Wallbox closed last year with revenues of 147 million euros, more than double that of 2021, when it had a turnover of 72 million euros after selling up to 230,000 chargers around the world. The firm will lose operating losses of 136.7 million euros, 155% more than in 2021, in a context of growth, although less than expected. According to the financial results communicated this Wednesday to the SEC – and Efe collects – the North American stock market regulator, the adjusted EBITDA (gross operating result) has stood at negative 88.2 million, 150% more compared to the 35.2 negative million of the previous year.
The company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and which has not reported the net result for the moment, highlights that it has increased its gross margin to 40.5%, in a year in which it has sold more than 230,000 chargers and has opened two factories: in Barcelona, to multiply its production in Europe, and in Arlington (United States), in this case to serve the North American market.
Over the past year it has also announced the acquisition of COIL Inc, a US electric vehicle charger installer, and Ares Electronics, a printed circuit board tester, expanding its design and manufacturing capabilities; and has increased its capital by 43.5 million euros. All in all, the slowdown in deliveries of electric vehicles has had a direct impact on the development of Wallbox’s business, which has cut its workforce by 96 employees, 9.5% of the total, to reduce costs by around 50 million per year.
Wallbox plans to reach the ‘break even’ in the fourth quarter of 2023, when a positive ebitda should be registered for the first time
At a press conference, the CEO of the firm, Enric Asunción, has defended that “any responsible company must adjust spending to the evolution of expectations.” He has indicated that if analysts soon anticipated that 4 million electric cars would be delivered in Europe by 2023, now this estimated figure has been cut to 3.1 million. However, he has maintained that Wallbox has not grown faster than it should, but has gone “at the necessary speed to be a leader in a market that is in its infancy and that will grow exponentially.”
Asunción expects Wallbox to maintain “very rapid growth” in the United States, as it has signed non-binding letters of intent worth more than $30 million in sales of its Hypernova ultra-fast charger, which meets the requirements of the the US administration to boost sales of zero-emission cars in that country. In fact, he has said that “it is key that Europe does something similar”, since “the great challenge of the electric car is the infrastructure” that it needs and that is not yet fully developed -such as public or semi-public charging points or increasing the power electric-.
Less growth than expected
Wallbox’s results are below what was forecast last year: revenues were finally 146.9 million and billing was forecast between 175 and 205 million euros. In the fourth quarter of the year, the Spanish firm has entered 37.3 million, 44% more. Its revenues in North America grew by 425%, so that this geographical area already concentrates 25% of sales, while in Europe it invoices 66% of the total.
For the first quarter of 2023, Wallbox expects to obtain revenues of between 35 and 40 million euros, that is, between 25% and 45% more than in the same period of 2022. For the full year, it forecasts a growth in turnover from between 60% and 100%, until reaching between 240 and 290 million. Wallbox plans to reach the ‘break even’ (breakeven point) in the fourth quarter of 2023, when a positive ebitda should be registered for the first time.
