Kris Sennesael
Analyst · Avondale Partners. Your line is open
Thank you, Paul. I will provide some more details related to our fourth quarter and full year 2015 financial results. And then, I will provide the business outlook for the first quarter of 2016. As a reminder, the financial measures that I’m going to provide are on a non-GAAP basis unless otherwise noted. Total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $65.6 million, in line with the business outlook we provided last quarter. Revenue during the fourth quarter of 2015 was impacted by the reduction of inventory levels in the distribution channel which have now returned to normalized levels. We shipped 129 megawatts AC or approximately 152 megawatts DC during the fourth quarter of 2015. The megawatts shipped represented 547,000 microinverters of which 90% were our fourth generation microinverter systems. During the fourth quarter, we began shipping our fifth generation microinverters, the S230 and the S280, which ramped up nicely and accounted for 10% of all our inverter shipments during the fourth quarter. Gross margins for the fourth quarter of 2015 was 24.5%, also in line with the business outlook that we provided. Revenue per AC watt for the fourth quarter was $0.51, down 13% year over year, but up 9% sequentially from the third quarter. The sequential increase in revenue per watt was driven by a larger part of revenue related to our accessory products, such as the cabling system, the Envoy gateway as well as the new AC Combiner Box. This new combiner box includes our new Envoy with revenue grade metering, other electrical components and a cellular connection. This also drove a sequential increase in cost of goods sold per watt. Operating expenses during the fourth quarter of 2015 were $27.8 million. As previously discussed in our last earnings call, we took some restructuring actions during the fourth quarter and brought down the operating expense level well below $30 million per quarter. We made sure that we maintain the necessary resources to execute on our product cost reduction roadmap as well as our energy solution strategy. During the fourth quarter of 2015, R&D expenses were $11.2 million, sales and marketing expenses were $10.2 million and G&A expenses were $6.4 million. Total non-GAAP operating expenses excluded $3.1 million, of which $2.8 million were stock-based compensation expenses. We reported non-GAAP operating loss of $11.7 million and a net loss of $11.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, resulting in a loss of $0.25 per share. On a GAAP basis, net loss for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $15.8 million or a net loss of $0.35 per share. Turning to the balance sheet, we exited the fourth quarter of 2015 with a total cash balance of $28.5 million. At the end of the year, we had a $17 million draw on our credit facility, which was renewed and extended until November 2019 on more favorable economic terms. Cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter was $8.1 million, mainly driven by a significant reduction in accounts receivable and despite a further increase of our internal inventory levels. We exited the year with $40.8 million in inventory. We will continue to take action to drive down days of inventory outstanding during 2016. During the fourth quarter, capital expenditures were $2.8 million, and depreciation and amortization was $2.8 million. Now, let’s discuss some of our full year 2015 highlights. Revenue grew 4% year over year to a record level of $357.2 million. Excluding one of our largest customer, revenue increased 20% year over year. International revenue was 16% of total revenue and was up 14% year over year, driven by strong growth in Australia. We shipped a record 706 megawatts AC or approximately 830 megawatts DC, a 23% year over year increase. Units sold in 2015 increased to 3.1 million. Again excluding one of our largest customers, megawatts shipped increased 37% year over year. Gross margin for the year was 30.6% with revenue per watt down 15% year over year and cost of goods sold per watt down 12% year over year. Operating expenses were $115.7 million in 2015. Non-GAAP operating loss for 2015 was $6.3 million and non-GAAP net loss was $8.1 million or a net loss of $0.18 per share. GAAP net loss was $22.1 million or $0.49 per share. In summary, 2015 was a challenging year for Enphase, but we continue to grow our revenue in megawatt shipped on a year over year basis, further driving the global adoption of the Enphase microinverter technology in our key markets, while continuing to drive technology innovation towards a complete energy solution. Now, let’s discuss our outlook for the first quarter of 2016. We expect revenue for the first quarter of 2016 to be within a range of $63 million to $69 million. We expect gross margin to be within a range of 18% to 21%. The lower gross margin reflects our more aggressive pricing strategy. We also expect non-GAAP operating expenses for the first quarter of 2016 to be within a range of $27 million to $29 million. Finally, before turning the call over for questions, I want to point out that on February 12, the universal shelf that was filed with the Security and Exchange Commission was declared effective. We do not have any immediate plans to use the shelf. It’s just a tool in a CFO toolbox and we believe it is good corporate housekeeping to have an effective shelf on hand. Our current cash balance as well as the cash available through our working capital facility is sufficient to fund to grow of our business. And now, I will open the line for questions.