that the accounting policies discussed below are critical to understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates.
Revenue Recognition - Sale of Energy Storage Products and Solutions
The Company enters into contracts with utility companies, developers, and commercial and industrial customers to design and build battery-based energy storage products. Our projects have a lead time from date of contract execution to substantial completion, typically ranging from approximately twelve up to eighteen months. Generally, we must design the project, as each storage solution is customized depending on the customer’s energy needs, procure the major equipment, obtain manufacturing slots from our contract manufacturers, coordinate the logistics, and assemble the solution prior to delivery and installation at our customer project sites. These actions must be completed timely to adhere to customer schedules and milestones. Depending on the scope of the project we may be responsible for the installation of the equipment. After the equipment is installed, we are responsible for commissioning. The Company recognizes revenue over time as we transfer control of our product to the customer. This transfer of control to the customer occurs as the project is being built in accordance with the contract or is supported by clauses in the contracts that provide enforceable rights to payment of the transaction price associated with work performed to date for products that do not have an alternative use to the Company. Revenue is recognized using the percentage of completion (“POC”) method based on actual cost incurred as a percentage of total estimated contract costs. Standard inventory materials (including batteries, enclosures, chillers, and others, which are assembled into “cubes”) that could be used interchangeably on other projects are included in our measure of progress when they are integrated into, or restricted to a specific customer’s project such that we no longer have the ability to direct their use for other purposes. Contract costs include all direct material and labor costs related to contract performance. As the cost of the assembled cubes comprise a substantial portion of the total estimated contract costs, our pattern of revenue recognition may vary materially from period to period. Our judgement on when costs should be included in the measure of progress has a material impact on revenue recognition.
Since the revenue recognition of these contracts depends on estimates, which are assessed continually during the term of the contract, recognized revenues and profit are subject to revisions as the contract progresses to completion. The cumulative effects of revisions of estimated total contract costs and revenues, together with any contract reserves which may be deemed appropriate, are recorded in the period in which they occur. Due to the uncertainties inherent in the estimation process, it is reasonably possible that these estimates will be revised in a different period.
The Company determines the transaction price based on the consideration expected to be received which includes estimates of variable consideration that are included in the transaction price in accordance with ASC 606. The transaction price identified is allocated to each distinct performance obligation to deliver a good or service based on the relative standalone selling prices. For our energy storage products and solutions, services, and digital applications contracts where there are multiple performance obligations in a single contract or we sign separate contracts at or near the same time with the same customer that meet the criteria for combination, the Company allocates the transaction price to the various obligations in the contract based on the relative standalone selling price. Standalone selling prices are estimated based on estimated costs plus margin taking into consideration pricing history and market factors. Generally, our revenues recognized are not sensitive to the Company’s determination of standalone selling prices.
We assess any variable consideration using an expected value method which computes a weighted average amount based on a range of potential outcomes. Variable consideration is included in the transaction price only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty is resolved. Estimating variable consideration requires certain estimates and assumptions, including whether and by how much a project will be delayed or if we will not meet certain performance specifications per the contract.
75
Our contracts generally provide our customers the right to liquidated damages (“LDs”) against Fluence in the event specified milestones are not met on time or equipment is not delivered according to contract specifications. Liquidated damages are accounted for as variable consideration and the contract price is reduced by the expected LD amount when recognizing revenue. The existence and measurement of LDs may also be impacted by our judgments about the probability of favorable outcomes of customer disputes involving whether certain events qualify as force majeure or the reason for the events that caused project delays. Variable consideration for liquidated damages is estimated using the expected value method.
Fluence may incur additional costs to execute on the performance of a contract. When this happens, we typically attempt to recover these costs via a change order with the customer. When this fact pattern occurs, it can create a timing difference between when we have incurred the cost versus when we record the proportionate revenue, since costs are recognized immediately when incurred and the revenue is recognized based upon the transaction price, which is usually increased upon signing a respective change order with the customer.
When shipping and handling activities are performed after the customer obtains control of the product, we elect to account for shipping and handling as activities to fulfill the promise to transfer the product.
Revenue is recorded net of any taxes assessed on and collected from customers, which are remitted to the governmental authorities.
Customer payments are due upon meeting certain milestones as defined in the contract, which are generally consistent with contract-specific phases of a project.
Pre-contract costs with no future benefit are expensed in the period in which they are incurred.
Refer to “Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Estimates” to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for further discussion of other accounting policies and estimates including income taxes, goodwill, and loss contracts.
FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001868941-23-000085.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations provides information that management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our audited consolidated financial statements and results of operations and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” or in other parts of this Annual Report. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any periods in the future.
Upon the completion of our initial public offering (the “IPO”) and a series of organization transactions (collectively with the IPO, the “Transactions”) on November 1, 2021, Fluence Energy, Inc. became a holding company whose sole material assets are the limited liability interests in Fluence Energy, LLC (the “LLC Interests”). All of our business is conducted through Fluence Energy, LLC, together with its subsidiaries, and the financial results of Fluence Energy, LLC are consolidated in our financial statements. Except where the context clearly indicates otherwise, “Fluence,” “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” refers to Fluence Energy, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries.
Our fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. References to “fiscal year 2021”, “fiscal year 2022” and “fiscal year 2023” refer to the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, September 30, 2022 and September 30, 2023, respectively.
Presentation of Financial Information
Fluence Energy, LLC is the accounting predecessor of Fluence Energy, Inc. for financial reporting purposes. Fluence Energy, Inc. will be the audited financial reporting entity for future filings. Accordingly, this Annual Report contains the following historical financial statements:
•Fluence Energy, Inc. The historical financial information of Fluence Energy, Inc. has not been included in this Annual Report prior to the IPO as it was a newly incorporated entity, had no business transactions or activities prior to the IPO and had no assets or liabilities during the periods presented prior to the IPO.
•Fluence Energy, LLC. Because Fluence Energy, Inc. has no interest in any operations other than those of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries, the historical consolidated financial information included in this Annual Report is that of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries.
Siemens Industry Redemption
On June 30, 2022, Siemens Industry, Inc. exercised its redemption right pursuant to the terms of the Third Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Fluence Energy, LLC (the “LLC Agreement”) with respect to its entire holding of 58,586,695 LLC Interests of Fluence Energy, LLC, together with the corresponding cancellation of an equivalent number of shares of Class B-1 common stock of Fluence Energy, Inc., par value $0.00001 per share (the “Siemens Redemption”).
The Company elected to settle the Siemens Redemption through the issuance of 58,586,695 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock (the “Shares”). The Siemens Redemption settled on July 7, 2022. Siemens Industry, Inc. effected an internal transfer of its interest in the Shares to Siemens AG at the time of Siemens Redemption and as of June 30, 2022, Siemens AG became the beneficial owner of 58,586,695 shares of Class A common stock. The Siemens Redemption increased the beneficial ownership interest of the Company in Fluence Energy, LLC to 66.08% as of June 30, 2022. The impact of the change in ownership interest did not result in a change in control. The Siemens Redemption has been accounted for as an equity transaction and the carrying amount of non-controlling interest has been adjusted.
Subsequent to the Siemens Redemption, on September 29, 2022, Siemens AG effected an internal transfer of 18,848,631 shares of Class A common stock to Siemens Pension-Trust e.V., an affiliated entity and a permitted transferee under the terms of the Stockholders Agreement dated October 27, 2021, by and among Fluence Energy, LLC, Fluence Energy, Inc., and the Stockholders (as defined therein)(the “Stockholders Agreement”).
Segments
The Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) is its Chief Executive Officer. The Company’s CODM reviews financial information on a consolidated basis for purposes of making operating decisions, allocating resources, and evaluating financial performance. As such, the Company has determined that it operates in one operating segment, which corresponds to one reportable segment.
53
Negotiations with our Largest Battery Module Vendor
In December 2021, we entered negotiations with our largest battery module vendor to amend our battery supply agreement. As part of the discussions, the vendor sought to renegotiate the price we were to pay for battery modules purchased in calendar year 2022 as well as those expected to be purchased during the remainder of calendar year 2022 and calendar year 2023. As part of these negotiations, we also discussed settlement of contractual claims by Fluence to the vendor. These negotiations continued throughout calendar year 2022. On December 15, 2022, we finalized an agreement with the vendor, amending the supply agreement and resolving our claims. The amendments and settlement were consistent with what we had estimated and disclosed in our 2022 consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 14, 2022 (the “2022 Annual Report”). As part of the finalized agreement, we agreed to take on an additional scope of work related to commissioning the battery modules installed. The approximately $19.5 million settlement for our claims was recognized as a reduction of costs of goods and services for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.
2021 Cargo Loss Incident
On April 28, 2021, the Company was notified of an emergency aboard a vessel carrying Fluence inventory. This incident (the “Cargo Loss Incident”) resulted in damage to a portion of our cargo aboard the vessel. The Company recorded $13.0 million provision to its inventory as of September 30, 2021, based on the net realizable value of cargo that was destroyed. During fiscal year 2022, $13.0 million of inventory was written off against the provision. In addition to the inventory losses, we incurred incremental expenses related to the incident, primarily consisting of inspection costs, project cost overruns due to logistical changes, legal fees, fees to dispose of the damaged cargo, and additional cost to replace the damaged cargo. We received an aggregate of $10.0 million in insurance proceeds related to non-disputed claims, $7.5 million of which was collected in October 2021 and the remaining $2.5 million was collected in April 2022. As of September 30, 2023, we expect to continue to incur legal fees as plaintiff in the pending matter relating to this incident.
2021 Overheating Event at Customer Facility
On September 4, 2021, a 300 MW energy storage facility owned by one of our customers experienced an overheating event. Fluence served as the energy storage technology provider and designed and installed portions of the facility, which was completed in fiscal year 2021. No injuries were reported from the incident. The facility was taken offline as teams from Fluence, our customer, and the battery designer/manufacturer investigated the incident. Our customer released initial findings in the second fiscal quarter of 2022 on what it contends is the root cause of the incident. At this time, Fluence cannot comment on or accept the customer’s stated findings. The customer’s stated findings, if ultimately confirmed and proven, could relate to certain scopes of work for which Fluence or its subcontractors could be responsible. The customer’s stated findings, however, could also relate to certain scopes of work for which other parties were responsible and/or relate to other causes, including the design and installation of portions of the facility over which Fluence did not have responsibility or control. The customer has alleged that Fluence is liable for the incident but has not yet demanded a specific amount of compensation nor alleged a particular level of responsibility. Fluence has denied liability. No formal legal proceedings have been commenced, but it is reasonably possible that litigation may result from this matter if a resolution cannot be achieved. Any such dispute would also likely include claims by Fluence and counterclaims by the customer relating to disputed costs arising from the original design and construction of the facility. The customer announced in July of 2022 that a large portion of the facility was back online. We are currently not able to estimate the impact, that this incident may have on our financial results. To date, we do not believe that this incident has impacted the market’s adoption of our energy storage products and solutions.
2022 Overheating Event at Customer Facility
On April 18, 2022, a 10 MW energy storage facility in Chandler, Arizona owned by AES experienced an overheating event. Fluence served as the energy storage technology provider for the facility, which was completed in 2019, and Fluence previously provided maintenance services for the facility. There were no injuries. The facility has been taken offline as teams from Fluence, AES, and the battery manufacturer continue to investigate the incident. We are currently not able to estimate the impact, if any, that this incident may have on our reputation or financial results, or on market adoption of our energy storage products and solutions.
2023 Project-Related Litigation
In October 2023, Fluence filed a complaint in the Superior Court of California, Contra Costa County, against Diablo Energy Storage, LLC, Empire Business Park, LLC, the Bank of New York Mellon and others, seeking approximately $37.0 million in damages arising from the supply and construction of an energy storage facility for the defendants. On or about November 10, 2023, Defendant Diablo Energy Storage, LLC filed a cross-complaint against Fluence, seeking a minimum of $25.0 million of alleged damages and disgorgement of all compensation received by Fluence for the project, in the amount of approximately $230.0 million. Fluence denies the allegations in the cross-complaint and intends to vigorously defend against them and to enforce our claims against the defendants. We are currently not able to estimate the impact, if any, that this litigation may have on our reputation or financial results, or on market adoption of our products.
54
Restructuring Plan
On November 11, 2022, the board of directors of the Company approved a restructuring plan to create a more sustainable organization structure for long term growth. As part of this plan, we have relocated certain positions at high-cost locations to the Fluence India Technology Centre. The restructuring plan is substantially complete as of September 30, 2023. Management has the authority to expand the plan as determined necessary. As of September 30, 2023, we have incurred approximately $6.7 million of costs related to the restructuring plan, which is inclusive of severance costs.
Investment in Joint Venture
On August 5, 2022, Fluence Energy Singapore PTE. LTD., a subsidiary of Fluence Energy, LLC, and ReNew Power entered into an agreement to form a partnership in India for an initial investment of $5.0 million, plus a line of credit of $15.0 million each for a 50% interest in the partnership. We funded the investment in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023. The joint venture commenced operations during the first fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2023 and began hiring staff. We recorded an insignificant equity method loss on the investment for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.
Key Factors and Trends Affecting our Performance
We believe that our performance and future success depend on several factors that present significant opportunities for us but also pose risks and challenges, including those discussed below and in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” within this Annual Report.
Lithium-ion Battery Cost
Our revenue growth is directly tied to the continued adoption of energy storage products and solutions by our customers. The cost of lithium-ion energy storage hardware has declined significantly in the last decade and has resulted in a large addressable market today.
However, according to BloombergNEF’s annual battery price survey issued in December 2022, higher raw material costs pushed the average price of lithium-ion battery packs up in calendar year 2022. The 2022 price increase marked the first annual increase in price of lithium-ion battery packs since at least 2010. The market for energy storage is rapidly evolving, and while we believe costs will continue to decline over the long term, there is no guarantee that they will decline at all or decline at the rates we expect. If costs do not continue to decline long term, this could adversely affect our ability to increase our revenue or grow our business. Considering the previous statement, we have seen prices for lithium-ion battery packs decline during calendar year 2023. However, there is no guarantee that this decline will continue during fiscal year 2024.
Supply Chain
Although we do not rely on any single supplier for the majority of our key components, including our batteries and inverters, we do obtain certain key components from a limited number of suppliers. If one or more suppliers were unable to satisfy our requirements for particular key components, we could experience a disruption to our operations and delays in completing our projects as alternative suppliers are identified and qualified and new supply arrangements are entered into. Moreover, if one of our suppliers is unable to satisfy our requirements and we turn to another supplier, they may ask for terms that are advantageous to them at higher costs to the Company. In addition, a large portion of our suppliers are situated outside of the United States, which exposes us to changes in international trade regulations, taxes, tariffs, and/or quotas. As of the date of this Annual Report, we believe that we have adequate access to our key components to meet the needs of our operations. See Part I, Item IA. “Risk Factors” of this Annual Report for further discussion on supply chain risks for our business.
Increasing Deployment of Renewable Energy
Deployment of renewable energy resources has accelerated over the last decade, and solar and wind have become a low-cost energy source. BloombergNEF estimates that renewable energy is expected to represent 70% of all new global capacity installations over the next ten years. Energy storage is critical to reducing the intermittency and volatility of renewable energy generation. However, there is no guarantee that the deployment of renewable energy will occur at the rate estimated by BloombergNEF or that such renewable energy will rely on lithium-ion battery technology for energy storage. Inflationary pressures, supply chain disruptions, geo-political conflicts, government regulations and incentives, and other factors could result in fluctuations in demand for and deployment of renewable energy resources, adversely affecting our revenue and ability to generate profits in the future. See Part I, Item IA. “Risk Factors” of this Annual Report for further discussion on these risks.
Competition
The energy storage industry is competitive and continuously evolving. Our energy storage products and solutions, services, and digital applications are highly specialized and specific to the clean energy industry. The unique expertise required to design these offerings as well as integrate these solutions for our customers can be very complex and technical, however, the number of additional
55
companies offering similar products and services is growing every year. In addition, we are continuously engaging in developing new use cases and opening new market segments, which are often less contested. We believe that competitive factors in the energy storage market include, but are not limited to:
•safety, reliability and quality;
•stability in supply chain;
•performance of energy storage products and solutions, services and digital applications;
•historical customer track record (as the market and industry continues to grow);
•experience in the battery energy storage system market (both of the Company and key members of leadership);
•technological expertise and innovation;
•comprehensive solutions and offerings from a single provider;
•brand recognition;
•certain government initiatives, legislation, regulations, and policies;
•ease of integration; and
•seamless hardware and software-enabled service offerings.
Our competition varies by geography, country, grid service, and customer segment. There is a rising demand for energy storage products and solutions globally, and with that growing demand, we see increasing numbers of new entrants and potential entrants in the energy storage space. We believe that a key differentiator for Fluence from our competitors is our ability to identify customer needs and deliver customer-centric products, services, and use cases that can compete in the market either as packages or standalone offerings. We believe we compete favorably based on performance and value-creation, including low total cost of ownership, long-term reliability, varied service options, and convenient and efficient sales and delivery processes.
Seasonality
We have historically experienced seasonality and see increased order intake in our third and fourth fiscal quarters (April – September), driven by demand in the Northern Hemisphere to install energy storage products and solutions before the summer of the following year. Combined third and fourth fiscal quarter order intake has historically accounted for 80% or more of our total intake each year prior to fiscal year 2022. However, combined third and fourth fiscal quarter order intake accounted for 48% and 43% of our total annual intake for fiscal year 2022 and 2023, respectively. In fiscal year 2024, we currently expect seasonality to return, such that our order intake in the combined third and fourth is expected to be higher than in the first half of the year. Our services and digital applications offerings have not historically experienced seasonality given their recurring nature.
Government Regulation and Compliance
Governments across the globe have announced and implemented various policies, regulation and legislation to support the transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon forms of energy and to support and accelerate adoption of clean and/or reliable distributed generation technologies. The operation of our business and our customers’ use of our products and services are impacted by these various government actions. For example, in August 2022, the United States passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”), which consists of a number of provisions aimed directly at confronting the climate change crisis. Among other things, the IRA introduced an investment tax credit (ITC) for standalone energy storage and it contains provisions with incentives for grid modernization equipment including domestic battery cell manufacturing, battery module manufacturing and its components, as well as various upstream applications.
Although we generally are not regulated as a utility, federal, state, and local government statutes and regulations concerning electricity heavily influence the market for our product and services. These statutes and regulations, like the IRA, often relate to electricity pricing, transmission and distribution rates, net metering, incentives, taxation, competition with utilities and the interconnection of customer-owned electricity generation. We believe we are well positioned to capture incentives contained in the IRA and that its enactment is favorable to our business and our future operations. However, as this legislation was recently adopted in August 2022 and applicable U.S. Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service guidelines were published in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023, we have not yet seen the impact these IRA related incentives may have on our business, operations and financial performance as we go forward and cannot guarantee we will realize anticipated benefits of incentives under the IRA. We are continuing to evaluate the overall impact and applicability of the IRA to our expected results of operations going forward.
Key Components of Our Results of Operations
The following discussion describes certain line items in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
56
Total Revenue
We generate revenue from energy storage products and solutions, service agreements with customers to provide operational services related to battery-based energy storage products, and from digital application contracts. Fluence enters into contracts with utility companies, developers, and commercial and industrial customers. We derive the majority of our revenues from selling energy storage products and solutions. When we sell a battery-based energy storage product and solution, we enter into a contract with our customers covering the price, specifications, delivery dates and warranty for the products being purchased, among other things. The manner in which a solution is provided to a customer may vary; not all solutions may require Fluence to procure batteries on behalf of a customer. A solution may only require logistics, design, installation and/or commission services depending on customer requirements. We also generate revenue by providing consulting services to AES whereby Fluence has agreed to advise, and in some cases provide support to AES, on procurement, logistics, design, safety, and commissioning of certain of their projects.
Our revenue is affected by changes in the price, volume, and mix of products and services purchased by our customers, which is driven by the demand for our products, geographic mix of our customers, strength of competitors’ product offerings, and availability of government incentives to the end-users of our products. The Company recognizes revenue over time for our energy storage products and solutions as we transfer control of our product to the customer. This transfer of control to the customer is supported by clauses in the contracts that provide enforceable rights to payment of the transaction price associated with work performed to date for products that do not have an alternative use to the Company and/or as the project is built and control transfers depending on the contract terms.
Our revenue growth is dependent on continued growth in the amount of battery-based energy storage products and solutions projects constructed each year and our ability to increase our share of demand in the geographic regions where we currently compete and plan to compete in the future as well as our ability to continue to develop and commercialize new and innovative products that address the changing technology and performance requirements of our customers.
Cost of Goods and Services
Cost of goods and services consists primarily of product costs, including purchased materials and supplies, as well as costs related to shipping, customer support, product warranty, and personnel. Personnel costs in cost of goods and services includes both direct labor costs as well as costs attributable to any individuals whose activities relate to the transformation of raw materials or component parts into finished goods or the transportation of materials to the customer.
Our product costs are affected by the underlying cost of raw materials, including steel and aluminum supply costs, including inverters, casings, fuses, and cable; technological innovation; economies of scale resulting in lower supply costs; and improvements in production processes and automation. We do not currently hedge against changes in the price of raw materials as we do not purchase raw materials; instead, we buy the components of energy storage products from our suppliers and we rely on our suppliers to hedge the underlying raw materials. We generally expect the ratio of cost of goods and services to revenue to decrease as sales volumes increase due to economies of scale, however, some of these costs, primarily personnel-related costs, are not directly affected by sales volume.
