PROVIDENCE – Aspen Aerogels Inc. posted a loss of $16.8 million in the first quarter, or 24 cents per diluted share, compared with a $19.5 million loss, or 59 cents per diluted share, one year prior, the company reported Thursday.
The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 41 cents per diluted share.
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The company, which designs, develops and manufactures aerogel insulation and has a manufacturing facility in East Providence, said that revenue totaled $45.6 million in the quarter, up from $38.4 million in the first quarter of 2022. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $42.7 million.
“Aspen is off to a strong start for the year,” Don Young, Aspen’s CEO and president, said in a statement. “First quarter gross margins reflect the actions that the team is taking to drive towards profitability.”
Young added, “2023 is an important commercial year for us, as we expect additional decisions on a significant number of key OEM [original equipment manufacturer] programs. The new European commercial truck award is a significant achievement and demonstrates the demand for our Pyrothin products in the emerging commercial EV [electric vehicle] market. We continue to strengthen our technical and commercial relationships with key customers and are optimistic about our commercial outlook in 2023 and beyond.”
Aspen Aerogels expects full-year earnings to be $1.46 to $1.31 per share, with revenue in the range of $200 million to $250 million.
Aspen Aerogels shares have declined 47% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $6.25, a drop of 73% in the last 12 months.
“It is important for Aspen to right-time our investment in Plant II to align with our customers and their expected volumes,” Young said. “By leveraging our current plant in Rhode Island and our new aerogel supply arrangements, we believe that we can provide a target revenue capacity of approximately $550 million in 2024. We believe this strategy will enable us to maintain our 2023 and 2024 revenue growth targets while reducing OPEX and CAPEX, generating positive cash flow, preserving our existing capital, and supplying both our EV and Energy Industrial customers.”
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
