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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023
or
For the transition period from to
Commission file number 001-15957
CAPSTONE GREEN ENERGY HOLDINGS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) Identification No.)
Van Nuys, California 91406
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(818) 734-5300
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share N/A N/A
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐No☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☐No☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☐No☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Section 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court. Yes ☐ No ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☒
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
The aggregate market value of the shares of common stock of Capstone Green Energy Corporation held by non-affiliates on September 30, 2022 was approximately $32.9 million.
As of June 10, 2024, the registrant had 18,546,649 shares of common stock,par value $0.001 per share, and 508,475 shares of non-voting common stock, par value $0.001 per share, outstanding.
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CAPSTONE GREEN ENERGY CORPORATION
FORM 10-K
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PART I
Item 1. Business 6
Item 1A. Risk Factors 19
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 43
Item 2. Properties 43
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 43
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 44
PART II
Item 6. [Reserved] 46
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 66
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 66
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 66
Item 9B. Other Information 68
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 68
Item 11. Executive Compensation 76
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 89
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules 89
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary 89
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EXPLANATORY NOTE
All references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “the Company,” “we,” “us,” “our,” or “Capstone” are to Capstone Green Energy Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to the Effective Date (as defined below) and to Capstone Green Energy Holdings, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries following the Effective Date.
As previously reported in the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on September 28, 2023, the Company and its wholly owned direct subsidiaries, Capstone Turbine International, Inc. and Capstone Turbine Financial Services, LLC (together with the Company, the “Debtors”), commenced voluntary proceedings under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Bankruptcy Court”). Concurrent with the petition, the Debtors (i) entered into the Transaction Support Agreement (“TSA”) with the pre-petition senior secured creditor, Broad Street Credit Holdings, LLC (“Broad Street”), and Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group, L.P. (the “Collateral Agent”) and (ii) filed with the Bankruptcy Court a joint prepackaged Chapter 11 plan of reorganization (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Plan”).
On October 24, 2023, in accordance with the TSA and the Plan, the Debtors filed a supplement to the Plan (the “Plan Supplement”) with the Bankruptcy Court. On November 9, 2023, the Debtors filed certain additional exhibits to the Plan Supplement. On November 14, 2023, the Bankruptcy Court entered an order (the “Confirmation Order”) confirming the Plan, including the Plan Supplement and all exhibits and schedules thereto, and all other documents filed in connection with the Plan. On December 7, 2023 (the “Effective Date”), the Plan, including the Plan Supplement and all exhibits and schedules thereto, became effective in accordance with its terms and the Debtors emerged from the Chapter 11 Cases (as defined below) without any need for further action or order of the Bankruptcy Court.
In connection with the Plan, on December 7, 2023, the Company completed a series of transactions pursuant to which, among other things, Capstone Turbine International, Inc. was re-named “Capstone Green Energy Holdings, Inc.” and became the successor to Capstone Green Energy Corporation for SEC reporting purposes by operation of Rule 12g-3(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
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Background of Restatement
As previously disclosed in the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company filed with the SEC on September 22, 2023, the Audit Committee of the Board Directors of the Company (the “Audit Committee”), in consultation with Company’s management, concluded that, as a result of apparent errors primarily related to revenue recognition associated with bill and hold transactions, certain previously issued consolidated financial statements were materially incorrect and should no longer be relied upon.
In June 2023, prior to the issuance of our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, the Audit Committee commenced an investigation (the “Revenue Recognition Investigation”) into certain accounting and internal control matters, principally focused on certain revenue recognition matters. The Revenue Recognition Investigation was conducted with the assistance of outside counsel and forensic accountants retained by the Audit Committee. Following the conclusion of the Revenue Recognition Investigation, the Company’s management, under the direction of the Audit Committee and in consultation with outside counsel, conducted certain additional procedures over the historical financial statements, accounting policies and financial reporting, as well as the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
As a result of the Revenue Recognition Investigation and additional procedures performed by management, the Audit Committee and management, in consultation with the Company’s independent auditors, determined that certain previously issued financial statements were required to be restated to correct for the following: (i) timing of revenue recognition related to bill-and-hold arrangements including the removal of certain finance leases derived from bill and hold arrangements; (ii) timing of recognizing certain expenses associated with the Company’s factory protection plan (“FPP”) offered to customers; and (iii) reclassification of term note payable (the “Restatement”).
Restatement of Previously Issued Consolidated Financial Statements
This Comprehensive Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2023 and 2022 includes restatement of the following information:
For a more detailed description of the financial impact of the Restatement on the unaudited quarterly financial information, see Note 16 – Restatement of Consolidated Quarterly Financial Information (unaudited).
The Company has not filed, and does not intend to file, amendments to the Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q as of and for the three months ended June 30, 2022, September 30, 2022, and December 31, 2022 (the “Affected Quarterly Periods”). Accordingly, investors should rely only on the financial information and other disclosures regarding the Affected Quarterly Periods in this Form 10-K or in the Company’s future filings with the SEC (as applicable) and not on any previously furnished or filed reports, related earnings releases, investor presentations or similar communications of the Company describing the Company’s financial results for the Affected Quarterly Periods.
In connection with the Restatement, the Company restated the consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021, as well as the relevant unaudited quarterly financial information for the quarterly periods ended June 30, 2021, September 30, 2021, December 31, 2021, June 30, 2020, September 30, 2020, and December 31, 2020 in its 2022 Annual Report, as amended, on Form 10-K/A, filed with the SEC on June 12, 2024.
Audit Committee Investigation in Respect of FPP
Based on information learned as part of the Restatement process, the Audit Committee commenced an additional investigation (the “FPP Investigation” and, together with the Revenue Recognition Investigation, the “Audit Committee Investigations”) into FPP related practices. The FPP Investigation was conducted with the assistance of outside counsel retained by the Audit Committee. Through the FPP Investigation, the Audit Committee identified evidence that, at times during the fiscal years covered in this Annual Report, former senior executives delayed shipment of available parts under the FPP and delayed recording the associated expense on the Company’s financial statements. The Audit Committee
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Investigations found no evidence that either the Audit Committee, the full Board or current executive officers were aware of such activity. The financial statement impact of such activity in prior reporting periods, if any, has been addressed through the Company’s Restatement. As part of the Restatement process, the Company corrected its accounting treatment of FPP expenses so that claims are recorded at the time a claim is received and accepted, as opposed to when the claim is satisfied.
Internal Control Considerations
In connection with the Company’s review of its financial statements leading to the Restatement and the findings of the Audit Committee Investigations, the Company identified material weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the financial statements will not be prevented or detected and corrected on a timely basis. Therefore, the Company’s management concluded that material weaknesses remain in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of March 31, 2023. See Item 9A. Controls and Procedure, for additional information and discussion related to material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting and the Company’s related remediation activities.
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NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains or refers to certain statements that are not historical fact and are “forward-looking” statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
All statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, our business strategy and plans, and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “believe,” “target,” “project,” “goals,” “estimate,” “potential,” “predict,” “may,” “will,” “might,” “could,” “intend” and variations of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.
These statements are based largely on our current expectations, estimates and forecasts and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which could cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. Furthermore, new risks may emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results, performance or achievement to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date when made and we undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
Factors to consider when evaluating these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
● our ability to develop new products and enhance existing products;
● our ability to produce products on a timely basis in a high-quality manner;
● the availability of sources for and costs of component parts;
● competition in the markets in which we operate;
● federal, state and local regulations of our markets and products;
● usage of our federal and state net operating loss carryforwards;
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● our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property rights;
● the impact of pending or threatened litigation.
The above description of risks and uncertainties is by no means all-inclusive, but highlights certain factors that we believe are important for your consideration. For a more detailed description of risk factors, please refer to Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
PART I
Item 1. Business.
Overview
Capstone is a provider of customized microgrid solutions, on-site resilient green Energy-as-a-Service (“EaaS”) solutions and on-site energy technology systems focused on helping customers around the globe meet their environmental, energy savings and resiliency goals. We offer customers a range of commercial, industrial and utility scale options tailored to their specific needs ranging from 65 kilowatts (“kW”) to multiple megawatts (“MW”). Capstone’s product portfolio not only showcases our core microturbine technology but also includes flexible EaaS rental and service contracts. Through our EaaS business line, we offer long-term rental solutions utilizing our microturbine energy systems, comprehensive service contracts that cover planned and unplanned maintenance, and factory-certified aftermarket spare parts. In our pursuit of cutting-edge solutions, we have forged strategic partnerships to extend our impact. Through these collaborations, we offer biomass and heat recovery solutions that enhance the sustainability and efficiency of our clients’ operations, contributing to a cleaner and more responsible energy landscape.
We develop, manufacture, market, sell and service microturbine-based technology solutions for use in stationary distributed power generation applications, including energy efficient cogeneration combined heat and power (“CHP”), integrated combined heat and power, and combined cooling, heat and power (“CCHP”), as well as renewable energy, natural resources, and critical power supply applications. Capstone microturbines allow customers to produce power on-site in parallel with the local electric grid or stand-alone when no local utility grid is available. Several technologies are used to provide “on-site power generation” (also called “distributed generation”) such as reciprocating industrial engines (also known as internal combustion engines), solar photovoltaic power (“PV”), wind turbines and fuel cells. Microturbines can be interconnected to other distributed energy resources to form “microgrids” located within a specific geographic area and to provide power to a group of buildings. For customers that do not have access to the local electric utility grid, microturbines provide clean, on-site power with fewer scheduled maintenance intervals and greater fuel flexibility than competing technologies. For customers with access to the electric grid, microturbines provide an additional source of continuous, flexible, on-site power generation, thereby providing additional reliability and potential cost savings compared to the local utility. With our stand-alone feature, customers can produce their own energy in the event of a utility power outage and can use microturbines as their primary source of power for extended periods of time unlike traditional diesel standby generator sets. Because our microturbines also produce clean, usable heat energy, they provide economic advantages to customers that can benefit from the use of hot water, chilled water, air conditioning, steam and direct drying. In addition, our microturbines have been used as battery charging generators for hybrid electric vehicles. Our microturbines are sold, installed and serviced primarily through our global distribution network. Together with our global distributors, we offer new and remanufactured parts as well as a comprehensive Capstone factory protection plans through long-term service agreements. We also offer our microturbines for rent through our long-term rental program (which forms a part of our EaaS business).
We offer Capstone microturbine energy systems designed for commercial, industrial, and onshore and offshore oil and gas applications with product offerings ranging from 65 kW to one MW in electric power output, which can be deployed in arrays of multiple MWs. Our microturbines combine patented air bearing technology, advanced combustion
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technology, sophisticated power electronics, and advanced software controls to form efficient and ultra-low emission electricity and cooling and heat production systems. Because of our air bearing technology, our microturbines do not require lube oil, grease, or traditional coolants. This means they do not require routine maintenance to change and dispose of lube oil, grease, or other liquid lubricants, as do the most common reciprocating engines, making them a cleaner and environmentally friendly option to alternative technologies.
We also manufacture and supply system controllers that provide complete automated system control, including electrical load following and custom logic to protect against expensive local utility demand charges. These controllers include the legacy Capstone Logic Controllers (CLC) and the Capstone C1000 system controllers.
Our microturbines can be fueled by various sources, including natural gas, propane, butane, various sour gases, and renewable fuels such as renewable natural gas, landfill gas, biogas or digester gas. Our microturbines are available with integrated unit mounted heat exchangers, making them easy to engineer and install in applications where hot water, chilled water, air conditioning or steam are desired. Alternative fuels, in particular hydrogen, are increasingly important and the Company’s standard high pressure natural gas microturbine can reliably run on a 30% hydrogen / 70% natural gas mix. This is a promising milestone on the development roadmap to 100% hydrogen solutions.
