Blink Charging Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
March 13, 2025

There are 9 speakers on the call.

Operator

Greetings. Welcome to the Blink Charging Fourth Quarter twenty twenty four Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Vitali Stilha, VP of Capital Markets and FP and A.

Operator

You may begin.

Speaker 1

Thank you, John, and welcome to Blank's fourth quarter twenty twenty four earnings call. Apologies for the slight delay due to technical difficulty. But with us today on the call, we have Mike Battaglia, President and Chief Executive Officer and Michael Rama, Chief Financial Officer. Today's discussions will include non GAAP references, which are reconciled to the most comparable U. S.

Speaker 1

GAAP measures in the appendix of our earnings deck. You may find the deck along with the rest of our earnings materials and other important content on Blinc's Investor Relations website. Today's presentation may also include forward looking statements about our expectations. Actual results may differ from those stated, and the most significant factors for those differences are included on Page two of the fourth quarter twenty twenty four earnings deck. Unless otherwise noted, all comparisons are year over year.

Speaker 1

And now regarding the Investor Relations calendar, Blink will be participating in the Roth Capital Investor Conference in Dana Point, California on the March 17. In addition, please follow our announcements at our website for other events in the future. And at this point, I will turn the call over to Mike Battaglia, President and CEO of Blink Charging. Go ahead, Mike.

Speaker 2

All right, great. Thanks, Vitali. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. As most of you know, I officially assumed the CEO role on February 1 after my tenure as COO. And so far, a month and a half into it, I'm even more excited about where our company is headed in the future for Blink.

Speaker 2

We are moving very fast as an organization to build a winning global EV infrastructure company. 2024 had its challenges, but we made solid progress on many fronts. For example, in 2024, Blink continued to significantly grow its service revenue, delivering record full year results and increasing our footprint of Blink owned chargers, which is the future of blink. With respect to hardware and product sales, we intensified our efforts to successfully develop alternative sales channels. And while there's still work to be done, we have established a solid foundation to build from.

Speaker 2

And as we relentlessly pursue profitability, we initiated a variety of cost reduction actions that resulted in significant savings in operating expenses and lower cash consumption. So with that, please turn to slides four and five. Our fourth quarter twenty twenty four consolidated revenue was $30,000,000 a sequential increase of 20 when compared to the third quarter of twenty twenty four. Service revenues grew 24% in the quarter to $9,800,000 compared to the fourth quarter of twenty twenty three and network fees increased 9% to $2,400,000 year over year. During the quarter, we dispersed 42.5 gigawatt hours of energy across all Blink networks, a year over year increase of over 100% and a new blink record.

Speaker 2

For the full year, our total revenues were $126,000,000 We had mentioned last quarter and I want to note again that 2024 product sales were faced with a challenging comp as we had significant DC fast charger sales to auto dealerships in 2023. However, throughout 2024, we focused on other sales verticals such as large electrical distributors, multifamily properties, commercial fleets, local and state governments, offices, hospitals and schools, just to name a few, which provide Blink with profitable and sustainable revenue. Service revenue for the year was $35,000,000 also a Blink record, driven by increased utilization, a greater number of Blink owned chargers in the field and an increasing mix of DC fast chargers, which is another key focus area for us. Gross margin for the full year was 32% and we continue to have confidence in our margin profile going forward. Before I move to the next slide to discuss growth of our service revenues, I want to spend a minute on current market conditions surrounding electric vehicles and charging.

Speaker 2

Electric vehicles are seeing strong demand from consumers as Cox Automotive reported that new electric vehicle sales in the month of January 2025 were up nearly 30 compared to January 24. In fact, January 2025 marked the tenth consecutive month of more than 100,000 EVs sold in The United States. This was following the month of December where U. S. EV sales reached the highest level ever.

Speaker 2

As the market matures, we are confident that the proliferation of lower cost EVs and used secondhand EVs that are entering the market will continue to drive the wider transition to electric vehicles in both the mid and long term. In addition to the increase in new electric vehicles on the road, another major factor that is driving demand for charging services are used EVs. Cox Automotive reported that used EV sales grew by nearly 31% year over year in January 2025. These sales results for both new and used electric vehicles are encouraging as they form the foundation of EV charging demand. Another point that is important to address is the recent tariff announcements and their effect on blank.

