Enric Asuncion
Analyst · Baird
Thank you, Michael, and thanks, everyone, for joining us today. In addition to reviewing highlights from the first quarter 2024, we'll spend some time discussing recent product introductions and commercial wins, including the Washington State project and the Pulsar Pro launch in North America. We will also discuss the integration progress of our recent acquisition, ABL as well as the Generac commercial agreement, and we will touch on how the market is expected to evolve in 2024.
Jordi will offer a closer look at our financial results and our key financial metrics. And finally, I'll return to close the conversation and highlight what we are focused on for the remainder of the year as well as welcome Luis Boada, who will formally join us next week as our incoming CFO. We will end by taking questions from our covering research analysts. So let's get started.
Q1 revenue was EUR 43.1 million, up 23% year-over-year, driven by EV market seasonality, slightly impacted by softer AC sales in the US and the timing of DC shipments within specific customers and large projects. We do not believe that the latter is a result of overall market weakness, but rather of new European regulations that are being digested by customers and which have impacted the timing of orders and deployments of new installations.
ABL results were in-line with expectations and we're excited to accelerate the cross-selling opportunities, especially after the launch of the eM4 across Europe in March. DC revenue increased by more than 100% from the previous year period as customers continued to expand their networks and select Supernova for its high quality and low cost of ownership. We installed the first Supernova 180 in North America in the quarter, a meaningful milestone, and we look forward to ramping up activity quickly in the second quarter. In total, we delivered 37,500 AC units globally, including ABL and approximately 320 units of DC during the period.
Gross margins were 39.6% in the first quarter, positively impacted by the aggressive actions we discussed last period, including cost engineering, strategic sourcing, and lower transportation costs. Those efforts saw strong early results and we believe we can continue to hold them in the range of 38% to 40%. This is yet another proof point in our ongoing shift towards operational excellence and we want to thank all Wallboxers for their hard work and focus.
Q1 2024 included a full quarter of both revenue and costs from ABL, and on a consolidated group level saw a 21% reduction in labor costs or headcount related costs, and a 30% reduction in OpEx, both on a year-over-year basis. Sequentially, both expense categories are up slightly, as anticipated with the inclusion of a full quarter of ABL. However, we continue to identify opportunities to reduce our cost base and will be flexible given the market volatility.
First quarter adjusted EBITDA loss tightened by more than EUR 1 million to EUR 13.5 million from the fourth quarter and represents a year-over-year improvement of 38%. Gross margins and our operating costs have come close to the range that now only leaves scale and topline revenue as a barrier to profitability.
With the introduction of new products, current strong traction of Supernova roll-out in North America, and the progress discussed here, we believe we will be close to breakeven adjusted EBITDA in Q2. For the first quarter 2024, Europe contributed EUR 36.5 million of consolidated sales, or 85% of total revenue and grew by almost 30% from the year-ago period.
We saw strength in Benelux and the UK, which offset softness elsewhere. North America contributed EUR 4.7 million or 11% and was impacted by an inventory adjustment at a specific retailer. APAC was strong this quarter, contributing EUR 1.3 million or 3%, and LATAM was approximately EUR 600,000 or 1%. These mix shifts were also somewhat driven by the full Impact of ABL, whose sales are entirely AC within the EMEA region.
AC sales of EUR 29.9 million, including ABL, represented approximately 69% of our global consolidated revenue, down 1 percentage point from last year. The global rollout of Pulsar Pro continues to go very well. Pro is designed for commercial and multifamily residential use in the North American market and other relevant markets. The charger is equipped with RFID integration and ISO 15118 readiness ensuring secure and future-ready charging capabilities. The Pulsar Pro stands out for its dynamic power-sharing feature, which monitors the building’s power and automatically allocates power to connected EVs, reducing the need for costly upfront electrical infrastructure upgrades.
A great example of the overwhelming market reception is the $26 million project we announced on March 7th with the State of Washington. Those funds will be used to deploy hardware, software and services throughout almost 150 Greystar multifamily housing properties across the State of Washington with a strong focus on environmental justice communities. COIL will participate in those installations too. We expect much of this project to occur and be recognized in 2024.
DC contributed 19% of the revenue in the first quarter, a 9 percentage point increase from the prior year period. The Supernova product line continues to see strong reception from customers, and is driving growth in our pipeline, which now totals more than 2,000 units. Today, we have more than 10 customers which received more than 50 units for their charging network. We see large customers with broad and expanding footprints are becoming the norm, so the full list of more than 100 unique customers have the opportunity to grow into key accounts as we impress them with our offering.
One example of a highly valued customer is Osprey, which is building one of the leading EV charging networks in the UK. The company is growing fast and is using Wallbox as a supplier for both the Supernova 60 and the Supernova 150. Currently, we have sold 180 DC fast charging units to Osprey including the Wallbox Care Program, offering preventive and corrective maintenance, and warranty extensions.
At Wallbox, we understand the dynamics of our CPO customers and the importance of open, flexible collaboration. This includes incorporating product development ideas, short lead times, capacity to deliver reliable solutions at scale and aligning with the roll-out speed of our customers. We would also like to provide you with some color on the status of the DC fast charger roll-out with Iberdrola, that we announced in the past.