Our microturbines are sold primarily through global distributors and Original Equipment Manufacturers (“OEMs”). Distributors purchase our products for sale to end users and also provide service, application engineering, and installation support. Distributors also provide a variety of additional services, including engineering, application, and air permit support services in which the microturbines will be used, installation support of the products at the end users’ sites, commissioning the installed applications and providing post-commissioning service, including a comprehensive factory protection plan (“FPP”). Our distributors perform as independent value-added resellers. OEMs integrate our products into their own product solutions.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Form 10-K”) refers to our fiscal years ending March 31 as “Fiscal” years.
Post Fiscal 2023 Developments
Please refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Results—Post Fiscal 2023 Developments” for a summary of our voluntary filing under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code and our emergence therefrom, the Exit Facility, the Operating Subsidiary LLC Agreement and the delisting of our common stock from the Nasdaq.
Products
Our microturbines are compact, lightweight and environmentally friendly generators of electricity and heat compared to competing technologies. They operate on the same principle as a jet engine using a variety of commercially available fuels. For example, our microturbines can operate on low British Thermal Unit (“BTU”) gas, which is gas with lower energy content, and can also operate on gas with a high amount of sulfur, known in the industry as sour gas. Examples of these fuel sources include methane from facilities such as wastewater treatment plants, landfills and anaerobic digesters. Our microturbines’ multi-fuel capability provides competitive advantages with respect to some of our selected vertical markets. The combustor system remains the same for all fuels except for the fuel injectors, which currently vary between liquid and multiple gaseous fuels.
Our microturbines incorporate four major design features: advanced combustion technology, patented air bearing technology, digital power electronics and proprietary remote monitoring systems.
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Our electronic controls manage microturbines using our proprietary software and advanced algorithms. The controls start the turbogenerator and manage its load, coordinate the functioning of the microturbine with the grid, manage the speed, fuel flow and exhaust temperature of the microturbine, convert the variable frequency, and provide digital communications to externally maintain and control the equipment.
The electrical output of our units can be paralleled in multiple unit configurations through our system controllers and a digital communications cable to serve larger installations requiring electrical loads of multiple MWs. Our products can operate connected to the electric utility grid as a current source, on a stand-alone basis as a voltage source, multipacked to support larger loads as a “virtual single” unit and in dual mode, where the microturbine operates connected to the electric utility grid or operates independently.
Our C65, as well as our C200 and C1000S Series grid connect and stand-alone microturbines are listed by Underwriters Laboratories (“UL”) as meeting the UL 2200 stationary engine generator standards and the UL 1741SA utility interconnection requirements. We are in the process of completing the certification for UL 1741SB.
Our C65 microturbine is certified by the California Energy Commission (the “CEC”) and was the first product to comply with the requirements of the CEC’s “Rule 21” grid interconnection standard. This standard streamlines the process for connecting distributed generation systems to the grid in California. The benefits of achieving this standard include avoiding both costly external equipment procurement requirements and extensive site by site and utility by utility analysis. Our protective relay functionality has also been recognized by the State of New York, which allows our microturbines to be connected to New York’s electric utility grid.
We offer various accessories for our products, including rotary gas compressors with digital controls, integrated heat recovery modules for CHP applications, dual mode controllers that allow automatic transition between grid connect and stand-alone modes, batteries with digital controls for stand-alone or dual mode operations, system controllers for large multipack installations, protocol converters for Internet access, packaging options and miscellaneous parts such as frames, exhaust ducting, backflow dampers and installation hardware.
Power Generation Applications
Our 65 kW (“C65”) microturbine can produce enough heat to provide hot water to a 100-room hotel while also providing about one third of its electrical requirements. Our 200 kW (“C200”) microturbine is well suited for larger hotels, offices, commercial and industrial buildings, and wastewater treatment plants, among others. By packaging the C200 microturbine power modules into single enclosures which are available in multiple sizes and are built in similar dimensions
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to a standard shipping container, we have created an upgradable family of microturbine offerings from 400 kW up to 1000 kW, or 1 MW, in a compact footprint engineered to function as a single source of power. Our 400 kW, 600 kW, 800 kW and 1000 kW (“C1000S Series”) microturbines are well suited for utility substations, larger commercial and industrial facilities and remote oil and gas applications. Our 600 kW and 800 kW systems can be shipped in a five-bay configuration which allows the end-use customer to add one to two more 200 kW microturbines in the future to increase their total on-site power production from 600 kW to 1000 kW without any change to the existing site footprint, as the customer’s business power demands expand over time.
Stationary power generation applications can vary greatly depending on load size and demand location. From small 2 kW back-up generators to several large 1,000 MW central generating facilities, stationary power systems can offer superior fuel efficiency for the customer while also meeting strict emissions regulations. Historically, power generation in developed countries such as the United States has been part of a regulated utility system. However, a number of developments related primarily to the deregulation of the utility industry as well as significant technological advances have helped to broaden the range of power supply options available to interested parties.
Our full line of microturbine energy solutions target multiple vertical markets worldwide, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, natural resources, critical power supply, microgrid and electric vehicle (“EV”) charging. Within these vertical markets, we focus on applications that we believe have the greatest near-term potential for the customer based on various different factors such as energy load demand, available fuels, economic payback and, for some, government incentives. The critical power supply and microgrid verticals do not currently generate significant revenues for us; however, we have experienced continued development in these verticals and remain focused on the development of applications in these verticals. We also target smaller sub segments that fall within these vertical markets that may not otherwise be considered for on-site generation.
Energy Efficiency—CHP/CCHP
Energy efficiency refers to the proper utilization of both electrical and thermal energies in the power production process. In such applications, our microturbines are able to maximize the availability of usable energy which we believe provides a significant economic advantage to our customers while reducing their on-site emissions. CHP and CCHP can improve site economics by capturing the waste heat created from a single combustion process to increase the efficiency of the total system, from approximately 30% to approximately 85% for hot water and chilled water to as much as 90% or more for some steam and direct drying applications. Compared with more traditional, independent generation sources, the increase in operational efficiency also reduces greenhouse gas emissions through the displacement of other separate systems, which can also reduce operating costs and industrial waste.
When compared to on-site boilers, microturbines generally produce fewer commonly found air pollutants (“criteria pollutants”), such as nitrogen oxides (“NOx”), carbon monoxide (“CO”) and volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”). In fact, our CHP or CCHP system can displace local boiler emissions altogether. A high efficiency CHP or CCHP system can allow for reduced net utility costs for end users as well as improved fuel consumption. The most common uses for captured thermal energy include space heating and air conditioning, water heating and water chilling, direct-drying and steam for industrial applications. In CCHP applications, the microturbine exhaust drives an absorption chiller, which produces the chilled water necessary for air conditioning and local use. Organizations of all sizes have used the heat generated by our microturbines at the many different types of commercial and industrial applications they serve, including hotels and resorts, hospitals, and medical centers, as well as office buildings and large retail facilities.
During Fiscal 2023, we continued to expand and develop our new hydrogen products with the release of a commercially available hydrogen-based CHP product, which can reliably run on a 30% hydrogen-70% natural gas mix. We are continuing our research and development partnership with Argonne National Laboratory and utilizing their high performance computing with AI technology and are optimizing higher hydrogen blend configurations, with the goal of creating a 100% hydrogen microturbine. Argonne National Laboratory is a national science and technology research laboratory operated by the University of Chicago Argonne, LLC for the United States Department of Energy.
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Renewable Energy
There is a growing transition to renewable energy sources and technologies on a global scale. Our microturbines run efficiently on renewable fuels such as methane and other biogases from landfills, wastewater treatment facilities and renewable natural gas. They also run efficiently on other small biogas applications like food processing plants, livestock farms and agricultural green waste operations. Microturbines can burn these renewable fuels with minimal emissions, thereby, and in some cases, avoiding the imposition of penalties incurred for pollution while simultaneously producing electricity from this “free” renewable fuel source for use at the site or in the surrounding areas. Our microturbines have demonstrated effectiveness in these smaller applications and may outperform conventional combustion engines in some situations, including when the gas contains a high amount of sulfur, as the sulfur can contaminate combustion engines’ lube oil leading to equipment breakdowns and higher lifecycle costs.
We offer C65 and C200 stand-alone digester gas-fueled products to the renewable energy market segment. With these products, we can target many different types of renewable energy applications, including biogas producing facilities in third world countries and in remote locations that offer a valuable fuel source for the generation of electricity. The performance of our C65 digester gas system has been routinely evaluated to ensure that the combustion system is stable from zero to 100 percent power output. Minor controls changes have been implemented to increase stability at low power levels. The ability to convert this low BTU fuel to electricity, along with the high reliability and low maintenance features of this product, make it well suited for this market segment.
Natural Resources—Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Shale Gas & Mining
Our microturbines are installed in the natural resource market for use in both onshore and offshore applications, including exploration, production, compression, and transmission sites, as a highly efficient and reliable source of prime power. In some cases, these oil and gas or mining operations have no access to an electric utility grid and rely solely on power generated on-site. There are numerous locations, on a global scale, where the drilling, production, compression and transportation of oil and gas and other extraction and production processes create fuel byproducts, which are traditionally burned or released into the atmosphere. Our microturbines can turn these fuel byproducts, flare gas or associated gas into a useable fuel to provide power to these remote oil and gas sites.
The addressable market for our microturbines in the United States shale reserves industry is significant. The shale gas market for microturbines may grow as demand for natural gas continues to rise in the U.S. as the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), the Department of the Interior and other federal and state agencies work to reduce the emission of hazardous air pollutants associated with natural gas development, including limitations on the flaring of excess gases. Our product sales in the natural resources market are driven by our microturbines’ reliability, emissions profile and ease of installation. However, any growth in the oil and gas sector within our natural resources market is primarily driven by oil prices.
The C65 and C200 microturbines can be configured to meet Class 1 Zone 2 hazardous location requirements for the natural resources market. Hazardous location requirements are met through third-party package ventilation changes for purging and pressurizing package air to avoid potential flammable mixtures as well as controls for emergency disconnect of fuel and electrical sources. The package can also be upgraded to stainless steel construction to withstand the often-corrosive offshore environments where these units are installed. Oil and gas customers often prefer power generation systems that offer low maintenance and high reliability in order to ensure continued production.
Critical Power Supply
Because of the potentially catastrophic consequences of system failure, momentary or otherwise, certain high - demand power users, including high technology, health care and information systems facilities, require higher levels of reliability in their power generation service. The majority of microturbine-based distributed generation installations have powered through hurricanes with little or no downtime. To meet these customer requirements, traditional solutions utilize Uninterruptible Power Supplies (“UPS”) to protect critical loads from power disturbances along with back-up diesel generators for extended outages. We offer an alternative solution where our microturbines can also be installed along with a rotary UPS to provide a complete line interactive continuous power solution. In this case, the microturbines remain in
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grid connect mode while the rotary UPS stabilizes the utility voltage and provides a seamless transfer from operation connected to the grid to operation isolated from the grid.
Microgrid
A microgrid is a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources that acts as a single controllable energy entity with respect to the grid. Distributed energy resources typically include other dual-mode microturbines, reciprocating engines, PV, wind turbines, fuel cells and battery storage. Microgrids can be connected to larger electricity grids; however, in the event of a widespread outage, the microgrid will disconnect from the main grid and continue to operate independently to maintain the electricity supply to the homes and businesses that are connected to the microgrid’s electricity network. Our microturbines have the ability to meet the needs of microgrid end-users by lowering their overall cost to operate and by providing a versatile dispatchable technology that is fuel flexible and scalable enough to fit a wide variety of applications. Our distribution partners have also paired our microturbines with battery storage and EV chargers to offer vehicle charging solutions.
Additionally, we have our own programmable logic control system and sensors, which interface with other building automation systems and are a key aspect of monitoring a microgrid. The use of microgrids to serve local loads helps to reduce energy losses in transmission and distribution, further increasing the efficiency of the microgrid. We have been a part of numerous successful microgrid installations worldwide ranging between a wind turbine manufacturer, ski resort, university, industrial farm, utility software company, brewery and electrical distribution utility. Our microturbines’ functionality is to ensure energy availability for advanced microgrids before and during disasters, such as hurricanes. They may also help reduce electrical expenditures in the years following a disaster when electric utility rates may be increased to pay for the expenses for grid infrastructure repairs and improvements associated with these disasters.
