Arthur A. Bottone
Analyst · FBR Capital Markets
Thank you, Mike. Please turn to Slide 8, global operations. We increased production volume in our North American manufacturing facility in Torrington, Connecticut to support our strong backlog. By May 1, our team had completed the planned production ramp to 70 megawatts. This represents a 25% increase over the 56-megawatt run rate for the first quarter. Our global supply chain is smoothly supporting this increased level of production. Greater volume drives further cost reductions and overhead leverage that moves us towards our vision of having our fuel cell power plants produce power and thermal energy below grid pricing. We do not require additional capital expenditures to support higher volume levels. As shown on the slide, production measured in megawatts has increased significantly since 2007. The present 70-megawatt run rate brings us closer to our projected EBITDA breakeven run rate of 80 megawatts. We will ramp up production further as backlog and lead times demand. Executing on our growth strategy for Europe, we are now assembling fuel cell power plants at our German-based FuelCell Energy Solutions production facility in Ottobrunn near Munich, Germany. The photos show the power plant being assembled for the Federal Ministry of Education and Research government complex in Berlin. Thanks to an impressive effort led by our Chief Operating Officer, Tony Rauseo and his team, the production increases were accomplished smoothly on schedule. Please turn to Slide 9, Bridgeport project update. The Bridgeport fuel cell project park is generating tremendous interest and media coverage. Construction of the fuel cell park, while achieving all safety expectations, remains on-budget and on-schedule. The largest fuel cell project of its kind in North America, this multi-megawatt project validates our energy environmental solutions while demonstrating our ability to execute on large-scale projects. Our company's capabilities include project development, obtaining financing, engineering, procurement, construction and operation of complete power plants. The Bridgeport product is driving an increasing level of inquiries, contributing to both the size and quality of our expanding sales pipeline. The enthusiasm for this project is not limited to North America, but extends to Europe as well as the park is a replicative model for others around the globe. Some of the project's features, which are generating interest with utilities and legislatures in other regions include its large scale on a small urban footprint, its reliance on private capital to provide public benefits, and the industry knowledge of Dominion, our customer and owner the facility. Dominion is one of the large utilities in the world, and we are extremely pleased to be associated with them. FuelCell Energy is providing a turnkey distributor generation for Dominion. The project, which is comprised of five 2.8-megawatt fuel cell plants, will be completed within a short 12-month timeframe, minimizing construction financing cost and project schedule execution risk. The entire fuel cell park is only about 1.5 acres. The project readily demonstrates the scalability of our technology and showcases its distributed generation characteristics. It is ultra-clean, extremely quiet and compact, making it easy to site urban locations like Bridgeport. On May 3, we're participating in a well-attending groundbreaking with state and local dignitaries, including Connecticut Governor Molloy, Congressman Himes and Bridgeport Mayor Finch. The Bridgeport project demonstrates the value that large fuel cell projects deliver to an extensive and diverse range of stakeholders. Owners benefit from attractive economics, communities enjoy clean, efficient and reliable distributor generation, while local economies benefit from new job creation and revenues. We are seeing a growing recognition in our markets that projects like this can successfully be financed and constructed. Bridgeport is a model that can be replicated on our expanding sales -- pipeline bears this out. Please turn to Slide 10, global markets. Construction of the 59-megawatt fuel cell park in Hwasung City, South Korea is on-schedule. Comprised of 21 DFC3000 power plants, this is the largest fuel cell park in the world that's being built by POSCO Energy, our Asian partner. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company, South Korea's largest utility, has a 49% ownership stake in the project. Like Bridgeport, Hwasung City is contributing to the growing recognition of the large fuel cell park projects the clean baseload power in urban locations can deliver. POSCO recently received a new order for a 2.8-megawatt plant from another existing customer, EWP. This will bring their total site megawatts to 10.8, when the project is completed later this year. POSCO is actively pursuing a number of multi-megawatt projects in South Korea. Some will provide power to the grid, like the 59-megawatt fuel cell park currently under construction and some are for on-site applications. In Europe, our power plant installations at the Crown Estates Promenade Quad 3 