Gross Profit (Loss) and Gross Profit Margin
Gross profit (loss) and gross profit margin may vary from quarter to quarter and is primarily affected by our sales volume, product prices, product costs, product mix, customer mix, geographical mix, shipping costs, and warranty costs.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses consist of research and development, sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses as well as depreciation and amortization. Personnel-related expenses are the most significant component of our operating expenses and include salaries, stock-based compensation, and employee benefits. We expect to invest in additional resources to support our growth which will increase our operating expenses in the near future.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist of personnel-related costs across our global research and development (R&D) centers for engineers engaged in the design and development and testing of our integrated products and technologies. Engineering competencies include data science, machine learning, software development, network and cyber security, battery systems engineering, industrial controls, UI / UX, mechanical design, power systems engineering, certification, and more. R&D expenses also support three product testing labs located across the globe, including a system-level testing facility in Pennsylvania that is used for quality assurance and the rapid iteration, testing, and launching of new Fluence energy storage technology and products. We are standing up an additional Hardware in the Loop (HIL) testing facility which is co-located with our technical team in Bangalore, India. We expect research and development expenses to increase in future periods to support our growth and as we continue to invest in research and
57
development activities that are necessary to achieve our technology and product roadmap goals. These expenses may vary from period to period as a percentage of revenue, depending primarily upon when we choose to make more significant investments.
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, stock-based compensation, and employee benefits. We have and intend to continue to expand our sales presence and marketing efforts to additional countries in the future.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, stock-based compensation, and employee benefits, for our executives, finance, human resources, information technology, engineering and legal organizations that do not relate directly to the sales or research and development functions, as well as travel expenses, facilities costs, bad debt expense, and fees for professional services. Professional services consist of audit, legal, tax, insurance, information technology, and other costs.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation consists of costs associated with property, plant, and equipment (“PP&E”) and amortization of intangibles consisting of patents, licenses, and developed technology over their expected period of use. We expect that as we increase both our revenues and the number of our general and administrative personnel, we will invest in additional PP&E to support our growth resulting in additional depreciation and amortization.
Interest (Income) Expense, net
Interest (income) consists of interest on cash deposits, and interest on customer notes receivables. Interest expense consists primarily of interest previously incurred on our now extinguished Line of Credit and Promissory Notes (each as defined below), borrowings against notes receivable pledged as collateral, unused line fees related to the revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”) pursuant to a credit agreement, dated November 1, 2021, by and among Fluence Energy, LLC, as the borrower, Fluence Energy, Inc., as a parent guarantor, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto, the lenders party thereto and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent (the “Revolving Credit Agreement”), which was terminated upon repayment in full of all obligations under the Revolver, effective November 22, 2023, and amortization of debt issuance costs.
Other (Income) Expense, Net
Other (income) expense, net primarily consists of (income) expense from foreign currency exchange gains and losses on monetary assets and liabilities.
Tax Expense
Historically, prior to the IPO, Fluence Energy, LLC was not subject to U.S. federal or state income tax. As such, Fluence Energy, LLC did not pay U.S. federal or state income tax, as taxable income or loss will be included in the U.S. tax returns of its members. Fluence Energy LLC was subject to income taxes, including withholding taxes, outside the U.S. and our income tax expense (benefit) on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss primarily relates to income taxes from foreign operations, withholding taxes on intercompany royalties and changes in valuation allowances related to deferred tax assets of certain foreign subsidiaries. After our IPO, we are now subject to U.S. federal and state income taxes with respect to our allocable share of any taxable income or loss of Fluence Energy, LLC, and are taxed at the prevailing corporate tax rates. We will continue to be subject to foreign income taxes with respect to our foreign subsidiaries and our expectations are valuation allowances will be needed in certain tax jurisdictions. In addition to tax expenses, we also will incur expenses related to our operations, as well as payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, which we expect could be significant over time. We will receive a portion of any distributions made by Fluence Energy, LLC. Any cash received from such distributions from our subsidiaries will be first used by us to satisfy any tax liability and then to make payments required under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
Key Operating Metrics
The following tables presents our key operating metrics and order intake for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2023 and 2022. The tables below present the metrics in either Gigawatts (GW) or Gigawatt hours (GWh). Our key operating metrics focus on project
58
milestones to measure our performance and designate each project as either “deployed”, “assets under management”, “contracted” or “pipeline”.
| Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||
| Energy Storage Products | ||||||||||||
| Deployed (GW) | 3.0 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 66.7 | % | |||||||
| Deployed (GWh) | 7.2 | 5.0 | 2.2 | 44.0 | % | |||||||
| Contracted backlog (GW) | 4.6 | 3.7 | 0.9 | 24.3 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline (GW) | 12.2 | 9.3 | 2.9 | 31.2 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline (GWh) | 34.2 | 22.6 | 11.6 | 51.3 | % |
| (amounts in GW) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||
| Service Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Assets under management | 2.8 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 40.0 | % | |||||||
| Contracted backlog | 2.9 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 45.0 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline | 13.7 | 8.8 | 4.9 | 55.7 | % |
| (amounts in GW) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||
| Digital Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Assets under management | 15.5 | 13.7 | 1.8 | 13.1 | % | |||||||
| Contracted backlog | 6.8 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 88.9 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline | 24.4 | 19.6 | 4.8 | 24.5 | % |
| (amounts in GW) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | Change % | |||||||||
| Energy Storage Products | ||||||||||||
| Contracted | 2.2 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 15.8 | % | |||||||
| Service Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Contracted | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 38.5 | % | |||||||
| Digital Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Contracted | 6.2 | 4.9 | 1.3 | 26.5 | % |
Deployed
Deployed represents cumulative energy storage products and solutions that have achieved substantial completion and are not decommissioned. Deployed is monitored by management to measure our performance towards achieving project milestones.
Assets Under Management
Assets under management for service contracts represents our long-term service contracts with customers associated with our completed energy storage system products and solutions. We start providing maintenance, monitoring, or other operational services after the storage product projects are completed. In some cases, services may be commenced for energy storage solutions prior to achievement of substantial completion. This is not limited to energy storage solutions delivered by Fluence. Assets under management for digital software represents contracts signed and active (post go live). Assets under management serves as an indicator of expected revenue from our customers and assists management in forecasting our expected financial performance.
59
Contracted Backlog
For our energy storage products and solutions contracts, contracted backlog includes signed customer orders or contracts under execution prior to when substantial completion is achieved. For service contracts, contracted backlog includes signed service agreements associated with our storage product projects that have not been completed and the associated service has not started. For digital applications contracts, contracted backlog includes signed agreements where the associated subscription has not started.
Contracted/Order Intake
Contracted, which we use interchangeably with “Order Intake”, represents new energy storage product contracts, new service contracts and new digital contracts signed during each period presented. We define “Contracted” as a firm and binding purchase order, letter of award, change order or other signed contract (in each case an “Order”) from the customer that is received and accepted by Fluence. Our order intake is intended to convey the dollar amount and gigawatts (operating measure) contracted in the period presented. We believe that order intake provides useful information to investors and management because the order intake provides visibility into future revenues and enables evaluation of the effectiveness of the Company’s sales activity and the attractiveness of its offerings in the market.
Pipeline
Pipeline represents our uncontracted, potential revenue from energy storage products, service, and digital software contracts, which have a reasonable likelihood of contract execution within 24 months. Pipeline is an internal management metric that we construct from market information reported by our global sales force. Pipeline is monitored by management to understand the anticipated growth of our Company and our estimated future revenue related to customer contracts for our battery-based energy storage products and solutions, services and digital software.
We cannot guarantee that our contracted backlog or pipeline will result in actual revenue in the originally anticipated period or at all. Contracted backlog and pipeline may not generate margins equal to our historical operating results. We have only recently begun to track our contracted backlog and pipelines on a consistent basis as performance measures, and as a result, we do not have significant experience in determining the level of realization that we will achieve on these contracts. Our customers may experience project delays or cancel orders as a result of external market factors and economic or other factors beyond our control. If our contracted backlog and pipeline fail to result in revenue as anticipated or in a timely manner, we could experience a reduction in revenue, profitability, and liquidity.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This section contains references to certain non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss), Adjusted Gross Profit Margin, and Free Cash Flow.
Adjusted EBITDA is calculated from the consolidated statements of operations using net income (loss) adjusted for (i) interest (income) expense, net, (ii) income taxes, (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) stock-based compensation, (v) other income or expenses and (vi) non-recurring income or expenses. Adjusted EBITDA may in the future also be adjusted for amounts impacting net income related to the Tax Receivable Agreement liability.
Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) is calculated using gross profit (loss), adjusted to exclude (i) stock-based compensation expenses, (ii) amortization, (iii) certain other income or expenses, and (iv) non-recurring income or expenses. Adjusted Gross Profit Margin is calculated using Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) divided by total revenue.
Free Cash Flow is calculated from the consolidated statements of cash flows and is defined as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, less purchase of property and equipment made in the period. We expect our Free Cash Flow to fluctuate in future periods as we invest in our business to support our plans for growth. Limitations on the use of Free Cash Flow include (i) it should not be inferred that the entire Free Cash Flow amount is available for discretionary expenditures (for example, cash is still required to satisfy other working capital needs, including short-term investment policy, restricted cash, and intangible assets); (ii) Free Cash Flow has limitations as an analytical tool, and it should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of other GAAP financial measures, such as net cash provided by operating activities; and (iii) this metric does not reflect our future contractual commitments.
These non-GAAP measures are intended as supplemental measures of performance and/or liquidity that are neither required by, nor presented in accordance with, GAAP. We believe that such non-GAAP measures, when read in conjunction with our operating results presented under GAAP, can be used to better assess our performance from period to period and relative to performance of other companies in our industry, without regard to financing methods, historical cost basis or capital structure.
These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. Readers are cautioned that these
60
non-GAAP measures should not be construed as alternatives to other measures of financial performance calculated in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures and their reconciliation to GAAP financial measures are shown below.
The following tables present our non-GAAP measures for the periods indicated.
| in thousands | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (104,818) | $ | (289,177) | $ | 184,359 | 64 | % | |||||||
| Add (deduct): | |||||||||||||||
| Interest (income), net | (5,388) | (326) | (5,062) | 1553 | % | ||||||||||
| Income tax expense | 4,549 | 1,357 | 3,192 | 235 | % | ||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 10,665 | 7,108 | 3,557 | 50 | % | ||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation(a) | 26,920 | 44,131 | (17,211) | (39) | % | ||||||||||
| Other expenses(b) | 6,684 | 1,566 | 5,118 | 327 | % | ||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | (61,388) | $ | (235,341) | $ | 173,953 | 74 | % |
(a) Includes awards that will be settled in shares and awards that will be settled in cash.
(b) Amount for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023 includes approximately $6.7 million of costs related to the restructuring plan, including severance. Amount for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 includes approximately $1.6 million of costs related to severance only. Costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Cargo Loss Incident, which the Company had historically excluded from Adjusted EBITDA, are no longer excluded. Adjusted EBITDA results for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 have been recast for comparative purposes.
| in thousands | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 2,217,978 | $ | 1,198,603 | $ | 1,019,375 | 85 | % | |||||||
| Cost of goods and services | 2,077,023 | 1,260,957 | 816,066 | 65 | % | ||||||||||
| Gross profit (loss) | 140,955 | (62,354) | 203,309 | 326 | % | ||||||||||
| Add (deduct): | |||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation(a) | 4,164 | 8,523 | (4,359) | (51) | % | ||||||||||
| Amortization (b) | 830 | — | 830 | 100 | % | ||||||||||
| Other expenses(c) | 946 | — | 946 | 100 | % | ||||||||||
| Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) | $ | 146,895 | $ | (53,831) | $ | 200,726 | 373 | % | |||||||
| Adjusted Gross Profit Margin % | 6.6 | % | (4.5) | % |
(a) Includes awards that will be settled in shares and awards that will be settled in cash.
(b) Amount related to amortization of capitalized software included in cost of goods and services for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.
(c) Amount for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023 includes $0.9 million of costs related to the restructuring plan, including severance. Costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Cargo Loss Incident, which the Company had historically excluded from Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) and Adjusted Gross Profit Margin, are no longer excluded. Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) and Adjusted Gross Profit Margin results for the year ended September 30, 2022 have been recast for comparative purposes.
| in thousands | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (111,927) | $ | (282,385) | $ | 170,458 | 60 | % | |||||||
| Less: Purchase of property and equipment | (2,989) | (7,934) | 4,945 | (62) | |||||||||||
| Free Cash Flows | $ | (114,916) | $ | (290,319) | $ | 175,403 | 60 | % |
61
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2023 to the Fiscal year ended September 30, 2022
The following table sets forth our operating results for the periods indicated.
| in thousands | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 2,217,978 | $ | 1,198,603 | $ | 1,019,375 | 85.0 | % | |||||||
| Costs of goods and services | 2,077,023 | 1,260,957 | 816,066 | 64.7 | |||||||||||
| Gross profit (loss) | 140,955 | (62,354) | 203,309 | 326.1 | |||||||||||
| Gross profit margin (loss) % | 6.4 | % | (5.2) | % | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses | |||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 66,307 | 60,142 | 6,165 | 10.3 | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 41,114 | 37,207 | 3,907 | 10.5 | |||||||||||
| General and administrative | 136,308 | 116,710 | 19,598 | 16.8 | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 9,835 | 7,108 | 2,727 | 38.4 | |||||||||||
| Interest (income) expense, net | (5,388) | (326) | (5,062) | 1552.8 | |||||||||||
| Other (income) expense, net | (6,952) | 4,625 | (11,577) | 250.3 | |||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (100,269) | (287,820) | 187,551 | 65.2 | |||||||||||
| Income tax expense | 4,549 | 1,357 | 3,192 | 235.2 | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (104,818) | $ | (289,177) | $ | 184,359 | 63.8 | % |
Total Revenue
Total revenue increased by $1.0 billion, or 85.0%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. The increase was mainly attributable to the expansion of sales of our battery-based energy storage solutions by $1.0 billion and increase of services revenue by $4.8 million, partially offset by a decrease in augmentation services revenue of $6.1 million. The expansion of sales of our battery-based energy storage products and solutions was primarily driven by increased volumes of Gen6 solutions sold across all regions.
Costs of Goods and Services
Cost of goods and services increased by $816.1 million, or 64.7%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. The increase in cost of goods and services was mainly attributable to the expansion of volume of Gen6 solutions sold across all regions. The increase in costs of goods and services was less than the percentage increase in revenue due to an improvement in gross margins on newer Gen6 solutions projects and due to unusual items reducing cost of goods and services totaling $41.0 million, net. The unusual items related to (i) a $32.2 million decrease in shipping and transportation costs, which were abnormally high in fiscal year 2022 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related disruptions to the supply chain, (ii) elimination of negative effects of the Cargo Loss Incident of $9.0 million which did not recur in fiscal year 2023, (iii) settlement of contractual claims with our largest battery module vendor of $19.5 million in December 2022, and (iv) reduction of stock-based compensation expense by $4.3 million. Stock-based compensation expense was higher in fiscal year 2022 due to achievement of the performance condition being met upon the IPO. These were offset by negative impacts of period over period changes on derivative contracts of $23.9 million entered into to mitigate foreign exchange rate exposure on project costs, as we had gains in the prior year and losses in the current year.
Gross Profit (Loss) and Gross Profit Margin (Loss)
Gross profit increased by $203.3 million or 326%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. The increase in gross profit is primarily due to (i) improvement in gross margins on the newer Gen6 solutions projects (ii) the $41.0 million, net reductions in “Costs of Goods and Services” described above, and (iii) $9.1 million from the consulting services provided to AES.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses increased by $6.2 million, or 10.3%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. The increase was primarily attributable to (i) an increase of $9.7 million in personnel-related costs in the current period due to higher headcount and employee bonuses, which are connected to the Company’s performance, to support our growth as we have been investing heavily in our human capital, technology, products, and solutions, and (ii) a $5.8 million increase in materials and supplies expense in relation to developing product prototypes. The increases were partially offset by $9.7 million of software development spend capitalized.
62
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Sales and marketing expenses increased by $3.9 million, or 10.5%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase of $2.1 million in personnel-related expenses specifically related to an increase in employee bonuses which were connected to the Company’s performance offset by a reduction of stock-based compensation expense for the same reasons as described above in “Costs of Goods and Services.”
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses increased by $19.6 million, or 16.8%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in personnel-related costs of $16.8 million due to higher headcount to support our growth and an increase in employee bonuses.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation and amortization increased by $2.7 million, or 38.4%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. The increase was primarily attributable to (i) an increase in depreciation of $1.8 million resulting from equipment acquired, and (ii) an increase in amortization of $1.1 million related to intangible assets acquired in April 2022 from Nispera.
Interest (Income) Expense, Net
Interest income increased by $5.1 million, or 1552.8%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. The increase was primarily attributable to (i) an increase in interest income of $5.1 million due to higher interest rates on cash deposits and investments, (ii) and an $3.5 million increase in interest income on note receivable balances with our largest customer in the Philippines. The increase was offset by an increase in interest expense primarily due to (i) $2.4 million of interest expense accretion on borrowing against a customer receivable and (ii) $0.9 million of interest expense from letters of credit issued during fiscal year 2023 pursuant to the Revolver.
Other (Income) Expense, Net
Other (income) expense, net increased by $11.6 million, or 250.3%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. The increase in other income was primarily attributable to favorable foreign currency exchange gains for monetary assets and liabilities.
Income Tax Expense
Income tax expense increased by $3.2 million, or 235.2%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. The increase in tax expense is primarily due to decreases in global pre-tax losses and changes in valuation allowances recorded in fiscal year 2023.
Net Loss
Net loss decreased by $184.4 million, or 63.8%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, as compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022. The decrease is primarily attributable to increase in “gross profit” and increase in “other (income) expense, net”, both as described above, partially offset by increases in operating expenses as described above.
Comparison of the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2022 to the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2021
For a discussion of our results of operations for the year ended September 30, 2022 compared to fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, please see Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, filed with the SEC on December 14, 2022.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Since inception and through September 30, 2023, our principal sources of liquidity were the proceeds from our IPO, our cash and cash equivalents, short-term borrowings, borrowings available under the Revolver, supply chain financing, capital contributions from AES Grid Stability and Siemens Industry, proceeds from the QFH investment and borrowings against note receivables.
We believe the proceeds received from our IPO, cash flows from operations, borrowings against notes receivable and borrowings available under the ABL Credit Agreement will be sufficient to meet our expense and capital requirements for at least the next 12 months following the filing of this Annual Report.
Our future capital requirements may vary materially from those currently planned and will depend on many factors, including our rate of revenue growth, the timing and extent of our growth initiatives and our introduction of new products, services, and digital
63
application offerings, and overall economic conditions. To the extent that current and anticipated future sources of liquidity are insufficient to fund our future business activities and cash requirements, we may be required to seek additional equity or debt financing. The sale of additional equity would result in additional dilution to our stockholders. The incurrence of additional debt financing would result in debt service obligations and the instruments governing such debt could provide for operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations. If we are unable to raise additional capital or generate cash flows necessary to expand our operations and invest in continued innovation, we may not be able to compete successfully, which would harm our business, operations and financial condition.
On November 1, 2021, upon the closing of our IPO, we received net proceeds of $935.8 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses payable by the Company. The net proceeds from the IPO were used to purchase 35,650,000 newly issued LLC Interests directly from Fluence Energy, LLC at a price per unit equal to the IPO price per share of Class A common stock less the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Fluence Energy, LLC used the net proceeds from the sale of LLC Interests to Fluence Energy, Inc. to repay all outstanding borrowings under the now extinguished Line of Credit and the Promissory Notes. The remainder of the proceeds has been used for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Prior to the IPO, the Company had an Uncommitted Line of Credit Agreement (“Line of Credit’) with Citibank, N.A. (“Citibank”) which allowed us to borrow an amount in aggregate not to exceed $50 million, with the expiration date on March 31, 2023. Outstanding borrowings from the Line of Credit were $50.0 million as of September 30, 2021. The weighted average annual interest rate of the borrowing was 2.83%. On November 1, 2021, the $50 million outstanding borrowings from the Line of Credit was paid off using the proceeds from our IPO and the Line of Credit was canceled shortly thereafter.
Additionally, prior to the IPO, we funded our liquidity through borrowings from AES Grid Stability and Siemens Industry. On August 11, 2021, Fluence Energy, LLC entered into a promissory note with each of Siemens Industry and AES Grid Stability, under which Fluence Energy, LLC received a bridge financing of an aggregate of $50.0 million. In connection with the bridge financing, Fluence Energy, LLC issued a $25.0 million promissory note to each of Siemens Industry and AES Grid Stability (together, the “Promissory Notes”). The Promissory Notes bore interest at a rate of 2.86%. The Promissory Notes were repaid on November 1, 2021 using proceeds from the IPO.
We have provided certain of our suppliers with access to a supply chain financing program through a third-party financing institution (the “SCF Bank”). This program allows us to seek extended payment terms with our suppliers and allows our suppliers to monetize their receivables prior to the payment due date, subject to a discount. Once a supplier elects to participate in the program and reaches an agreement with the SCF Bank, the supplier elects which individual invoices to sell to the SCF Bank. We then pay the SCF Bank on the invoice due date. We have no economic interest in a supplier’s decision to sell a receivable to the SCF Bank. The agreements between our suppliers and the SCF Bank are solely at their discretion and are negotiated directly between them. Our suppliers’ ability to continue using such agreements is primarily dependent upon the strength of our financial condition and guarantees issued by AES and Siemens. As of September 30, 2023, AES and Siemens issued guarantees of $50.0 million each, for a total of $100.0 million, to SCF Bank on our behalf.