Sales and Marketing
We primarily sell and market our microturbine products, parts, rentals and services through our global network of authorized Capstone distributors and OEMs.
Our Sales and Marketing team operates as one organization focused on developing and managing our existing worldwide distribution channel, growing our long-term rental fleet and leading all marketing and advertising activities as we continue building our Company into a strong and recognizable worldwide brand. We continue to fulfill rental contracts by renting unused equipment previously sold to our customers and then re-renting them to our customers and selling rental assets to build additional capital to continue to refresh and grow the rental fleet. Our existing global distribution network remains our worldwide feet-on-the-ground and our local presence.
Our worldwide Capstone authorized distribution network was developed from the ground up and has become a valuable asset, because we can reach end use customers globally. Each of our distributors is a strategically placed independent partner that markets, sells, and provides applications engineering support for our products on our behalf. In addition, distributors provide remote monitoring services, warranty support, local spare parts support, and customer training and long-term service support. Through our global distribution network, we offer a comprehensive FPP for a fixed fee to perform regularly scheduled and unscheduled maintenance as needed. We provide factory and on-site training to certify all personnel that perform sales, applications, commissioning, and long-term service on our microturbines. Individuals who are certified are called Authorized Service Providers and must be employed by a distributor or an end user in order to perform work pursuant to a FPP. We offer to assist all customers by reviewing their installation designs in relation to the technical requirements for proper operation of our products, such as electrical interconnections, load requirements, fuel type and pressure, cooling air flow and turbine exhaust routing. As part of the microturbine commissioning process, we also receive a checklist to confirm that the final installation adheres to our technical requirements before we accept our standard manufacturer warranty obligations. Our typical terms of sale include shipment of the products with title, care, custody, and control transferring at our dock, payment terms ranging from full payment in advance of shipment to payment in 90 days, and warranty periods of approximately 12 to 24 months from shipment depending on the product type. We typically do not have customer acceptance provisions in our agreements.
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Our Distributor Support System (“DSS program”) provides additional support for distributor business development activities, customer lead generation, brand awareness and tailored marketing services for each of our major geographic and market verticals. This program is funded by our distributors and was developed to provide improved worldwide distributor training, access to online documentation and technical publications, paperless service software, sales efficiency, website development, company branding and funding for increased strategic business-to-business (B2B) marketing activities.
Our Geographic Markets
United States and Canada
We have distribution agreements with several companies throughout North America for the resale of our products. Many of these distributors serve multiple markets in their select geographic regions. The primary markets served in this region have been energy efficiency, renewable energy, natural resources, and EV charging products. The energy efficiency and natural resources vertical markets are expected to grow as a result of an increased domestic production of hydrocarbons, the low downstream price of natural gas, utility grid shortages due to rising electrification and EV charging demands, as well as public and regulatory acceptance and promotion of distributed generation.
In developing our sales opportunities, we have identified the need to address various requirements present in our target localities. These requirements include electric grid interconnection standards, gas utility connection requirements, emissions standards, building and fire safety codes and various inspections and approvals. The costs and scheduling ramifications of these various approvals, in conjunction with normal bidding process requirements and construction delays, can be significant to the completion of an installation. Our goal is to work with the applicable regulating entities to establish compliant standards for the installation of our microturbines so that the costs and installation timelines are minimized for our customers.
Latin America
Our target markets in Latin America are energy efficiency, renewable energy, and natural resources. Oil and gas production projects continue to be a growing market in Latin America and there is a high degree of interest in EaaS options.
Energy reform in Mexico, for example, has opened new market opportunities for us by allowing competition among multiple players and enabling power generation companies to sell directly to consumers instead of only to the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission. Near-shoring of industrial manufacturing, grid power shortages, and low-cost natural gas also drive interest in distributed generation solutions. Our strategy is to leverage our distribution network in Mexico across various market verticals.
South America constitutes a diverse group of markets that vary greatly in potential capture for us based on several factors, including the availability of oil and gas production and transmission, energy pricing and political and investment climate. The success of existing solutions in Colombia and a more recent initial long-term rental solution in the developing natural resources market in Argentina has driven interest in our solutions in numerous regional markets where government and corporate leaders are seeking to reduce flaring, increase efficiency and lower costs.
Asia and Australia
Our target markets in Asia and Australia are energy efficiency, renewable energy, and natural resources. Our historical sales in Southeast Asia and Australia have primarily been in the energy efficiency and the oil and gas markets. Other areas in Asia and the Pacific Rim offer attractive opportunities as well. Industrial manufacturing growth in Southeast Asia serving European and North American markets must adapt to new carbon-based regulations such as the European Union’s (“EU”) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and public company green procurement policies that drive demand for energy efficiency and renewable solutions.
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Middle East and Africa
Our target market in the Middle East and Africa is primarily oil and gas. This includes flare gas to power projects which are a particularly attractive market opportunity given the volume of gas being flared and the need for stable power in the region. Management has targeted distributors and customers involved in the capture and use of flare gas in the oil and gas market. However, the geopolitical environment in parts of this region is still volatile, which can have an impact on our sales. We are not currently impacted by the conflict in Israel/Gaza.
Europe
To address the European market, we are strengthening our relationships with existing and new distributors. We have upgraded our Integrated Remanufacturing Facility in the United Kingdom to make new and remanufactured parts readily available to our distributors. Europe has a history of extensive use of distributed generation technologies. We are also seeing a resurgence in oil and gas drilling in Europe to address the fuel shortage on the continent following the destruction of the Nord Steam gas pipeline. Following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, we re-evaluated our efforts in the Russian and the surrounding Commonwealth of Independent States (“CIS”) markets and have ceased exploring growth opportunities in sanctioned markets. There are opportunities in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan where oil and gas development continues. We do however continue to evaluate customer orders and ensure that we are in compliance with all laws and regulations upon acceptance and before shipment. Due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the resulting economic impacts to the European and Russia region, revenue in the region was negatively impacted in Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2024.
Customers
Sales to E-Finity Distributed Generation, LLC (“E-Finity”) and RSP Systems, two of our domestic distributors, accounted for 12% and 11%, respectively, of our revenue for Fiscal 2023. Sales to E-Finity accounted for 18% of our revenue for Fiscal 2022, as restated. Additionally, E-Finity accounted for 12% of our net accounts receivable as of March 31, 2023. E-Finity and Radian Oil & Gas Services Co. accounted for 28% and 14% of our net accounts receivable as of March 31, 2022, as restated, respectively.
We recorded net bad debt expense of approximately $4.3 million during Fiscal 2023 and net bad debt expense of approximately $0.4 million during Fiscal 2022, as restated.
Competition
The market for our products is highly competitive. Our microturbine energy systems compete with existing technologies such as reciprocating engines and also with emerging distributed generation and storage technologies, including solar-powered systems, wind-powered systems, battery-storage systems, linear generators, fuel cells and other microturbines. Many potential customers rely on the utility grid for their electrical power. Many of our distributed generation competitors are large, well-established companies that derive competitive advantages from production economies of scale, worldwide presence, brand recognition and greater financial resources that they can devote to product development or promotion.
Often power purchased from the electric utility grid can be less costly than power produced by distributed generation technologies. Utilities may also charge fees to interconnect to their power grids. However, we can provide economic benefits to end users in instances where the waste heat from our microturbines have value (CHP and CCHP), where fuel costs are low (renewable energy/renewable fuels), where the costs of connecting to the grid may be high or impractical (such as remote power applications), where reliability and power quality are of critical importance, or in situations where peak shaving could be economically advantageous because of highly variable electricity prices. Because our microturbines can provide a reliable source of power, offer operational flexibility to meet varying load levels and can operate on multiple fuel sources, management believes we offer a level of flexibility not currently offered by other technologies such as reciprocating engines.
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Our reciprocating engine competitors have products and markets that are well developed and technologies that have been proven for some time. A reciprocating engine, also known as an internal combustion engine, is similar to those used in automotive applications. Reciprocating engines are popular for primary and back-up power applications despite higher levels of emissions, noise, and maintenance. These technologies, which in many cases have a lower up front cost than microturbines, are currently produced by Caterpillar Inc., Cummins Inc. (which entered into a joint venture with Eaton), Innio (who bought the General Electric gas engine business, which now includes Waukesha and Jenbacher gas engines), MAN SE, 2G Energy AG and Tecogen, Inc. (which now includes American DG Energy Inc.), among others.
Our products may also compete with other distributed generation and storage technologies, including solar-powered systems, wind-powered systems, battery energy storage systems, fuel cells and fly wheels. Solar- and wind -powered systems produce no emissions and benefit from above -market contracts provided by state mandates. The main drawbacks to solar- and wind-powered systems are that they may not be dispatchable because of their dependence on weather conditions and the utility grid and high capital costs that can often make these systems uneconomical without government subsidies, depending upon geographic locale and application of the technology. While these systems may be paired with battery energy storage systems to operate more flexibly, affordable long duration utility scale energy storage solutions have yet to emerge. Although the market is still developing, a number of fuel cell providers are also focused on markets similar to ours, including Ballard Power Systems Inc., Bloom Energy Corporation, Doosan Fuel Cell Co., Ltd., FuelCell Energy Inc., and Plug Power Inc. Fuel cells have slightly lower levels of NOx, CO, VOCs and other criteria pollutant emissions than our microturbines. However, with equivalent government incentives, microturbines would provide a better economic value to end users in most applications.
We also compete with other companies that offer microturbine products, including FlexEnergy and Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. (which manufactures the Turbec microturbine).
Overall, we compete with end users’ other options for electrical power and heat generation on the basis of our products’ abilities to:
● provide power when a utility grid is not available or goes out of service;
● reduce the total cost of purchasing electricity and fuel;
● improve electric power availability and provide high power quality;
● operate on multiple fuel types;
● reduce emissions (both criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases);
● simplify operation; and
● control maintenance costs and associated disposal of hazardous materials.
Governmental and Regulatory Impact
Our markets can be positively or negatively impacted by the effects of governmental and regulatory matters. We have systems installed in approximately 73 countries around the world, each of which has its own policies and regulatory framework, which are subject to change. We are affected not only by energy policies, laws, regulations and incentives of governments in the markets in which we sell, but also by rules, regulations and costs imposed by utilities. Utility companies or governmental entities may place barriers on the installation or interconnection of our product with the electric grid. Further, utility companies may charge additional fees to customers that install on-site power generation, thereby reducing the electricity they take from the utility, or for having the capacity to use power from the grid for back-up or standby purposes. These types of restrictions, fees or charges could hamper the ability to install or effectively use our products, or increase the cost to our potential customers for using our systems. This could make our systems less economical for our customers, thereby adversely affecting our sales and ultimately our revenue and profitability. In addition, utility rate
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reductions can make our products less competitive which would have a material adverse effect on our operations. These costs, incentives and rules are not always the same as those faced by technologies with which we compete. However, rules, regulations, laws and incentives could also provide an advantage to our distributed generation solutions as compared with competing technologies if we are able to achieve required compliance in a lower cost, more efficient manner. Additionally, reduced emissions and higher fuel efficiency could help our customers combat the effects of climate change. Accordingly, we may benefit from increased government regulations that impose tighter emission standards, particularly on burning coal and fuel oil and fuel efficiency, as long as gas combustion technology solutions are not excluded.
Government funding can impact the rate of development of new technologies or improvements to existing technologies. We continue to engage with federal and state policymakers to support government programs that promote the deployment of our low -emission and energy -efficient products. Competing new technologies have historically received larger incentives and development funding than do microturbines. However, the U.S. Department of Energy continues to fund the development of cost-effective, high -efficiency CHP that is responsive to site demands and grid requirements. Flexible CHP could provide additional generating capacity when grid demand increases or renewable resources are not available. As more intermittent renewable resources are added to the electric grid, grid operators need access to additional dispatchable generation capacity to ensure an adequate and stable power supply. Capstone’s system controllers could provide this automated response capability to allow for participation in grid services markets, where permitted.