Speaker 2

In short, we do not expect tariffs to be a significant burden on our gross margin as we primarily source components and third party finished goods within The United States and from India, where our two production facilities are located. But this is obviously a moving target, so we need to continue to monitor political developments and market conditions and will adjust accordingly. So with that, let's move to Slide six, which ties into what we just described earlier. BLINK ended 2024 with 6,867 company owned chargers, which is a 33% increase compared to 2023 year end. These charges were the primary reason driving Blinc's twenty twenty four service revenue to nearly a 32% increase year over year to almost $35,000,000 We saw record charging revenue, which grew 37% to $21,400,000 This impressive growth is due to the increased number of blink owned units, better site selection and inclusion of more DC fast chargers into our portfolio.

Speaker 2

Again, this is the future of blink and it's a bright spot. As we've highlighted, we are increasingly focused on growing our DC fast charger blink owned portfolio. In fact, revenue from our DC blink owned chargers went up nearly 500% in 2024 when compared with 2023. This focus is evident in our recent announcements such as our agreement with Royal Farms, a Mid Atlantic regional fueling and convenience store chain where Blink owns and operates 76 DC fast charging ports. This exemplifies the type of partnerships and revenue growth that will drive our focus into the future.

Speaker 2

Looking at Slide eight, Blink has the third largest EV charging network in The United States according to the U. S. Department of Energy. Our scale is important, especially now as we see industry consolidation in both The U. S.

Speaker 2

And European charging industries. This consolidation represents an attractive growth opportunity for Blink either through organic benefits or through acquiring assets. Across the pond in Europe, we are one of the leading providers of charging services with significant operations in The United Kingdom and Belgium. This is a corporate strength as our operations there provide revenue and profitability diversification, especially with the consistent transition to electrified transportation across the continent. In The UK, for example, almost one out of five vehicles sold in 2024 were electric and the used electric vehicle market saw a 57% increase in sales.

Speaker 2

Similarly in Belgium, Twenty Twenty Four was a record breaking year for EV sales where electric vehicles made up nearly 30% of new car sales, resulting in a 36% increase in registrations. The growing adoption of EVs was primarily driven by corporate fleets, which accounted for nearly 87 of new fully electric registrations in 2024. And we continue to make progress enhancing the capabilities of our global network. We are nearly complete with the consolidation of our European software networks into our global Blink two point zero network, which will provide operational and cost efficiencies. We are also taking actions to improve network throughput.

Speaker 2

For example, we replaced a number of legacy DC and L2 chargers this past quarter with more advanced equipment. This action will not only improve the customer experience, but will also lead to increased charging revenues. And now before I turn it over to Michael Rama, I wanted to emphasize the progress that Blink made in 2024 in reducing our cash burn and operating expenses. Through cost avoidance and optimization actions, total operating expenses as adjusted for non cash items were reduced by 24% in 2024. Sequentially, our Q4 operating expenses were down 17% when compared with Q3 of twenty twenty four.

Speaker 2

This was primarily driven by a $4,300,000 or 28% reduction in compensation expense. Compensation expense for full year 2024 was reduced by 37 compared to prior year. And most importantly, our cash burn was reduced by 51% in 2024. On a quarterly basis, we reduced operating cash burn from $18,000,000 per quarter at the close of 2023 to $9,000,000 per quarter at the end of twenty twenty four. We reduced our cash burn by half and we're definitely not done yet.

Speaker 2

I will come back at the end of the presentation with more details about some of the current actions we're taking to position Blank for profitability and long term success. But for now, I will turn the presentation over to our CFO, Michael Rama. Michael?

