PowerBank Corp (PBK) 2026 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello, everyone. Thank you for standing by. Good afternoon, and welcome to the PowerBank's fiscal fourth quarter 2026 financial results and corporate update conference call. My name is Megan Haley, Marketing Associate for PowerBank. (Operator Instructions) Participants of this call are advised that the audio of this conference call is being broadcast live over the internet and is also being recorded for playback purposes. A webcast replay of the call will be available approximately one hour after the end of the call and accessible on the Investor Relations portion of our website for 30 days after the call.

This morning, the company issued a press release for its financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30, 2026. A copy of that press release can be found on the company's website at powerbankcorp.com under the News tab. Joining me on today's earnings call from PowerBank's management team are Dr. Richard Lu, Chief Executive Officer; and Nicole Rusaw, Chief Financial Officer.

During this call, management will be making forward-looking statements, including statements that address Powerbank's expectations for future performance or operational results. Forward-looking statements involve risks and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those statements. For more information about these risks, please refer to the risk factors described in PowerBank's annual information form, most recently filed annual report on Form 40-F and subsequent periodic reports filed with the SEC, SEDAR+ and PowerBank's press release that accompanies this call, particularly the cautionary statements in it. The content of this call contains time-sensitive information that is accurate only as of today. Except as required by law, PowerBank disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any information to reflect events or circumstances that occur after this call.

It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to CEO, Dr. Richard Lu.

Thank you so much, Megan, and good afternoon to everyone on the call. It's a pleasure to be back in front of you to share with -- our progress. And as you know, PowerBank continues to execute on a clear strategy, that is, to scale our development and EPC platform, while steadily expanding our portfolio of long-lived cash-generating IPP assets. We're also actively adapting to a fast-evolving regulatory and market environment in the North America, particularly in the US, where policy and the tariff dynamics are influencing project economics and timing.

Operationally, during the quarter and subsequent to quarter end, we made progress across several key areas. First is the development and the construction momentum. We were pleased to announce that all three community solar projects in Nova Scotia have secured interconnection agreement, advancing the 12.4 megawatt pipeline in the province.

In May 2026, we announced three new battery energy storage system projects in Upstate New York, adding another 60-megawatt hour to the growing portfolio of our battery energy storage systems. Over the summer, all three community solar projects in the 21-megawatt Upstate New York project achieved commercial operation. Secondly is our safe harboring ITC eligibility.

Our procurement of equipment for the eight distributed solar and energy storage projects in New York State has positioned those projects to remain eligible for US Federal Investment Tax Credit under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Physical work commenced on the procured equipment, meaning the project met the IRS Physical Work Test ahead of its July 4, 2026, deadline. The estimated ITC value associated with the safe harbor projects is approximately $30 million with an estimated portfolio construction value of approximately $74 million.

Thirdly is to strengthen partnership and growth initiative. In June, we announced a joint development agreement with Nodiac Corporation to leverage PowerBank's portfolio of solar and battery storage sites across North America for the development of distributed AI computer infrastructure. We were also awarded a $2.95 million federal contract with the US Department of Defense and the Department of Army for the covered parking canopy solar projects.

Fourth, the Ontario battery storage milestone. Our SFF 6 battery energy storage project in Ontario achieved commercial operation on April 20, 2026. This is a significant milestone and added a new recurring IPP revenue stream to our portfolio and a long-term contract with the Ontario IESO. For the remaining two projects in Ontario, the time lines remain dependent on permitting processes, and we are actively managing those proceedings.

Fifth, the new strategic opportunities. As the rising AI use increase our already rising demand for power, we are working to co-locate modular edge data centers with solar and battery project sites across Canada and the United States, leveraging our existing relationship and assets to create an additional source of revenue in a timely manner.

Stepping back, we continue to see a large addressable opportunity set in North America. As disclosed, our total development pipeline is approximately 200 megawatts and 756 megawatt-hours, including 15.5 megawatts under construction and 130 megawatts in advanced development across solar PV and battery storage with the balance in early stage development. With that update, I will turn it over to Nicole to review our financial results in more detail, Nicole? You are on mute.