In the United States, the Inflation Reduction Act introduced an updated structure to the Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for CHP and microturbines ranging from 2% to 50% for projects that start construction by the end of 2024. The amount of the tax credit varies depending on whether the customer’s total project meets or is exempt from prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements, domestic content requirements, and/or is located in an energy community. Projects under 1 MW capacity are exempt from the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirement. We believe our microturbine solutions, as manufactured products, meet the U.S. Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service regulations to qualify for the domestic content bonus credit of 10% for the ITC. Microturbine CHP solutions are now on a level playing field with the ITC received by competing technologies. In addition, bonus depreciation rules allow businesses to immediately deduct 60% of eligible property placed in service in calendar year 2024, ramping down 20% each year through the end of 2026. As a result, we may see a positive impact on our sales in the United States due to the availability of these tax incentives. However, other CHP and gas-powered distributed energy technology-providers will also benefit from the same tax incentives. At the state level, slow approvals for natural gas pipeline infrastructure may impact gas availability in some areas, and efforts to incentivize building electrification over natural gas-fueled heat and power sources may inhibit sales. However, electricity demand spikes from building and vehicle electrification policies may also lead to higher electricity prices or delays in access to grid power thereby improving project economics for on-site distributed power generation whether through rental, EaaS or sales solutions.
In global markets, European governments continue to support efficient CHP, particularly in Eastern European countries, and are acting on reducing local air pollution through regulations like the EU’s Medium Combustion Plant and EcoDesign Directives. Our low emission systems’ abilities to meet these programs’ requirements may have a positive impact on our sales as implementation progresses. However, the EU’s push for decarbonization may also leave natural gas-fueled, highly efficient systems in limbo despite their near-term carbon reduction potential and long-term viability with the uptake of renewable and decarbonized gas alternatives. The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism may drive industrial manufacturers selling into the EU to adopt energy efficient practices over time to avoid penalties for larger carbon emissions on exports that compete with local European manufacturers. In the oil and gas market, production activities have grown as Europe seeks to fill the gap left by the loss of the Nord Stream pipeline, and many producers have committed to reduce methane emissions from their operations. Our systems’ low maintenance costs, reliability, and ability to run on a range of fuels could fit such producers’ needs and result in a positive impact on our sales.
Sourcing and Manufacturing
We are focused on improving our supply chain effectiveness, strengthening our manufacturing processes, and increasing operational efficiencies within our organization. Our manufacturing designs include the use of conventional technology, which has been proven in high-volume automotive and turbocharger production for many years. Some components used in the manufacture of our products are readily fabricated from commonly available raw materials or off
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the shelf items available from multiple supply sources; however, many items are custom made to meet our specifications that require longer lead time. We believe that, in most cases, adequate capacity exists at our suppliers. We have several single source suppliers with long lead times which may be more challenging to transition to another supplier. We have an ongoing program to develop alternative back up suppliers for sole source parts wherever possible, but this has been challenging with low production volumes and increased pricing. We regularly reassess the adequacy and abilities of our suppliers to meet our future needs. We continue to evaluate and implement new systems designed to provide improved quality, reliability, service, greater efficiency, and lower supply chain costs.
Continuing into Fiscal 2024, we remained focused on mitigating supply chain issues, such as the costs of commodities and delayed lead times, related lingering issues from the COVID-19 pandemic and other macroeconomic conditions. Localization of our immediate supply chain within the Southwest US, located in close proximity to our manufacturing facility in Van Nuys, California, mitigated much of the global stressors associated with a typical geographically dispersed supply chain, as many of our suppliers were sharing similar experiences following the pandemic in the same magnitude we were experiencing in parallel. However, this also resulted in slightly higher prices based on US markets. As the global markets stabilize, we are looking to low-cost countries for cost-saving opportunities. Global freight delays, tariffs and costs remain a concern from a logistics perspective, but in many cases the reduced price in addition to tariffs and shipping costs still produces cost savings. Additionally, one of our primary raw material suppliers is significantly reducing their lead time as their capacity and availability has improved. To ensure component availability, we are right sizing our inventory to account for shipping times and variations in our customers’ ordering patterns. We are continuing to keep in place proactive measures in the form of safety stocks and investigating dual sourcing potential partners to minimize interruptions to our supply chain. We experienced some supply chain interruptions in the second half of Fiscal 2024 due primarily to the Chapter 11 filing, with delayed payments to our suppliers due to limited cash. These interruptions have since significantly improved.
We plan to substantially increase our focus on process controls and validations, supplier controls, distribution controls and provide our operations teams with the training and tools necessary to drive continuous improvement in product quality in Fiscal 2025. In addition, we remain focused on examining our operations and general business activities to identify cost improvement opportunities to enhance our operational effectiveness and use of lean manufacturing processes. Our ability to leverage these capabilities may be affected by the current variability in our demand volumes and forecasting. Our demand volumes and forecasting could continue to be negatively impacted by the volatility of the global oil and gas markets, a strong U.S. dollar (making our products more expensive overseas), tariffs and/or import taxes, and ongoing global geopolitical tensions. Our strategy is to identify primary and secondary sources for critical components, both domestic and international, for when available to minimize production line down time due to unavailability of such parts, which could affect our ability to meet manufacturing schedules on build or a linear basis.
We have an approximately 42,300 square foot manufacturing footprint in our Van Nuys location in Southern California with production capacity of approximately 2,000 units per year, depending on product mix.
Research and Development (“R&D”)
Continuing into Fiscal 2024, we continued supporting business operational goals and enhancing our existing suite of products, focusing on alternative fuels and technologies, modernizing our key components, and continuing development in the global evolution of grid interconnection requirements. We focus our engineering efforts on coordinating our product design and manufacturing processes to bring our products to market in a cost-effective, reliable and timely manner. For Fiscal 2023 and 2022, R&D expenses were $2.4 million and $3.4 million, respectively, representing 3% and 5% of total revenue, respectively, for these fiscal years.
We own two patents related to fuel injection and emissions. The first patent issued is for a multi-staged lean pre-vaporizing, pre-mixing fuel injector providing ultra-low emissions that meet EPA Tier 4 requirements for power generation. Under this program, exhaust emissions from these engines will be required to decrease by more than 90%. The second patent is for a multiple-fuel capable, pre-mixed, low emission injector for high flame speed fuel combustion. This patent is the foundation for continued development in achieving high reliability and performance with hydrogen content fuels.
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During Fiscal 2024, we continued to partner with Argonne National Laboratory and the University of California, Irvine (“UCI”) on the development of hydrogen-based technologies to support the transition away from carbon-based fuels. We began a new cooperative research and development agreement with Argonne National Laboratory to perform design and manufacturability optimization of our fuel flexible microturbine system ranging from 70% natural gas/30% hydrogen blends to 100% hydrogen fuel operation using computational fluid dynamics, high performance computing, and machine learning. The primary objective of this partnership is to optimize our engine design for minimizing NOx emissions while also maintaining high reliability during hydrogen operation.
We continue support of UCI through its Advanced Power and Energy Program, which works to evaluate microturbine operation using hydrogen and other fuel blends. The testing completed in Fiscal 2023 demonstrated the outstanding performance of our patented hydrogen injector design on up to 100% hydrogen across broad operating regimes. We and UCI continue to be key partners in advancing academic research while furthering commercialization of hydrogen technology. During Fiscal 2024, we partnered with UCI and a private entity on demonstration tests of the C65 hydrogen blend technology for the purposes of generating power through recovered waste hydrogen-blend streams from microelectronics fabrication processes. Results were successful and promising with remaining work focused on optimizing NOx emissions to ultra-low levels still to be done.
UCI completed associated gas combustion analysis in catalog Capstone products. Associated gas is represented by higher hydrocarbons, which are more challenging to maintain in a gaseous state. As more pressure is placed on flaring at oil and gas locations, the expansion of our fuel acceptability limits enables customers to have a reliable, resilient, and environmentally conscientious way of handling waste gases. The importance of our collaboration has been demonstrated in Fiscal 2022 and 2023 with our growing Energy-as-a-Service rental fleet which utilizes waste gas at expired oil and gas sites to provide high value to these power intensive operations.
We continue to comply with the most stringent grid interconnection standards worldwide. In early Fiscal 2024, we achieved certification of our C65 microturbine to the Italian CEI 0-16 standard and successfully passed FGW TR3 type testing of the C65 in support of VDE 4110 medium voltage standard compliance in Germany. The C65’s VDE 4110 certification is expected to be completed during Fiscal 2025, complementing our offering for the certified C200/C1000 models. Most recently, the UL1741 SA standard was revised to UL1741 SB in coordination with the release of the latest IEEE 1547: 2018 Standard for Interconnection and Interoperability of Distributed Energy Resources with Associated Electric Power Systems Interfaces. We are making significant progress towards completing C200 model family certification mid-year 2024, which will enable all customers to produce green, reliable power while supporting the U.S. grid with high speed, power-quality enhancing functionality.
We also continue to work on cost reduction and performance enhancement activities to improve the value of our microturbine products for our customer base, and to enhance our return on investment in Energy-as-a-Service offerings. Cost reduction activities are focused on leveraging the capabilities of our supply base and internal design lean manufacturing improvements, as well as partnering with external experts to implement Design for Manufacturing and Assembly strategies in the pursuit of continuous improvement. Product enhancements are focused on reducing the already very low maintenance requirements for our products, while at the same time improving operational efficiency, thereby reducing our customers’ total cost of ownership.
Because of our reliable single moving assembly, the use of Capstone turbogenerators continues to be of interest to other companies in support of concentrated solar power, biomass, steam methane reforming, and novel external combustion technologies. We work closely with these external partners in the proper integration of Capstone hardware to ensure continued performance to meet project objectives and provide alternative solutions to reducing, and in some cases eliminating, carbon emissions.
Protecting our Intellectual Property Rights and Patents
We rely on a combination of patent, trade secret, copyright, “know how”, and trademark laws and nondisclosure agreements to establish and protect our intellectual property rights in our products. In this regard, we have 10 U.S. active patents. The patents we have obtained will expire between calendar years 2024 and 2037. We actively evaluate our patent portfolio and pursue new patent applications as we develop new technological innovations, as needed.
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We believe that a policy of protecting intellectual property is one component of our strategy of being the leader in microturbine system technology and will provide us with a long-term competitive advantage. In addition, we implement security procedures at our plants and facilities and have confidentiality agreements with our suppliers, distributors, employees, and certain visitors to our facilities.
Human Capital
On February 16, 2021, our Board of Directors (the “Board”) adopted an amended charter governing our Compensation and Human Capital Committee, after discussing the rapid movement to expand the role of our then-Compensation Committee beyond traditional compensation-related matters. In accordance with its recently amended charter, our Compensation and Human Capital Committee is responsible for reviewing, monitoring, and providing recommendations to our Board on our workplace policies and practices, including corporate culture and employee engagement, talent management and leadership development, employee diversity and inclusion, ensuring a respectful workplace free of discrimination and harassment. In connection with Emergence, we updated the charter governing our Compensation and Human Capital Committee.
Diversity
We are committed to maintaining, and continuing to foster, our diverse and inclusive work environment. We recruit the best people for the job regardless of gender, ethnicity or other protected traits and it is our policy to promote inclusive, nondiscriminatory hiring and employment practices and fully comply with all laws applicable to discrimination in the workplace.
Workforce Statistics
As of May 31, 2024, we had 101 full-time employees and three part-time employees. As of March 31, 2023, we had 117 full-time employees and one part-time employee. As of March 31, 2022, we had 133 full-time employees and one part-time employee. No employees are covered by collective bargaining arrangements. We consider relations with our employees to be good.
In May 2023 and March 2022, we implemented an expense reduction plan, which included furloughs, employment terminations and pay cuts.