As of September 30, 2023, three suppliers were actively participating in the supply chain financing program, and we had $30.0 million of payables outstanding subject to the program. All outstanding payments owed under the program are recorded within Accounts payable in our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
On August 11, 2023, we filed an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the SEC which became effective upon filing and will remain effective for three years from the effectiveness date. The Form S-3 allows us to offer and sell from time-to-time Class A common stock, preferred stock, depository shares, debt securities, warrants, purchase contracts or units comprised of any combination of these securities for our own account and allows certain selling stockholders to offer and sell 135,666,665 shares of Class A common stock in one or more offerings.
The Form S-3 is intended to provide us flexibility to conduct registered sales of our securities, subject to market conditions and our future capital needs. The terms of any future offering under the shelf registration statement will be established at the time of such offering and will be described in a prospectus supplement filed with the SEC prior to the completion of any such offering.
Revolving Credit Facility
We entered into a Revolving Credit Agreement for a Revolving Credit Facility (the “Revolver”) on November 1, 2021, by and among Fluence Energy, LLC, as the borrower, Fluence Energy Inc., as a parent guarantor, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto, the lenders party thereto and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent. As of September 30, 2023, the aggregate amount of commitments was $200.0 million. The Revolver was originally scheduled to mature on November 1, 2025. The Revolving Credit Agreement was terminated effective November 22, 2023, in conjunction with the entry into the new ABL Credit Agreement (as further described below).
64
The Revolver was secured by (i) a first priority pledge of the equity securities of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries and (ii) first priority security interests in, and mortgages on, substantially all tangible and intangible personal property and material fee-owned real property of Fluence Energy, LLC, the parent guarantor and each subsidiary guarantor party thereto, in each case, subject to customary exceptions and limitations. On May 19, 2023, the Revolving Credit Agreement was amended to replace Adjusted LIBOR with Adjusted Term SOFR as the applicable benchmark interest rate with respect to certain classes of loans. The Company elected the optional practical expedient as it related to our Revolver as the amendment did not modify terms that changed or had the potential to change, the amount and timing of cash flows unrelated to the replacement of LIBOR.
The Revolver bore interest at either (i) the Adjusted SOFR Rate (each as defined in the Revolving Credit Agreement) plus 3.0 % or (ii) the Alternate Base Rate (as defined in the Revolving Credit Agreement) plus 2.0% (subject to customary LIBOR replacement provisions and alternative benchmark rates including customary spread adjustments with respect to borrowings in foreign currency), at the option of Fluence Energy, LLC. Fluence Energy, LLC was required to pay to the lenders a commitment fee of 0.55 % per annum on the average daily unused portion of the revolving commitments through maturity, which was originally scheduled to be the four-year anniversary of the closing date of the Revolver. The Revolver also provided for up to $200.0 million in letter of credit issuances, which required customary issuance and administration fees, as well as a fronting fee payable to each issuer thereof and a letter of credit participation fee of 2.75% per annum payable to the lenders.
The Revolving Credit Agreement contained covenants that, among other things, restricted our ability to incur additional indebtedness; incur liens; sell, transfer, or dispose of property and assets; make investments or acquisitions; make dividends, distributions, or other restricted payments; and engage in affiliate transactions. The terms of the Revolving Credit Agreement limited our ability to make certain payments, including dividends and distributions on Fluence Energy, LLC’s equity, Fluence Energy, Inc.’s equity and other restricted payments. Under the terms of the Revolving Credit Agreement, Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries were limited in their ability to pay cash dividends to, lend to, or make other investments in Fluence Energy, Inc., subject to certain exceptions, including among others (i) the ability to make investments of up to the greater of (a) $10,500,000 and (b) 1.5% of the consolidated assets of Fluence Energy, Inc. and its subsidiaries, and (ii) the ability to issue dividends and make other Restricted Payments (as defined in the Revolving Credit Agreement) (a) if after giving pro forma effect to such dividend or other Restricted Payment the Total Liquidity (as defined in the Revolving Credit Agreement) of Fluence Energy, Inc. and its subsidiaries party to the Revolving Credit Agreement was at least $600,000,000, or (b) such dividend or other Restricted Payment was made to reimburse Fluence Energy, Inc. for certain tax distributions under the Fluence Energy LLC Agreement and certain payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement and certain operational expenses incurred in connection with the ownership and management of Fluence Energy, LLC. In addition, we were required to maintain (i) minimum liquidity and gross revenue requirements, in each case, until consolidated EBITDA reached $150.0 million for the most recent four fiscal quarters and we made an election, and (ii) thereafter, a maximum total leverage ratio and a minimum interest coverage ratio. Such covenants were tested on a quarterly basis. As of September 30, 2023, we were in compliance with all such covenants or maintained availability above such covenant triggers.
As of September 30, 2023, we had no borrowings under the Revolver and $35.9 million of letters of credit outstanding, and availability under the facility of $164.1 million net of letters of credit issued.
Asset-Based Lending Facility
On November 22, 2023, the Company entered into an asset-based syndicated credit agreement with revolving commitments in an aggregate principal amount of $400.0 million (the "ABL Facility"), by and among Fluence Energy, LLC, as parent borrower, Fluence Energy, Inc., as parent, the other borrowers party thereto, the other guarantors party thereto, the lenders party thereto, and Barclays Bank PLC, as administrative agent (the "ABL Credit Agreement"). The ABL Facility is secured by (i) a first priority pledge of Fluence Energy, Inc.’s equity interests in Fluence Energy, LLC and (ii) first priority security interests in, and mortgages on, substantially all tangible and intangible personal property and material fee-owned real property of Fluence Energy, Inc., Fluence Energy, LLC and Fluence Energy Global Production Operation, LLC, in each case, subject to customary exceptions and limitations. Borrowings under the ABL Facility will mature, and lending commitments thereunder will terminate, on November 22, 2027.
The ABL Facility provides for a borrowing base that is an amount equal to (a) the lesser of (i) 75% of each borrower's Eligible Inventory (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) (valued as set forth in the ABL Credit Agreement) and (ii) the product of (x) 85% multiplied by (y) the Net Orderly Liquidation Value (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) percentage identified in the most recent inventory appraisal delivered to the administrative agent multiplied by (z) the borrowers' Eligible Inventory, plus (b) the lesser of (i) 75% of each borrower's Eligible In-Transit Inventory (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) (valued as set forth in the ABL Credit Agreement) and (ii) the product of (x) 85% multiplied by (y) the Net Orderly Liquidation Value percentage identified in the most recent inventory appraisal delivered to the administrative agent multiplied by (z) the borrowers' Eligible In-Transit Inventory; provided that the aggregate amount of (A) Eligible In-Transit Inventory included in the borrowing base at any time, plus (B) all Customer In-Transit Inventory (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) included in the borrowing base shall not exceed the In-Transit Inventory Cap (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) then in effect; minus (c) the aggregate amount of reserves, if any. The Company will provide a borrowing base certificate to lenders 20 days following the end of each calendar month, except during a reporting trigger period where it will provide such certificates on a weekly basis. The ABL Credit Agreement provides for a full cash dominion period (a) if an event of default is occurring or (b) after the Availability Requirement Holiday (as defined in the ABL Credit
65
Agreement), beginning on the date on which Excess Availability (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) is less than the greater of (i) 12.5% of the Line Cap (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) and (ii) if the borrowing base then in effect is (A) less than $200.0 million, $25.0 million and (B) greater than or equal to $200.0, $50.0 million.
The ABL Credit Agreement sets forth that (i) loans comprising each ABR Borrowing (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) shall bear interest at the Alternate Base Rate (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) plus an additional margin ranging from 2.00% to 2.50%, depending on the Average Excess Availability (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) during the applicable determination period, (ii) loans comprising each Canadian Prime Loan Borrowing (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) shall bear interest at the Canadian Prime Rate (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) plus an additional margin ranging from 1.00% to 1.50%, depending on the Average Excess Availability (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) during the applicable determination period, and (iii) the loans comprising each Term Benchmark Borrowing (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) shall bear interest at the Adjusted Term SOFR Rate, the Adjusted EURIBOR Rate or Adjusted Daily Compounded CORRA (each as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement), as applicable, plus an additional margin ranging from 2.00% to 2.50%, depending on the Average Excess Availability during the applicable determination period, in each instance subject to customary benchmark replacement provisions including, but not limited to, alternative benchmark rates, customary spread adjustments with respect to borrowings in foreign currencies and benchmark replacement conforming changes. Fluence Energy, LLC is required to pay to the lenders a commitment fee on the average daily unused portion of the commitments through maturity, which shall accrue at the rate of (a) until the last day of the first full calendar quarter following the closing of the ABL Facility, 0.450% per annum, and (b) thereafter, 0.450% per annum if average revolving loan utilization is less than or equal to 50% and 0.375% per annum if average revolving loan utilization is greater than 50%. The ABL Facility also provides for an initial letter of credit sublimit in the amount of $167.5 million, which sublimit may be increased to $200.0 million, if certain conditions are met. Each letter of credit issuance will be conditioned upon, among other conditions, the payment of certain customary issuance and administration fees, as well as payment of a fronting fee to each issuer thereof and payment of a letter of credit participation fee payable to the lenders.
The ABL Credit Agreement contains customary covenants for this type of financing, including, but not limited to, covenants that restrict our ability to incur indebtedness; incur liens; sell, transfer, or dispose of property and assets; make investments or acquisitions; pay dividends, make distributions or other restricted payments; and engage in affiliate transactions. The ABL Credit Agreement limits our ability to make certain payments, including dividends and distributions on Fluence Energy, LLC’s equity, the Company’s equity and other restricted payments. Under the terms of the ABL Credit Agreement, Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries are currently limited in their ability to pay cash dividends to, lend to, or make other investments in Fluence Energy, Inc., subject to certain exceptions. In addition, if certain payment conditions under the ABL Credit Agreement are satisfied, including the satisfaction of a minimum excess availability requirement, then additional specified transactions may be made by the Company and its subsidiaries. The Company agreed that it will not, and its subsidiaries will not, permit Total Liquidity (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement) at any time to be less than the greater of (i) 20% of the Line Cap then in effect and (ii) $64.0 million, and the Company agreed that it will not, and its subsidiaries will not, permit Excess Availability to be less than the greater of (i) $15.0 million and (ii) 10% of the Line Cap then in effect. Such covenants will be tested on a quarterly basis and upon certain restricted payments, the incurrence of indebtedness, certain dispositions and other Specified Transactions (as defined in the ABL Credit Agreement).
Borrowings Against Note Receivable - Pledged as Collateral
In December 2022, we transferred $24.3 million in customer receivables to Standard Chartered Bank (“SCB”) in the Philippines for proceeds of $21.1 million. The receivables all related to our largest customer in that country. The underlying receivables transferred were previously aggregated into a long term note, with interest, and which has a maturity date of September 30, 2024 and was previously classified under “Other non-current assets” on our consolidated balance sheet. In April 2023, we aggregated into an additional long term note and transferred an additional $30.9 million in receivables with the same customer to SCB for proceeds of $27.0 million, upon substantially similar terms as the December 2022 transfer and has a maturity date of December 27, 2024. These transactions are treated as secured borrowings as we did not transfer the entire note receivables due from the customer to SCB. We continue to receive quarterly interest income from the customer, while SCB is responsible for collecting payments on the principal balances which represent the initial receivable balances from the customer. We have no other continuing involvement or exposure related to the underlying receivables. As of September 30, 2023, we recorded net interest income of $1.0 million, which represents the aggregate of $3.4 million in interest income recorded in “Interest (income) expense,net” and $2.4 million in interest expense.
Tax Receivable Agreement
In connection with the IPO, we entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement with Fluence Energy, LLC and Siemens Industry and AES Grid Stability (together, the “Founders”). Under the Tax Receivable Agreement, we are required to make cash payments to the Founders equal to 85% of the tax benefits, if any, that we actually realize, or in certain circumstances are deemed to realize, as a result of (1) the increases in our share of the tax basis of assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries resulting from any redemptions or exchanges of LLC Interests from the Founders and certain distributions (or deemed distributions) by Fluence Energy, LLC; and (2) certain other tax benefits arising from payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. The payment obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement is an obligation of Fluence Energy, Inc. and not of Fluence Energy, LLC. We expect to use distributions from Fluence Energy, LLC to fund any payments that we will be required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. To the extent we
66
are unable to make timely payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement for any reason, such payments generally will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid; provided, however, that nonpayment for a specified period may constitute a material breach of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement resulting in the acceleration of payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Fluence Energy, Inc. expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of cash tax benefits, if any, it realizes from such tax benefits. For purposes of the Tax Receivable Agreement, the cash tax benefits will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of Fluence Energy, Inc. to the amount of such taxes that Fluence Energy, Inc. would have been required to pay had there been no such tax basis adjustments of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC or its subsidiaries as a result of redemptions or exchanges and had Fluence Energy, Inc. not entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement.
Redemptions or exchanges of LLC Interests post-IPO are expected to result in increases in the tax basis of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and certain of its subsidiaries. Increases in tax basis and tax basis adjustments generated over time may increase (for tax purposes) the depreciation and amortization deductions available to Fluence Energy, Inc. and, therefore, may reduce the amount of U.S. federal, state, and local tax that Fluence Energy, Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the IRS may challenge all or part of the validity of that tax basis, and a court could sustain such a challenge. Fluence Energy, Inc.’s allocable share of tax basis and the anticipated tax basis adjustments upon redemptions or exchanges of LLC Interests may also decrease gains (or increase losses) on future dispositions of certain assets to the extent tax basis is allocated to those assets. Actual tax benefits realized by Fluence Energy, Inc. may differ from tax benefits calculated under the Tax Receivable Agreement as a result of the use of certain assumptions in the Tax Receivable Agreement, including the use of an assumed state and local income tax rate to calculate tax benefits. The payment obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement is an obligation of Fluence Energy, Inc. and not of Fluence Energy, LLC. We expect to use distributions from Fluence Energy, LLC to fund any payments that we will be required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. To the extent we are unable to make timely payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement for any reason, such payments generally will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid; provided, however, that nonpayment for a specified period may constitute a material breach of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement resulting in the acceleration of payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Fluence Energy, Inc. expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of cash tax benefits, if any, it realizes from such tax benefits. For purposes of the Tax Receivable Agreement, the cash tax benefits will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of Fluence Energy, Inc. to the amount of such taxes that Fluence Energy, Inc. would have been required to pay had there been no such tax basis adjustments of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC or its subsidiaries as a result of redemptions or exchanges and had Fluence Energy, Inc. not entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement. The actual and hypothetical tax liabilities determined in the Tax Receivable Agreement will be calculated using the actual U.S. federal income tax rate in effect for the applicable period and an assumed state and local income tax rate (along with the use of certain other assumptions). The term of the Tax Receivable Agreement will continue until all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired, unless Fluence Energy, Inc. exercises its right to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement early, certain changes of control occur or Fluence Energy, Inc. breaches any of its material obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement, in which case, all obligations generally (and in the case of such a change of control or such breach, only if the Founders elect) will be accelerated and due as if Fluence Energy, Inc. had exercised its right to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement. The payment to be made upon an early termination of the Tax Receivable Agreement will generally equal the present value of payments to be made under the Tax Receivable Agreement using certain assumptions. Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the Tax Receivable Agreement is by its nature imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. The tax basis adjustments upon the redemption or exchange of LLC Interests, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of purchases or exchanges, the price of shares of our Class A common stock at the time of the purchase or exchange, the extent to which such purchases or exchanges do not result in a basis adjustment, the amount of tax attributes, changes in tax rates and the amount and timing of our income.
On June 30, 2022, Siemens Industry, Inc. exercised its redemption right pursuant to the terms of LLC Agreement with respect to its entire holding of 58,586,695 LLC Interests of Fluence Energy, LLC, together with the corresponding cancellation of an equivalent number of shares of Class B-1 common stock of Fluence Energy, Inc., par value $0.00001 per share (the “Siemens Redemption”). The Siemens Redemption resulted in increases in the tax basis of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and certain of its subsidiaries. The increases in tax basis and tax basis adjustments increases (for tax purposes) the depreciation and amortization deductions available to Fluence Energy, Inc. and, therefore, may reduce the amount of U.S. federal, state, and local tax that Fluence Energy, Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the IRS may challenge all or part of the validity of that tax basis, and a court could sustain such a challenge.
As a result of the tax basis adjustment of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries upon the Siemens Redemption and our possible utilization of certain tax attributes, the payments that we may make under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be substantial. The Siemens Redemption will result in future tax savings of $96.5 million. Siemens AG will be entitled to receive payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement equaling 85% of such amount, or $82.0 million; assuming, among other factors, (i) we will have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize the tax benefits; (ii) Fluence Energy, LLC is able to fully depreciate or amortize its assets; and (iii) no material changes in applicable tax law. The payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement are not conditioned upon continued ownership of us by the Founders. Although the timing and extent of future payments could vary significantly under the Tax Receivable Agreement for the factors discussed above, we anticipate funding payments from the Tax Receivable Agreement
67
from cash flow from operations of our subsidiaries, available cash or available borrowings under any future debt agreements, and such payments are not anticipated to be dependent upon the availability of proceeds of the IPO.
We determined it is not probable payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement would be made, given there is no expectation of future sufficient taxable income over the term of the agreement to utilize deductions in the future. Therefore, the Company has not recognized the liability. Should we determine that the Tax Receivable Agreement payment is probable, a corresponding liability will be recorded and as a result, our future results of operations and earnings could be impacted as a result of these matters.
Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement
We are party to an Amended and Restated Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement with AES and Siemens Industry whereby they may, from time to time, agree to furnish credit support to us in the form of direct issuances of credit support to our lenders or other beneficiaries or through their lenders’ provision of letters of credit to backstop our own facilities or obligations. Pursuant to the Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement, if AES or Siemens Industry agree to provide a particular credit support (which they are permitted to grant or deny in their sole discretion), they are entitled to receipt of a credit support fee and reimbursement for all amounts paid to our lenders or other counterparties, payable upon demand. The Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement will not provide any credit support from September 30, 2026, provided that either AES or Siemens Industry will be permitted to terminate the agreement upon six months prior notice.
Commitments, Contingent Obligations and Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of September 30, 2023, the Company had outstanding bank guarantees, parent guarantees and surety bonds issued as performance security arrangements for several customer projects. The Company has certain battery purchase obligations under a master supply agreement with a supplier. We are also party to both assurance and service-type warranties for various lengths of time. Refer to “Note 14 - Commitments and Contingencies” to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for more information regarding our contingent obligations, including off-balance sheet arrangements, and legal contingencies.
Historical Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities for the periods presented.
| Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| in thousands | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (111,927) | $ | (282,385) | $ | 170,458 | 60.4 | % | |||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | 94,437 | (148,417) | 242,854 | 163.6 | % | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 52,595 | 817,053 | (764,458) | (93.6) | % |
Net cash flows used in operating activities was $111.9 million in fiscal year 2023, compared $282.4 million in fiscal year 2022, representing a decrease $170.5 million in net cash used in operations. The decrease was mainly due a decrease in net loss of $184.4 million period over period offset by a reduction of insurances proceeds received of $10.0 million.
Net cash flows provided by investing activities was $94.4 million in fiscal year 2023, compared to net cash flows used in investing activities of $148.4 million in fiscal year 2022, representing an increase of $242.9 million. Fiscal year 2023 included $111.7 million from proceeds of short-term investments, offset by $5.0 million in payments for investment in joint ventures, $9.2 million in capital expenditures on software, and $3.0 million purchases of property and equipment. Fiscal year 2022 included $110.1 million for the purchase of short-term investments, $29.2 million related to cash paid for a business acquisition, and $7.9 million purchases of property and equipment.
Cash flows provided by financing activities was $52.6 million in fiscal year 2023, compared to $817.1 million in fiscal year 2022, representing a decrease of $764.5 million. Cash flows provided by financing activities in fiscal year 2023 was primarily driven by $48.2 million in proceeds from borrowing against note receivable - pledged as collateral and $7.2 million in proceeds from the exercise of stock options offset by $2.8 million in cash outflows from repurchases of class A common stock placed into treasury. Cash flows provided by financing activities in fiscal year 2022 was primarily driven by $935.8 million of proceeds from issuance of Class A common stock sold in an IPO, net of underwriting discounts and commissions, offset by $50.0 million repayment of promissory notes and $50.0 million repayment of line of credit.
68
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. In the preparation of these financial statements, we consider an accounting judgment, estimate or assumption to be critical when (1) the estimate or assumption is complex in nature or requires a high degree of judgment and (2) the use of different judgments, estimates, and assumptions could have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements. We believe that the accounting policies discussed below are critical to understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates.
Revenue Recognition - Sale of Energy Storage Products
The Company enters into contracts with utility companies, developers, and commercial and industrial customers to design and build battery-based energy storage products. Each storage product is customized depending on the customer’s energy needs. Customer payments are due upon meeting certain milestones that are consistent with contract-specific phases of a project. The Company determines the transaction price based on the consideration expected to be received which includes estimates of liquidated damages (“LDs”) or other variable consideration that are included in the transaction price in accordance with ASC 606. We assess any variable consideration using an expected value method. The transaction price identified is allocated to each distinct performance obligation to deliver a good or service based on the relative standalone selling prices. Generally, the Company’s contracts to design and build battery-based storage products are determined to have one performance obligation. When shipping and handling activities are performed after the customer obtains control of the product, we elect to account for shipping and handling as activities to fulfill the promise to transfer the product.
