Andrew Littlefair
Analyst · Lake Street Capital Markets. Please proceed with your questions
Thank you, Bob. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I’m pleased to report that with the close of 2018, results of multiple strategic operational and financial initiatives that we put in place, have begun to pay off with positive results. We believe this momentum will continue through 2019, and I will explain why. In the fourth quarter of 2018, we delivered 98.7 million gallons, a 14% increase over the 86.4 million in the same quarter in 2017. And we believe this trend will continue into 2019. For the entire year, we delivered 365 million gallons, a 4% increase over 2017. Our revenues were $96 million in the fourth quarter versus $89 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. Our fuel volume revenue in the fourth quarter increased 21% to $78 million versus $65 million in 2017. Again, we see this as a very positive for our core business, exiting 2018. Where we saw decline compared to last year, although not on the ordinary, was in the station construction sales business, which tend to go in cycles on yearly basis. We did complete 49 station projects in 2019, and we're still actively building and selling station projects for our customers as they continue to invest in natural gas. But, admittedly, our focus continues to be on fuel volume growth and our existing infrastructure, first and foremost. The initiatives that are helping drive much of these solid returns are expanding our leadership position in the rapidly growing renewable natural gas market; leveraging our existing nationwide fueling infrastructure and strengthening our financial position, allowing us to continue to focus on both top and bottom line growth. First, let me talk about our Redeem RNG business. If you follow our Company, you have seen a string of announcements over the last six months about more customer signing up for this fuel that not only has a positive impact on cleaning up today's dirty air problems but more impressively, it can have a tremendous effect on long-term carbon emissions that are at the center of the discussions surrounding climate change. When calculating the entire energy supply chain including the source of electrons put on the grid, operating a vehicle on Redeem is cleaner than even electric battery, in most cases. And as clean as Redeem is scored, it's also important to note that the cost to customers is significantly less than what they would pay for diesel, which is under attack for the harmful impact it has on air quality. Many refuse companies around the country see the benefits of turning the waste they deliver to landfills into the cleanest fuel available to power their fleets. No other company personifies this more than Republic Services. Republic has been a leader for years in converting their landfill sites in the clean fuel production facilities. The company recently extended a fuel agreement for clean energy to provide Redeem at Republic fueling stations across 21 states around the country for five additional years. This means thousands of Republic Service trucks will operate on a fuel that is expected to reduce their CO2 emissions by 1.3 million metric tons over the period of the contract, which is equal to taking 283,000 cars off the road or planting 22 million trees. Many other refuse companies have recently signed Redeem fueling agreements with Clean Energy. Municipalities are also realizing the benefits of Redeem with recent fuel agreements by the cities of Long Beach; Montebello; and Fresno, California; Spokane, Washington; and Riverside County, California. Trucking companies are exploring the need to switch to cleaner alternative fuels and are realizing the easiest and most cost efficient way to achieve the changes regulators are demanding is with Redeem. Overseas Freight, MDB transportation, TTSI and other trucking companies that recently deployed trucks equipped with new Cummins Westport engine and being powered with Redeem in the ports of LA and Long Beach. The new zero emissions natural gas engine is getting great reviews by these first adopters. The new Redeem customers have allowed us to grow our volume from 20 million gallons in 2014, the first full year we offered the renewable fuel, to 110 million gallons of Redeem in 2018. The increase in Redeem volume for 2017 to 2018 alone was 40%. As you probably know, other companies are getting into the RNG fueling business, which frankly we see as a positive endorsement for the potential of this market. When we first began selling Redeem, we were in the RNG production side of the business as well, owning, operating production facilities. In March 2017, we sold those facilities to BP for $155 million, which could reach $180 million with some earnouts in order to focus on our core strength of marketing and selling natural gases of vehicle fuel. We then entered into a long-term supply agreement with BP. Over the next year and a half, both companies realized the benefits of this arrangement, so much so that we’ve broaden the relationship in the fourth quarter last year by increasing the RNG fuel supply amount, allowing Clean Energy to accelerate and expand the distribution of Redeem. Redeem volumes increased 13.8 million gallons in the fourth quarter alone compared to 2017. We are now able to confidently market Redeem across the