Corporate Information
Capstone Green Energy Corporation was organized in 1988 in the State of California and was reincorporated as Capstone Turbine Corporation on June 22, 2000 in the State of Delaware.
On April 21, 2021, Capstone Green Energy Corporation filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware a Certificate of Amendment of the Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company for the sole purpose of changing the Company’s name to Capstone Green Energy Corporation effective as of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on April 22, 2021 (the “Corporate Name Change”). In addition, Capstone Green Energy Corporation amended and restated its Fourth Amended and Restated Bylaws, effective as of April 22, 2021, solely to reflect the Corporate Name Change.
In connection with our emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases, Capstone Green Energy Corporation was reorganized pursuant to the TSA and became a private company that continues to own the Retained Assets (as defined below). Capstone Turbine International, Inc., a former wholly-owned subsidiary of Capstone Green Energy Corporation, which was incorporated in Delaware on June 10, 2004, became a publicly-traded company and was renamed Capstone Green Energy Holdings, Inc. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Recent Development.”
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Available Information
This Form 10-K, as well as our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and exhibits and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are made available free of charge on our Internet website (http://www.capstonegreenenergy.com) as soon as reasonably practicable after such materials are electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These filings are also available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
The following are risk factors that could affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. These risk factors should be considered in connection with evaluating the forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K because these factors could cause actual results, performance, and achievements to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our publicly traded securities, you should know that making such an investment involves some risks, including the risks described below. Additional risks of which we may not be aware or that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business operations or our stock price. If any of the risks occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flow could be negatively affected. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. In assessing these risks, investors should also refer to the other information contained in this Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other documents filed by us from time to time.
References to impacts on the trading price of the New Common Stock (as defined below) assume that the New Common Stock will resume trading on an over-the-counter basis. As of the date of the filing of this Annual Report, no quote of the New Common Stock is published. There can be no assurances as to when over-the-counter trading will resume. See “—There is currently no public trading market for our New Common Stock.”
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Summary of Risk Factors
The following is a summary of the principal risks that could adversely affect our business, operations, and financial results.
Risks Related to Our Emergence from Chapter 11
● There are significant risks related to our substantial indebtedness.
● There is currently no public trading market for our New Common Stock.
Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure
Risks Related to Our Restatement
Risks Related to Our Business Operations and Financial Results
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● We may incur costs and liabilities as a result of product liability claims.
Risks Related to Our Product Offerings
● Commodity market factors impact our costs and availability of materials.
Risks Related to Pending Litigation and Government Regulation
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Risks Related to Data, Security, and Intellectual Property
Risks Related to Ownership of Our New Common Stock
For a more complete discussion of the material risks facing our business, please see below.
Risks Related to Our Emergence from Chapter 11
We emerged from bankruptcy in December 2023, which could adversely affect our business and business relationships.
We emerged from bankruptcy on the Effective Date. It is possible that having recently emerged from the Chapter 11 Cases could adversely affect our business and relationships with vendors, suppliers, service providers, customers, employees, and other third parties. The risks we may face as a result of our recent Emergence include, but not are limited to, the following:
We cannot accurately predict or quantify the impacts or material adverse effects of the residual risk and uncertainties associated with our Emergence, or the occurrence of one or more of these risks could have on our results of operations, financial condition, business, and reputation. We cannot assure you that having recently been subject to bankruptcy protection will not adversely affect our future results of operations, financial condition, and business.
Our long-term liquidity requirements and the adequacy of our capital resources are difficult to predict at this time.
On March 31, 2023, we had cash and cash equivalents of $12.8 million and working capital deficiency of $56.8 million. This compares to $22.6 million and $29.3 million, respectively, as of March 31, 2022. On May 31, 2024, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $0.8 million. We face uncertainty regarding the adequacy of our long-term liquidity and capital resources. In addition to the cash requirements necessary to fund ongoing operations, we have incurred
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significant professional fees and other costs in connection with the preparation and administration of the Chapter 11 Cases. In addition, the Notes (as defined below) bear interest at a rate equal to the Adjusted Term SOFR (as defined in the Exit Note Purchase Agreement) plus 7.00% per annum. 100% of the interest payable under the Notes is payable in kind until December 7, 2024, after which we must start paying cash interest. We cannot assure you that cash on hand at Emergence, cash flow from operations, and the financing pursuant to the Exit Facility will be sufficient to continue to fund our operations or to pay cash interest on the Notes when due. Our liquidity, including our ability to meet our ongoing operational obligations, is dependent upon, among other things, our ability to: (i) comply with the terms and conditions of the Exit Note Purchase Agreement and associated agreements, (ii) maintain adequate cash on hand, and (iii) generate cash flow from operations.
There are significant risks related to our substantial indebtedness.
We are party to an Exit Note Purchase Agreement (the “Exit Note Purchase Agreement”), by and among Operating Subsidiary, as the issuer, the Company and Capstone Financial Services, as the guarantors (the “Guarantors”), Purchaser and the Collateral Agent (each as defined in the Exit Note Purchase Agreement). The Exit Note Purchase Agreement provides for:
(i) a roll up of the $12.6 million DIP New Money Notes (plus any accrued unpaid interest);
(ii) a roll up of $8.0 million of DIP Roll Up Notes (plus any accrued unpaid interest) (collectively with the roll up of the $12.6 million DIP New Money Notes, the “Exit Roll Up Notes”); and
(iii) an additional $7.0 million new money committed delayed draw term loan facility (the “Exit New Money Notes” and, together with the Exit Roll Up Notes, the “Notes”), of which $3.0 million was drawn at closing.
The Exit Note Purchase Agreement also provides for a $10.0 million uncommitted incremental facility. As of May 31, 2024, we had $29.7 million in borrowing outstanding under the Notes. The Exit Roll Up Notes mature on December 7, 2026, and the Exit New Money Notes mature on December 7, 2025.
The Exit Note Purchase Agreement contains customary covenants, including, among others, covenants that restrict our ability to incur debt, grant liens, make certain investments and acquisitions, pay dividends, repurchase equity interests, repay certain debt, amend certain contracts, enter into affiliate transactions and asset sales or make certain equity issuances, and a minimum liquidity covenant and minimum consolidated adjusted EBITDA covenant.
As of March 31, 2024, we were not in compliance with the minimum adjusted EBITDA covenant contained in the Exit Note Purchase Agreement. In anticipation of such default, we obtained a waiver from the Purchaser and the Collateral Agent on March 27, 2024. There can be no assurance that the Purchaser and the Collateral Agent will waive any future defaults that may occur. If future defaults occur, the Purchaser and the Collateral Agent can exercise their rights and remedies under the Exit Note Purchase Agreement (and other security related documents), including a right to accelerate the maturity of our repayment obligations under the Notes.
Our obligations under the Exit Note Purchase Agreement have important consequences, including the following:
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Our actual financial results after Emergence may not be comparable to our historical financial information or to our projections filed with the Bankruptcy Court.
As a result of the implementation of the Plan and the transactions contemplated thereby, our future results of operations, financial condition, and business may not be comparable to the results of operations, financial condition, and business reflected in our historical financial statements.
In connection with the disclosure statement we filed with the Bankruptcy Court, and the hearing to consider confirmation of the Plan, we prepared projected financial information to demonstrate the feasibility of the Plan and our ability to continue operations upon our Emergence. Those projections were prepared solely for the purpose of bankruptcy proceedings and have not been, and will not be, updated on an ongoing basis and should not be relied upon by investors. At the time they were prepared, the projections reflected numerous assumptions concerning our anticipated future performance with respect to prevailing and anticipated market and economic conditions that were and remain beyond our control and that may not materialize. Projections are inherently subject to substantial and numerous uncertainties and to a wide variety of significant business, economic, and competitive risks, and the assumptions underlying the projections and/or valuation estimates may prove to be wrong in material respects. Actual results may vary significantly from those contemplated by the projections. As a result, investors should not rely on these projections.
It may be difficult for us to attract and retain employees, including members of our senior management, as a result of our Emergence.
As a result of our Emergence, it may be difficult for us to attract and retain employees, including members of senior management. A loss of key personnel or material erosion of employee morale could adversely affect our business and results of operations. Our ability to engage, motivate, and retain key employees or take other measures intended to motivate and incentivize key employees to remain with us following our Emergence may be challenging given the uncertainties currently facing our business and changes we may make to our organizational structure to adjust to changing circumstances. The loss of members of our senior management team could impair our ability to execute our strategy and implement operational initiatives, which would be likely to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
There is currently no public trading market for our New Common Stock, and we cannot assure you that an active trading market will develop for the New Common Stock.
As a result of the implementation of the Plan and the transactions contemplated thereby, the stockholders of Capstone Green Energy Corporation received their pro rata share of 18,540,877 shares of the common stock of Capstone Green Energy Holdings, Inc., par value $0.001 per share (the “New Common Stock”). There is currently no public trading market for the New Common Stock because we have not been current in our annual and quarterly reports pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act (the “Reporting Obligations”), we have been unable to obtain a ticker symbol for the New Common Stock or to obtain quotation on any OTC Markets Group, Inc. tier. As such, the New Common Stock can only be traded between brokers and no quote is published. We will not be current on our Reporting Obligations until we file delinquent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and will not become current in connection with the filing of this Annual Report. We cannot provide any assurance that over-the-counter trading will resume or that the trading volume or price will increase if over-the-counter trading does resume. Not being listed on an established securities exchange has an adverse effect on the liquidity of the New Common Stock, not only in terms of the number of shares that can be bought and sold at a given price, but also through delays in the timing of transactions and reduction in security analysts’ and the media’s coverage of our company. This may result in lower prices for the New Common Stock than might otherwise be obtained and could also result in a larger spread between the bid and asked prices for the New Common Stock.
Risks Related to our Corporate Structure
We are a holding company with nominal net worth and will depend on dividends and distributions from our Operating Subsidiary to pay any dividends.
The Company is a holding company with nominal net worth. We do not have any material assets nor conduct any business operations other than our investment in the Operating Subsidiary. Our business operations are conducted
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primarily out of the Operating Subsidiary and certain of its subsidiaries. As a result, in addition to the restrictions on payment of dividends that apply under the terms of our existing indebtedness and the limited liability company agreement of Operating Subsidiary (as defined below) (the “Operating Subsidiary LLC Agreement”), our ability to pay dividends, if any, will be dependent upon cash dividends and distributions or other transfers from the Operating Subsidiary. Payments to us from the Operating Subsidiary will be contingent upon its earnings and subject to any limitations on the ability of such entity to make payments or other distributions to us, including limitations contained in the Operating Subsidiary LLC Agreement.
Holders of the Preferred Units can exercise significant control over our Operating Subsidiary, which could limit our ability to influence the outcome of key corporate actions of our Operating Subsidiary.
Pursuant to the Operating Subsidiary LLC Agreement, the Operating Subsidiary may not undertake certain actions without the prior written approval of Goldman Sachs. Subject to certain exceptions, the Operating Subsidiary must not, among other things: (1) alter or change the rights, preferences or privileges of the Preferred Units or amend any of the Operating Subsidiary’s governing documents; (2) make any change in corporate form, including conversion to a corporation; (3) increase the authorized number of Preferred Units; (4) issue any Common Units or equivalents to any person or group of persons (other than the Company), or approve the sale by the Company of Common Units or equivalents to any person or group of persons, such that after the issuance or sale, as applicable, such person or group of persons would own an aggregate number of Common Units in excess of 25% of the actually outstanding Common Units on the date of the Operating Subsidiary LLC Agreement; (5) create any new class of units with preference over, or parity with, the Preferred Units; (6) authorize, issue or reclassify any securities issued by New Subsidiary, its subsidiaries and controlled affiliates (the “Restricted Entities”), other than issuances of Common Units to the Company; (7) sell, issue, sponsor, create or distribute any digital tokens, cryptocurrency or other blockchain-based assets; (8) incur new third party indebtedness exceeding $5.0 million, other than (A) debt contemplated by the TSA, (B) lease or other obligations relating to the rental of equipment to customers or otherwise for energy-as-a-service (EaaS) business activity and (C) debt permitted under the DIP Note Purchase Agreement (see Note 17 – Subsequent Events – DIP Note Purchase Agreement in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements); (9) declare or pay distributions other than (A) for tax purposes and (B) distributions from the Operating Subsidiary’s subsidiaries or controlled affiliate to the Operating Subsidiary or its wholly owned subsidiaries; (10) effectuate any liquidation event; (11) acquire any business, ownership of any equity securities in any person other than a wholly owned subsidiary, or enter into a joint venture arrangement; (12) conduct any public offering or direct listing on a national securities exchange; (13) enter into any merger or other transaction resulting in the Operating Subsidiary’s equity interests being listed or quoted for trading on an exchange or otherwise subject to registration; (14) commence, settle, defend or make any material decisions with respect to any material settlement or litigation; (15) make any material change to the nature of the Operating Subsidiary’s Existing Business (as defined in the Operating Subsidiary LLC Agreement); or (16) enter into any affiliated party transaction except for (A) payments to holders of Common Units (including the Company) in accordance with the terms of the Services Agreement (as defined below) and (B) compensation arrangements.