The Company recognizes revenue over time as we transfer control of our product to the customer. This transfer of control to the customer is supported by clauses in the contracts, that provides enforceable rights to payment of the transaction price associated with work performed to date for products that do not have an alternative use to the Company and/or as the project is built and control transfers depending on the contract terms.
Revenue for these performance obligations is recognized using the percentage of completion method based on cost incurred as a percentage of total estimated contract costs. Standard inventory materials (including batteries, enclosures, chillers, and others, which are assembled into “cubes”) that could be used interchangeably on other projects are included in our measure of progress when they are integrated into, or restricted to, the production of the customer’s project. Due to the significance of the costs associated with cubes, our judgement on when such costs should be included in the measure of progress has a material impact on revenue recognition. Contract costs include all direct material and labor costs related to contract performance. Pre-contract costs with no future benefit are expensed in the period in which they are incurred. Since the revenue recognition of these contracts depends on estimates, which are assessed continually during the term of the contract, recognized revenues and profit are subject to revisions as the contract progresses to completion. The cumulative effects of revisions of estimated total contract costs and revenues, together with any contract reserves which may be deemed appropriate, are recorded in the period in which they occur. Due to the uncertainties inherent in the estimation process, it is reasonably possible that these estimates will be revised in a different period. When a loss is forecasted for a contract, the full amount of the anticipated loss is recognized in the period in which it is determined that a loss will occur.
Our contracts generally provide our customers the right to liquidated damages against Fluence in the event specified milestones are not met on time, or equipment is not delivered according to contract specifications. Liquidated damages are accounted for as variable consideration, and the contract price is reduced by the expected penalty or LD amount when recognizing revenue. Variable consideration is included in the transaction price only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty is resolved. Estimating variable consideration requires certain estimates and assumptions, including whether and by how much a project will be delayed and/or will not meet performance contractual specifications. The existence and measurement of liquidated damages may also be impacted by our judgements about the probability of favorable outcomes of customer disputes involving whether certain events qualify as force majeure or the reason for the events that caused project delays. Variable consideration for liquidated damages is estimated using the expected value of the consideration to be received.
At times Fluence will incur additional costs to execute on the performance of a contract. When this happens, we typically attempt to recover the revenue associated with these costs via a change order with the customer. When this fact pattern occurs, it will create a timing difference between when we have incurred the cost versus when we record the revenue as costs are recognized immediately when incurred and the revenue from the change order is recognized as an increase to contract price when it is legally enforceable, which is usually upon signing a respective change order or equivalent document confirming the claim acceptance by customer. Revenue is recorded net of any taxes assessed on and collected from customers, which are remitted to the governmental authorities.
Refer to “Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Estimates” for further discussion of other accounting policies and estimates including income taxes, goodwill, and loss contracts.
FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001868941-22-000120.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis provides information that management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our audited consolidated financial statements and results of operations and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” or in other parts of this Annual Report. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any periods in the future.
Upon the completion of our IPO on November 1, 2021, Fluence Energy, Inc. became a holding company whose sole material assets are the LLC Interests in Fluence Energy LLC. All of our business is conducted through Fluence Energy, LLC, together with its subsidiaries, and the financial results of Fluence Energy, LLC will be consolidated in our financial statements. Fluence Energy LLC is taxed as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and, as a result, its members, including Fluence Energy, Inc. will pay income taxes with respect to their allocable shares of its net taxable income. As of September 30, 2022, Fluence Energy, LLC had subsidiaries including Fluence Energy GmbH in Germany, Fluence Energy Pty Ltd. in Australia, Fluence Energy Inc. in the Philippines, Fluence Energy Chile SpA in Chile, Fluence Energy B.V. in Netherlands, Fluence Energy Global Production Operation LLC in the US, Fluence BESS India Private Ltd in India, Nispera AG in Switzerland, and other subsidiaries yet to commence operations. Except where the content clearly indicates otherwise, reference to “Fluence,” “we,” “us,” “our” or “the Company” refers to Fluence Energy, Inc. and all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including Fluence Energy, LLC. When used in a historical context that is prior to the completion of the IPO, “we,” “us,” “our” or “the Company” refer to Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries.
Our fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. References to “fiscal year 2020”, “fiscal year 2021” and “fiscal year 2022” refer to the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020, September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2022, respectively.
Presentation of Financial Information
Fluence Energy, LLC is the accounting predecessor of Fluence Energy, Inc. for financial reporting purposes. Fluence Energy, Inc. will be the audited financial reporting entity for future filings. Accordingly, this Annual Report contains the following historical financial statements:
•Fluence Energy, Inc. The historical financial information of Fluence Energy, Inc. has not been included in this Annual Report prior to the IPO as it was a newly incorporated entity, had no business transactions or activities prior to IPO and had no assets or liabilities during the periods presented prior to the IPO.
•Fluence Energy, LLC. Because Fluence Energy, Inc. has no interest in any operations other than those of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries, the historical consolidated financial information included in this Annual Report is that of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries.
Siemens Industry Redemption
On June 30, 2022, Siemens Industry, Inc. exercised its redemption right pursuant to the terms of the Third Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Fluence Energy, LLC (the “LLC Agreement”) with respect to its entire holding of 58,586,695 LLC Interests of Fluence Energy, LLC, together with the corresponding cancellation of an equivalent number of shares of Class B-1 common stock of Fluence Energy, Inc., par value $0.00001 per share (the “Redemption”).
The Company elected to settle the Redemption through the issuance of 58,586,695 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock (the “Shares”). The Redemption settled on July 7, 2022. Siemens Industry, Inc. effected an internal transfer of its interest in the Shares to Siemens AG at the time of Redemption and as of June 30, 2022, Siemens AG became the beneficial owner of 58,586,695 shares of Class A common stock. The Redemption increased the beneficial ownership interest of the Company in Fluence Energy, LLC to 66.08% as of June 30, 2022. The impact of the change in ownership interest did not result in a change in control. The Redemption been accounted for as an equity transaction and the carrying amount of non-controlling interest has been adjusted.
Subsequent to the Redemption, on September 29, 2022 Siemens AG effected an internal transfer of 18,848,631 shares of Class A common stock held by it to Siemens Pension-Trust e.V., an affiliated entity and a permitted transferee under the terms of the Stockholders Agreement.
52
Overview
Since our inception on January 1, 2018, we have focused on international growth and developing our energy storage product and delivery services, the operational services, and digital applications. We have incurred net operating losses each year since our inception. As of September 30, 2022, we have financed our operations with equity contributions from the proceeds of our IPO, AES Grid Stability, Siemens AG and affiliates, and QFH, cash and cash equivalents, negative working capital, and short-term borrowings.
As of September 30, 2022 we deployed cumulative 1.8 GW of energy storage products, compared to 0.9 GW as of September 30, 2021. New energy storage product contracts executed during fiscal year 2022 represented total contracted power of approximately 1.9 GW compared to 1.3 GW for fiscal year 2021. We recognized total revenue of $1,198.6 million, representing an increase of $517.8 million, or 76.1%, in fiscal year 2021 compared to fiscal year 2020 as we expanded our sales in terms of the number of energy storage products sold as well as geographic footprint. Revenue generated from operations in the United States increased from $468.4 million in fiscal year 2021 to $582.3 million in fiscal year 2022, representing a 24.3% increase. Revenue generated from international operations increased from $212.3 million in fiscal year 2021 to $616.3 million in fiscal year 2022, representing a 190.2% increase.
We had a gross loss of $62.4 million and gross profit margin of negative (5.2)% in fiscal year 2022, compared to a gross loss of $69.1 million and gross profit margin of negative (10.2)% in fiscal year 2021. The gross loss in fiscal years 2022 and 2021 were negatively impacted by (i) capacity constraints within the shipping industry and increased shipping costs, both of which are caused primarily as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and (ii) cost overruns and delays we are experiencing in some projects currently under construction. Some of those costs overruns and delays are occurring in the first Generation 6 product deliveries.
General and administrative, research and development, sales and marketing expenses increased $78.5 million, $36.7 million, and $14.6 million, or 205.8%, 156.7%, and 64.5%, respectively, in fiscal year 2022, compared to fiscal year 2021 as we have been investing heavily in our human capital, technology, products and services to support significant increases in our operations and related revenues.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
As of September 30, 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic remains on-going and continues to impact the global economy. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have taken a number of actions to protect the health and well-being of our employees and personnel and to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within our operations and at customers’ project sites. Governments in affected areas and countries in which we operate have imposed a number of measures designed to contain outbreaks of COVID-19, including business closures, travel restrictions, and quarantines. Although vaccines and booster shots are now being distributed and administered across many parts of the world, new variants of the virus have emerged and may continue to emerge that have shown to be more contagious. Many of our customers’ project sites have experienced shutdowns and delays related to COVID-19 at some point in time during the pandemic, although this trend at project sites appears to be declining in many of our locations in recent months. In addition, we purchase our components and materials from international and domestic vendors and are exposed to supply chain risks arising from logistics disruptions. As a large portion of our battery supply chain derives from China, the shutdowns caused by COVID-19 outbreaks and zero-COVID policy in China has caused a supply chain bottle neck and raw material price increases, which has impacted our operations. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, the Company incurred $39.1 million in COVID-19 related costs, which was included in “Cost of goods and services” in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. Such costs were primarily caused by temporary closures of customer construction sites in the first fiscal quarter of 2022 and delays in shipping energy storage products during the first three fiscal quarters of 2022.
The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, financial condition and results of operations will depend on future developments, such as the ultimate duration and scope of the pandemic, its impact on our employees, customers, and vendors, in addition to how quickly pre-pandemic economic conditions and operations resume and whether the pandemic exacerbates other risks disclosed in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” within this Annual Report. .
2021 Cargo Loss Incident
On April 28, 2021, the Company was notified of an emergency aboard a vessel carrying Fluence inventory. This incident (the “Cargo Loss Incident”) resulted in damage to a portion of our cargo aboard the vessel. The Company has recorded $13.0 million provision to its inventory as of September 30, 2021 based on the net realizable value of cargo that was destroyed. During fiscal year 2022, $13.0 million of inventory was written off against the provision. In addition to the inventory losses, we have incurred and expect to incur incremental expenses related to the incident, primarily consisting of inspection costs, project cost overruns due to logistical changes, legal fees, fees to dispose of the damaged cargo, and additional cost to replace the damaged cargo. We received an aggregate of $10.0 million insurance proceeds related to non-disputed claims, $7.5 million of which was collected in October 2021 and the remaining $2.5 million was collected in April 2022.
53
2021 Overheating Event at Customer Facility
On September 4, 2021, a 300 MW energy storage facility owned by one of our customers experienced an overheating event. Fluence served as the energy storage technology provider and designed and installed portions of the facility, which was completed in fiscal year 2021. No injuries were reported from the incident. The facility was taken offline as teams from Fluence, our customer, and the battery designer/manufacturer investigated the incident. Our customer released initial findings in the second fiscal quarter of 2022 on what it contends is the root cause of the incident. At this time, Fluence cannot comment on or accept the customer’s stated findings. The customer’s stated findings, if ultimately confirmed and proven, could relate to certain scopes of work for which Fluence or its subcontractors could be responsible. The customer’s stated findings, however, could also relate to certain scopes of work for which other parties were responsible and/or relate to other causes, including the design and installation of portions of the facility over which Fluence did not have responsibility or control. The customer has alleged that Fluence is liable for the incident but has not yet demanded a specific amount of compensation nor alleged a particular level of responsibility. Fluence has denied liability. No formal legal proceedings have been commenced, but it is reasonably possible that litigation may result from this matter if a resolution cannot be achieved. Any such dispute would also likely include claims by Fluence and counterclaims by the customer relating to disputed costs arising from the original design and construction of the facility. The customer announced in July of 2022 that a large portion of the facility was back online. We are currently not able to estimate the impact, that this incident may have on our financial results. To date, we do not believe that this incident has impacted the market’s adoption of our products.
2022 Overheating Event at Customer Facility
On April 18, 2022, a 10 MW energy storage facility in Chandler, Arizona owned by AES experienced an overheating event. Fluence served as the energy storage technology provider for the facility, which was completed in 2019, and Fluence currently provides maintenance services for the facility. There were no injuries. The facility has been taken offline as teams from Fluence, AES, and the battery manufacturer investigate the incident. We are currently not able to estimate the impact, if any, that this incident may have on our reputation or financial results, or on market adoption of our products.
Segments
The Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) is its Chief Executive Officer. The Company’s CODM reviews financial information on a consolidated basis for purposes of making operating decisions, allocating resources, and evaluating financial performance. As such, the Company has determined that it operates in one operating segment, which corresponds to one reportable segment.
Key Factors and Trends Affecting our Performance
We believe that our performance and future success depend on several factors that present significant opportunities for us but also pose risks and challenges, including those discussed below and in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” within this Annual Report.
Lithium-ion Battery Cost
Our revenue growth is directly tied to the continued adoption of energy storage products by our customers. The cost of lithium-ion energy storage hardware has declined significantly in the last decade and has resulted in a large addressable market today.
However, according to BloombergNEF’s 2021 (issued November 2021) battery price survey, higher raw material costs could push the average price of a lithium-ion battery packs up in the short term, which would mark the first annual increase in price since at least 2010. BloombergNEF predicts battery prices to decline again by 2024, although the timing of that decline could be pushed back by two years in the absence of improvements mitigating the short-term price increases. The market for energy storage is rapidly evolving, and while we believe costs will continue to decline over the long term, there is no guarantee that they will decline or decline at the rates we expect, and the short-term increases predicted by BloombergNEF could be larger or last longer than they predict. If costs do not continue to decline long term, this could adversely affect our ability to increase our revenue or grow our business.
Increasing Deployment of Renewable Energy
Deployment of renewable energy resources has accelerated over the last decade, and solar and wind have become a low-cost energy source. BloombergNEF estimates that renewable energy is expected to represent 70% of all new global capacity installations over the next ten years. Energy storage is critical to reducing the intermittency and volatility of renewable energy generation. However, there is no guarantee that the deployment of renewable energy will occur at the rate estimated by BloombergNEF. Inflationary pressures, supply chain disruptions, geo-political stresses such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and other factors could result in fluctuations in demand for and deployment of renewable energy resources, adversely affecting our revenue and ability to generate profits in the future.
54
Competition
The market for our products is competitive, and we may face increased competition as new and existing competitors introduce energy storage solutions and components. Furthermore, as we expand our services and digital applications in the future, we may face other competitors including software providers and some hardware manufacturers that offer software solutions. If our market share declines due to increased competition or if we are not able to compete as we expect, our revenue and ability to generate profits in the future may be adversely affected.
Seasonality
We have historically experienced seasonality and see increased order intake in our third and fourth fiscal quarters (April – September), driven by demand in the Northern Hemisphere to install energy storage products before the summer of the following year. Combined third and fourth fiscal quarter order intake have historically accounted for 80% or more of our total intake each year. However, as we and the market matures we are seeing less seasonality. For fiscal year 2022 third and fourth quarter order intake accounted for only 48% of our total intake for the year. As a result, revenue generation is typically significantly stronger in our third and fourth fiscal quarters as we provide the majority of our products to customers during these periods. Cash flows historically have been negative in our first and second fiscal quarters, neutral to positive in our third fiscal quarter, and positive in our fourth fiscal quarter. Our services and digital applications and solutions offerings do not experience the same seasonality given their recurring nature.
Inflation
In the markets in which we operate, there have been higher rates of inflation in recent months. If inflation continues to increase in our markets, it may increase our expenses that we may not be able to pass through to customers. It may also increase the costs of our products that could negatively impact their competitiveness.
Key Components of Our Results of Operations
The following discussion describes certain line items in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and comprehensive loss.
Total Revenue
We generate revenue from the sale of energy storage products, service agreements with customers to provide operational services related to battery-based energy storage products, and from digital application contracts. Fluence enters into contracts with utility companies, developers, and commercial and industrial customers. We derive the majority of our revenues from selling energy storage products. When we sell a battery-based energy storage product, we enter into a contract with our customers covering the price, specifications, delivery dates and warranty for the products being purchased, among other things.
Our revenue is affected by changes in the price, volume and mix of products and services purchased by our customers, which is driven by the demand for our products, geographic mix of our customers, strength of competitors’ product offerings, and availability of government incentives to the end-users of our products.
Our revenue growth is dependent on continued growth in the amount of battery-based energy storage products projects constructed each year and our ability to increase our share of demand in the geographic regions where we currently compete and plan to compete in the future as well as our ability to continue to develop and commercialize new and innovative products that address the changing technology and performance requirements of our customers.
Cost of Goods and Services
Cost of goods and services consists primarily of product costs, including purchased materials and supplies, as well as costs related to shipping, customer support, product warranty and personnel. Personnel costs in cost of goods and services includes both direct labor costs as well as costs attributable to any individuals whose activities relate to the transformation of raw materials or component parts into finished goods or the transportation of materials to the customer.
Our product costs are affected by the underlying cost of raw materials, including steel and aluminum supply costs, including inverters, casings, fuses, and cable; technological innovation; economies of scale resulting in lower supply costs; and improvements in production processes and automation. We do not currently hedge against changes in the price of raw materials. We generally expect the ratio of cost of goods and services to revenue to decrease as sales volumes increase due to economies of scale, however, some of these costs, primarily personnel related costs, are not directly affected by sales volume.
55
Gross Profit (Loss) and Gross Profit Margin
Gross profit (loss) and gross profit margin may vary from quarter to quarter and is primarily affected by our sales volume, product prices, product costs, product mix, customer mix, geographical mix, shipping method, warranty costs, and seasonality.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses consist of research and development, sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses as well as depreciation and amortization. Personnel-related expenses are the most significant component of our operating expenses and include salaries, stock-based compensation, and employee benefits. We expect to invest in additional resources to support our growth which will increase our operating expenses in the near future.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist of personnel-related costs across our global R&D centers for engineers engaged in the design and development and testing of our integrated products and technologies. Engineering competencies include data science, software development, network and cyber security, battery systems engineering, industrial controls, UI / UX, mechanical design, and more. R&D expenses also support three product testing labs located across the globe, including a new system-level testing facility in Pennsylvania that will be used for quality assurance and the rapid iteration, testing, and launching of new Fluence energy storage technology and products. We expect research and development expenses to increase in future periods to support our growth and as we continue to invest in research and development activities that are necessary to achieve our technology and product roadmap goals. These expenses may vary from period to period as a percentage of revenue, depending primarily upon when we choose to make more significant investments.
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, stock-based compensation, and employee benefits. We intend to expand our sales presence and marketing efforts to additional countries in the future.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, stock-based compensation, and employee benefits, for our executives, finance, human resources, information technology, engineering and legal organizations that do not relate directly to the sales or research and development functions, as well as travel expenses, facilities costs, bad debt expense and fees for professional services. Professional services consist of audit, legal, tax, insurance, information technology and other costs.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation consists of costs associated with property, plant and equipment (“PP&E”) and amortization of intangibles consisting of patents, licenses, and developed technology over their expected period of use. We expect that as we increase both our revenues and the number of our general and administrative personnel, we will invest in additional PP&E to support our growth resulting in additional depreciation and amortization.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists primarily of interest previously incurred on our now extinguished Line of Credit and Promissory Notes (each as defined below), unused line fees related to the revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”) pursuant to a credit agreement by and among Fluence Energy, LLC, as the borrower, Fluence Energy, Inc., as a parent guarantor, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto, the lenders party thereto and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent (the “Credit Agreement”), and amortization of debt issuance costs.
Other Income (Expense), Net
Other income (expense), net consists of income (expense) from foreign currency exchange adjustments for monetary assets and liabilities.
Tax Expense
Historically, prior to the IPO, Fluence Energy, LLC was not subject to U.S. federal or state income tax. As such, Fluence Energy, LLC did not pay U.S. federal or state income tax, as taxable income or loss will be included in the U.S. tax returns of its members. Fluence Energy LLC was subject to income taxes, including withholding taxes, outside the U.S. and our income tax expense (benefit)
56
on the consolidated statements of operations primarily relates to income taxes from foreign operations, withholding taxes on intercompany royalties and changes in valuation allowances related to deferred tax assets of certain foreign subsidiaries. After our IPO, we are now subject to U.S. federal and state income taxes with respect to our allocable share of any taxable income or loss of Fluence Energy, LLC, and are taxed at the prevailing corporate tax rates. We will continue to be subject to foreign income taxes with respect to our foreign subsidiaries and our expectations are valuation allowances will be needed in certain tax jurisdictions. In addition to tax expenses, we also will incur expenses related to our operations, as well as payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, which we expect could be significant over time. We will receive a portion of any distributions made by Fluence Energy, LLC. Any cash received from such distributions from our subsidiaries will be first used by us to satisfy any tax liability and then to make payments required under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
Key Operating Metrics
The following tables presents our key operating metrics and order intake for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. The tables below present the metrics in either Gigawatts (GW) or Gigawatt hours (GWh). The tables below reflect adjustments made to 2021 Deployed and Pipeline reported for Energy Storage Products and Service Contracts as a result of enhanced internal control procedures implemented by management. Previously we reported Energy Storage Products deployed of 1.0 GW, Energy Storage Products pipeline of 14.2 GW, Service Contracts pipeline of 10.9 GW, and Service Contracts contracted of 2.0 GW. Further, prior period metrics were previously presented in Megawatts (MW).
| September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||
| Energy Storage Products | ||||||||||||
| Deployed (GW) | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 100.0 | % | |||||||
| Deployed (GWh) | 5.0 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 127.3 | % | |||||||
| Contracted Backlog (GW) | 3.7 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 37.0 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline (GW) | 9.3 | 8.0 | 1.3 | 16.3 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline (GWh) | 22.6 | 20.1 | 2.5 | 12.4 | % | |||||||
| Contracted - year to date (GW) | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 46.2 | % |
| (amounts in GW) | September 30, | Change | Change % | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||
| Service Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Asset under Management | 2.0 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 150.0 | % | |||||||
| Contracted Backlog | 2.0 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 5.3 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline | 8.8 | 6.2 | 2.6 | 41.9 | % | |||||||
| Contracted -year to date | 1.3 | 1.7 | (0.4) | (23.5 | %) |
| (amounts in GW) | September 30, | Change | Change % | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||
| Digital Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Asset under Management | 13.7 | 3.1 | 10.6 | 341.9 | % | |||||||
| Contracted Backlog | 3.6 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 125.0 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline | 19.6 | 3.3 | 16.3 | 493.9 | % | |||||||
| Contracted - year to date | 4.9 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 81.5 | % |
Deployed or Asset Under Management
Deployed represents cumulative energy storage products that have achieved substantial completion and are not decommissioned.