Thank you, Richard. Good afternoon, everyone. Unless otherwise stated, all figures are in Canadian dollars and are presented in thousands in our filings. I will refer to our results in millions. Revenue for fiscal 2026 was CAD27.4 million compared to CAD41.5 million in fiscal 2025 and CAD58.4 million in fiscal 2024.

The 34% decrease from fiscal 2025 was primarily attributable to lower EPC services and development fee revenue, partially offset by continued growth in IPP production revenue. EPC services revenue decreased to CAD16.1 million from CAD23.3 million, while development fee revenue decreased to CAD0.9 million from CAD7.7 million. IPP production revenue increased to CAD9.8 million from CAD9.3 million as the company continued its tradition towards owning and operating renewable energy assets.

Revenue in fiscal 2025 decreased by 29% from fiscal 2024, primarily because EPC services revenue declined to CAD23.3 million from CAD54.1 million. This decline was partially offset by increases in IPP production revenue, which rose to CAD9.3 million from CAD0.6 million, and development fee revenue, which increased to CAD7.7 million from CAD2 million.

Gross margin increased to approximately 35% in fiscal 2026 compared to 25% in fiscal '25 and 20% in fiscal '24. Overall, the 3-year results reflect the company's transition from a business primarily driven by development and EPC revenue toward a more diversified model that includes a growing portfolio of owned IPP and BESS assets. This transition has resulted in lower EPC and development revenue in the near term while increasing recurring IPP production revenue and significantly expanding the company's asset base and related project financing.

For the year ended June 30, 2026, net cash used in operating activities was CAD12.828 million compared to CAD17.26 million in 2025. The decrease in cash used primarily reflected a lower net loss and a smaller net use of cash from changes in noncash operating assets and liabilities. Noncash adjustments in 2026 included depreciation and amortization of CAD5.7 million; share-based compensation of CAD4.6 million; inventory write-offs of CAD1.856 million; accounts receivable write-offs of CAD933,000 and impairment losses of CAD4.7 million. Interest paid was CAD3.32 million.

For the year ended June 30, 2026, adjusted EBITDA, a non-IFRS measure, was a loss of CAD3.5 million, apologies for that, compared with a loss of CAD846,000 in 2025, an increase in loss of CAD2.668 million. The increase in adjusted EBITDA loss was primarily attributable to lower gross profit from EPC services and higher underlying operating expenses. The company recorded a net loss of CAD24.3 million or CAD0.58 loss per share in fiscal 2026, compared with a net loss of CAD31.1 million or CAD0.97 loss per share in fiscal 2025 and a net loss of CAD3.6 million or CAD0.13 loss per share in fiscal 2024.

The significantly higher net loss in fiscal 2025 compared to fiscal '24 was primarily attributable to higher operating expenses, including CAD30.4 million of a noncash impairment loss related to the SFF, OFIT GM and OFIT RT cash-generating units. Fiscal 2025 results also reflected higher professional and consulting fees associated with acquisitions, financing activities, legal and compliance matters and other business expansion initiatives.

As of June 30, 2026, current assets totaled CAD40.9 million, consistent with total current assets of CAD41.3 million at June 30, 2025. Current liabilities were CAD39.4 million, down CAD3.8 million from the prior year, primarily due to lower trade and other payables and contract liabilities, partially offset by increases in the current portion of long-term debt and short-term loans. As a result, the company had working capital of CAD1.6 million at June 30, 2026.

Long-term debt was CAD65.4 million, an increase of approximately CAD2.4 million year-over-year, driven by amounts drawn down on the RBC for BESS project financing. Our cash, restricted cash and short-term investments totaled approximately CAD18 million at June 30, 2026, compared to CAD14.19 million at the end of fiscal 2025. A portion of this cash balance is restricted under credit agreements assumed with the Solar Flow-Through acquisition. We remain focused on disciplined capital allocation as we execute our near-term construction milestones, advance late-stage development and selectively monetize assets while pursuing growth in our IPP base. That concludes my remarks.

I'll turn the call back to Richard.

Thank you so much, Nicole, and thank you all for listening. And I think for details, you can certainly review our filings. And then I think for the remaining part, I'd like to turn the call over to the operator so that we can begin the question-and-answer session. Megan, if you could, please.

(Operator Instructions)

It seems there are no questions at this time. We are available for any questions over e-mail or phone. So please feel free to reach out at any time.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Megan.