In addition, pursuant to the Operating Subsidiary LLC Agreement, the Company, its subsidiaries and controlled affiliates may not, without the consent of the holders of a majority of the Preferred Units held by the Preferred Members (which, on the effective date of the New Subsidiary LLC Agreement is solely Capstone Distributor Support Services, Inc.), engage in any business opportunities, make any investments or enter into any transactions, including any of the foregoing which are or would reasonably be expected to be within the scope of, or would reasonably be deemed to be beneficial to, the “Existing Business” (as defined in the Operating Subsidiary LLC Agreement) of Operating Subsidiary.
Further, pursuant to the Operating Subsidiary LLC Agreement, at any time during the six-month period following the sixth anniversary of the effective date of the Operating Subsidiary LLC Agreement, the Preferred Requisite Members may elect to have all, but not less than all, of the then outstanding Preferred Units redeemed. In such event, Operating Subsidiary will redeem all, but not less than all, of the Preferred Units, except Operating Subsidiary may not make such payment if (a) such payment is prohibited by Delaware Law or (b) Operating Subsidiary is, or by such payment would be, insolvent. The aggregate price for Preferred Units will be an amount equal to the greater of (i) the $10,449,863, plus declared but unpaid distributions, or (ii) the fair market value of the Preferred Units on an as-converted to Common Units basis at the time of such redemption.
The Preferred Member’s 37.5% equity interest in the Operating Subsidiary is non-dilutable.
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See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition—Operating Subsidiary LLC Agreement” for a more detailed description of the terms of the Operating Subsidiary LLC Agreement and the restrictions imposed on the Company and its subsidiaries pursuant to the Operating Subsidiary LLC Agreement.
Risks Related to Our Restatement
We have restated our consolidated financial statements for prior annual and interim periods and have concluded two Audit Committee Investigations, has all of which have affected and may continue to affect investor confidence, our stock price, our ability to raise capital in the future, our reputation with our customers, and our ability to timely file our periodic reports with the SEC, and has resulted in stockholder litigation against certain of our current and former directors and executives and may result in additional litigation in the future.
We have restated our consolidated financial statements for prior annual and interim periods. This Restatement was required to correct for the following: (i) the timing of revenue recognition related to bill-and-hold arrangements, (ii) the timing of recognizing certain expenses associated with factory protection plan contracts. These issues were investigated by our audit committee and (iii) reclassification of term not payable (the “Revenue Recognition Investigation”) and are addressed in the Restatement, as well as other immaterial misstatements. Such Restatement:
● has resulted in our failure to timely file our periodic reports with the SEC;
● has resulted in an investigation by the SEC enforcement division;
● may negatively impact our reputation with our customers.
In addition, based on information learned as part of the Restatement process, the Audit Committee commenced an investigation (the “FPP Investigation” and, together with the Revenue Recognition Investigation, the “Audit Committee Investigations”) into FPP related practices. The FPP Investigation was conducted with the assistance of outside counsel retained by the Audit Committee. Through the FPP Investigation, the Audit Committee identified evidence that, at times during the fiscal years covered in this Annual Report, former senior executives delayed shipment of available parts under the FPP and delayed recording the associated expense on the Company’s financial statements. The Audit Committee Investigations found no evidence that either the Audit Committee, the full Board or current executive officers were aware of such activity. The financial statement impact of such activity in prior reporting periods, if any, has been addressed through the Company’s Restatement. As part of the Restatement process, the Company corrected its accounting treatment of FPP expenses so that claims are recorded at the time a claim is received and accepted, as opposed to when the claim is satisfied.
Refer to Note 13 – Commitments and Contingencies – Legal Matters in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and to “Business—Legal Proceedings” for information regarding legal proceedings in which we are involved.
The SEC enforcement division is conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Restatement, the results of which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and business.
Following the conclusion of each Audit Committee Investigations, the Audit Committee self-reported its findings to the Division of Enforcement of the SEC. Following the self-report, the SEC enforcement division has commenced an investigation relating to the circumstances surrounding the Restatement and the findings of the Audit Committee in respect of the FPP Investigation (the “SEC Investigation”). We are cooperating with the SEC in connection with its investigation. Investigations of this nature are inherently uncertain and their results cannot be predicted. Regardless of the outcome, the SEC Investigation has had and may continue to have an adverse impact on us because of legal costs, diversion of management resources, and other factors. The SEC Investigation could also result in reputational harm to us, which, among
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other things, may limit our ability to obtain new customers and enter into new agreements with our existing customers, or our ability to obtain financing, and have a material adverse effect on our current and future business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. We cannot predict the duration or outcome of the SEC Investigation at this time.
Further, as a result of the conclusions of the Revenue Recognition Investigation and the Restatement, certain of our directors and officers are currently the subject of securities class action litigation. See Note 13 – Commitments and Contingencies – Legal Matters in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and “Business—Legal Proceedings” for information about the SEC Investigation and legal proceedings involving the Company’s directors and officers.
The Restatement, as well as our reported material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting (including the related disclosure of the Audit Committee Investigations made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K), may subject us to additional litigation or regulatory examinations, investigations, proceedings, or orders. Our management has devoted and may be required to devote significant time and attention to these matters. If any of these or potential future matters are resolved adversely against us, there may be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Additionally, while we cannot estimate our potential exposure to these or any potential future matters at this time, we have already expended significant resources investigating the underlying claims and addressing these matters and expect to continue to need to expend significant resources. Our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to compensate for all potential liability. Although we maintain applicable insurance, we cannot be certain that our insurance coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred or that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all.
We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant expenses related to the Audit Committee Investigations, Restatement, and remediation of deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, and any resulting litigation.
We have devoted substantial internal and external resources towards the Audit Committee Investigations and the Restatement and expect to continue to devote substantial such resources towards the implementation of enhanced procedures and controls over deficiencies that resulted in the Restatement and the remediation of other deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. Because of these efforts, we have incurred and expect that we will continue to incur significant fees and expenses for legal, accounting, financial, and other consulting and professional services, as well as the implementation and maintenance of systems and processes that will need to be updated, supplemented, or replaced. We have taken a number of remediation efforts in response to the Audit Committee Investigations. However, there can be no assurance that these steps will be successful. To the extent these steps are unsuccessful or incomplete, or we identify additional problems requiring remediation, we may be required to devote significant additional management time and incur significant additional expense. The incurrence of significant additional expense or the requirement that management devotes substantial time that could reduce the time available to execute on our business strategies, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
The Audit Committee Investigations, the findings thereof, and the Restatement process have diverted, and may continue to divert, management and other human resources from the operation of our business.
The absence of timely and accurate financial information has hindered and may in the future hinder our ability to effectively manage our business. The Audit Committee Investigations, the findings thereof, and the process of the Restatement have diverted, and may continue to divert, management and other human resources from the operation of our business. Our Board, members of management, and accounting, legal, administrative and other staff and outside consultants have spent significant time on the Audit Committee Investigations, the findings thereof, and the process of the Restatement and will likely spend significant time on the remediation of disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over our financial reporting. These resources have been, and will likely continue to be, diverted from the strategic and day-to-day management of our business, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to accomplish our strategic objectives.
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Our failure to prepare and timely file our periodic reports with the SEC limits our access to the public markets to raise debt or equity capital.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2023 is being filed nearly one year after its due date and we have not yet filed our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the first three quarters of Fiscal 2024. Because these filings have not been made within the timeframes required by SEC rules, we have not remained current in our reporting requirements with the SEC, and we will not be eligible to use a registration statement on Form S-3 that would allow us to continuously incorporate by reference our SEC reports into the registration statement, or to use “shelf” registration statements to conduct offerings, until approximately one year from the date we regain and maintain status as a current filer. To pursue an offering now, we are required to conduct the offering on an exempt basis, such as in accordance with Rule 144A, or file a registration statement on Form S-1. Using a Form S-1 registration statement for a public offering would likely take significantly longer than using a registration statement on Form S-3 and increase our transaction costs, and could, to the extent we are not able to conduct offerings using alternative methods, adversely impact our ability to raise capital or complete acquisitions of other companies in a timely manner.
Risks Related to Our Business Operations and Financial Results
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
In connection with preparing the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, management evaluated whether there were conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, that raised substantial doubt about our ability to meet our obligations as they became due for the next twelve months from the date of issuance of our Fiscal 2023 consolidated financial statements. Management assessed that there were such conditions and events, primarily our current cash position, lack of liquidity, limits to accessing capital and debt funding options. Management concluded, and our auditors agreed, that these conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a period of one year from the date the financial statements are issued. The substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern may negatively impact relationships with third parties with whom we do business, including customers, vendors and lenders, may impact our ability to raise additional capital for our business plan, and may lead us to seek bankruptcy protection again. If we are unable to continue as a going concern, holders of our securities might lose their entire investment.
We are exposed to floating interest rate risk under the Exit Note Purchase Agreement, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.
We are exposed to market risk from changes in interest rates. All outstanding Notes bear interest at the Adjusted Term SOFR rate plus 7.00% per annum. The Adjusted Term SOFR rate is a floating rate. The Federal Reserve has raised, and may in the future further raise, interest rates to combat the effects of recent high inflation. Any further increase in Adjusted Term SOFR will increase the Company’s debt service obligations, which could have a negative impact on the Company’s cash flow, financial position or operating results, including cash available for servicing the Company’s indebtedness, or result in increased borrowing costs in the future.
Regional epidemics or global pandemics may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The occurrence of regional epidemics or a global pandemic may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has and could continue to materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused significant uncertainty and volatility in global financial markets. Our liquidity has been negatively impacted due, in part, to such effects. Further, our ability to raise additional capital has also been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting macroeconomic effects. Further adverse economic events resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, including sustained economic downturn, supply chain disruptions, or increasing cost pressures, could materially and adversely affect our business, access to capital markets and the value of our common stock.
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A sustainable market for microturbines may never develop or may take longer to develop than we anticipate, which would adversely affect our results of operations.
Our products represent an alternative technology, and we do not know whether our targeted customers will accept our technology or will purchase our products in sufficient quantities to allow our business to grow. To succeed, demand for our products must increase significantly in existing markets, and there must be strong demand for products that we introduce in the future. In addition, as part of our business strategy, we are focusing our marketing efforts on expanding our Energy as a Service business and on the energy efficiency, renewable energy, and natural resources markets. We may be unable to grow our business in these target markets. If a sustainable market fails to develop or develops more slowly than we anticipate, we may be unable to recover the losses we have incurred to develop our products, we may have further impairment of assets, and we may be unable to meet our operational expenses. The development of a sustainable market for our systems may be hindered by many factors, including some that are out of our control. Examples include:
● consumer reluctance to try a new product;
● regulatory requirements;
● the cost competitiveness of our microturbines;
● costs associated with the installation and commissioning of our microturbines;
● maintenance and repair costs associated with our microturbines;
● the future costs and availability of fuels used by our microturbines;
● economic downturns and reductions in capital spending;
● consumer perceptions of our microturbines’ safety and quality;
● the emergence of newer, more competitive technologies and products;
● growth of the hybrid electric vehicle market; and
● decreases in domestic and international incentives.
