FuelCell Energy, Inc. reported results and accomplishments for its third fiscal quarter and nine months ended July 31, 2009. The company reported revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 of $23.0 million compared to $27.9 million in the same period a year ago. Product sales and revenues were $18.7 million compared to $23.2 million in the third quarter of 2008. Lower product revenues reflect delayed activity in the U.S. due to difficult credit markets and delays in capital spending. Research and development contract revenue was $4.3 million compared to $4.7 million in 2008.
The company’s product backlog, including long-term service agreements, as of July 31, 2009 was $104.8 million compared to the $100.7 million reported as of July 31, 2008. Research and development contract backlog totaled $15.3 million compared to $5.5 million as of July 31, 2008.
For the third quarter of fiscal 2009, net loss to common shareholders was $15.7 million or $0.21 per basic and diluted loss per share compared to a net loss to common shareholders of $26.8 million or $0.39 per basic and diluted share in the same period of the previous year. The product cost-to-revenue ratio was 1.40 in the third quarter of 2009, which compares favorably with 1.68 in the same period a year ago. The contribution from the cost-reduced modules resulted in higher product margins compared to last year and mitigating this benefit in the quarter were higher costs related to commissioning multi-megawatt power plants in South Korea.
Total cash and investments totaled $53.0 million as of July 31, 2009. During the third quarter, FuelCell Energy sold 6.7 million shares of its common stock at $3.59 per share in a registered direct offering raising approximately $22.5 million of cash. Excluding the equity offering, net cash use for the third quarter was $11.9 million, which included capital spending of approximately $0.2 million. Depreciation expense for the third quarter was approximately $2.2 million.
For the nine months ended July 31, 2009, FuelCell Energy reported sales and revenue of $67.6 million compared with $74.6 million in the same period a year ago. Product sales and revenues were $57.1 million compared to $59.4 million in 2008. The product cost-to-revenue ratio was 1.47 which compares favorably with 1.65 for the nine-month period a year ago, reflecting lower per unit production costs and the transition in product mix to primarily megawatt-class power plants. Research and development contract revenue was $10.5 million compared to $15.1 million in the comparable 2008 period.
For the nine months ended July 31, 2009, FuelCell Energy reported a net loss to common shareholders of $56.3 million or $0.80 per basic and diluted share compared to a net loss of $72.3 million or $1.06 per basic and diluted share in the same period a year ago.
"During the third quarter, we produced our latest cost-reduced fuel cell modules – an important milestone on the path to profitability. These fuel cells generate more power and reduce our cost for each unit," said R. Daniel Brdar, Chairman and CEO of FuelCell Energy. "We continued to drive sales volumes with the Sonoma County and POSCO Power orders that totaled over 32 megawatts of orders – our highest ever in a single quarter."
