David Johnson
Analyst · Craig-Hallum Capital Group. Please go ahead
Good morning. Thank you for joining our conference call to review Westport Fuel Systems Q1 2020 results. I sincerely hope that all of you, your colleagues, friends, and family are healthy and well and that you stay healthy and well. I’ve had a chance to speak with many of you since our 2019 year-end results call on March 17. It has certainly been a challenging time, but I’ve also been incredibly impressed with the resiliency and ingenuity of our team in the face of this global crisis. Our focus has now shifted from COVID-19 response to a safe and efficient post-COVID recovery. As this pandemic made its way around the world, our teams have been following government guidelines and local protocols in each jurisdiction where we operate. Our people have shown tremendous fortitude and have safely and effectively resumed operations at all our locations. Despite the near-term uncertainty and expected softer demand on the passenger vehicle side of our business, I’m confident that the need for affordable clean transportation solutions remain. It’s encouraging to see that climate change hasn’t fallen to the back burner, rather, we’re seeing signs that the green recovery is on. Cost consciousness and renewed pragmatism mean that CapEx decisions will be heavily scrutinized. And with that scrutiny, will come to realization that electric propulsion for long-haul heavy-duty trucking applications is at best an expensive, distant hope for the far-off future. Gaseous fuel solutions are proven, available and affordable right now. While vehicle purchase decisions might be delayed by the post-COVID economy, we believe the compelling fundamentals point directly to solutions from Westport Fuel Systems. And with renewable natural gas, otherwise known as biomethane, the story only becomes more compelling. Post-COVID, the challenges of climate change and urban air quality have not disappeared. The need to efficiently move goods hasn’t disappeared. The world needs affordable, clean transportation more than ever. There have been a number of important developments since our year-end results call and I’ll walk through those in a moment. But first, I want to share the headline Q1 financial results. On the heels of our successful 2019 results, each of our operating segments was performing in line or ahead of our 2020 expectations prior to the onset of the shutdowns and economic fallout for COVID-19. Our first quarter results reflect the impact of COVID-19 related customer shutdowns, which began in China in January and spread to Europe and North America in mid-March. Roughly, 75% of our global operations are located in Italy, where shutdowns were implemented in the second-half of March and then through all of April. In Q1, we mitigated Chinese supply chain disruptions that stemmed from their COVID shutdown and we’re able to increase inventories and ship to meet customer demand in advance of our own shutdown. Our headline financial results are as follows. Consolidated revenues for the quarter decreased 8%, or $6 million to $67.2 million compared to the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA of minus $3.6 million was lower compared to $7.3 million last year, primarily due to a $10 million charge for a service campaign to replace pressure release valves in the field. I must note, there have been no failures in the field to date. We’ve been proactively working with our customers to eliminate the remote risk associated with the batch of our components by replacing those components in the field. We expect to recover a significant portion of this charge from our insurer during the second-half of the year, but accounting rules do not allow us to book the insurance recovery at this time. Our efforts to shore up the balance sheet and improve liquidity include the recently announced long-term €5 million loan secured through UniCredit, and we are in the process of securing a $10 million bridge facility with Export Development Canada. We have been successful in accessing various government support programs in Canada, Italy, and The Netherlands and expect approximately $4 million in wage subsidies in Q2 2020. We very much appreciate that support at this time. So now, we’re back at work and order flow is returning. We continue to focus on cost reduction, disciplined cash management and supporting our global team and their communities as we navigate this recovery period. At the same time, we’ve been able to secure new business opportunities, such as the recently announced deal with GASTEC in Egypt. It’s encouraging to see green shoots of optimism in the face of so much uncertainty. As our customers, partners and suppliers return to production, there have been many questions about the impact of the downturn in our industry. Let’s start with China. Despite COVID-19-related delays, our Weichai Westport joint venture has completed all the emissions testing with the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment and with the Chinese Ministry of Industry. We greatly respect the efforts of the Chinese government officials to confirm the tests that were completed to their satisfaction and we’re optimistic that the current administrative proceedings will conclude with the final paperwork for certification in the near future. While the certification delay affects the timing of the commercial launch and the production and sales ramp that follows, we do not expect it will change the shape of the adoption curve. The long-term potential of HPDI in China, the largest natural gas commercial vehicle market in the world, remains compelling. We have a great partner and a great product and a large market to serve, and we look forward to doing that just when the Chinese government provides the final green light. Now let’s turn to Europe. The European Union’s Green Deal includes measures to increase the supply of low emissions fuels. Biomethane, otherwise known as renewable natural gas or RNG accounts for 17% of all-natural gas fuel consumed by road transportation in Europe, and in some countries biomethane already dominates. For example, in the UK, renewable natural gas, biomethane is nearly 70% of the mix, while in Sweden 94% of CNG fuel sold is renewable. In Denmark, all CNG stations dispense renewable natural gas exclusively. Production capacity is proven and the infrastructure is in place and rapidly expanding. Royal Dutch Shell has just committed to opening 10 more sites this year in Germany, two more in Belgium, one in Poland, beginning to invest also in Austria. Their liquefaction plants for BioLNG are progressing quickly, expected to come online this year in a large German liquefaction facility coming online in 2021. A vehicle fuel with renewable gas is effectively climate neutral. We believe renewable gas is the best solution to accelerate the decarbonization of the transportation sector. In Germany, the authorities have announced the extension of the road toll exemption for CNG and LNG heavy-duty trucks through 2023. While still subject to parliamentary approval, this is an important signal to the marketplace that natural gas trucking is a critical component of Germany’s decarbonization plan. Additional subsidies on the purchase of natural gas vehicles announced in July 2019 that is €12,000 for LNG vehicles, €8,000 for CNG vehicles and a fuel energy tax on natural gas that is 70% less than diesel adds up to significant savings. These subsidies amount to approximately €70,000 of savings in the first five years of vehicle operation. We also see signs that warrant optimism for our light-duty and aftermarket products. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association’s latest report, the demand for car fueled with CNG in Europe increased by 68% in the first quarter of 2020. Italy remains Europe’s largest market for light-duty vehicles followed by Spain, Belgium, France, Sweden and Germany. Like most of you, I’ve been following closely the commentary about the global economic recovery. As the economy restarts, gaseous fuels, including LPG, natural gas, hydrogen and renewable gases have figured prominently in the Green Deal initiatives of the EU’s recovery plan. Commercial demand is strong, though we may not see quite a steeper growth curve as we are projecting for 2020. On the aftermarket side, we’re concerned about consumer confidence and we expect to endure some softness in demand. We believe a focus on renewable and decarbonized gases, as well as clean and sustainable mobility, offers an opportunity to boost the economic recovery, retain and create jobs and achieve our critical emissions reduction goals. As we look out to the remainder of the year, the steady recovery of our OEM and aftermarket businesses, the growth of HPDI in Europe and the upcoming production launch of HPDI in China are keys to our success. I’m confident that we can weather the current headwinds and our team is committed to delivering on our strategic priorities. To recap, we remain focused on the successful commercial launch of HPDI in China, further cost reductions, new light-duty and heavy-duty OEM businesses in key market geographies and the price – profitable growth of our light-duty business to grow their aftermarket and OEM channels. Despite the near-term uncertainty, a strong regulatory ecosystem is still there and so is the strong desire for a green recovery. Now I’ll turn it over to Richard to review our financials. Richard?