Product quality expectations may not be met, causing slower market acceptance or warranty cost exposure.
In order to achieve our goal of improving the quality and lowering the total costs of ownership of our products, we may require engineering changes. Such improvement initiatives may render existing inventories obsolete or excessive. Despite our continuous quality improvement initiatives, we may not meet customer expectations. Any significant quality issues with our products could have a material adverse effect on our rate of product adoption, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flow. Moreover, as we develop new configurations for our microturbines and as our customers place existing configurations in commercial use, our products may perform below expectations. Any significant performance below expectations could adversely affect our operating results, financial condition and cash flow and affect the marketability of our products.
We sell our products with warranties. There can be no assurance that the provision for estimated product warranty will be sufficient to cover our warranty expenses in the future. We cannot ensure that our efforts to reduce our risk through warranty disclaimers will effectively limit our liability. Any significant incurrence of warranty expense in excess of estimates could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, financial condition and cash flow. Further, we have at times undertaken programs to enhance the performance of units previously sold. For example, our warranty provision was negatively impacted in Fiscal 2021 because of a supplier defect identified in fielded units. In Fiscal 2021, a warranty reserve in the amount of $4.9 million was established related to reliability programs to account for the replacement of remaining high risk failure parts in some of our fielded units due to a supplier defect. As of March 31, 2023, the balance for the warranty reserve was $1.6 million. Any future product quality issues with our parts suppliers could lead to lengthy and costly litigation, even if the outcome is ultimately in our favor. In addition, such quality issues with any of our parts could lead us to fail to meet the product quality expectations of our own customers, which could adversely affect our operating results, financial condition and cash flow and affect the marketability of our products.
Our products involve a lengthy sales cycle, and we may not anticipate sales levels appropriately, which could impair our results of operations.
The sale of our products typically involves a significant commitment of capital by customers, which can result in the typical delays associated with large capital expenditures. For these and other reasons, the sales cycle associated with our products is typically lengthy and subject to several significant risks over which we have little or no control. We plan
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our production and inventory levels based on internal forecasts of customer demand, which is highly unpredictable and can fluctuate substantially. If sales in any period fall significantly below anticipated levels, our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flow would suffer. If demand in any period increases well above anticipated levels, we may have difficulties in responding, incur greater costs to respond, or be unable to fulfill the demand in sufficient time to retain the order, which would negatively impact our operations. In addition, our operating expenses are based on anticipated sales levels, and a high percentage of our expenses are generally fixed in the short term. As a result of these factors, a small fluctuation in timing of sales can cause operating results to vary materially from period to period. Further, our inventory balance as of March 31, 2023 was $40.4 million, compared to $31.8 million as of March 31, 2022, as restated. This increase was due to purchases of long lead time inventory, and there is a risk that our inventory balances continue to rise, and consequently see a backlog of obsolete or excess inventory.
Net product orders for Fiscal 2023 were $35.5 million and contributed to an ending backlog of $42.8 million at March 31, 2023. The book-to-bill ratio was 1.1:1 for Fiscal 2023. Book-to-bill ratio is the ratio of new orders we received to units shipped and billed during a period. However, because our backlog represents only the estimated amount of future product revenue to be recognized under negotiated contracts as shipments convert backlog to recognized revenue for accounting purposes, we may not be able to fully realize the revenue value reported in our backlog, and our backlog may not be indicative of future revenues. A portion of our backlog is concentrated in the international oil and gas market which may impact the overall timing of shipments or the conversion of backlog to revenue. The timing of the backlog is based on the requirement date indicated by our customers. Based on historical experience, management expects that a significant portion of our backlog may not be shipped within the next 18 months. The timing of shipments is subject to change based on several variables (including customer deposits, payments, availability of credit and customer delivery schedule changes), most of which are not in our control and can affect the timing of our revenue. As a result, management believes the book-to-bill ratio better demonstrates the current demand for our products in the given period.
If we do not effectively implement our sales, marketing, and service plans, our sales will not grow and our results of operations will suffer.
Our sales and marketing efforts may not achieve intended results and, therefore, may not generate the revenue we anticipate. As a result of our corporate strategies, we have decided to focus our resources on expanding our Energy as a Service business and further developing selected vertical markets. We may change our focus to other markets or applications in the future. There can be no assurance that our focus or our near-term plans will be successful. If we are not able to address markets for our products successfully, we may not be able to grow our business, compete effectively or achieve profitability.
Changes to trade regulations, quotas, duties or tariffs, and sanctions caused by the changing U.S. and geopolitical environments or otherwise, may increase our costs or limit the amount of raw materials and products that we can import or may otherwise adversely impact our business.
The former U.S. administration voiced strong concerns about imports from countries that it perceived as engaging in unfair trade practices. Any current or future U.S. administration may decide to impose import duties or other restrictions on products, components, or raw materials sourced from those countries, which may include China, Mexico, and other countries from which we import components or raw materials. Any such duties or restrictions could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
Moreover, any new tariffs, or other changes in U.S. trade policy, could trigger retaliatory actions by affected countries. Certain foreign governments have instituted or are considering imposing trade sanctions on certain U.S. goods. Others are considering the imposition of sanctions that will deny U.S. companies access to critical raw materials. A “trade war” of this nature or other governmental action related to tariffs or international trade agreements or policies has the potential to adversely impact demand for our products, our costs, customers, suppliers and/or the U.S. economy or certain sectors thereof and, thus, to adversely impact our business.
The U.S. government imposes sanctions through executive orders restricting U.S. companies from conducting business activities with specified individuals and companies, and requires export licenses for certain of such activities. Following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, we re-evaluated our efforts in the Russian and the surrounding CIS markets and have ceased exploring growth opportunities in such markets. We do, however, continue to
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evaluate customer orders and ensure that we are in compliance with all laws and regulations upon acceptance and before shipment. If we are unable to conduct business with new or existing customers or pursue opportunities with sanctioned countries, including Russia, our business, including our revenue, profitability, and cash flows, could be materially adversely affected.
The Israeli invasion of Gaza has caused division among world leaders. Actions could be imposed against the United States for its support of Israel. This could impact business activity and our ability to source parts and components and sell our products internationally.
We may not be able to retain or develop relationships with OEMs or distributors in our targeted markets, in which case our sales would not increase as expected.
In order to serve certain of our targeted markets, we believe that we must ally ourselves with companies that have particular expertise or better access to those markets. We believe that retaining or developing relationships with strong OEMs (which to date have typically resold our products under their own brands or packaged our products with other products as part of an integrated unit) or distributors in these targeted markets can improve the rate of adoption as well as reduce the direct financial burden of introducing a new technology and creating a new market. Our relationships with distributors have come under strain due to our efforts in Fiscal 2023 to collect on our accounts receivables and increase prices. Because of OEMs’ and distributors’ relationships in their respective markets, the loss of an OEM or distributor could adversely impact our ability to penetrate our target markets. We offer our OEMs and distributors stated discounts from the list price of the products they purchase. In the future, to attract and retain OEMs and distributors we may provide volume price discounts or otherwise incur significant costs that may reduce the potential revenue from these relationships. We may not be able to retain or develop appropriate OEMs and distributors on a timely basis, and we cannot provide assurance that the OEMs and distributors will focus adequate resources on selling our products or will be successful in selling them. In addition, some of the relationships may require that we grant exclusive distribution rights in defined territories. These exclusive distribution arrangements could result in our being unable to enter into other arrangements at a time when the OEM or distributor with whom we form a relationship is not successful in selling our products or has reduced its commitment to market our products. We cannot provide assurance that we will be able to negotiate collaborative relationships on favorable terms or at all. Our inability to have appropriate distribution in our target markets may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.
If any of our distributor relationships are not successful, we may terminate or choose not to renew the related distributor agreement, which may result in interference with the wind down of the relationship or the transition of end-user service agreements and could potentially negatively impact our distribution channels or result in litigation costs or other expenses.
Successfully managing our distribution channels in an effort to reach various potential customer segments for our products and services is a complex process. Each of our distributors is a strategically placed independent partner that provides for the marketing and selling of our products and services on our behalf. If our distribution relationships are not successful, we may lose sales opportunities, customers, and revenues. Our agreements with our distribution partners require them to comply with performance conditions that are subject to interpretation, which could result in disagreements. At any given time, we may be in disputes with one or more distribution partners. Any such dispute could result in lengthy and costly litigation, even if the outcome is ultimately in our favor. We cannot predict the outcome of any arbitration or litigation, the effect of any negative judgment against us or the amount of any settlement that we may enter into with such distribution partners. A contractual dispute with a distribution partner may result in our or our distribution partner seeking to terminate the related distribution agreement, even if such termination would be wrongful, which could harm our business or interfere with a previously agreed wind down of the relationship or transition of end-user service agreements. Any prolonged disruptions of our distribution channels that results from the termination of one or more of our distributions or our failure to renew our distribution agreements with our desired distributors, could negatively affect our ability to effectively sell our products and would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
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We have substantial accounts receivable and increased bad debt expense or delays in collecting accounts receivable could have a material adverse effect on our cash flows and results of operations.
Our accounts receivable balance, net of allowances, was $7.1 million and $15.9 million as of March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Days sales outstanding in accounts receivable (“DSO”) at the end of Fiscal 2023 was 46 days, compared with 90 days at the end of Fiscal 2022. We recorded net bad debt expense of approximately $4.3 million and $0.4 million during Fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively. No assurances can be given that future bad debt expense will not increase above current operating levels. Increased bad debt expense or delays in collecting accounts receivable could have a material adverse effect on results of operations and cash flows.
Loss of a significant customer could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
E-Finity and RSP Systems accounted for approximately 12% and 11%, respectively, of our revenue for Fiscal 2023. Additionally, E-Finity accounted for 12% of net accounts receivable as of March 31, 2023. The loss of E-Finity, RSP Systems, or any other significant customer could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
We may not achieve production cost reductions necessary to competitively price our products, which would adversely affect our sales.
We believe that we will need to reduce the unit production cost of our products over time to maintain our ability to offer competitively priced products. Our ability to achieve cost reductions will depend on our ability to develop low-cost design enhancements, to obtain necessary tooling and favorable supplier contracts and to increase sales volumes so we can achieve economies of scale. We cannot provide assurance that we will be able to achieve any such production cost reductions. In fact, we have implemented three price increases in the past eighteen months in reaction to increased costs. Our failure to achieve such cost reductions could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We may incur costs and liabilities as a result of product liability claims.
We face a risk of exposure to product liability claims in the event that the use of our products is alleged to have resulted in injury or other damage. Although we currently maintain product liability insurance coverage, we may not be able to obtain such insurance on acceptable terms in the future, if at all, or obtain insurance that will provide adequate coverage against potential claims. Product liability claims can be expensive to defend and can divert the attention of management and other personnel for long periods of time, regardless of the ultimate outcome. A significant unsuccessful product liability defense could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we believe our business depends on the strong brand reputation we have developed. If our reputation is damaged, we may face difficulty in maintaining our market share and pricing with respect to some of our products, which could reduce our sales and profitability.
Operational restructuring may result in asset impairment or other unanticipated charges.
As a result of our corporate strategy, we have identified opportunities to outsource to third-party suppliers certain functions which we currently perform. We believe outsourcing can reduce product costs, improve product quality, and increase operating efficiency. These actions may not yield the expected results, and outsourcing may result in production delays or lower-quality products. Transitioning to outsourcing may cause certain of our affected employees to leave before the outsourcing is complete. This could result in a lack of the experienced in-house talent necessary to successfully implement the outsourcing. Further, depending on the nature of operations outsourced and the structure of agreements we reach with suppliers to perform these functions, we may experience impairment in the value of manufacturing assets related to the outsourced functions or other unanticipated charges, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.
