TPI Composites, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2017 Earnings Results

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TPI Composites, Inc. (Nasdaq:TPIC), the only independent manufacturer of composite wind blades with a global footprint, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2017.

Highlights

For the quarter ended December 31, 2017:

• Net sales of $247.1 million
• Total billings of $242.7 million
• Net income of $5.9 million or $0.17 per diluted share
• EBITDA of $20.9 million, with an EBITDA margin of 8.4%
• Adjusted EBITDA of $25.1 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.2%

For the full year 2017:

• Net sales of $930.3 million
• Total billings of $941.6 million
• Net income of $43.7 million or $1.25 per diluted share
• EBITDA of $89.9 million, with an EBITDA margin of 9.7%
• Adjusted EBITDA of $101.5 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.9%

1. Number of wind blade sets (which consist of three wind blades) invoiced worldwide in the period.
2. Estimated megawatts of energy capacity to be generated by wind blade sets invoiced in the period.
3. Number of manufacturing lines that are dedicated to our customers under long-term supply agreements. Includes seven lines for GE Wind that were not renewed after December 31, 2017.
4. Number of manufacturing lines installed and either in operation, startup or transition.
5. Number of manufacturing lines in a startup phase during the pre-production and production ramp-up period.
6. Number of manufacturing lines that were being transitioned to a new wind blade model during the period.

“We finished our second year as a public company very strong, delivering another solid quarter along with record results for 2017,” said Steven Lockard, TPI Composites’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “We continue to execute on our strategy to grow globally, diversify among our customer base and across geographies, and expand profitability. Today we have up to $4.6 billion of potential revenue under long-term contracts covering 41 molds and a strong and diverse global pipeline of opportunities to support our growth targets.  While 2018 will be a year of significant investment as we transition 14 existing manufacturing lines to larger blade models and start up 12 new lines, we estimate top line growth of approximately 10%. We believe our planned investments this year will position us for revenue growth in 2019 of approximately 35% and enable us to meet our three year revenue CAGR of between 20% and 25%.

“From a business development standpoint, during 2017 we signed multiyear supply agreements for five new manufacturing lines, representing total contract revenue of up to $850 million, plus options for additional lines with Vestas, Siemens Gamesa and a new customer, Senvion, and announced a new manufacturing hub in Matamoros, Mexico.  We remain very confident in our ability to convert our prioritized pipeline of 24 manufacturing lines over the next 24 months and in fact we are in active negotiations for a number of lines with the expectation of closing them in the next 1 to 2 months.

“Finally, TPI continues to demonstrate additional commercial capabilities for our advanced composites expertise as we have grown our footprint in the transportation business with our expanded relationship with Proterra, a leading supplier of zero-emission buses. Additionally, today we announced that we entered into an agreement with Navistar, Inc. to design and develop a Class 8 truck comprised of a composite tractor and frame rails. This collaborative development project is being entered into in connection with Navistar’s recent award under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Super Truck II investment program, which is designed to promote freight efficiency in commercial vehicles.

“We remain focused on our commitment to grow our wind business, improve our operational effectiveness, drive improved profitability and continue to drive down the levelized cost of energy while continuing to develop and explore additional opportunities in other strategic markets,” concluded Mr. Lockard.

Fourth Quarter 2017 Financial Results
Net sales for the quarter increased by $61.6 million or 33.2% to $247.1 million compared to $185.6 million in the same period in 2016. Net sales of wind blades were $236.2 million for the quarter as compared to $164.8 million in the same period in 2016. The increase was primarily driven by a 38% increase in the number of wind blades delivered during the quarter as compared to the same period in 2016, primarily from our Turkey, Mexico and China plants. This was partially offset by a decline in the average sales prices of the same blade models delivered in both periods as a result of geographic mix and savings in raw material costs, a portion of which we share with our customers. Total billings for the quarter increased by $45.1 million or 22.8% to $242.7 million compared to $197.6 million in the same period in 2016. The favorable impact of the currency movements on consolidated net sales and total billings were both 2.5% for the quarter.

Total cost of goods sold for the quarter was $219.9 million and included aggregate costs of $11.6 million primarily related to startup costs in our new plants in Mexico and Turkey. This compares to total cost of goods sold of $166.5 million for the same period in 2016, including aggregate costs of $6.7 million related to startup costs in our new plants in Mexico and Turkey. Cost of goods sold as a percentage of net sales of wind blades decreased by four percentage points during the quarter as compared to the same period in 2016, driven by improved operating efficiencies and the impact of savings in raw material costs, partially offset by the increase in startup and transition costs and foreign currency fluctuations. The unfavorable impact of the currency movements on consolidated cost of goods sold was 1.8% for the quarter.