Asset under management for service contracts represents our long-term service contracts with customers associated with our completed energy storage system products. We start providing maintenance, monitoring, or other operational services after the storage product projects are completed.
Assets under management for digital software represents contracts signed and active (post go live).
57
Contracted Backlog and Contracted
For our energy storage products contracts, contracted backlog includes signed customer orders or contracts under execution prior to when substantial completion is achieved. For service contracts, contracted backlog includes signed service agreements associated with our storage product projects that have not been completed and the associated service has not started. For digital applications contracts, contracted backlog includes signed agreements where the associated subscription has not started.
Contracted represents new energy storage product contracts, new service contracts and new digital contracts signed during each fiscal year presented.
Pipeline
Pipeline represents our uncontracted, potential revenue from energy storage products, service, and digital software contracts, which have a reasonable likelihood of contract execution within 24 months. Pipeline is monitored by management to understand the anticipated growth of our Company and our estimated future revenue related to customer contracts for our battery-based energy storage products and services.
We cannot guarantee that our contracted backlog or pipeline will result in actual revenue in the originally anticipated period or at all. Contracted backlog and pipeline may not generate margins equal to our historical operating results. We have only recently begun to track our contracted backlog and pipelines on a consistent basis as performance measures, and as a result, we do not have significant experience in determining the level of realization that we will achieve on these contracts. Our customers may experience project delays or cancel orders as a result of external market factors and economic or other factors beyond our control. If our contracted backlog and pipeline fail to result in revenue at all or in a timely manner, we could experience a reduction in revenue, profitability, and liquidity. Pipeline is an internal management metric that we construct from market information reported by our global sales force.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This section contains references to certain non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss), Adjusted Gross Profit Margin, Adjusted Net Loss, and Free Cash Flow.
Adjusted EBITDA is calculated from the consolidated statements of operations using net income (loss) adjusted for (i) interest income (expense), net, (ii) income taxes, (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) equity-based compensation, and (v) other income or expenses. Adjusted EBITDA may in the future also be adjusted for amounts impacting net income related to the Tax Receivable Agreement liability.
Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) is calculated using gross profit (loss), adjusted to exclude certain other income or expenses. Adjusted Gross Profit Margin is calculated using Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) divided by total revenue.
Adjusted Net Loss is calculated using net loss, adjusted to exclude (i) amortization of intangibles, (ii) equity-based compensation, (iii) other income or expenses, and (iv) tax impact of these adjustments.
Free Cash Flow is calculated from the consolidated statements of cash flows and is defined as net cash provided by operating activities, less purchase of property and equipment made in the period. We expect our Free Cash Flow to fluctuate in future periods as we invest in our business to support our plans for growth. Limitations on the use of Free Cash Flow include (i) it should not be inferred that the entire Free Cash Flow amount is available for discretionary expenditures. For example, cash is still required to satisfy other working capital needs, including short-term investment policy, restricted cash, and intangible assets; (ii) Free Cash Flow has limitations as an analytical tool, and it should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of other GAAP financial measures, such as net cash provided by operating activities; and (iii) this metric does not reflect our future contractual commitments.
These non-GAAP measures are intended as supplemental measures of performance and/or liquidity that are neither required by, nor presented in accordance with, GAAP. We believe that such non-GAAP measures, when read in conjunction with our operating results presented under GAAP, can be used to better assess our performance from period to period and relative to performance of other companies in our industry, without regard to financing methods, historical cost basis or capital structure.
These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. Readers are cautioned that these non-GAAP measures should not be construed as alternatives to other measures of financial performance calculated in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures and their reconciliation to GAAP financial measures are shown below.
58
The following tables present our non-GAAP measures for the periods indicated.
| ($ in thousands) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (289,177) | $ | (162,003) | $ | (127,174) | (78.5) | % | |||||||
| Add (deduct): | |||||||||||||||
| Interest expense (income), net | (326) | 1,429 | (1,755) | (122.8) | |||||||||||
| Income tax expense | 1,357 | 1,829 | (472) | (25.8) | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 7,108 | 5,112 | 1,996 | 39.0 | |||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation(a) | 44,131 | — | 44,131 | 100.0 | |||||||||||
| Other expenses(b) | 52,674 | 88,959 | (36,285) | (40.8) | |||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | (184,233) | $ | (64,674) | $ | (119,559) | (184.9) | % |
(a) Included awards that will be settled in shares and awards that will be settled in cash.
(b) Amount in 2022 included $39.1 million of costs related to COVID-19 pandemic including excess shipping costs, project charges and other costs, a $11.9 million loss related to the Cargo Loss Incident, $0.1 million IPO-related expenses which did not qualify for capitalization, and $1.6 million in Executive severance costs. On a go forward basis we do not expect to adjust EBITDA for the impact of COVID-19 pandemic as management does not expect the impact to be meaningful to the Company. Amount in 2021 included $23.6 million related to excess shipping costs and $48.2 million of project charges which are compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, $12.4 million related to the Cargo Loss Incident, and $4.8 million IPO-related expenses which did not qualify for capitalization.
| ($ in thousands) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||
| Total Revenue | 1,198,603 | 680,766 | 517,837 | 76.1 | % | ||||||||||
| Cost of goods and services | 1,260,957 | 749,910 | 511,047 | 68.1 | |||||||||||
| Gross (loss) profit | (62,354) | (69,144) | 6,790 | (9.8) | |||||||||||
| Add (deduct): | |||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation(a) | 8,523 | — | 8,523 | 100.0 | |||||||||||
| Other expenses(b) | 50,957 | 84,153 | (33,196) | (39.4) | |||||||||||
| Adjusted Gross Profit | $ | (2,874) | $ | 15,009 | $ | (17,883) | (119.2) | % | |||||||
| Adjusted Gross Profit Margin % | (0.2) | % | 2.2 | % |
(a) Amount included awards that will be settled in shares and awards that will be settled in cash.
(b) Amount in 2022 included $39.1 million of costs related to COVID-19 pandemic including excess shipping costs, project charges and other costs and a $11.9 million loss related to the Cargo Loss Incident. On a go forward basis we do not expect to adjust gross profit margin for the impact of COVID-19 pandemic as management does not expect the impact to be meaningful to the Company. Amount in 2021 included $23.6 million related to shipping costs and $48.2 million of project charges which are compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and $12.4 million related to the Cargo Loss Incident.
| ($ in thousands) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (289,177) | $ | (162,003) | $ | (127,174) | (78.5) | % | |||||||
| Add (deduct): | |||||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 4,552 | $ | 3,552 | 1,000 | 28.2 | ||||||||||
| Stock based compensation(a) | 44,131 | — | 44,131 | 100.0 | |||||||||||
| Other expenses(b) | 52,674 | 88,959 | (36,285) | (40.8) | |||||||||||
| Adjusted Net Loss | $ | (187,820) | $ | (69,492) | $ | (118,328) | (170.3) | % |
(a) Amount included awards that will be settled in shares and awards that will be settled in cash.
(b) Amount in 2022 included $39.1 million costs related to COVID-19 pandemic including excess shipping costs, project charges and other costs, a $11.9 million loss related to the Cargo Loss Incident, $0.1 million IPO-related expenses which did not qualify for capitalization, and $1.6 million in Executive severance costs. On a go forward basis we do not expect to adjust net loss or income for the impact of COVID-19 pandemic as management does not expect the impact to be meaningful to the Company. Amount in 2021 included $23.6 million related to excess shipping costs and $48.2 million of project charges which are compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, $12.4 million related to the Cargo Loss Incident, and $4.8 million IPO-related expenses which did not qualify for capitalization.
| ($ in thousands) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities | $ | (282,385) | $ | (265,269) | $ | (17,116) | (6.5) | % | |||||||
| Less: Purchase of property and equipment | (7,934) | (4,292) | (3,642) | 84.9 | |||||||||||
| Free Cash Flows | $ | (290,319) | $ | (269,561) | $ | (20,758) | (7.7) | % |
59
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2022 to the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2021
The following table sets forth our operating results for the periods indicated.
| ($ in thousands) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,198,603 | $ | 680,766 | $ | 517,837 | 76.1 | % | |||||||
| Costs of goods and services | 1,260,957 | 749,910 | 511,047 | 68.1 | |||||||||||
| Gross profit (loss) | (62,354) | (69,144) | 6,790 | (9.8) | |||||||||||
| Gross Profit % | (5.2) | % | (10.2) | % | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses | |||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 60,142 | 23,427 | 36,715 | 156.7 | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 37,207 | 22,624 | 14,583 | 64.5 | |||||||||||
| General and administrative | 116,710 | 38,162 | 78,548 | 205.8 | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 7,108 | 5,112 | 1,996 | 39.0 | |||||||||||
| Interest expense | 2,018 | 1,435 | 583 | 40.6 | |||||||||||
| Other (expense) income, net | (2,281) | (270) | (2,011) | 744.8 | |||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (287,820) | (160,174) | (127,646) | 79.7 | |||||||||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) | 1,357 | 1,829 | (472) | (25.8) | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (289,177) | $ | (162,003) | $ | (127,174) | 78.5 | % |
Total Revenue
Total revenue increased from $680.8 million in fiscal year 2021 to $1,198.6 million in fiscal year 2022. The $517.8 million or 76.1% increase was mainly attributable to the expansion of sales of our battery energy storage products and solutions, particularly in the Americas and EMEA regions and our ability to execute on customer change orders that partially negated the impact of supply chain cost increases.
Costs of Goods and Services
Cost of goods and services increased from $749.9 million in fiscal year 2021 to $1,261.0 million in fiscal year 2022. The $511.0 million, or 68.1%, increase was primarily attributable to materials and supplies associated with the sale of our battery energy storage products due to increased sales volume which outpaced increases in costs of goods and services. In addition, cost of goods and services increased as a result of higher battery module prices passed on to us from our supplier.
Gross Profit (Loss) and Gross Profit Margin
Gross loss was $(62.4) million, and gross profit margin was negative (5.2)%, in fiscal year 2022, compared to a gross loss of $(69.1) million, and a gross profit margin of negative (10.2)%, in fiscal year 2021. The gross loss in each of the fiscal years 2022 and 2021 have been negatively impacted by (i) capacity constraints within the shipping industry and increased shipping costs, both of which are caused primarily as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, (ii) cost overruns, delays and other project charges we are experiencing in some projects currently under construction, and in deliveries our sixth-generation products and (iii) the Cargo Loss Incident. In addition, we were negatively impacted in 2022 by higher battery module prices passed on to us from our supplier.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses increased from $23.4 million in fiscal year 2021 to $60.1 million in fiscal year 2022. The $36.7 million, or 156.7%, increase in fiscal year 2022 compared to fiscal year 2021 was mainly related to increased salaries and personnel-related costs due to higher headcount to support the growth of the Company, including $7.8 million of stock-based compensation expense.
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Sales and marketing expenses increased from $22.6 million in fiscal year 2021 to $37.2 million in fiscal year 2022. The increase of $14.6 million, or 64.5%, is related to increased personnel-related expenses for our sales and marketing organization, consultants and other third-party vendors.
60
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses increased from $38.2 million in fiscal year 2021 to $116.7 million in fiscal year 2022. The increase of $78.5 million, or 205.8%, was mainly related to increases in personnel-related expenses, including $23.6 million of stock-based compensation expense, as well as expenses for outside professional services as we have been expanding our personnel headcount rapidly to support our growth.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation and amortization increased from $5.1 million in fiscal year 2021 to $7.1 million in fiscal year 2022. The $2.0 million increase, or 39.0%, was attributable to an increase of $1.0 million amortization related to intangible assets and $1.0 million depreciation from increased fixed assets.
Interest expense
Interest expense was $1.4 million in fiscal year 2021, compared to $2.0 million in fiscal year 2022. The $0.6 million increase, or 40.6%, was primarily due to the increased amortization of Revolver deferred financing costs, partially offset by a decrease in interest expense on our Line of Credit.
Other (Expense) Income, Net
Other expense was $0.3 million in fiscal year 2021, compared to other expense of $2.3 million in fiscal year 2022. The $2.0 million increase, or 744.8%, was mainly a result of foreign currency exchange adjustments for monetary assets and liabilities.
Income Tax Expense
Income tax expense decreased from $1.8 million in fiscal year 2021 to $1.4 million in fiscal year 2022. The effective income tax rate was (0.5)% and (1.1)% for fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2021, respectively. The decrease in tax expense of $0.4 million and change in effective tax rate were primarily due to an increase in global pre-tax losses in fiscal year 2022. Additionally, during fiscal year 2022, there were non-taxable foreign exchange gains, as well as changes in valuation allowances recorded.
Net Loss
Net loss increased from $162.0 million in fiscal year 2021 to $289.2 million in fiscal year 2022. The increase of $127.2 million, or 78.5%, was mainly driven by (i) capacity constraints within the shipping industry and increased shipping costs, both of which are caused primarily as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, (ii) cost overruns and delays we are experiencing in some projects currently under construction, (iii) the Cargo Loss Incident, (iv) higher battery module prices and (v) increased expenses in general and administrative, sales and marketing and research and development due to the expansion of our business and the build out of our corporate functions.
Comparison of the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2021 to the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2020
For a discussion of our results of operations for the year ended September 30, 2021 compared to fiscal year ended September 30, 2020, please see Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, filed with the SEC on December 14, 2021.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Since inception and through September 30, 2022, our principal sources of liquidity were our cash and cash equivalents, short-term borrowings, capital contributions from AES Grid Stability and Siemens AG and affiliates, proceeds from the QFH investment and supply chain financing.
On November 1, 2021, upon the closing of our IPO, we received net proceeds of $935.8 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses payable by the Company. The net proceeds from the IPO were used to purchase 35,650,000 newly issued LLC Interests directly from Fluence Energy, LLC at a price per unit equal to the IPO price per share of Class A common stock less the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Fluence Energy, LLC used the net proceeds from the sale of LLC Interests to Fluence Energy, Inc. to repay all outstanding borrowings under the now extinguished Line of Credit and the Promissory Notes. The remainder of the proceeds has been used for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
61
Prior to the IPO, the Company had an Uncommitted Line of Credit Agreement (“Line of Credit’) with Citibank, N.A. (“Citibank”) which allowed us to borrow an amount in aggregate not to exceed $50 million, with the expiration date on March 31, 2023. Outstanding borrowings from the Line of Credit were $50 million as of September 30, 2021. The weighted average annual interest rate of the borrowing was 2.83%. On November 1, 2021, the $50 million outstanding borrowings from the Line of Credit was paid off using the proceeds from our IPO and the Line of Credit was canceled shortly thereafter.
Additionally, prior to the IPO, we funded our liquidity through borrowings from AES Grid Stability and Siemens Industry. On August 11, 2021, Fluence Energy, LLC entered into a promissory note with each of Siemens Industry and AES Grid Stability, under which Fluence Energy, LLC received a bridge financing of an aggregate of $50.0 million. In connection with the bridge financing, Fluence Energy, LLC issued a $25.0 million promissory note to each of Siemens Industry and AES Grid Stability (together, the “Promissory Notes”). The Promissory Notes bear interest at a rate of 2.86%. The Promissory Notes were repaid on November 1, 2021 using proceeds from the IPO.
We have provided certain of our suppliers with access to a supply chain financing program through a third-party financing institution (the “SCF Bank”). This program allows us to seek extended payment terms with our suppliers and allows our suppliers to monetize their receivables prior to the payment due date, subject to a discount. Once a supplier elects to participate in the program and reaches an agreement with the SCF Bank, the supplier elects which individual invoices to sell to the SCF Bank. We then pay the SCF Bank on the invoice due date. We have no economic interest in a supplier’s decision to sell a receivable to the SCF Bank. The agreements between our suppliers and the SCF Bank are solely at their discretion and are negotiated directly between them. Our suppliers’ ability to continue using such agreements is primarily dependent upon the strength of our financial condition and guarantees issued by AES and Siemens. As of September 30, 2021, AES and Siemens issued guarantees of $30.0 million each, for a total of $60.0 million, to the SCF Bank on our behalf. SCF was further increased to $100.0 million on November 3, 2021 when AES and Siemens increased their guarantee to $50.0 million each, for a total of $100 million As of September 30, 2022, three suppliers were actively participating in the supply chain financing program, and we had $37.4 million of payables outstanding subject to the program. All outstanding payments owed under the program are recorded within Accounts payable in our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Initial Public Offering
On November 1, 2021, the Company completed the IPO in which it issued and sold 35,650,000 shares of its Class A common stock at the public offering price of $28.00 per share. The net proceeds to the Company from the IPO were $935.8 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by the Company. The net proceeds from the IPO have been used to purchase 35,650,000 newly issued LLC Interests directly from Fluence Energy, LLC at a price per unit equal to the IPO price per share of Class A common stock less the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Fluence Energy, LLC used the net proceeds from the sale of LLC Interests to Fluence Energy, Inc. to repay all outstanding borrowings under our existing Line of Credit and the Promissory Notes, and the remainder will be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Revolving Credit Facility
We entered into a Revolving Credit Agreement for a Revolving Credit Facility (the “Revolver”) on November 1, 2021, by and among Fluence Energy, LLC, as the borrower, Fluence Energy Inc., as a parent guarantor, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto, the lenders party thereto and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent. The Revolver is secured by a (i) first priority pledge of the equity securities of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries and (ii) first priority security interests in, and mortgages on, substantially all tangible and intangible personal property and material fee-owned real property of Fluence Energy, LLC, the parent guarantor and each subsidiary guarantor party thereto, in each case, subject to customary exceptions and limitations. The initial aggregate amount of commitments is $190.0 million from the lenders party including JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., Bank of America, N.A., Barclays Bank PLC, and five other banks. On June 30, 2022, the Company increased the revolving commitment available under the Revolver by $10.0 million to an aggregate of $200.0 million and added UBS AG, Stamford Branch as an additional lender under the Revolver. As of September 30, 2022, the aggregate amount of commitments is $200.0 million. The maturity date of the Revolver is November 1, 2025.
The Revolver bears interests rate at either (i) the Adjusted LIBOR or Adjusted EURIBO Rate (each as defined in the Revolving Credit Agreement) plus 3.0 % or (ii) the Alternate Base Rate (as defined in the Revolving Credit Agreement) plus 2.0 % (subject to customary LIBOR replacement provisions and alternative benchmark rates including customary spread adjustments with respect to borrowings in foreign currency), at the option of Fluence Energy, LLC. Fluence Energy, LLC is required to pay to the lenders a commitment fee of 0.55 % per annum on the average daily unused portion of the revolving commitments through maturity, which will be the four-year anniversary of the closing date of the Revolver. The Revolver also provides for up to $200.0 million in letter of credit issuances, which will require customary issuance and administration fees, as well as a fronting fee payable to each issuer thereof and a letter of credit participation fee of 2.75 % per annum payable to the lenders.
62
The Revolving Credit Agreement contains covenants that, among other things, will restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness; incur liens; sell, transfer, or dispose of property and assets; make investments or acquisitions; make dividends, distributions, or other restricted payments; and engage in affiliate transactions. The terms of the Revolving Credit Agreement limit our ability to make certain payments, including dividends and distributions on Fluence Energy, LLC’s equity, Fluence Energy, Inc.’s equity and other restricted payments. Under the terms of the Revolving Credit Agreement, Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries are currently limited in their ability to pay cash dividends to, lend to, or make other investments in Fluence Energy, Inc., subject to certain exceptions, including among others (i) the ability to make investments of up to the greater of (a) $10,500,000 and (b) 1.5% of the consolidated assets of Fluence Energy, Inc. and its subsidiaries, and (ii) the ability to issue dividends and make other Restricted Payments (as defined in the Revolving Credit Agreement) (a) if after giving pro forma effect to such dividend or other Restricted Payment the Total Liquidity (as defined in the Revolving Credit Agreement) of Fluence Energy, Inc. and its subsidiaries party to the Revolving Credit Agreement is at least $600,000,000, or (b) such dividend or other Restricted Payment is made to reimburse Fluence Energy, Inc. for certain tax distributions under the Fluence Energy LLC Agreement and certain payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement and certain operational expenses incurred in connection with the ownership and management of Fluence Energy, LLC. In addition, we are required to maintain (i) minimum liquidity and gross revenue requirements, in each case, until consolidated EBITDA reaches $150.0 million for the most recent four fiscal quarters and we make an election, and (ii) thereafter, a maximum total leverage ratio and a minimum interest coverage ratio. Such covenants will be tested on a quarterly basis. As of September 30, 2022, we were in compliance with all such covenants or maintained availability above such covenant triggers.