Iberdrola is an important long-term partner of Wallbox, both as a customer and a shareholder, and has a strong commitment to sustainable mobility. Together, Iberdrola and Wallbox have large ambitions in developing reliable charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and we are currently taking the initial steps in delivering Supernova units. As of now, we have sold close to 150 units to Iberdrola and we are expecting to see this number increase steadily as the roll-out of charging infrastructure continues.
Supernova 180 is currently shipping to North America and we have begun conversations with a variety of CPOs, beyond Free2Move and Stellantis. We believe we're able to ramp up production and meet the growing demand that's not currently being met by legacy players. And finally, we are seeing strong interest from European customers in more powerful systems including the Supernova 220 announced last call, and beyond. Customers are focused today on ease of deployment, reliability, and protecting their investment. They want the right system in the right location, and they want it to be relevant for 10 years, which is critical given the rapid pace of both EV technology and consumer behavior.
We believe we check all the boxes and have established Wallbox as a leading provider of public fast charging equipment and software. We're excited to see such positive traction. Gross margin improvement is something we've been very focused on for the last several quarters, and we believe we've turned the corner. As mentioned before, after the introduction of a new product the gross margins have a ramp-up time and now as the Supernova product line is maturing, we see significant improvements, going from negative gross margins to contributing significantly to the group result.
We are pleased with a gross margin in the quarter of almost 40%, but we still see opportunities for improvement going forward. Jordi will talk more about this in a minute, but I'm confident in our strategy and ability to focus on what we can control, and turn our attention to increasing sales growth and the successful rollout of all the new products we introduce this year.
I want to take a moment and share some thoughts on ABL, because we're very pleased with the progress we've seen after closing the first full quarter as part of Wallbox. Conversations with current and prospective customers are encouraging, and highlight the need for a comprehensive solution for both AC and DC that together, we now offer. We launched the eM4 across key markets in Europe last month and look forward to capitalizing on strong initial interest. The eM4 is ABL's newest AC level 2 product for commercial applications, given its OCPP capabilities, wired or wireless up to 100 charging points, a single or dual gun configuration, IP55 and IK10 for a robust solution, and advanced load management functions.
We believe this product meets the unique needs of apartments, office parking lots, hotels, and retail applications. We're excited to watch the progress of the rollout and we look forward to sharing more with you next quarter. Aside from the integration of the eM4, we have also introduced the ABL Pulsar to the DACH market as part of our product and innovation integration. Educating the market on the benefits of Supernova 150 and 220 is also well underway.
In these first six months, we have made great progress on our integration efforts, and I am proud to have ABL as part of the Wallbox group. I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone involved and a special note to the whole ABL team for their continuous efforts. Both companies recognize the collaborative potential and I appreciate the strong commitment to joint future growth.
Today, we would also like to talk about the commercial agreement with Generac in more detail. As discussed during our previous earnings call, the Generac partnership is one of our most exciting and impactful events in our history. We believe that our aligned ambition will bring both companies significant long-term commercial opportunities. This is reflected in our commercial agreement, which has a 10-year term and a worldwide scope.
In the long-term, we foresee offering Wallbox's full product portfolio through Generac's extensive 8,700 dealers network, but initially we will launch with the Pulsar Plus UL for North America. The charger will be co-branded and provided with a white-label app allowing for easy integration with Generac's existing home energy management systems and solutions.
In the following months, we expect new products will become part of the scope of the commercial agreement which include both AC and DC charging solutions. We will also put our efforts together to co-develop new products relevant for a wide range of customers. We are very excited about these first steps in our journey together and we appreciate the commitment of Generac to Wallbox from both a commercial and shareholders' perspective.
We spoke to you in February about our view of the market and how we envision it evolving. There were almost 1.1 million EVs sold in Europe and North America in the first quarter of 2024, representing a 8% year over year growth, as reported by Rho Motion. They expect more than 5.6 million to be sold this year across these two regions, which excludes China, representing year-over-year growth of almost 20%. This also doesn't include the sale of used EVs to new owners, which often require the installation of a new AC charger.
What we shared with you is our belief that early adopters are fully bought into the value proposition of EVs and that the market volatility you read about from several OEMs is natural in the adoption of a disruptive technology. It's not different from what we saw from consumers with the PC or cellular phones. At the same time, we do recognize the current economic dynamics with slower economic growth and recent high inflation figures pressuring consumer budgets. But even though the adoption curve and economic slowdown coincide, the long-term potential of the industry remains solid with more affordable EV models being introduced, continuous roll-out of charging infrastructure, and innovative technical improvements in the industry.
In the meantime, what we focus on is exiting this period in the strongest competitive position and well ahead of our peers. We have developed a product portfolio for every charging segment, which allows us to capture growth where it takes place. For example, the current demand for DC fast charging infrastructure remains high as the roll-out of this infrastructure is essential to the mass adoption of EVs. This provides us with a great opportunity to leverage our diversified position, both geographically and commercially.
Now is the time in which winners and losers are determined, and therefore we will continue to invest in operational excellence, forge strong partnerships, and rationalize our cost base. Jordi, I'll turn it over to you to comment further on our financial details.