Speaker 3

Thank you, Mike, and good afternoon, everyone. Now turning to Slide 11. Our Q4 twenty twenty four revenues were $30,200,000 Total revenues for 2024 were $126,200,000 compared to $140,600,000 for the full year 2023. Product revenues for the fourth quarter were $17,200,000 and $81,700,000 for the full year. Fourth quarter service revenues, which consists of charging service revenues, network fees and car sharing revenues were $9,800,000 an increase of 24% compared to the fourth quarter of twenty twenty three.

Speaker 3

Full year 2024 service revenues were $34,800,000 representing a year over year growth of 31.8%. Gross profit was $7,500,000 or 25% of revenues compared to gross profit of $10,600,000 or 25% of revenues in the fourth quarter of twenty twenty three. Q4 gross profit was impacted by an asset adjustment of $2,900,000 which was primarily related to product upgrades as Mike mentioned earlier. Without the impact of this charge, gross margins would have been over 35% in the fourth quarter of twenty twenty four. Full year 2024 gross profit was $40,800,000 or 32% of revenues compared to gross profit of $40,200,000 or 29% in the full year 2023.

Speaker 3

Excluding the impact of asset adjustments related to product upgrades, full year 2024 gross margins would have been 35%. Operating expenses, excluding non cash impairment and change in fair value charges, decreased 21% to $23,100,000 compared to $29,500,000 in the fourth quarter of twenty twenty three. Sequentially, operating expenses decreased by $4,700,000 or 17% compared to Q3 of twenty twenty four, primarily driven by decreased compensation expense. Full year 2024 operating expense, also adjusted for non cash impairment and changes in fair value charges, decreased $35,000,000 or 24% to $111,000,000 compared to $145,000,000 in the prior year. Loss per share for the fourth quarter was $0.73 per share compared to a $0.28 in the prior year period.

Speaker 3

For full year 2024, loss per share was $1.96 compared to $3.21 in the prior year. Adjusted loss per share for the fourth quarter improved to $0.15 compared to $0.28 in the fourth quarter of twenty twenty three. Adjusted loss per share for the full year 2024 improved to $0.61 compared to $1.42 in the full year of 2023. Now, adjusting EBITDA for the fourth quarter of twenty twenty four was a loss of $10,600,000 compared to a loss of $14,000,000 in the prior year, an improvement of 25% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA for the full year of 2024 was a loss of $49,500,000

Speaker 4

compared to an

Speaker 3

EBITDA loss of $57,000,000 in 2023. This is an improvement of 13% year over year. As of 12/31/2024, the company had cash liquidity of $55,000,000 which includes liquid marketable securities and no cash debt. As for our outlook, based on current visibility, Blink believes service revenues will continue to increase throughout 2025. We expect product revenue in the first half of twenty twenty five to be similar to product revenue levels in the back half of twenty twenty four and anticipate product revenues to improve during the second half of twenty twenty five.

Speaker 3

We had provided an adjusted EBITDA target on previous calls. However, given the current macro dynamics, we expect to have better visibility around our timeline to reach adjusted EBITDA profitability as the year progresses, and we'll update you accordingly. As a company, we remain focused on continuing to grow revenues while reducing operating expenses and cash burn in order to drive towards profitability. I will now turn the call back over to Mike for his final commentary. Go ahead, Mike.

Speaker 2

Great. Thank you, Michael. As we move through 2025, our industry is experiencing a challenging landscape and we are focused on embracing operational strategies that will position Blink to effectively navigate the near term with a focus on driving long term growth. With that in mind, we are introducing Blink Forward, our strategic focus for sustained success. First and foremost, our plan is focused on promoting our relentless pursuit of profitability with a sharp focus on reducing operating expenses.

Speaker 2

We reduced cash burn by 51% in 2024, compensation expenses by 37% and total adjusted operating expenses by 24%. However, there is more to be done and we are looking at every business department and cost center to ensure a path to profitability. The first pillar in Blink Forward is to continue our commitment to offer flexible customer centric business models. We'll focus on being a constructive partner, understanding customer pain points and providing solutions, whether it's through our reliable equipment and network or software that controls energy management. Next, we have been shifting to and will continue to expedite the growth of our portfolio of Blank owned DC fast chargers in attractive locations.