Tax Receivable Agreement
In connection with the IPO, we entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement with Fluence Energy, LLC and the Founders which obligates the Company to make payments to the Founders of 85% of the amount of certain tax benefits that Fluence Energy, Inc. actually realizes, or in some circumstances is deemed to realize, arising from the Basis Adjustments (as defined below) and certain other tax benefits arising from payments made under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Fluence Energy, LLC will have in effect an election under Section 754 of the Code effective for each taxable year in which a redemption or exchange (including deemed exchange) of LLC Interests for Class A common stock or cash occurs or when Fluence Energy, LLC makes (or is deemed to make) certain distributions. These Tax Receivable Agreement payments are not conditioned upon one or more of the Founders maintaining a continued ownership interest in Fluence Energy, LLC. If a Founder transfers LLC Interests but does not assign to the transferee of such units its rights under the Tax Receivable Agreement, such Founder generally will continue to be entitled to receive payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement arising in respect of a subsequent exchange of such LLC Interests. In general, the Founders’ rights under the Tax Receivable Agreement may not be assigned, sold, pledged, or otherwise alienated or transferred to any person, other than certain permitted transferees, without our prior written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld) and such person’s becoming a party to the Tax Receivable Agreement and agreeing to succeed to the applicable Founder’s interest therein.
Redemptions or exchanges of LLC Interests post-IPO are expected to result in increases in the tax basis of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and certain of its subsidiaries. Increases in tax basis and tax basis adjustments generated over time may increase (for tax purposes) the depreciation and amortization deductions available to Fluence Energy, Inc. and, therefore, may reduce the amount of U.S. federal, state, and local tax that Fluence Energy, Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the IRS may challenge all or part of the validity of that tax basis, and a court could sustain such a challenge. Fluence Energy, Inc.’s allocable share of tax basis and the anticipated tax basis adjustments upon redemptions or exchanges of LLC Interests may also decrease gains (or increase losses) on future dispositions of certain assets to the extent tax basis is allocated to those assets. Actual tax benefits realized by Fluence Energy, Inc. may differ from tax benefits calculated under the Tax Receivable Agreement as a result of the use of certain assumptions in the Tax Receivable Agreement, including the use of an assumed state and local income tax rate to calculate tax benefits. The payment obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement is an obligation of Fluence Energy, Inc. and not of Fluence Energy, LLC. We expect to use distributions from Fluence Energy, LLC to fund any payments that we will be required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. To the extent we are unable to make timely payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement for any reason, such payments generally will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid; provided, however, that nonpayment for a specified period may constitute a material breach of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement resulting in the acceleration of payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Fluence Energy, Inc. expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of cash tax benefits, if any, it realizes from such tax benefits. For purposes of the Tax Receivable Agreement, the cash tax benefits will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of Fluence Energy, Inc. to the amount of such taxes that Fluence Energy, Inc. would have been required to pay had there been no such tax basis adjustments of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC or its subsidiaries as a result of redemptions or exchanges and had Fluence Energy, Inc. not entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement. The actual and hypothetical tax liabilities determined in the Tax Receivable Agreement will be calculated using the actual U.S. federal income tax rate in effect for the applicable period and an assumed state and local income tax rate (along with the use of certain other assumptions). The term of the Tax Receivable Agreement will continue until all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired, unless Fluence Energy, Inc. exercises its right to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement early, certain changes of control occur or Fluence Energy, Inc. breaches any of its material obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement, in which case, all obligations generally (and in the case of such a change of control or such breach, only if the Founders elect) will be accelerated and due as if Fluence Energy, Inc. had exercised its right to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement. The payment to be made upon an early termination of the Tax Receivable Agreement will generally equal the present value of payments to be made under the Tax Receivable Agreement using certain assumptions. Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the Tax Receivable Agreement is by its nature
63
imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. The tax basis adjustments upon the redemption or exchange of LLC Interests, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of purchases or exchanges, the price of shares of our Class A common stock at the time of the purchase or exchange, the extent to which such purchases or exchanges do not result in a basis adjustment, the amount of tax attributes, changes in tax rates and the amount and timing of our income.
On June 30, 2022, Siemens Industry, Inc. exercised its redemption right pursuant to the terms of LLC Agreement with respect to its entire holding of 58,586,695 LLC Interests of Fluence Energy, LLC, together with the corresponding cancellation of an equivalent number of shares of Class B-1 common stock of Fluence Energy, Inc., par value $0.00001 per share (the “Redemption”). The Redemption resulted in increases in the tax basis of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and certain of its subsidiaries. The increases in tax basis and tax basis adjustments increases (for tax purposes) the depreciation and amortization deductions available to Fluence Energy, Inc. and, therefore, may reduce the amount of U.S. federal, state, and local tax that Fluence Energy, Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the IRS may challenge all or part of the validity of that tax basis, and a court could sustain such a challenge.
We expect that as a result of the tax basis adjustment of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries upon the Redemption and our possible utilization of certain tax attributes, the payments that we may make under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be substantial. As a result of the Redemption, we estimate tax savings of approximately $109.6 million. Siemens AG will be entitled to receive payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement equaling 85% of such amount, or $93.1 million; assuming, among other factors, (i) we will have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize the tax benefits; (ii) Fluence Energy, LLC is able to fully depreciate or amortize its assets; and (iii) no material changes in applicable tax law. The payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement are not conditioned upon continued ownership of us by the Founders. Although the timing and extent of future payments could vary significantly under the Tax Receivable Agreement for the factors discussed above, we anticipate funding payments from the Tax Receivable Agreement from cash flow from operations of our subsidiaries, available cash or available borrowings under any future debt agreements, and such payments are not anticipated to be dependent upon the availability of proceeds of the IPO.
Prior to the Redemption, we determined it was not probable payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement would be made, given there was no expectation of future sufficient taxable income over the term of the agreement to utilize deductions in the future. Therefore, the Company did not initially recognize the liability. Upon the Redemption, the Company still determines that it is not probable payment under the agreement would be made and has not recognized the change in the liability. Should we determine that the Tax Receivable Agreement payment is probable, a corresponding liability will be recorded. As a result, our future results of operations and earnings could be impacted as a result of these matters.
We believe that our current cash and cash equivalents, cash flows from operations, short-term borrowing, and recent investments from QIA through QFH, combined with the proceeds of our IPO, will be sufficient to meet our capital expenditure and working capital requirements for the next twelve months following the filing of this Annual Report.
Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement
We are party to an Amended and Restated Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement with AES and Siemens Industry whereby they may, from time to time, agree to furnish credit support to us in the form of direct issuances of credit support to our lenders or other beneficiaries or through their lenders’ provision of letters of credit to backstop our own facilities or obligations. Pursuant to the Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement, if AES or Siemens Industry agree to provide a particular credit support (which they are permitted to grant or deny in their sole discretion), they are entitled to receipt of a credit support fee and reimbursement for all amounts paid to our lenders or other counterparties, payable upon demand. The Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement will not provide any credit support from September 30, 2026, provided that either AES or Siemens Industry will be permitted to terminate the agreement upon six months prior notice.
Historical Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities for the periods presented.
| Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (282,385) | $ | (265,269) | (17,116) | (6.5) | % | |||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | $ | (148,417) | $ | (22,292) | (126,125) | 565.8 | % | |||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | $ | 817,053 | $ | 231,126 | 585,927 | 253.5 | % |
64
Net cash flows used in operating activities were $282.4 million in fiscal year 2022 compared $265.3 million in fiscal year 2021. The increase in net operating cash outflows was mainly due to the increase in receivables, partially offset by increased accounts payables.
Net cash flows used in investing activities was $148.4 million in fiscal year 2022, which included $110.1 million for the purchase of short-term investments, $29.2 million related to cash paid for a business acquisition, and $7.9 million purchases of property and equipment. Net cash flows used in investing activities was $22.3 million in fiscal year 2021, which included $18.0 million related to the business acquisition and $4.3 million of purchases of property and equipment.
Cash flows provided by financing activities of $817.1 million in fiscal year 2022 was primarily driven by $948.0 of proceeds from issuance of Class A common stock sold in an IPO, net of underwriting discounts and commissions, offset by $50.0 million repayment of promissory notes and $50.0 million repayment of line of credit. Cash flows provided by financing activities of $231.1 million in fiscal year 2021 was primarily due to $125.0 million proceeds from issuance of Class B membership units to QFH, $6.3 million capital contribution from Siemens Industry, $50.0 million net borrowings under the Line of Credit, and $50.0 million net borrowings from the Promissory Notes.
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. In the preparation of these financial statements, we consider an accounting judgment, estimate or assumption to be critical when (1) the estimate or assumption is complex in nature or requires a high degree of judgment and (2) the use of different judgments, estimates, and assumptions could have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements. We believe that the accounting policies discussed below are critical to understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates.
Revenue Recognition
We determine our revenue recognition through the following steps: (i) identification of the contract or contracts with a customer, (ii) identification of the performance obligations within the contract, (iii) determination of the transaction price, (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations within the contract, and (v) recognition of revenue as the performance obligation has been satisfied.
Our revenue was generated primarily from sale of battery-based energy storage products, providing operational services related to energy storage products, and providing digital applications and solutions.
Sale of Energy Storage Products
The Company enters into contracts with utility companies, developers, and C&I customers to design and build battery-based energy storage products. Each storage product is customized depending on the customer’s energy needs. Customer payments are due upon meeting certain milestones that are consistent with contract-specific phases of a project. We determine the transaction price based on the consideration expected to be received which includes estimates for project execution risks and other variable considerations, including liquidated damages. The transaction price identified is allocated to each distinct performance obligation to deliver a good or service based on the relative standalone selling prices. Generally, our contracts to design and build battery-based storage solutions are determined to have one performance obligation. We believe that the prices negotiated with each individual customer are representative of the stand-alone selling price of the energy storage products.
We recognize revenue over time as a result of the continuous transfer of control of our energy storage products to the customer. This continuous transfer of control to the customer is supported by clauses in the contracts that provide enforceable rights to payment of the transaction price associated with work performed to date and is for products that do not have an alternative use to us and/or the project is built on the customer’s land that is under the customer’s control.
Revenue from the contracts is recognized using the percentage of completion method based on cost incurred as a percentage of total estimated contract costs. Standard inventory materials that could be used interchangeably on other projects are not included in our measure of progress until they are integrated into, or restricted to, the production of the customer’s asset. Contract costs include all direct material and labor costs related to contract performance. Pre-contract costs with no future benefit are expensed in the period in which they are incurred. Since the revenue recognition of these contracts depends on estimates, which are assessed continually during the term of the contract, recognized revenues and profit are subject to revisions as the contract progresses to completion. The cumulative effects of revisions of estimated total contract costs and revenues, together with any contract reserves which may be deemed appropriate, are recorded in the period in which the facts and changes in circumstance become known. Due to the uncertainties inherent in the estimation process, it is reasonably possible that these estimates will be revised in a different period. When a loss is forecasted for a contract, the full amount of the anticipated loss is recognized in the period in which it is determined that a loss will occur.
65
Our contracts generally provide our customers the right to liquidated damages (“LDs”) against Fluence in the event specified milestones are not met on time, or equipment is not delivered according to contract specifications. LDs are accounted for as variable consideration, and the contract price is reduced by the expected penalty or LD amount when recognizing revenue. Variable consideration is included in the transaction price only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty is resolved. Estimating variable consideration requires certain estimates and assumptions, including whether and by how much a project will be delayed and/or will not meet performance contractual specifications. The existence and measurement of liquidated damages may also be impacted by our judgements about the probability of favorable outcomes of customer disputes involving whether certain events qualify as force majeure or the reason for the events that caused project delays. Variable consideration for liquidated damages is estimated using the expected value of the consideration to be received. If Fluence has a claim against the customer for amount not specified in the contract, such claim is recognized as an increase to contract price when it is legally enforceable, which is usually upon signing a respective change order or equivalent document confirming the claim acceptance by customer.
Services
The Company also enters into long-term service agreements with customers to provide operational services related to purchased battery-based energy storage products. The services include maintenance, monitoring, and other minor services. We account for the services as a single performance obligation as the services are substantially the same and have the same pattern of transfer to the customers. We recognize revenue over time using a straight-line recognition method for these types of services. We believe using a time-based method to measure progress is appropriate as the performance obligations are satisfied evenly over time based on the fact that customers receive the services evenly and the cost pattern does not change significantly over the service period. Revenue is recognized by dividing the total transaction price over the service period.
Some of the agreements also provide a commitment to perform augmentation activities which would typically be represented by installation of additional batteries, and other components as needed, to compensate for partially lost capacity due to degradation of batteries over time. The obligation to perform augmentation activities can take the form of either maintaining battery capacity above a given threshold for a stated term while others provide a fixed number of augmentations over a contract term. Augmentation arrangements that require us to maintain battery capacity above an established thresholds for a given term are considered service-type warranties. These represent a stand-ready obligation in which the customer benefits evenly overtime. We recognize revenue for these arrangements using a straight-line recognition method. Alternatively, augmentation arrangements that require us to perform a fixed number of augmentations over a contract term follow the percentage of completion revenue recognition method. Since these arrangements require a fixed number of augmentations we must perform, we use the pattern of cost as a proxy to identify when our obligations are satisfied and to recognize revenue.
For both products and service contracts where there are multiple performance obligations in a single contract, we allocate the consideration to the various obligations in the contract based on the relative standalone selling price method. Standalone selling prices are estimated based on estimated costs plus margin or using market data for comparable products when estimated costs are not imputable.
Digital Applications and Solutions
In October 2020, Fluence Energy, LLC acquired the AMS software and digital intelligence platform, which became the Fluence Trading Platform. Contracts involving the Fluence Trading Platform are generally entered into with commercial entities that control utility-scale storage and renewable generation assets. Fluence Trading Platform arrangements consist of a promise to provide access to proprietary cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) to promote enhanced financial returns on the utility-scale storage and renewable generation assets. The Fluence Trading Platform is a hosted service that delivers automated, market-compliant bids to local electricity market operators. Customers do not receive legal title or ownership of the software as a result of these arrangements. The term of Fluence’s contracts with Trading Platform customers is generally five years, which may include certain renewal options to extend the initial contract term or certain termination options to reduce the initial contract term.
The Fluence Trading Platform is technology- and vendor-agnostic (i.e. it can be utilized for wind and solar assets as well as non-Fluence systems). The Fluence Trading Platform is separately identifiable from other promises that the Company offers to its customers (i.e. it is not highly interrelated or integrated with other solutions). As such, we determined that the Fluence Trading Platform should be accounted for as a separate performance obligation. Revenue from the Fluence Trading Platform includes an integration fee and a monthly subscription fee. We consider the access to the Fluence Trading Platform and related support services in a customer contract to be a series of distinct services which comprise a single performance obligation because they are substantially the same and have the same pattern of transfer. We recognized revenue overtime using a straight-line recognition method.
In April 2022, Fluence Energy, LLC acquired Nispera, which is a Zurich-based provider of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning-enabled software-as-a-service (SaaS) targeting the renewable energy sector.
66
In combination with Fluence IQ’s digital application offerings, Nispera’s suite of five applications will enable the combined firm to offer its customers a user-centric “manage app” to ultimately lower the cost of owning renewable and energy storage assets for our customers. In addition to its core SaaS product, Nispera’s technology portfolio includes a predictive maintenance app, an operations and maintenance app, and a portfolio management app. The company also offers a fifth application that provides enhanced power generation forecasting services for energy assets that is particularly attractive to energy traders, large asset managers, grid operators, and financial institutions. Similar to AMS, Nispera’s SaaS and related support services in a customer contract are assessed to be a series of distinct services which comprise a single performance obligation because they are substantially the same and have the same pattern of transfer. We recognized revenue overtime using a straight-line recognition method.
Refer to Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Estimates for further discussion of other critical accounting policies and estimates including income taxes, goodwill, and loss contracts.
Emerging Growth Company Status
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012. As an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. We currently intend to take advantage of several of these reduced reporting requirements; however for the year-ended September 30, 2022, we “opted out” of the extended transition periods for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This irrevocable decision requires us to comply with the financial accounting standard effective dates applicable to non-emerging growth companies.
67
FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001868941-21-000012.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” or in other parts of this Annual Report.
Upon the completion of our IPO on November 1, 2021, Fluence Energy, Inc. became a holding company whose sole material assets are the LLC Interests in Fluence Energy LLC. All of our business is conducted through Fluence Energy, LLC, together with its subsidiaries, and the financial results of Fluence Energy, LLC will be consolidated in our financial statements. Fluence Energy LLC is taxed as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and, as a result, its members, including Fluence Energy, Inc. will pay income taxes with respect to their allocable shares of its net taxable income. As of September 30, 2021, Fluence Energy, LLC had subsidiaries including Fluence Energy GmbH in Germany, Fluence Energy Pty Ltd. in Australia, Fluence Energy Inc. in the Philippines, and other subsidiaries yet to commence operations. Except where the content clearly indicates otherwise, reference to “Fluence,” “we,” “us,” “our” or “the Company” refers to Fluence Energy, Inc. and all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including Fluence Energy, LLC. When used in a historical context that is prior to the completion of the IPO, “we,” “us,” “our” or “the Company” refer to Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries.
Our fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. References to “fiscal year 2020”, “fiscal year 2021” and “fiscal year 2022” refer to the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020, September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2022, respectively.
Presentation of Financial Information
Fluence Energy, LLC is the accounting predecessor of Fluence Energy, Inc. for financial reporting purposes. Fluence Energy, Inc. will be the audited financial reporting entity for future filings. Accordingly, this Annual Report contains the following historical financial statements:
•Fluence Energy, Inc. The historical financial information of Fluence Energy, Inc. has not been included in this Annual Report as it is a newly incorporated entity, has no business transactions or activities to date and had no assets or liabilities during the periods presented in this Annual Report.
•Fluence Energy, LLC. Because Fluence Energy, Inc. has no interest in any operations other than those of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries, the historical consolidated financial information included in this Annual Report is that of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries.
Overview
Since our inception, we have focused on international growth and to further develop our energy storage product and delivery services, the operational services, and digital applications. We have incurred net operating losses each year since our inception. As of September 30, 2021, we have financed our operations with equity contributions from AES Grid Stability, Siemens Industry, and QFH, cash and cash equivalents, negative working capital, and short-term borrowings.
As of September 30, 2021, we deployed cumulative 971 MW of energy storage products, compared to 460 MW as of September 30, 2020. New energy storage product contracts executed during fiscal year 2021 represented total contracted power of approximately 1,311 MW compared to 844 MW for fiscal year 2020. We recognized total revenue of $680.8 million, representing an increase of $119.4 million, or 21.3%, in fiscal year 2021 compared to fiscal year 2020 as we expanded our sales in terms of the number of energy storage products sold as well as geographic footprint. Revenue generated from operations in the United States increased from $318.9 million in fiscal year 2020 to $468.4 million in fiscal year 2021, representing a 46.9% increase. Revenue generated from international operations decreased from $242.4 million in fiscal year 2020 to $212.4 million in fiscal year 2021, representing a (12.4)% decrease. Our revenue in fiscal year 2021 has been negatively affected by impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as delays in shipping energy storage products and temporary closures of customer construction sites. Such delays may continue in fiscal year 2022.
We had a gross loss of $69.1 million and gross profit margin of negative (10.2)% in fiscal year 2021, compared to a gross profit of $7.9 million and gross profit margin of 1.4% in fiscal year 2020. The gross loss in fiscal year 2021 has been negatively impacted by (i) capacity constraints within the shipping industry and increased shipping costs, both of which are caused primarily as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and (ii) cost overruns and delays we are experiencing in some projects currently under construction. Some of those costs overruns and delays are occurring in the first Generation 6 product deliveries.
-48-
Table of Content
Adjusted gross profit was $15.0 million and adjusted gross profit margin was 2.2% in fiscal year 2021, compared to adjusted gross profit of $8.9 million and adjusted gross profit margin of 1.6% in fiscal year 2020, representing an increase of $6.1 million, or 68.6%, in adjusted gross profit as we expanded our sales in energy storage products in 2021.
General and administrative, research and development, sales and marketing expenses increased $20.2 million, $11.9 million, and $6.4 million, or 112.7%, 103.1%, and 39.3%, respectively, in fiscal year 2021, compared to fiscal year 2020 as we have been investing heavily in our human capital, technology, products and services to support significant increases in our operations and related revenues. We expect these expenses to increase for the foreseeable future as we experience continuing substantial growth and mature as a public company.
We believe the proceeds received from our IPO along with cash flows from operations, short-term borrowing, and our June 2021 investment from QFH will be sufficient to meet our expense and capital requirements for the next twelve months following the filing of this Annual Report.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a strain of novel coronavirus disease, the COVID-19 pandemic, a global pandemic. Governments in affected areas and countries in which we operate have imposed a number of measures designed to contain the outbreak, including business closures, travel restrictions, quarantines, and cancellations of gatherings and events. We have implemented operational and protective measures to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of our employees and stakeholders. This includes implementing work from home policies for all office employees. We have also ensured that all employees and visitors that visit our facilities have access to personal protective equipment, and we strictly enforce social distancing. Many of the sites where our products and services are delivered have been declared critical infrastructure and remained open following the respective safety protocols. However, many of our customers’ project sites have experienced shutdowns and delays related to COVID-19. We continue to maintain these precautions and procedures until the COVID-19 pandemic is under adequate control. Overall, our revenue for fiscal year 2021 has been negatively affected by impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as delays in shipping energy storage products and temporary closures of customer construction sites. If these situations continue or there are additional disruptions in our supply chain, it could materially and adversely impact our operating results and financial condition. We continue to actively manage through these temporary supply chain disruptions.
