Revenue increase: Alfen grows H1 2023 revenues by 9% (omzet valt me wat tegen)
Group gross margin at 30.5% (was ingecalculeerd)
Adjusted EBITDA of €21.1m (9.4% of revenue) - (EBITDA is aan de lage kant)
Alfen reconfirms its mid-term financial objectives (positief)
Alfen’s financial position continues to be strong and healthy at a time when other players in the EV Charging market are declaring insolvency or forced to raise capital. (Daling zit in heel de markt dus en ze verwachten nog een groei in de markt tot 2027)
2023 is really the breakthrough year for energy storage for Alfen. Our first half year revenue grew more than sixfold compared to H1 2022, and our current backlog is over €170m of which more than half is expected to be executed in the second half of 2023. With our stationary and mobile battery solutions, we are well positioned for continued strong growth, underpinning our confidence that we can outperform the European market in 2023. (fenomenale groei - wel minder marge in dit segment)
In Smart Grid Solutions, we see continued momentum with the grid operators and private networks
businesses,resulting in 20% revenue growth.
In EV Charging, the destocking challenge continued through the first half, and we saw market challenges in the home segment in certain geographies, including countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany. Key drivers include the ending of the OZEV grant and KfW440 subsidy respectively.
Other operating costs increased by 25% to €12.5m compared with €10.0m in the first half-year of 2022. (ergens logisch met de nieuwe gebouwen en werkplaatsen)
Adjusted net profit decreased 60% to €10.1m in the first half-year 2023 from €25.3m in the first half-year 2022. (aan de lage kant, tijdelijk meer kosten voor Alfen tov winst)
The temporary lower volume in EV Charging also impacted our adjusted EBITDA margin: it decreased from 18.1% in H1 2022 to 9.4% in H1 2023. (spreken nog steeds van tijdelijk)
Commercially, Alfen won new clients across Europe in the first half of 2023. Selected examples of commercial successes include winning a contract with partners Virta & Eiffage to supply all public and private parking owned by SNCF (French railway operator) over coming 3 years. Alfen was selected as partner by Aral Pulse to supply charge points in business and public segment, starting with Germany but with an international approach in mind. As a last example, Alfen won a framework contract with EDRI for 4 years for the supply of public chargers.
Given the growth expected within our Energy Storage Systems business line in conjunction with a solid backlog for the second half of 2023, Alfen is maintaining higher stock levels.
Net debt position on 30 June 2023 amounted to €78.7m, compared to a net cash position of €4.4m on 31 December 2022. The shift from net cash to net debt is driven by the steep increase in working capital and an increase in bank loans for constructing our new warehouse & production facility (Hefbrugweg 79) and purchasing a new production facility for Energy Storage Systems (Damsluisweg 70).
In the EV Charging Equipment business line, H1 2023 revenue was €79.6m compared with €125.0m in the first half of 2022. (vooral issues in GB en DUI)
In the Smart Grid Solutions business line, H1 2023 revenue grew 20% to €85.5m compared with €71.1m in the first half of 2022. Gross margin for Smart Grid Solutions amounted to 29%, which is at the lower end of the 25-40% range provided at our Capital Markets Day for this business line due to the product mix.
In the Energy Storage Systems business line, H1 2023 revenue increased 526% to €58.8m compared with €9.4m in the first half of 2022. The momentum in the energy storage market is powerful, mostly driven by continuousrenewables growth and the need to balance electricity demand and supply. Thisrevenue increase was driven by both our stationary systems (“TheBattery Elements”) and our mobile systems (“TheBattery Mobile”). The pipeline of qualified leads and order intake continues to develop in a healthy manner. Current backlog is over €170m, with more than half expected to be executed in the remainder of 2023.