Speaker 2

And as mentioned earlier, owning and operating charging assets is the future of Blink, especially as we get the benefit of significant charging demand growth in Europe and The U. S. Third, we are prioritizing services and recurring revenue streams as we invest in future growth. For example, our network fees were $8,700,000 in 2024 and generated 72% gross margin. This is the type of revenue we will pursue going forward.

Speaker 2

Fourth, we are attuned to opportunities to capitalize on the market consolidation that is happening across the industry. This consolidation could benefit Blank through market share gains or consolidating assets into the Blank network. And finally, we are looking to preserve cash, optimize operations and where needed to secure a low cost, preferably non dilutive capital to support our growth strategy. We have internally introduced these strategic priorities and have already begun executing on them. We look at the current industry landscape as an opportunity to demonstrate our resilience and to position BLINK to be the best well run charging company in the industry.

Speaker 2

As I mentioned at the start of this call, 2024 was a challenging year. However, it has also been a rewarding year in terms of progress. It has made us a better company and we are implementing steps for Blink to achieve profitability and free cash flow. I would like to thank the Blink team for their efforts and we look forward to keeping you updated as we move forward. So with this, let's move on to Q and A.

Speaker 2

Operator?

Operator

Thank Our first question comes from Sameer Joshi with H. C. Wainwright. Please proceed.

Speaker 5

Hey, good afternoon, Michael. Mike, congratulations on your first full call as CEO. Just a few questions from me, couple actually. In terms of 2025 outlook that was provided, how do you see the product sales visibility beyond the next six months? And also should we expect sort of year over year growth in product sales or other revenue sales to be offset by some shortfall in product sales and a flat year overall?

Speaker 2

Yes. So thanks for the question. I certainly expect that. So first of all, as we indicated in the comments, the bright spot in the future of Blank is as a CPO and our operator. Our business is expanding there.

Speaker 2

We're very encouraged. And one of the things to point out is while my comments were, I mentioned DC fast charging quite a bit. That's not to the detriment or exclusion of L2. Blinkit has always been an L2 company and we're an L2 company at our core, but we're going to balance out the mix. Secondly, when it comes to product sales, this is actually a great opportunity for me to brag about Chris Carr, who is our new Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development.

Speaker 2

So we were very lucky to land Chris. He was brought in to do some very specific things. His job is certainly to grow the owner operator side of the business, but it's also to take advantage of the product sales opportunities in the market. So he has already put plans in place. He has shifted resources around to optimize the skill set of our salespeople.

Speaker 2

So some salespeople are better at selling products, some salespeople are better at the owner operator side of the business. So we've already put that in place. So from a product sales perspective, we are actually quite optimistic about the second half of the year. It's just that Chris has just gotten on board and the first half is, I would say, a little bit cloudy, but we're hoping to have better visibility and guidance on that topic as we go forward.

Speaker 5

Understood. Shifting gears a little bit and talking about your efforts to capitalize on market consolidation. Blink has historically been an acquisitive company. Do you have targets, especially in Europe and maybe South America or other parts of the world that you're considering and are in the pipeline for as acquisition candidates?

Speaker 2

So the short answer is yes. The longer answer is we have companies under consideration that we're looking at. There's nothing solidified, but there are some very interesting opportunities that are presenting themselves in the market. We have the luxury of being able to be very selective. We've been approached by a number of companies.

Speaker 2

But what we're certainly very, very focused on making sure that if we go down this road that they are absolutely the right companies, the right assets, the right fit for blank and quite frankly that we don't overpay because there's no reason to overpay in this market for assets that perhaps are struggling a bit.

Speaker 5

Understood. And then just maybe one last one I can squeeze in. Do you have a timeline on the Envoy IPO and how is that process going?

Speaker 2

Yes. So obviously, we publicly announced our intention to IPO Envoy. We continue to work towards an IPO in the spring. All I can tell you is from an administrative standpoint, etcetera, we're on track. But more to come on that.

Speaker 5

Understood. Thanks for taking my questions and good luck.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Anur.