General and administrative expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2017 totaled $12.0 million as compared to $9.7 million for the same period in 2016. As a percentage of net sales, general and administrative expenses were 4.9% for the three months ended December 31, 2017, down from 5.2% in the same period in 2016. The increase in expenses was primarily driven by additional costs incurred related to the adoption of the new revenue recognition accounting standard, our work related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and increased personnel costs from filling our key global positions to support our growth and diversification strategy.

Net income for the quarter was $5.9 million as compared to a net loss of $2.3 million in the same period in 2016. This increase was primarily due to the improved operating results discussed above and the write-off of debt issuance costs related to the refinancing of our previous credit facility in the fourth quarter of 2016. Diluted earnings per share was $0.17 for the quarter, compared to a loss of $0.07 per share for the same period in 2016.

EBITDA for the quarter increased to $20.9 million, compared to $12.5 million during the same period in 2016. The EBITDA margin increased to 8.4% compared to 6.7% in the 2016 period. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter increased to $25.1 million compared to $14.3 million during the same period in 2016. The Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 10.2% compared to 7.7% during the same period in 2016.

Capital expenditures were $9.5 million for the quarter compared to $11.6 million during the same period in 2016. Current year capital expenditures were primarily related to new facilities and expansion or improvements at existing facilities and costs to enhance our information technology systems.

We ended the quarter with $148.1 million of cash and cash equivalents and net cash was $24.6 million as compared to net debt of $6.4 million as of December 31, 2016.

2018 Outlook
For 2018, the Company is providing the following:

• Total billings and net sales under ASC 606 of between $1.0 billion and $1.05 billion
• Adjusted EBITDA of between $75 million and $80 million under ASC 606
• Fully diluted earnings per share of between $0.38 and $0.42 under ASC 606
• Sets delivered of between 2,500 and 2,550
• Average sales price per blade of between $125,000 and $130,000
• Estimated megawatts of sets delivered to be between 6,950 and 7,100
• Dedicated manufacturing lines under long-term agreements at year end to be between 51 and 55
• Manufacturing lines installed at year end to be 47
• Manufacturing lines in transition during the year to be 14
• Manufacturing lines in startup during the year to be 12
• Startup and transition cost of between $58 million and $62 million
• Capital expenditures to be between $85 million and $90 million (approx. 85% growth related)
• Effective tax rate to be between 40% and 42%
• Depreciation and amortization of between $30 million and $35 million
• Interest expense of between $11.5 million and $12.5 million
• Share-based compensation expense of between $10 million and $11 million

Conference Call and Webcast Information
TPI Composites will host an investor conference call this afternoon, Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 5:00pm ET. Interested parties are invited to listen to the conference call which can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 1-877-407-9208, or for international callers, 1-201-493-6784. A replay will be available two hours after the call and can be accessed by dialing 1-844-512-2921, or for international callers, 1-412-317-6671. The passcode for the live call and the replay is 13676373. The replay will be available until March 15, 2018. Interested investors and other parties may also listen to a simultaneous webcast of the conference call by logging onto the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.tpicomposites.com. The online replay will be available for a limited time beginning immediately following the call.

About TPI Composites, Inc.
TPI Composites, Inc. is the only independent manufacturer of composite wind blades for the wind energy market with a global manufacturing footprint. TPI delivers high-quality, cost-effective composite solutions through long-term relationships with leading global manufacturers. TPI is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona and operates factories throughout the U.S., Mexico, China and Turkey.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements, among other things, concerning: effects on our financial statements and our financial outlook; our business strategy, including anticipated trends and developments in and management plans for our business and the wind industry and other markets in which we operate; our projected annual revenue growth; competition; future financial results, operating results, revenues, gross margin, operating expenses, products, projected costs, warranties, our ability to improve our operating margins, and capital expenditures. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of words such as “estimate,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “seek,” “believe,” “forecast,” “foresee,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “goal,” “target,” “might,” “will,” “could,” “predict,” “continue” and the negative or plural of these words and other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and our projections about future events. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for any reason. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the matters discussed in “Risk Factors,” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports that we will file with the SEC.

Non-GAAP Definitions
This press release includes unaudited non-GAAP financial measures, including total billings, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, net cash/debt and free cash flow. We define total billings as total amounts billed from products and services that we are entitled to payment and have billed under the terms of our long-term supply agreements or other contractual arrangements. We define EBITDA as net income plus interest expense (including losses on extinguishment of debt and net of interest income), income taxes and depreciation and amortization. We define adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA plus any share-based compensation expense plus or minus any gains or losses from foreign currency transactions. We define net cash/debt as the total principal amount of debt outstanding less unrestricted cash and equivalents. We define free cash flow as net cash flow generated from operating activities less capital expenditures. We present non-GAAP measures when we believe that the additional information is useful and meaningful to investors. Non-GAAP financial measures do not have any standardized meaning and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. The presentation of non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be a substitute for, and should not be considered in isolation from, the financial measures reported in accordance with GAAP. See below for a reconciliation of certain non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP measures.

Investor Relations
480-315-8742
investors@TPIComposites.com