entire country to municipalities and private fleets. It’s becoming clear that owning a downstream fueling infrastructure will be a big advantage in this expanding market. We are so bullish on the acceptance and growth of Redeem that a few weeks ago we announced our own long-range sustainability goals that included a commitment to flow carbon-free Redeem to all our stations by 2025. This is especially interesting to note because Clean Energy will be fueling its customers with 100% renewable non-fossil energy 20 years ahead of California’s goal of transitioning the state's power supply to 100% renewable energy. This will allow all of our customers to easily and inexpensively achieve aggressive, low carbon goals well before our EV counterparts. In the second half of last year, we announced a new and exciting approach to attract the heavy duty trucking market to expand their fleets with natural gas. This could not have happened without the financial backing of our new partner and largest shareholder Total. The biggest obstacle to trucking fleets making the switch has been the incremental cost of the natural gas engine and fuel system. This new program, we call Zero Now, does relate with that by allowing companies lease or purchase a new natural gas, heavy duty truck, equipped with the cleanest engine in the world at the same price as the diesel truck. In addition, these fleets will be able to purchase renewable natural gas fuel at a significant discount to diesel at our extensive network of existing fueling stations that can accommodate heavy duty trucks. That network was extended during the fourth quarter of last year with three additional truck stop stations in partnership with Union Gas on Canada's busiest trucking forward corridor in Ontario. Our sales team is currently in conversations with most of the largest trucking companies in the country about this offer. We have already signed several deals for new natural gas trucks and have many more in various stages of execution for truck and fuel purchase agreements. I know some and have expected and announced deals right out of the gate. But, the discussions that we're having with these fleets are about deals that take delivery of real, road tested, reliable, zero emission trucks, which will fuel at our existing network of stations, providing a clean renewable fuel. And all that takes time as each fleet has specific tractor specifications as well as lanes to identify for their operations. This process realistically has eight steps from initial contract to final delivery and decisions representing hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not many millions. We are dealing with very smart operators who understand what is proven technology and what is hopeful. And almost without exception, virtually everyone has expressed strong interest in our Zero Now offering as it mitigates their company’s risk to enter into a green solution that is reliable, tested and has the range needed for heavy duty trucks. It's very different than putting down a refundable positive a few thousand dollars on a concept heavy duty truck that may or may not come to market anytime in the near future and having access to an appropriate fueling infrastructure that may or may not be built at a price that won’t bust any budget. Another initiative that we began several years ago was to strengthen our balance sheet and turn the company toward sustaining profitability. While we have consistently increased our revenues, we have dramatically streamlined our CapEx and SG&A, allowing us to reduce our convertible debt from a high of $545 million to $50 million which is not due until July of 2020. At the same time, we ended the quarter with $95 million in cash and investments. Our operating results continue to trend positively, considering 2018 GAAP operating income of $4 million compared to an average operating loss of $65 million per year on a GAAP basis over the last three years. Below the operating line, the other item I'd like to highlight is our significantly reduced interest costs. We're exiting 2018 at 6 to $7 million run rate of annual net interest expense, compared to net interest expense of $13 million to $16 million for 2018 and 2017, and down from a high of $44 million in 2014. This is all contributing to our goal of exiting 2019 on the path to net income. Looking forward specifically to 2019, we provided guidance on GAAP net loss and adjusted EBITDA, and I know Bob will cover that in more detail in his remarks in a moment. Let me close by saying, as proud as I -- as we are about our performance in 2018, we are excited about what we are already accomplishing this year and plan to continue that momentum. We heartedly embrace the discussions which are taking place at all levels of government and in business about what needs to be done to tackle serious environmental issues. Natural gas has already played a significant role in putting us on the right track. We’re powering more vehicles with it, especially in renewable natural gas will only accelerate the progress. As I've said before, no other company is better positioned to take advantage of this shift in clean energy, and that is truer today than ever. We’ve worked hard for all the right pieces in the place for customers to easily make the switch to the cleanest fuel in the world. And with that, I'll hand it over to Bob.