Operator

Up next is Chris Pierce with Needham. Please proceed.

Speaker 6

Hey, good afternoon. I just was curious as you shift more towards owner operator, I guess if we see some sort of change in regulatory or administration and product sales sort of becomes more of a we see growth there. Would you shift back to product sales or because I know you guys have sort of had a multi strategy approach. I just kind of want to get a sense of

Speaker 7

if this is

Speaker 6

fully pulling the Band Aid off or if this is just reacting to what's going on in the market right now?

Speaker 8

No. I mean, I don't know

Speaker 2

that we are reacting in any way, shape or form to what I would call short term dynamics, right? It's maybe the best way to put it. We have always said that what Blink wants to be in the long term is an owner operator of charging assets. And that so that's never changed. Perhaps you're hearing the message a little bit more sharply, maybe a little bit more well defined.

Speaker 2

But our intention is to accelerate growth of the owner operator business, but certainly not give up on the product side by any stretch. I mean, the product side is still a strength for us. And as I've said in previous calls, we want to serve the whole market. There are a set of customers that all they want to do is buy product and we want to be there to sell them that product. But there is another set of customers that they are interested in having somebody else manage those charging assets at their locations and we want to be there for that.

Speaker 2

I would simply delineate it as we're expressing the strategy perhaps more clearly and also introducing a bit more emphasis on DC fast chargers.

Speaker 6

Okay. And then just for the other Michael, how should we think about margins through the year as you lean more into the owner operator model and you lean more into DC fast charging in the owner operator model?

Speaker 3

No, I think we'll still obviously, we didn't give any guidance on margins, right? I haven't given any guidance, but I still think that as you've seen over the past, Steve, even this year, even for 2024 as our product sales were down, our margins overall are still up, right? So what that shows is the strength in the owner and operate side with margins as well as being more efficient with our product. So his expectation is we don't see much impact on the overall product mix.

Speaker 6

Okay. Thank you and good luck.

Operator

The next question comes from Craig Irwin with Roth Capital Partners. Please proceed.

Speaker 7

Good evening. Thanks for taking my questions. So 33% growth in blink on chargers, but 112% growth in gigawatt hours of throughput. So you're obviously seeing nice improvements in overall utilization across the network. Are we already seeing tailwinds from you guys putting out some of the Tesla and Max connectors out there given that's two thirds of the fleet?

Speaker 7

Or is that something that can maybe help you with utilization on the blink network over the next number of quarters as you start deploying those?

Speaker 2

Yes, it's the latter, Craig. So we haven't deployed that many NACS connectors yet, but certainly that's the focus going forward. So I would say that to the degree to which we'll see an uplift on native NACS connectors on the chargers, we really haven't even seen that yet.

Speaker 7

Wow, okay. That's good to hear. That's good to hear. So then, I guess, EBITDA is the easiest metric for us as we track your cost out progress. It was a really nice sequential improvement.

Speaker 7

And your frictional costs, right, your salaries, SG and A etcetera, are obviously coming down fairly significantly. Can you help us maybe get a little bit more quantitative or give us some color about how this is likely to take shape in 2025. Do we see dramatic 50% reduction in salary and comp again? How much more is there room to squeeze these different line items? And any other information you can share with us to help us understand the path to positive EBITDA?

Speaker 2

Yes. Certainly expected this question, Craig, and thanks for asking it. So let me start by saying, in this industry, there has been a lot of talk about getting to EBITDA positive and getting to free cash flow positivity. And there's been a lot of talk and there hasn't been a lot of delivery. So as I get into this role, one of the things that I want to do is if we're going to come out and put a number out or a day out as to when we're going to get there, I want to be damn sure we get there.

Speaker 2

So we need two things to happen. We need the top line to grow more aggressively than it's growing today. And then secondly, we need to take additional costs out of the business. So what is the magnitude of your question, I think is what is the magnitude of that cost? I'm not going to put a number on it, but what I would say is that it's not just people.