redevelopment project on Regent Street in central London is undergoing commissioning. This is a prestigious and high-visibility location due to the Crown ownership and the high levels of pedestrian traffic flowing through the properties, offices and retail establishments. This elevated profile helps promote the benefits of ultra-clean distributed generation. The construction of both the state-of-the-art Federal Ministry of Education and Research complex in Berlin and environmentally advanced 38-story office tower at 20 Fenchurch in central London are progressing and the power plants for those 2 sites are presently being assembled. We are building a strong team for our European operations and seeing increased activity in our sales pipeline. We are pleased with the pace of discussions, both with prospective customers and with legislative and regulatory bodies. Our local presence, leadership and business model are viewed as a positive step-forward for the industry. In the U.S., Hartford Steam Company purchased a 1.4-megawatt power plant for installation in Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. Awarded under Connecticut's LREC program, the project highlights our technology suitability for hospital applications while demonstrating the ability of our projects to attract private capital. Under a long-term energy purchase agreement, Hartford Steam Company will sell the ultra-clean electricity and thermal energy generated by the power plant to the Hartford Hospital. Thermal energy in the form of steam will be supplied to the local district heating system owned and operated by our customer and will also provide clean degenerated heat to a nearby school. We saw and have received extensions by the way of passage of Connecticut Public Act 1306 [ph] to extend the required start date from 18 megawatts of fuel cell projects under Project 150 program. This allows us time to complete the development and obtain project financing. Our success developing and obtaining funding for the Bridgeport project was helpful in gaining this extension. Activity levels in other U.S. markets continue to increase both in quantity and quality. As our growing global installed base for projects demonstrates, energy, environmental and economic policy should and can work together simultaneously to solve a broad and growing range of challenges. We emphasize that the clean power generation supports economic growth and that this goal is achievable with appropriate planning and coordination among different entities and programs. Projects like Bridgeport in Hwasung City are reinforcing a new paradigm in the minds of policymakers, power producers and facilities. Developing our megawatt fuel cells plants is not about spending more, it's about spending more efficiently. In May, Dr. David Danielson, the Assistant Secretary of Energy for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, met with us at Torrington, Connecticut facility. He gave us the opportunity to explain how deployment of our fuel cell power plants is helping various stakeholders around the globe to meet their energy, environmental and economic goals, including sustainable job creation. Revenue diversification is a key component for our business strategy. Revenue streams include sales of complete power plants of fuel cell kits, long-term service agreements, installation and adjacent services in advanced technology programs. We are making progress in increasing the contributing revenue and margin in each area. Diversifying our geographic and market activity is another component of our business strategy. We have established customers and installations now in 9 countries. We're establishing ourselves as project developers, with strong project development and financial acumen to add to our already strong technical and service orientation. We have seen a significant improvement in the balance of our pipeline activity, with no region being greater than 45% of the total. This is expected to lead the consistent and diversified order flow. Please turn to Slide 11, summary. We are executing well on our backlog, large project execution and continuous growth in our sales pipeline. We generated record revenue for the quarter, higher production volume and improved margins. We increased the run rate at our U.S. manufacturing facility to 70 megawatts, positioning us closer to an EBITDA breakeven of 80 megawatts. Large-scale fuel cell park installations in Bridgeport in Hwasung City are progressing well. The validation of our company and power generation solutions from these high-profile, multi-megawatt projects is driving increased interest that is enhancing our global sales pipeline. Our progress is stimulating local, state and federal government interests in North America and translating it to the favorable policy and domestic deployment. Our heightened international profile is supporting discussion with federal officials and will drive deployment in Europe. I would like to thank our growing global team of associates for their dedication and hard work, and thank our investors for their continued support. Operator, we'll be happy to take questions at this time.