The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our financial condition and results of operations will depend on future developments, such as the ultimate duration and scope of the pandemic, its impact on our employees, customers, and vendors, in addition to how quickly normal economic conditions and operations resume and whether the pandemic impacts other risks disclosed in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” within this Annual Report. Even after the pandemic has subsided, we may continue to experience adverse impacts to our business from any economic recession or depression that may occur as a result of the pandemic. Therefore, we cannot reasonably estimate the impact at this time. We continue to actively monitor the pandemic and may decide to take further actions that alter our business operations as may be required by federal, state, or local authorities or that we determine to be in the best interests of our employees, customers, vendors, and shareholders.
2021 Cargo Loss Incident
On April 28, 2021, the Company was notified of an emergency aboard a vessel carrying Fluence inventory. This incident (the “Cargo Loss Incident”) resulted in damage to a portion of our cargo aboard the vessel. Our best estimate of the net realizable value of the cargo that was destroyed is $13.0 million. In addition to the inventory losses, we have incurred and expect to incur incremental expenses related to the incident, primarily consisting of inspection costs, project cost overruns due to logistical changes, legal fees, and fees to dispose of the damaged cargo. The amount of these incremental expenses incurred during fiscal year 2021 were approximately $9.4 million, and we expect to incur at least an additional $2.9 million during fiscal year 2022. We expect insurance proceeds of at least $10.0 million related to non-disputed claims, of which $7.5 million was collected in October 2021 and the remainder is probable of collection. We recorded a net loss of $12.4 million in “Cost of goods and services” in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss in fiscal year 2021.
The Company has notified the marine cargo insurers of the incident and also notified each affected customer of this event, which under relevant supply contracts, provides the Company an extension of the relevant schedule due to the resulting battery supply delays. We believe this event qualifies as force majeure under the contracts with our customers. However, if the incident ultimately is determined not to constitute a force majeure event, the Company estimates potential liquidated damages exposure of approximately $15.0 million.
-49-
Table of Content
2021 Overheating Event at Customer Facility
On September 4, 2021, a 300 MW energy storage facility owned by one of our customers experienced an overheating event. The Company served as the energy storage technology provider and installed the facility, which was completed in fiscal year 2021. No injuries were reported from the incident. The facility has been taken offline as teams from Fluence, our customer, and the battery manufacturer investigate the incident. We are currently not able to estimate the impact, if any, that this incident may have on our reputation or financial results, or on market adoption of our products.
Segments
The Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) is its Chief Executive Officer. The Company’s CODM reviews financial information on a consolidated basis for purposes of making operating decisions, allocating resources, and evaluating financial performance. As such, the Company has determined that it operates in one operating segment, which corresponds to one reportable segment.
Key Factors and Trends
We believe that our performance and future success depend on several factors that present significant opportunities for us but also pose risks and challenges, including those discussed below and in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” within this Annual Report.
Expected Decrease in Lithium-ion Battery Cost
Our revenue growth is directly tied to the continued adoption of energy storage products by our customers. The cost of lithium-ion energy storage hardware has declined significantly in the last decade and has resulted in a large addressable market today. According to BloombergNEF, the component costs for lithium-ion battery packs are expected to fall from $161 per kilowatt hour (“kWh”) in 2020 to $73/kWh in 2030, an 8% annual reduction over this period. The market for energy storage is rapidly evolving, and while we believe costs will continue to decline, there is no guarantee that they will decline or decline at the rates we expect. If costs do not continue to decline, this could adversely affect our ability to increase our revenue or grow our business.
Increasing Deployment of Renewable Energy
Deployment of renewable energy resources has accelerated over the last decade, and solar and wind have become a low-cost energy source. BloombergNEF estimates that renewable energy is expected to represent 70% of all new global capacity installations over the next 10 years. Energy storage is critical to reducing the intermittency and volatility of solar and wind generation.
Competition
The market for our products is competitive, and we may face increased competition as new and existing competitors introduce energy storage solutions and components. Furthermore, as we expand our services and digital applications in the future, we may face other competitors including software providers and some hardware manufacturers that offer software solutions. If our market share declines due to increased competition, our revenue and ability to generate profits in the future may be adversely affected.
Seasonality
We experience seasonality and typically see increased order intake in our third and fourth fiscal quarters (April – September), driven by demand in the Northern Hemisphere to install energy storage products before the summer of the following year. Combined third and fourth fiscal quarter order intake generally accounted for 80% or more of our total intake each year. As a result, revenue generation is typically significantly stronger in our third and fourth fiscal quarters as we provide the majority of our products to customers during these periods. Cash flows historically have been negative in our first and second fiscal quarters, neutral to positive in our third fiscal quarter, and positive in our fourth fiscal quarter. Our services and digital applications and solutions offerings do not experience the same seasonality given their recurring nature.
Key Components of Our Results of Operations
The following discussion describes certain line items in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and comprehensive loss.
-50-
Table of Content
Total Revenue
We generate revenue from the sale of energy storage products, service agreements with customers to provide operational services related to battery-based energy storage products, and from digital application contracts after the acquisition of AMS in fiscal year 2021. Fluence enters into contracts with utility companies, developers, and commercial and industrial customers. We derive the majority of our revenues from selling energy storage products. When we sell a battery-based energy storage product, we enter into a contract with our customers covering the price, specifications, delivery dates and warranty for the products being purchased, among other things.
Our revenue is affected by changes in the price, volume and mix of products and services purchased by our customers, which is driven by the demand for our products, geographic mix of our customers, strength of competitors’ product offerings, and availability of government incentives to the end-users of our products.
Our revenue growth is dependent on continued growth in the amount of battery-based energy storage products projects constructed each year and our ability to increase our share of demand in the geographies where we currently compete and plan to compete in the future as well as our ability to continue to develop and commercialize new and innovative products that address the changing technology and performance requirements of our customers.
Cost of Goods and Services
Cost of goods and services consists primarily of product costs, including purchased materials and supplies, as well as costs related to shipping, customer support, product warranty and personnel. Personnel costs in cost of goods and services includes both direct labor costs as well as costs attributable to any individuals whose activities relate to the transformation of raw materials or component parts into finished goods or the transportation of materials to the customer.
Our product costs are affected by the underlying cost of raw materials, including steel and aluminum supply costs, including inverters, casings, fuses, and cable; technological innovation; economies of scale resulting in lower supply costs; and improvements in production processes and automation. We do not currently hedge against changes in the price of raw materials. We generally expect the ratio of cost of goods and services to revenue to decrease as sales volumes increase due to economies of scale, however, some of these costs, primarily personnel related costs, are not directly affected by sales volume.
Gross Profit (Loss) and Gross Profit Margin
Gross profit (loss) and gross profit margin may vary from quarter to quarter and is primarily affected by our sales volume, product prices, product costs, product mix, customer mix, geographical mix, shipping method, warranty costs, and seasonality.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses consist of research and development, sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses as well as depreciation and amortization. Personnel-related expenses are the most significant component of our operating expenses and include salaries, benefits, sales commissions, and payroll taxes. We expect to invest in additional resources to support our growth which will increase our operating expenses in the near future.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, benefits, and payroll taxes, for engineers engaged in the design and development of products and technologies, as well as products, materials, and third-party services used in our research and development process. We expect research and development expenses to increase in future periods to support our growth and as we continue to invest in research and development activities that are necessary to achieve our technology and product roadmap goals. These expenses may vary from period to period as a percentage of revenue, depending primarily upon when we choose to make more significant investments.
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, benefits, amortization of sales commissions, and payroll taxes, for our sales and marketing organization, consultants and other third-party vendors. We expect to increase our sales and marketing personnel as we expand into new geographic markets. We intend to expand our sales presence and marketing efforts to additional countries in the future.
-51-
Table of Content
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, benefits, and payroll taxes, for our executives, sales, finance, human resources, information technology, engineering and legal organizations that do not relate directly to the sales or research and development functions, as well as travel expenses, facilities costs, bad debt expense and fees for professional services. Professional services consist of audit, legal, tax, insurance, information technology and other costs. We expect general and administrative expenses to increase in the future as we scale our headcount with the growth of our business. We also expect that we will incur additional audit, tax, accounting, legal and other costs related to compliance with applicable securities and other regulations, as well as additional insurance, investor relations and other costs associated with being a public company.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation consists of costs associated with property, plant and equipment (“PP&E”) and amortization of intangibles consisting of patents, licenses, and developed technology over their expected period of use. We expect that as we increase both our revenues and the number of our general and administrative personnel, we will invest in additional PP&E to support our growth resulting in additional depreciation and amortization.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists primarily of interest incurred on our Line of Credit and Promissory Notes.
Other Income, Net
Other income, net consists of income (expense) from foreign currency exchange adjustments for monetary assets and liabilities.
Tax Expense
Historically, Fluence Energy, LLC was not subject to U.S. federal or state income tax. As such, Fluence Energy, LLC did not pay U.S. federal or state income tax, as taxable income or loss will be included in the U.S. tax returns of its members. Fluence Energy LLC is subject to income taxes, including withholding taxes, outside the U.S. and our income tax expense (benefit) on the consolidated statements of operations primarily relates to income taxes from foreign operations, withholding taxes on intercompany royalties and changes in valuation allowances related to deferred tax assets of certain foreign subsidiaries. After our IPO, we are now subject to U.S. federal and state income taxes with respect to our allocable share of any taxable income or loss of Fluence Energy, LLC, and we will be taxed at the prevailing corporate tax rates. We will continue to be subject to foreign income taxes with respect to our foreign subsidiaries and our expectations are valuation allowances will be needed in certain tax jurisdictions. In addition to tax expenses, we also will incur expenses related to our operations, as well as payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, which we expect could be significant over time. We will receive a portion of any distributions made by Fluence Energy, LLC. Any cash received from such distributions from our subsidiaries will be first used by us to satisfy any tax liability and then to make payments required under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
-52-
Table of Content
Key Operating Metrics
The following tables present our key operating metrics as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, and for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020.
| (amounts in MW) | September 30, | Change | Change % | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||
| Energy Storage Products | ||||||||||||
| Deployed | 971 | 460 | 511 | 111.1 | % | |||||||
| Contracted Backlog | 2,679 | 1,879 | 800 | 42.6 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline | 14,161 | 11,320 | 2,841 | 25.1 | % | |||||||
| Service Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Asset under Management | 772 | 276 | 496 | 179.7 | % | |||||||
| Contracted Backlog | 1,918 | 455 | 1,463 | 321.5 | % | |||||||
| Pipeline | 10,930 | 7,889 | 3,041 | 38.5 | % | |||||||
| Digital Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Asset under Management | 3,108 | — | 3,108 | N/A | ||||||||
| Contracted Backlog | 1,629 | — | 1,629 | N/A | ||||||||
| Pipeline | 3,301 | — | 3,301 | N/A |
| (amounts in MW) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | Change % | |||||||||
| Energy Storage Products | ||||||||||||
| Contracted | 1,311 | 844 | 467 | 55.3 | % | |||||||
| Service Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Contracted | 1,959 | 232 | 1,727 | 744.4 | % | |||||||
| Digital Contracts | ||||||||||||
| Contracted | 2,744 | — | 2,744 | N/A |
Deployed or Asset Under Management
Deployed represents cumulative energy storage products that have achieved substantial completion and are not decommissioned.
Asset under management for service contracts represents our long-term service contracts with customers associated with our completed energy storage system products. We start providing maintenance, monitoring, or other operational services after the storage product projects are completed.
Asset under management for digital software contracts represents the amount of MWs under signed digital application contracts, including Fluence Trading Platform after the acquisition of AMS in fiscal year 2021.
Contracted Backlog and Contracted
For our energy storage products contracts, contracted backlog includes signed customer orders or contracts under execution prior to when substantial completion is achieved. For service contracts, contracted backlog includes signed service agreements associated with our storage product projects that have not been completed and the associated service has not started. For digital applications contracts, contracted backlog includes signed agreements where the associated subscription has not started.
Contracted represents new energy storage product contracts, new service contracts and new digital contracts signed during each fiscal year presented.
Pipeline
Pipeline represents our uncontracted, potential revenue from energy storage products, service, and digital software contracts currently in process, which have a reasonable likelihood of contract execution within 24 months. Pipeline is monitored by management to understand the growth of our Company and our estimated future revenue related to customer contracts for our battery-based energy storage products and services.
-53-
Table of Content
We cannot guarantee that our contracted backlog or pipeline will result in actual revenue in the originally anticipated period or at all. Contracted backlog and pipeline may not generate margins equal to our historical operating results. We have only recently begun to track our contracted backlog and pipelines on a consistent basis as performance measures, and as a result, we do not have significant experience in determining the level of realization that we will achieve on these contracts. Our customers may experience project delays or cancel orders as a result of external market factors and economic or other factors beyond our control. If our contracted backlog and pipeline fail to result in revenue at all or in a timely manner, we could experience a reduction in revenue, profitability, and liquidity. Pipeline is an internal management metric that we construct from market information reported by our global sales force. We monitor and track our pipeline, but it is not audited.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This section contains references to certain non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss), Adjusted Gross Profit Margin, Adjusted Net Loss, and Free Cash Flow.
Adjusted EBITDA is calculated from the consolidated statements of operations using net income (loss) adjusted for (i) interest income (expense), net, (ii) income taxes, (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) equity-based compensation, and (v) other non-recurring income or expenses. Adjusted EBITDA may in the future also be adjusted for amounts impacting net income related to the Tax Receivable Agreement liability.
Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) is calculated using gross profit (loss), adjusted to exclude certain non-recurring income or expenses. Adjusted Gross Profit Margin is calculated using Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) divided by total revenue.
Adjusted Net Loss is calculated using net loss, adjusted to exclude (i) amortization of intangibles, (ii) equity-based compensation, (iii) other non-recurring income or expenses, and (iv) tax impact of these adjustments.
Free Cash Flow is calculated from the consolidated statements of cash flows and is defined as net cash provided by operating activities, less purchase of property and equipment made in the period. We expect our Free Cash Flow to fluctuate in future periods as we invest in our business to support our plans for growth. Limitations on the use of Free Cash Flow include (i) it should not be inferred that the entire Free Cash Flow amount is available for discretionary expenditures. For example, cash is still required to satisfy other working capital needs, including short-term investment policy, restricted cash, and intangible assets; (ii) Free Cash Flow has limitations as an analytical tool, and it should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of other GAAP financial measures, such as net cash provided by operating activities; and (iii) this metric does not reflect our future contractual commitments.
These non-GAAP measures are intended as supplemental measures of performance and/or liquidity that are neither required by, nor presented in accordance with, GAAP. We present these non-GAAP measures because we believe they assist investors and analysts in comparing our performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that we do not believe are indicative of our core operating performance. In addition, we use certain of these non-GAAP measures (i) as factors in evaluating management’s performance when determining incentive compensation and (ii) to evaluate the effectiveness of our business strategies.
These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. Readers are cautioned that these non-GAAP measures should not be construed as alternatives to other measures of financial performance calculated in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures and their reconciliation to GAAP financial measures are shown below.
The following tables present our non-GAAP measures for the periods indicated.
| ($ in thousands) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (162,003) | $ | (46,710) | $ | (115,293) | (246.8) | % | |||||||
| Add (deduct): | |||||||||||||||
| Interest expense (income), net | 1,429 | (379) | 1,808 | 477.0 | |||||||||||
| Income tax expense | 1,829 | 6,421 | (4,592) | (71.5) | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 5,112 | 3,018 | 2,094 | 69.4 | |||||||||||
| Non-recurring expenses(a) | 88,959 | 1,767 | 87,192 | 4,934.5 | |||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | (64,674) | $ | (35,883) | $ | (28,791) | (80.2) | % |
(a) Amount in 2021 included $23.6 million related to non-recurring excess shipping costs and $48.2 million of project charges which are compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, $12.4 million related to the 2021 cargo loss incident, and $4.8 million non-recurring IPO-related expenses which did not qualify for capitalization. Amount in 2020 included $0.8 million of costs associated with the AMS acquisition and a $1.0 million expense associated with a safety incident in 2019.
-54-
Table of Content
| ($ in thousands) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||
| Total Revenue | $ | 680,766 | $ | 561,323 | 119,443 | 21.3 | % | ||||||||
| Cost of goods and services | 749,910 | 553,400 | 196,510 | 35.5 | |||||||||||
| Gross profit (loss) | (69,144) | 7,923 | (77,067) | (972.7) | |||||||||||
| Add (deduct): | |||||||||||||||
| Non-recurring expenses(a) | 84,153 | 978 | 83,175 | 8504.6 | |||||||||||
| Adjusted Gross Profit | $ | 15,009 | $ | 8,901 | $ | 6,108 | 68.6 | % | |||||||
| Adjusted Gross Profit Margin % | 2.2 | % | 1.6 | % |
(a) Amount in 2021 included $23.6 million related to non-recurring excess shipping costs and $48.2 million of project charges which are compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and $12.4 million related to the 2021 cargo loss incident. Amount in 2020 included a $1.0 million expense associated with a safety incident in 2019.
| ($ in thousands) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (162,003) | $ | (46,710) | $ | (115,293) | (246.8) | % | |||||||
| Add (deduct): | |||||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible | $ | 3,552 | $ | 2,484 | 1,068 | 43.0 | |||||||||
| Non-recurring expenses(a) | 88,959 | 1,767 | 87,192 | 4934.5 | |||||||||||
| Adjusted Net Loss | $ | (69,492) | $ | (42,459) | $ | (27,033) | (63.7) | % |
(a) Amount in 2021 included $23.6 million related to non-recurring excess shipping costs and $48.2 million of project charges which are compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, $12.4 million related to the 2021 cargo loss incident, and $4.8 million non-recurring IPO-related expenses which did not qualify for capitalization. Amount in 2020 included $0.8 million of costs associated with the AMS acquisition and a $1.0 million expense associated with a safety incident in 2019.
| ($ in thousands) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities | $ | (265,269) | $ | (14,016) | $ | (251,253) | (1792.6) | % | |||||||
| Less: Purchase of property and equipment | (4,292) | (1,780) | (2,512) | 141.1 | |||||||||||
| Free Cash Flows | $ | (269,561) | $ | (15,796) | $ | (253,765) | (1606.5) | % |
-55-
Table of Content
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2021 to the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2020
The following table sets forth our operating results for the periods indicated.
| ($ in thousands) | Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 680,766 | $ | 561,323 | $ | 119,443 | 21.3 | % | |||||||
| Costs of goods and services | 749,910 | 553,400 | 196,510 | 35.5 | |||||||||||
| Gross profit (loss) | (69,144) | 7,923 | (77,067) | (972.7) | |||||||||||
| Gross Profit % | (10.2) | % | 1.4 | % | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses | |||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 23,427 | 11,535 | 11,892 | 103.1 | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 22,624 | 16,239 | 6,385 | 39.3 | |||||||||||
| General and administrative | 38,162 | 17,940 | 20,222 | 112.7 | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 5,112 | 3,018 | 2,094 | 69.4 | |||||||||||
| Interest expense | 1,435 | 128 | 1,307 | 1021.1 | |||||||||||
| Other (expense) income, net | (270) | 648 | (918) | (141.7) | |||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (160,174) | (40,289) | (119,885) | (297.6) | |||||||||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) | 1,829 | 6,421 | (4,592) | (71.5) | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (162,003) | $ | (46,710) | $ | (115,293) | (246.8) | % |
Total Revenue
Total revenue increased from $561.3 million in fiscal year 2020 to $680.8 million in fiscal year 2021. The $119.4 million or 21.3% increase was mainly from the sales of our battery energy storage products as we expanded our business, particularly in the Americas and EMEA regions. While we continued our growth in fiscal year 2021, our revenue in fiscal year 2021 has been negatively affected by impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as delays in shipping energy storage products and temporary closures of customer construction sites.
Costs of Goods and Services
Cost of goods and services increased from $553.4 million in fiscal year 2020 to $749.9 million in fiscal year 2021. The $196.5 million, or 35.5%, increase was primarily from materials and supplies associated with the sale of our battery energy storage products due to increased sales volume, as well as $23.6 million of increased shipping costs primarily attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, our cost of goods and services for fiscal year 2021 includes $12.4 million related to the Cargo Loss Incident.
Gross Profit (Loss) and Gross Profit Margin
Gross loss was $69.1 million, and gross profit margin was negative (10.2)%, in fiscal year 2021, compared to a gross profit of $7.9 million, and a gross profit margin of 1.4%, in fiscal year 2020. The gross loss in fiscal year 2021 has been negatively impacted by (i) capacity constraints within the shipping industry and increased shipping costs, both of which are caused primarily as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, (ii) cost overruns, delays and other project charges we are experiencing in some projects currently under construction, and (iii) the Cargo Loss Incident. Some of those costs overruns and delays are occurring in the first Generation 6 product deliveries.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses increased from $11.5 million in fiscal year 2020 to $23.4 million in fiscal year 2021. The $11.9 million, or 103.1%, increase in fiscal year 2021 compared to fiscal year 2020 was mainly related to increased salaries and personnel-related costs due to higher headcount to support the growth of the Company.
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Sales and marketing expenses increased from $16.2 million in fiscal year 2020 to $22.6 million in fiscal year 2021. The increase of $6.4 million, or 39.3%, is related to increased personnel-related expenses for our sales and marketing organization, consultants and other third-party vendors, including the increase in sales and marketing expense in global markets.
-56-
Table of Content
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses increased from $17.9 million in fiscal year 2020 to $38.2 million in fiscal year 2021. The increase of $20.2 million, or 112.7%, was mainly related to increases in personnel-related expenses including corporate, executive, finance, and other administrative functions, as well as expenses for outside professional services as we have been expanding our personnel headcount rapidly to support our growth.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation and amortization increased from $3.0 million in fiscal year 2020 to $5.1 million in fiscal year 2021. The increase was attributable to $1.2 million amortization related to intangible assets from the AMS acquisition and $0.9 million depreciation from increased fixed assets.