Speaker 2

We're evaluating every aspect of our cost structure. Our team globally is engaged in that exercise. And when you start to get momentum with people throughout the organization digging for and raising cost reduction actions, it becomes a bit infectious. So we're starting to see that happen. So will compensation expense come down a bit?

Speaker 2

Yes, it probably will, hopefully mostly through attrition. And but there's going to be some other costs outside of comp that come down as well.

Speaker 7

That definitely makes sense. So then gross margins, 24%, your product revenue contracted, but you had pretty nice margin expansion there. I know there have been a lot of moves to sort of go to a more efficient footprint, the more efficient manufacturing in your expanded facility in Bowie. But is there if we take a cautious view on just moderate growth in product sales in 'twenty five, Is there room for these actions that you've taken to continue to contribute to positive margin, potential margin expansion even in 'twenty five? Or have the sort of, I guess, this last quarter, is that more of a starting point for us to see progress from as we move through the year?

Speaker 2

Yes. So I think where you would see margin potential, let me use that word, potential margin expansion, is on the owner operator side where we have more control over fees. So think about credit card transaction fees and session fees and price per kilowatt hour and things like that. So we're starting to analyze that data in a much more sophisticated way than we ever have. So think about perhaps like dynamic pricing based on demand throughout the day.

Speaker 2

On the product side, we're focused on quite frankly doing a better job managing our inventory. So we our ambition is to turn our inventory at a greater rate. It is to manage the working capital associated with inventory more efficiently. And so we need to strike I mean Craig, you know, I came up with a sales organization and you always need to strike that balance between moving volume and margin. And I would say that we're still playing with that a little bit.

Speaker 2

But I expect that product margin to be pretty consistent with where it has been.

Speaker 7

Excellent. And then, I guess this might be a multi part question, but business mix has kind of been in your favor the last couple of years, right? Level two never faced the big structural headwinds of the confusion around the nevi money and some of the things going on in The States. You guys always did really well with corporate customers, I guess, like Starbucks. And I guess I can say that because I've seen it outside.

Speaker 7

You're charged with outside so many different Starbucks as I stopped for coffee. But you focused on things like New York State, the direct buy there where you go, you don't have the uncertainty of federal money. So it seems like maybe business mix can be a little bit favorable or continue to be a little bit more favorable to you, particularly on level two versus level three. Are you optimistic for some of these tailwinds that have worked for you for a longer term perspective, specifically the state support to keep helping you in 2025? And do you think that this can help deliver product growth in 2025, which I guess is the big question investors have in their heads?

Speaker 2

Yes. So we're fortunate to have several state contracts where we're named supplier on those contracts. One great example is Maryland, another is New York. So yes, I mean, we expect to do more on those state contracts. But we also expect to do more in Europe.

Speaker 2

And I think that that is also perhaps a little bit of an underdog or stealth area for us in 2025. We have some really interesting things happening in Europe. And one example is The UK's version of nevi and I'm not making this up is the program called Levy, L e v I. And there's $3.40 odd million pounds committed to that program from the UK government. And we feel well positioned.

Speaker 2

We in fact, we just recently had a press release on one opportunity, which you can take a look at. So there's that. We're also seeing some very large owner operator opportunities in Belgium. So it's really I want investors to think about the fact that Blink is diversified and that it's not this company is not just dependent on The United States or even one segment in The United States. We can pivot to different markets.

Speaker 7

Excellent. Last question, if I may, I guess, is a balance sheet question. But it appears to me that you got basically $15,000,000 in cash by squeezing receivables and inventory this last year. How much room is there to go? I mean, can you guys continue to squeeze working capital and make improvement on payment terms with your customers and vendors?

Speaker 7

Is this really an opportunity for tailwinds on that 50% reduction in cash used last year?

Speaker 3

Yes, I'll jump in on that. Do you want to take that? Yes. Yes, I'll take that, Craig. Yes.

Speaker 3

And to quote Mike, the short answer is, yes, no, there's we're still implementing measures to squeeze more cash out of our AR and our balance sheet. And as we mentioned earlier as well, is quicker turns on our inventory. So it's improving the working capital management, if you will, of our balance sheet and definitely use our balance sheet to our benefit.

Speaker 7

Excellent. Well, congrats on the progress guys. We'll follow closely. Thank you. Thank you, Greg.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Greg.

Operator

The next question comes from Nicky Legg with Benchmark. Please proceed.

Speaker 4

Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. So you mentioned the alternative customer channels. Just curious if you could unpack that a little bit. How are these discussions going?

Speaker 4

And what are you hearing from customers? I know you mentioned you're not going to have more visibility into product sales until later in the year. But I'm just curious if there is any bright spot among these channels, whether it be multifamily or commercial fleets or anything of that nature. And longer term, just curious how big you think that business could grow or what again is the biggest opportunity there?

Speaker 2

Yes. Hey, Mickey. Thanks for joining. I would say from talking to the sales team, we've made tremendous progress with electrical distributors. And the one thing that we really like about building that electrical distribution channel is that it's more efficient.

Speaker 2

So, it's not just the Blinc sales team, it's the Blinc sales team interfacing with the electrical distributor who then has far broader reach. So, we are spending and our reps are spending a lot of time and effort developing that electrical distribution channel. The second bright spot that I would say, and this is an area we've actually always been pretty good at, but I think we're getting even better is in local municipalities. And there are a lot of local municipalities that are building out charging infrastructure. Again, they may do it for fleet, in which case they're purchasing the chargers or we're partnering with them on setting up infrastructure in their town, city on an owner operator basis or our hybrid model, which is that shared investment model.

Speaker 2

So I would say I'd probably give those two examples are decent ones.

Speaker 4

Got it. Got it. All right. And then just a follow-up, there's been a lot of discussion about the focus on growing the owner operator business and the shift to CPO. And I don't think that's too much of a surprise.

Speaker 4

And I think it definitely gives some good upside to the margins. But I'm just curious if you see any hurdles there as you grow that business. And if there's any change in focus based on geography, are you more focused on growing that business in The EU as it's more mature and then taking some of what you learned over here? Just curious.

Speaker 2

Yes. Good question. It's really interesting what's going on in the market right now because there's so many headlines, especially in The U. S. That it's hard to decipher fact from fiction.

Speaker 2

So we tend to follow the data, which I think is the right approach. And the data says that there's a whole hell of a lot of activity in the electric vehicle market in The United States in addition to Europe. So this is not choosing this is not Blink having to choose between The U. S. And Europe.

Speaker 2

This is Blink addressing both markets. So we're going to continue to invest in The U. S. Because we know that electric vehicle growth is going to continue. But to answer the first part of your question, the challenge as you asked about the owner operator model is capital, right?

Speaker 2

It requires capital to deploy in order to move in that direction. So, we are actively pursuing

Operator

capital

Speaker 2

sources. Our focus is on non dilutive capital and different types of capital. So not just one particular type, but there's whether it's using our balance sheet, whether it's project based, whatever that might be. Obviously, if there was more investment in terms of equity into blank and the share price was stronger that would give us more flexibility. But for the moment based on market conditions where our stock prices etcetera, it's on the non dilutive side.

Speaker 4

Got it. Okay. Okay. That's helpful. And then one more, if I could just squeeze it in here.

Speaker 4

You touched on this a bit already, but could you just dig into a little bit more how you're protected from any regulatory changes and maybe tariffs related to the supply chain and everything we're hearing out there about that?

Speaker 2

Yes, I would say I don't know that anybody is protected to go that far. But what I would say is that, we have a production facility here in Maryland. And so that allows us to shield ourselves a bit, let's say, from some of those tariffs and regulatory issues that come up because we can source we have suppliers here in The U. S. That we can source from and we can build chargers here.

Speaker 2

But even in terms of our India production footprint, it becomes a manufacturing units numbers game. In other words, yes, will we get hit with some tariffs on, let's say steel and aluminum in our India finished goods? Yes, but our cost base on those charges is lower, so we can absorb it. And so perhaps that landed cost is really on par with, let's say, our U. S.