Interest expense
Interest expense was $1.4 million in fiscal year 2021, compared to $0.1 million in fiscal year 2020. The increase was due to the increased short-term borrowings from the Promissory Notes and Line of Credit in fiscal year 2021.
Other (Expense) Income, Net
Other expense was $0.3 million in fiscal year 2021, compared to other income of $0.6 million in fiscal year 2020. The change was mainly a result of foreign currency exchange adjustments for monetary assets and liabilities.
Income Tax Expense
Income tax expense decreased from $6.4 million in fiscal year 2020 to $1.8 million in fiscal year 2021. The effective income tax rate was (1.1)% and (15.9)% for fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2020, respectively. The decrease in income tax expense and change in effective tax rate were primarily due to an increase in global pre-tax loss in fiscal year 2021 compared to fiscal year 2020. Furthermore, the income tax expense in fiscal year 2020 included an increase in the valuation allowance recorded on deferred tax assets.
Net Loss
Net loss increased from $46.7 million in fiscal year 2020 to $162.0 million in fiscal year 2021. The increase in net loss was mainly driven by (i) capacity constraints within the shipping industry and increased shipping costs, both of which are caused primarily as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, (ii) cost overruns and delays we are experiencing in some projects currently under construction, (iii) the Cargo Loss Incident, and (iv) increased expenses in general and administrative, sales and marketing and research and development due to the expansion of our business and the build out of our corporate functions.
Comparison of the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2020 to the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2019
For a discussion of our results of operations for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020 compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2019, see the section entitled “Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-259839). The registration statement was filed in connection with the IPO and was declared effective by the SEC on October 27, 2021.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Since inception and through September 30, 2021, our principal sources of liquidity were our cash and cash equivalents, short-term borrowings, capital contributions from AES Grid Stability and Siemens Industry, proceeds from the QFH investment and supply chain financing.
We received a $6.3 million capital contribution from Siemens Industry and a $2.5 million capital contribution from AES Grid Stability in fiscal years 2021 and 2020, respectively.
On December 27, 2020, we entered into an agreement with QFH for a $125.0 million investment. The transaction completed on June 9, 2021, with the proceeds used to accelerate our growth.
-57-
Table of Content
The Company entered into an Uncommitted Line of Credit Agreement (“Line of Credit’) with Citibank, N.A. (“Citibank”) on January 29, 2019, which allowed us to borrow an amount in aggregate not to exceed $2.0 million, from time to time, until January 29, 2021 (“Expiration Date”). The Line of Credit was further amended to increase the aggregate borrowing amount to $10.0 million, $30.0 million, and $50.0 million on May 13, 2020, August 7, 2020, and December 23, 2020, respectively. The Expiration Date for the Line of Credit was extended to March 31, 2023, on June 2, 2021. The Company had $50.0 million outstanding under the Line of Credit as of September 30, 2021. Borrowings under the Line of Credit were repaid on November 1, 2021 using proceeds from the IPO.
Additionally, we funded our liquidity through borrowings from AES Grid Stability and Siemens Industry. On August 11, 2021, Fluence Energy, LLC entered into a promissory note with each of Siemens Industry and AES Grid Stability, under which Fluence Energy, LLC received a bridge financing of an aggregate of $50.0 million. In connection with the bridge financing, Fluence Energy, LLC issued a $25.0 million promissory note to each of Siemens Industry and AES Grid Stability (together, the “Promissory Notes”). The Promissory Notes bear interest at a rate of 2.86%. The Promissory Notes were repaid on November 1, 2021 using proceeds from the IPO.
We have provided certain of our suppliers with access to a supply chain financing program through a third-party financing institution (the “SCF Bank”). This program allows us to seek extended payment terms with our suppliers and allows our suppliers to monetize their receivables prior to the payment due date, subject to a discount. Once a supplier elects to participate in the program and reaches an agreement with the SCF Bank, the supplier elects which individual invoices to sell to the SCF Bank. We then pay the SCF Bank on the invoice due date. We have no economic interest in a supplier’s decision to sell a receivable to the SCF Bank. The agreements between our suppliers and the SCF Bank are solely at their discretion and are negotiated directly between them. Our suppliers’ ability to continue using such agreements is primarily dependent upon the strength of our financial condition and guarantees issued by AES and Siemens. As of September 30, 2021, AES and Siemens issued guarantees of $30.0 million each, for a total of $60.0 million, to the SCF Bank on our behalf. As of September 30, 2021, one supplier was actively participating in the supply chain financing program, and we had $58.4 million of payables outstanding subject to the program. All outstanding payments owed under the program are recorded within Accounts payable in our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Initial Public Offering
On November 1, 2021, the Company completed the IPO in which it issued and sold 35,650,000 shares of its Class A common stock at the public offering price of $28.00 per share. The net proceeds to the Company from the IPO were $948.0 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by the Company. The net proceeds from the IPO have been used to purchase 35,650,000 newly issued LLC Interests directly from Fluence Energy, LLC at a price per unit equal to the IPO price per share of Class A common stock less the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Fluence Energy, LLC used the net proceeds from the sale of LLC Interests to Fluence Energy, Inc. to repay all outstanding borrowings under our existing Line of Credit and the Promissory Notes, and the remainder will be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Revolving Credit Facility
We entered into a Revolving Credit Facility (the “Revolver”) on November 1, 2021, by and among Fluence Energy, LLC, as the borrower, Fluence Energy Inc., as a parent guarantor, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto, the lenders party thereto and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent. The Revolver is secured by a (i) first priority pledge of the equity securities of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries and (ii) first priority security interests in, and mortgages on, substantially all tangible and intangible personal property and material fee-owned real property of Fluence Energy, LLC, the parent guarantor and each subsidiary guarantor party thereto, in each case, subject to customary exceptions and limitations. The initial aggregate amount of commitments is $190.0 million from the lenders party including JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., Bank of America, N.A., Barclays Bank PLC, and five other banks. The maturity date of the Revolver is November 1, 2025.
The interest rate is either (i) the Adjusted LIBOR or Adjusted EURIBO Rate (each as defined in the Revolver) plus 3.0 % or (ii) the Alternate Base Rate (as defined in the Revolver) plus 2.0 % (subject to customary LIBOR replacement provisions and alternative benchmark rates including customary spread adjustments with respect to borrowings in foreign currency), at the option of Fluence Energy, LLC. Fluence Energy, LLC is required to pay to the lenders a commitment fee of 0.55 % per annum on the average daily unused portion of the revolving commitments through maturity, which will be the four-year anniversary of the closing date of the Revolver. The Revolver also provides for up to $190.0 million in letter of credit issuances, which will require customary issuance and administration fees, as well as a fronting fee payable to each issuer thereof and a letter of credit participation fee of 2.75 % per annum payable to the lenders.
-58-
Table of Content
The Revolver contains covenants that, among other things, will restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness; incur liens; sell, transfer, or dispose of property and assets; make investments or acquisitions; make dividends, distributions, or other restricted payments; and engage in affiliate transactions. The Revolver limits our ability to make certain payments, including dividends and distributions on Fluence Energy, LLC’s equity, Fluence Energy, Inc.’s equity and other restricted payments. In addition, we are required to maintain (i) minimum liquidity and gross revenue requirements, in each case, until consolidated EBITDA reaches $150.0 million for the most recent four fiscal quarters and we make an election, and (ii) thereafter, a maximum total leverage ratio and a minimum interest coverage ratio. Such covenants will be tested on a quarterly basis.
Tax Receivable Agreement
In connection with the IPO, we entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement with Fluence Energy, LLC and the Founders which obligates the Company to make payments to the Founders of 85% of the amount of certain tax benefits that Fluence Energy, Inc. actually realizes, or in some circumstances is deemed to realize, arising from the Basis Adjustments (as defined below) and certain other tax benefits arising from payments made under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Fluence Energy, LLC will have in effect an election under Section 754 of the Code effective for each taxable year in which a redemption or exchange (including deemed exchange) of LLC Interests for Class A common stock or cash occurs or when Fluence Energy, LLC makes (or is deemed to make) certain distributions. These Tax Receivable Agreement payments are not conditioned upon one or more of the Founders maintaining a continued ownership interest in Fluence Energy, LLC. If a Founder transfers LLC Interests but does not assign to the transferee of such units its rights under the Tax Receivable Agreement, such Founder generally will continue to be entitled to receive payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement arising in respect of a subsequent exchange of such LLC Interests. In general, the Founders’ rights under the Tax Receivable Agreement may not be assigned, sold, pledged, or otherwise alienated or transferred to any person, other than certain permitted transferees, without our prior written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld) and such person’s becoming a party to the Tax Receivable Agreement and agreeing to succeed to the applicable Founder’s interest therein.
Subsequent redemptions or exchanges of LLC Interests are expected to result in increases in the tax basis of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and certain of its subsidiaries. Increases in tax basis and tax basis adjustments generated over time may increase (for tax purposes) the depreciation and amortization deductions available to Fluence Energy, Inc. and, therefore, may reduce the amount of U.S. federal, state, and local tax that Fluence Energy, Inc. would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the IRS may challenge all or part of the validity of that tax basis, and a court could sustain such a challenge. Fluence Energy, Inc.’s allocable share of tax basis and the anticipated tax basis adjustments upon redemptions or exchanges of LLC Interests may also decrease gains (or increase losses) on future dispositions of certain assets to the extent tax basis is allocated to those assets. Actual tax benefits realized by Fluence Energy, Inc. may differ from tax benefits calculated under the Tax Receivable Agreement as a result of the use of certain assumptions in the Tax Receivable Agreement, including the use of an assumed state and local income tax rate to calculate tax benefits. The payment obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement is an obligation of Fluence Energy, Inc. and not of Fluence Energy, LLC. We expect to use distributions from Fluence Energy, LLC to fund any payments that we will be required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement. To the extent we are unable to make timely payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement for any reason, such payments generally will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid; provided, however, that nonpayment for a specified period may constitute a material breach of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement resulting in the acceleration of payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Fluence Energy, Inc. expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of cash tax benefits, if any, it realizes from such tax benefits. For purposes of the Tax Receivable Agreement, the cash tax benefits will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of Fluence Energy, Inc. to the amount of such taxes that Fluence Energy, Inc. would have been required to pay had there been no such tax basis adjustments of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC or its subsidiaries as a result of redemptions or exchanges and had Fluence Energy, Inc. not entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement. The actual and hypothetical tax liabilities determined in the Tax Receivable Agreement will be calculated using the actual U.S. federal income tax rate in effect for the applicable period and an assumed state and local income tax rate (along with the use of certain other assumptions). The term of the Tax Receivable Agreement will continue until all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired, unless Fluence Energy, Inc. exercises its right to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement early, certain changes of control occur or Fluence Energy, Inc. breaches any of its material obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement, in which case, all obligations generally (and in the case of such a change of control or such breach, only if the Founders elect) will be accelerated and due as if Fluence Energy, Inc. had exercised its right to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement. The payment to be made upon an early termination of the Tax Receivable Agreement will generally equal the present value of payments to be made under the Tax Receivable Agreement using certain assumptions. Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the Tax Receivable Agreement is by its nature imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. The tax basis adjustments upon the redemption or exchange of LLC Interests, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of purchases or exchanges, the price of shares of our Class A common stock at the time of the purchase or exchange, the extent to which such purchases or exchanges do not result in a basis adjustment, the amount of tax attributes, changes in tax rates and the amount and timing of our income.
-59-
Table of Content
We expect that as a result of the anticipated tax basis adjustment of the assets of Fluence Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries upon the redemption or exchange of LLC Interests and our possible utilization of certain tax attributes, the payments that we may make under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be substantial. If all of the Founders were to exchange or redeem their LLC Interests for Class A common stock pursuant to the terms of the Fluence Energy LLC Agreement, we estimate our Founders will be entitled to receive payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement totaling approximately $681.3 million; assuming, among other factors, (i) all exchanges occurred on the same day; (ii) a price of $28.00 per share of Class A common stock; (iii) a constant corporate tax rate of 27%; (iv) we will have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize the tax benefits; (v) Fluence Energy, LLC is able to fully depreciate or amortize its assets; and (vi) no material changes in applicable tax law. The payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement are not conditioned upon continued ownership of us by the Founders. Although the timing and extent of future payments could vary significantly under the Tax Receivable Agreement for the factors discussed above, we anticipate funding payments from the Tax Receivable Agreement from cash flow from operations of our subsidiaries, available cash or available borrowings under any future debt agreements, and such payments are not anticipated to be dependent upon the availability of proceeds of the IPO.
We believe that our current cash and cash equivalents, cash flows from operations, short-term borrowing, and recent investments from QIA through QFH, combined with the proceeds of our IPO, will be sufficient to meet our capital expenditure and working capital requirements for the foreseeable future.
Historical Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities for the periods presented.
| Fiscal Year Ended September 30, | Change | Change % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (265,269) | $ | (14,016) | (251,253) | (1792.6) | % | |||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | $ | (22,292) | $ | 18,220 | (40,512) | (222.3) | % | |||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | $ | 231,126 | $ | 2,500 | 228,626 | 9145.0 | % |
Net cash flows used in operating activities were $265.3 million in fiscal year 2021 compared $14.0 million in fiscal year 2020. The increase in net operating cash outflows was mainly due to increased purchases of inventory for our energy storage products, partially offset by increased accounts payables.
Net cash flows used in investing activities was $22.3 million in fiscal year 2021, which included $18.0 million related to the business acquisition and $4.3 million of purchases of property and equipment. Net cash flows provided by investing activities was $18.2 million in fiscal year 2020, which included $20.0 million cash inflows from the release of bank deposits that were collateralized for outstanding bank guarantees, net of $1.8 million purchases of property and equipment.
Cash flows provided by financing activities of $231.1 million in fiscal year 2021 was primarily due to $125.0 million proceeds from issuance of Class B membership units to QFH, $6.3 million capital contribution from Siemens Industry, $50.0 million net borrowings under the Line of Credit, and $50.0 million net borrowings from the Promissory Notes. Cash flows provided by financing activities of $2.5 million in fiscal year 2020 was from a capital contribution from AES Grid Stability.
Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement
We are party to an Amended and Restated Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement with AES and Siemens Industry whereby they may, from time to time, agree to furnish credit support to us in the form of direct issuances of credit support to our lenders or other beneficiaries or through their lenders’ provision of letters of credit to backstop our own facilities or obligations. Pursuant to the Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement, if AES or Siemens Industry agree to provide a particular credit support (which they are permitted to grant or deny in their sole discretion), they are entitled to receipt of a credit support fee and reimbursement for all amounts paid to our lenders or other counterparties, payable upon demand. The Credit Support and Reimbursement Agreement will not provide any credit support from September 30, 2026, provided that either AES or Siemens Industry will be permitted to terminate the agreement upon six months prior notice.
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. In the preparation of these financial statements, we consider an accounting judgment, estimate or assumption to be critical when (1) the estimate or assumption is complex in nature or requires a high degree of judgment and (2) the use of different judgments, estimates, and assumptions could have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements. We believe that the accounting policies discussed below are critical to understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates.
-60-
Table of Content
Revenue Recognition
We determine our revenue recognition through the following steps: (i) identification of the contract or contracts with a customer, (ii) identification of the performance obligations within the contract, (iii) determination of the transaction price, (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations within the contract, and (v) recognition of revenue as the performance obligation has been satisfied.
Our revenue was generated primarily from sale of battery-based energy storage products, providing operational services related to energy storage products, and providing digital applications and solutions.
Sale of Energy Storage Products
The Company enters into contracts with utility companies, developers, and C&I customers to design and build battery-based energy storage products. Each storage product is customized depending on the customer’s energy needs. Customer payments are due upon meeting certain milestones that are consistent with contract-specific phases of a project. We determine the transaction price based on the consideration expected to be received which includes estimates for project execution risks and other variable considerations, including liquidated damages. The transaction price identified is allocated to each distinct performance obligation to deliver a good or service based on the relative standalone selling prices. Generally, our contracts to design and build battery-based storage solutions are determined to have one performance obligation. We believe that the prices negotiated with each individual customer are representative of the stand-alone selling price of the energy storage products.
We recognize revenue over time as a result of the continuous transfer of control of our energy storage products to the customer. This continuous transfer of control to the customer is supported by clauses in the contracts that provide enforceable rights to payment of the transaction price associated with work performed to date and is for products that do not have an alternative use to us and/or the project is built on the customer’s land that is under the customer’s control.
Revenue from the contracts is recognized using the percentage of completion method based on cost incurred as a percentage of total estimated contract costs. Contract costs include all direct material and labor costs related to contract performance. Pre-contract costs with no future benefit are expensed in the period in which they are incurred. Since the revenue recognition of these contracts depends on estimates, which are assessed continually during the term of the contract, recognized revenues and profit are subject to revisions as the contract progresses to completion. The cumulative effects of revisions of estimated total contract costs and revenues, together with any contract reserves which may be deemed appropriate, are recorded in the period in which the facts and changes in circumstance become known. Due to the uncertainties inherent in the estimation process, it is reasonably possible that these estimates will be revised in a different period. When a loss is forecasted for a contract, the full amount of the anticipated loss is recognized in the period in which it is determined that a loss will occur.
Our contracts generally provide our customers the right to liquidated damages (“LDs”) against Fluence in the event specified milestones are not met on time, or equipment is not delivered according to contract specifications. LDs are accounted for as variable consideration, and the contract price is reduced by the expected penalty or LD amount when recognizing revenue. Variable consideration is included in the transaction price only to the extent that it is improbable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will occur when the uncertainty is resolved. Estimating variable consideration requires certain estimates and assumptions, including whether and by how much a project will be delayed and/or will not meet performance contractual specifications. The existence and measurement of liquidated damages may also be impacted by our judgements about the probability of favorable outcomes of customer disputes involving whether certain events qualify as force majeure or the reason for the events that caused project delays. Variable consideration for liquidated damages is estimated using the expected value of the consideration to be received. If Fluence has a claim against the customer for amount not specified in the contract, such claim is recognized as an increase to contract price when it is legally enforceable, which is usually upon signing a respective change order or equivalent document confirming the claim acceptance by customer.
Services
The Company also enters into long-term service agreements with customers to provide operational services related to purchased battery-based energy storage products. The services include maintenance, monitoring, and other minor services. We account for the services as a single performance obligation as the services are substantially the same and have the same pattern of transfer to the customers. We recognize revenue over time using a straight-line recognition method for these types of services. We believe using a time-based method to measure progress is appropriate as the performance obligations are satisfied evenly over time based on the fact that customers receive the services evenly and the cost pattern does not change significantly over the service period. Revenue is recognized by dividing the total transaction price over the service period.
-61-
Table of Content
Some of the agreements also provide capacity guarantees which stand for a commitment to perform certain augmentation activities to maintain the level of battery capacity specified in the agreement. Augmentation activities would typically be represented by installation of additional batteries, and other components as needed, to compensate for partially lost capacity due to degradation of batteries over time. These services are treated as service-type warranties and are accounted for as separate performance obligations from other services discussed above. Performance obligations of the services are satisfied over time. Percentage of completion revenue recognition method is applied for service type warranties as the cost pattern changes significantly with little to no operating costs incurred in the earlier years and larger costs incurred in later years when augmentation is required to restore the required capacity, for example, adding more batteries or changing some existing modules with declined capacity.
For both products and service contracts where there are multiple performance obligations in a single contract, we allocate the consideration to the various obligations in the contract based on the relative standalone selling price method. Standalone selling prices are estimated based on estimated costs plus margin or using market data for comparable products when estimated costs are not imputable.
Digital Applications and Solutions
In October 2020, Fluence Energy, LLC acquired the AMS software and digital intelligence platform, which became the Fluence Trading Platform. Contracts involving the Fluence Trading Platform are generally entered into with commercial entities that control utility-scale storage and renewable generation assets. Fluence Trading Platform arrangements consist of a promise to provide access to proprietary cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) to promote enhanced financial returns on the utility-scale storage and renewable generation assets. The Fluence Trading Platform is a hosted service that delivers automated, market-compliant bids to local electricity market operators. Customers do not receive legal title or ownership of the software as a result of these arrangements. The term of Fluence’s contracts with Trading Platform customers is generally five years, which may include certain renewal options to extend the initial contract term or certain termination options to reduce the initial contract term.
The Fluence Trading Platform is technology- and vendor-agnostic (i.e. it can be utilized for wind and solar assets as well as non-Fluence systems). The Fluence Trading Platform is separately identifiable from other promises that the Company offers to its customers (i.e. it is not highly interrelated or integrated with other solutions). As such, we determined that the Fluence Trading Platform should be accounted for as a separate performance obligation. Revenue from the Fluence Trading Platform includes an integration fee and a monthly subscription fee. We consider the access to the Fluence Trading Platform and related support services in a customer contract to be a series of distinct services which comprise a single performance obligation because they are substantially the same and have the same pattern of transfer. We recognized revenue overtime using a straight-line recognition method.
Refer to Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Estimates for further discussion of other critical accounting policies and estimates including income taxes, goodwill, and loss contracts.
Emerging Growth Company Status
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012. As an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. We currently intend to take advantage of several of these reduced reporting requirements, including the extended transition periods for complying with new or revised accounting standards. See “Risk Factors— Risks related to Ownership of our Class A Common Stock” for certain risks related to our status as an emerging growth company.
-62-
Table of Content