Speaker 2

Based chargers

Speaker 3

and we

Speaker 2

just have more finished goods coming in.

Speaker 4

Okay. Okay, got it. That's very helpful. That's all for me. Thanks guys.

Operator

Okay. And the last question comes from Noel Parks with Tuohy Brothers. Please proceed.

Speaker 8

Hi. I just had a couple. And I apologize if you touched on this and I missed it, but you had an impairment charge

Speaker 6

in the quarter. If you

Speaker 8

could just sort of dig down a little bit as to what was involved in that timing and so forth?

Speaker 3

Yes, I'll jump in on that. The fourth quarter in November is our annual give it an annual impairment exercise you have to go through or if there's indicators on the off quarters, if you will, during like third quarter, second quarter or first quarter, if there are indicators. We bought semi connect back two point five years ago when the valuations are high. Our market cap has come down. So this is just a byproduct of acquisitions from when valuations are much higher.

Speaker 3

So we had to write down that goodwill effectively.

Speaker 8

Got it. Okay. Thanks for the question.

Speaker 3

Non cash. Remember non cash. So that's why I have my cash base.

Speaker 8

Right. Absolutely. And you were talking a little bit on an earlier question about just different verticals and how the business is going and you also talked about different channels like electronic and you're talking about the electronic electrical distributors. I guess one market I was curious about is in what's been kind of a fast and furious real estate market with the interest rate environment the last couple of years. In some parts of the country where there's been a lot of population growth, there's also a lot of new construction that's been going on and coming online.

Speaker 8

And some of it some single family subdivisions, I guess some of it probably multifamily. And I was just wondering as you see new projects, in this case residential being planned out, where does the where do they come down in terms of wanting to satisfy their potential homeowners EV charging needs? What's What's that been like?

Speaker 2

Yes. So kind of I'm going to parse it just slightly. So I want to emphasize again, we talk about this is that Blink really doesn't have exposure to the pure residential EV charging market, meaning, I have a single family garage and I'm buying a charger on Amazon. So that's not us. What we do, a big market for us is commercial multifamily.

Speaker 2

And so yes, there's a lot of activity there. What you see is that more and more building codes are requiring stub ups, right, make ready for a certain percentage of parking spots within that parking lot. And so what that does is they may do the minimum, but that is actually an opportunity, it's actually a great opportunity for Blink with our hybrid business model, our hybrid Blink built business model. So they've already built out the infrastructure. We come into properties like that and we put the charger in at no cost.

Speaker 2

And then our return on investment is the utilization of that charger and the tenants, the residents of that apartment building paying for their charging sessions. And they get the benefit of basically having affectionately a gas station at home.

Speaker 8

Terrific. That's interesting. And then have you been far enough along with any of those that you've seen needs for upgrades, you're just rolling out increased density or charges in developments like that?

Speaker 2

Yes. So, I mean, one indicator of that is, we have at Blink, we have what's called an additional equipment request. And that is when a sales rep has an account and they have our Blink owned chargers. And then this is very anecdotal, so I'm just going to qualify, but this is anecdotal, but hopefully it clarifies or answers what we're talking about. And the number of requests that I've received in the last few months for additional equipment at already existing sites has definitely spiked.

Speaker 2

So we are starting to see properties add to the number of chargers that they have on-site. So I don't have a quantity, I don't have a quantified I haven't quantified that yet, but again anecdotally I'm just signing more of those.

Speaker 8

Great. Good to hear. Thanks a lot.

Operator

We have reached the end of the question and answer session. And I will now turn the call over to Vitali Stelja for closing remarks.

Speaker 1

Well, thank you all for joining us on the call today as we announced record service revenues and strong GAAP gross margin of 32% for the full year. We also unveiled Blink Forward, a number of strategic actions that will enable Blink to achieve profitability and position the company as a leader in the charging industry, both in U. S. And Europe. And at this time, we're going to conclude the call and we'll look forward to keeping you updated in the future.

Speaker 1

Thanks again.

Operator

This concludes today's conference and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

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Earnings Conference Call
Blink Charging Q4 2024
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