We may not be able to manage our growth effectively, expand our production capabilities or improve our operational, financial and management information systems, which would impair our results of operations.
If we are successful in executing our business plan, we will experience growth in our business that could place a significant strain on our business operations, management, and other resources. Our ability to manage our growth will
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require us to expand our production capabilities, continue to improve our operational, financial and management information systems, and to motivate and effectively manage our employees. We cannot provide assurance that our systems, procedures and controls, or financial resources will be adequate, or that our management will keep pace with this growth. We cannot provide assurance that our management will be able to manage this growth effectively.
Our success depends in significant part upon the continuing service of management and key employees, and several key management and other employees have recently left Capstone.
Our success depends in significant part upon the continuing service of our executive officers, senior management, and sales and technical personnel. The failure of our personnel to execute our strategy or our failure to retain management and personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business. In March 2022, we implemented an expense reduction plan, which included furloughs, employment terminations, and pay cuts. In May 2023, we implemented a second round of expense reductions, which included furloughs to employees. We also recently suffered departures of other key personnel, including in accounting/finance and information technology. In August 2023, Darren Jamison, our long time President and Chief Executive Officer, resigned from his positions with the Company. Robert Flexon, Chair of our Board, served as our Interim President and Chief Executive Officer from August 2023 until March 2024, when Vincent Canino succeeded him as President and Chief Executive Officer. Our Chief Financial Officer, John Juric, joined the Company in March 2023 following the departure of the Company’s Interim Chief Financial Officer, Scott Robinson. These departures have placed additional strain on our remaining personnel, and we do not expect to replace all of the departed employees, so the increased burdens on the remaining personnel are expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, our recent losses of key employees could adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, if we are unable to successfully integrate the new members of management, including the new Chief Executive Officer, into our leadership team, our operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
Our success, growth prospects, and ability to capitalize on market opportunities also depend to a significant extent on our ability to identify, hire, motivate, and retain qualified managerial personnel, including senior members of management. There can be no assurances that we can do so. Our growth may be constrained by resource limitations as competitors and customers compete for increasingly scarce human capital resources. The demand for skilled workers is currently high. We face an increasingly competitive labor market due to sustained labor shortages in part from the COVID-19 pandemic and are subject to inflationary pressures on employee wages and salaries which may increase labor costs. In addition, we have already experienced involuntary turnover due to increased commuting costs for our employees. Our competitors may be able to offer a work environment with higher compensation or more opportunities than we can. If we are unable to attract and retain a sufficient number of skilled personnel, our ability to successfully implement our business plan, grow our Company and maintain or expand our product offerings may be adversely affected, and the costs of doing so may increase, which may adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
In addition, our internal control systems rely on employees trained in the execution of the controls, particularly within our financial and accounting function. Loss of these employees or our inability to replace them with similarly skilled and trained individuals or new processes in a timely manner could adversely impact our internal control mechanisms further. See “—Our management has identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting and we determined that our disclosure controls and procedures were ineffective as of March 31, 2023. If we fail to remediate the material weaknesses or if we otherwise fail to establish and maintain effective control over financial reporting, our ability to accurately and timely report our financial results may be affected, and such failure may adversely affect investor confidence and business operations” for a discussion of the material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Our operations are vulnerable to interruption by fire, earthquake, riots, domestic and international instability, war, terrorism, geopolitical events and other events beyond our control.
Our operations are vulnerable to interruption by fire, earthquake, riots, domestic and international instability, war, terrorism, geopolitical events and other events beyond our control. Our executive offices, manufacturing facility, and auxiliary inventory storage facility are located in Southern California. Because the Southern California area is located in an earthquake-sensitive area and because we have no redundancy facility located within or outside of Southern California, we are particularly susceptible to the risk of damage to, or total destruction of, our facilities in Southern California and the surrounding transportation infrastructure, which could affect our ability to make and transport our products. While we take
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steps to mitigate the impact of severe weather and environmental and natural disasters, the frequency and severity of which may be impacted by climate change and other natural and manmade events, such events could result in severe disruption to our business operations at these facilities. The combination of high inflation, illegal immigration, the cost of living, and reduced spending on law enforcement in and around our location in Southern California poses an elevated risk of social disturbances and riots.
If an earthquake, fire, or other man-made or natural disaster occurs at or near our facilities, our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flow could be materially adversely affected.
Domestic and international political and economic instability or volatility, geopolitical regional conflicts, terrorist activity, political unrest, civil strife, acts of war, public corruption, expropriation and other economic or political uncertainties could interrupt and negatively affect the performance of our services, sale of our products or other business operations. See “—Changes to trade regulations, quotas, duties or tariffs, and sanctions caused by the changing U.S. and geopolitical environments or otherwise, may increase our costs or limit the amount of raw materials and products that we can import or may otherwise adversely impact our business” for a discussion of the impact of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine on our business and results of operations. A slowdown in economic growth in some emerging markets could result in long sales cycles, greater risk of uncollectible accounts and longer collection cycles. Fluctuations or devaluations in currency values, especially in emerging markets, could have an adverse effect on us, our suppliers, logistics providers and manufacturing vendors. All of these factors could result in increased costs or decreased revenues, and could materially and adversely affect our product sales, financial condition and results of operations.
Activities necessary to integrate any future acquisitions may result in costs in excess of current expectations or be less successful than anticipated.
We may acquire other businesses in the future, and the success of these transactions will depend on, among other things, our ability to develop productive relationships with the corresponding distributors and to integrate assets and personnel, if any, acquired in these transactions and to apply our internal controls processes to these acquired businesses. Future acquisitions may require us to raise financing, including by issuing common stock that would dilute our current stockholders’ percentage ownership, assume or otherwise be subject to liabilities of an acquired company, record goodwill and non-amortizable intangible assets that will be subject to impairment testing on a regular basis and potential periodic impairment charges, incur amortization expenses related to certain intangible assets, incur large acquisition and integration costs, immediate write-offs, and restructuring and other related expenses, and become subject to litigation. The benefits of an acquisition may also take considerable time to develop, and we cannot be certain that any particular acquisition will produce the intended benefits in a timely manner or to the extent anticipated, or at all. We may experience difficulties integrating the operations, technologies, products, and personnel of an acquired company or be subjected to liability for the target’s pre-acquisition activities or operations as a successor in interest. Such integration may divert management’s attention from the normal daily operations of our business. Future acquisitions may also expose us to potential risks, including risks associated with entering markets in which we have no or limited prior experience, especially when competitors in such markets have stronger market positions, the possibility of insufficient revenues to offset the expenses we incur in connection with an acquisition and the potential loss of, or harm to, our relationships with employees, customers, consumers and suppliers as a result of integration of new businesses. If we are unable to fully benefit from anticipated synergies, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
We may be adversely impacted by the effects of climate change and may incur increased costs and experience other impacts due to new or more stringent greenhouse gas regulations designed to address climate change.
The scientific consensus indicates that emissions of greenhouse gases (“GHG”) continue to alter the composition of Earth’s atmosphere in ways that are affecting, and are expected to continue to affect, the global climate. The potential impacts of climate change on our customers, product offerings, operations, facilities, and suppliers are accelerating and uncertain, as they will be particular to local and customer-specific circumstances. These potential impacts may include, among other items, physical long-term changes in freshwater availability and the frequency and severity of weather events as well as customer product changes either through preference or regulation.
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Concerns regarding climate change may lead to additional international, national, regional and local legislative and regulatory responses. Various stakeholders, including legislators and regulators, shareholders, and non-governmental organizations, are continuing to look for ways to reduce GHG emissions. Increased input costs, such as fuel, utility, transportation, and compliance-related costs, could increase our operating costs.
On October 7, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed three landmark climate disclosure bills that are more stringent than the recently enacted SEC rules. California’s group of new laws address (i) GHG emissions reporting in compliance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), (ii) climate-related financial risk reporting in accordance with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and (iii) disclosure of information about certain emissions claims and the sale and use of carbon offsets. Although the SEC’s climate disclosure proposal includes GHG Protocol and TCFD requirements, unlike the SEC’s proposed rule, the California requirements apply to certain private and public companies with business activities in California. AB 1305 addresses voluntary carbon market disclosures. It applies to entities that (i) operate and make emissions claims within California; or (ii) buy or sell carbon offsets within California. SB 253 is the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act. It applies only to business entities with annual revenue over $1 billion that do business in California. It requires disclosure of scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 GHG emissions. Annual reporting of scope 1 and scope 2 GHC emissions will be required for covered entities beginning in 2026 (for the 2025 fiscal year). Annual reporting of scope 3 GHG emissions will be required beginning in 2027. SB 261 addresses climate-related financial risks of greenhouse gases. It applies to business entities that do business in California if their annual revenue exceeds $500 million. Disclosure will be required on or before January 1, 2026 and biennially thereafter.
While we aim to position ourselves as a solution for climate change-related issues to our customers, there are other solutions in the market that may be cheaper or better suited to our customers’ needs, and we may not be able to capitalize on the move towards renewable energy.
As the impact of any future GHG legislative or regulatory requirements on our global businesses and products is dependent on the timing, scope, and design of the mandates or standards, we are currently unable to predict their potential impact, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Risks Related to Our Product Offerings
We depend upon the development of new products and enhancements of existing products.
Our operating results depend on our ability to develop and introduce new products, enhance existing products, and reduce the costs to produce our products. The success of our products is dependent on several factors, including proper product definition, product cost, timely completion and introduction of products, differentiation of products from those of our competitors, meeting changing customer requirements, emerging industry standards, and market acceptance of our products. The development of new, technologically advanced products and enhancements is a complex and uncertain process requiring high levels of innovation, as well as the accurate anticipation of technological and market trends. There can be no assurance that we will successfully identify new product opportunities, develop and bring new or enhanced products to market in a timely manner, successfully lower costs and achieve market acceptance of our products, or that products and technologies developed by others will not render our products or technologies obsolete or uncompetitive. We continued to expand and develop our new hydrogen products during Fiscal 2023, which are commercially available running on a 30% hydrogen – 70% natural gas mix. Continued development towards a 100% hydrogen product will require a long-time horizon and a significant amount of financial resources. We do not currently have and there can be no assurance that we will develop the resources or financial ability to develop a 100% hydrogen product.
Our operating results are dependent, in large part, upon the successful commercialization of our products. Failure to produce our products as scheduled and budgeted would materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.
We cannot be certain that we will deliver ordered products in a timely manner. We have limited production slots for our products. Any delays in production will increase our costs, reduce future production slots, and could significantly impact our business, financial condition, and operating results.
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We may not be able to produce our products on a timely basis if we fail to correctly anticipate product supply requirements or if we suffer delays in production resulting from issues with our suppliers. Our suppliers may not supply us with a sufficient amount of components or components of adequate quality, or they may provide components at significantly increased prices.
Some of our components are currently available only from a single source or limited sources. We may experience delays in production if we fail to identify alternative suppliers or if any parts supply is interrupted, each of which could materially adversely affect our business and operations. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic caused labor shortages and disrupted global supply chains, which has contributed to prolonged disruptions. The COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to growing inflationary pressures. In order to reduce manufacturing lead times and ensure adequate component supply, we enter into agreements with certain suppliers that allow them to procure inventories based upon criteria defined by us. If we fail to anticipate customer demand properly, an oversupply of parts could result in excess or obsolete inventories, which could adversely affect our business. Additionally, if we fail to correctly anticipate our internal supply requirements, an undersupply of parts could limit our production capacity. Our inability to meet volume commitments with suppliers could affect the availability or pricing of our parts and components. A reduction or interruption in supply, a significant increase in the price of one or more components, or a decrease in demand of our products could materially adversely affect our business and operations and could materially damage our customer relationships. Financial problems of suppliers on whom we rely could limit our supply of components or increase our costs. Also, we cannot guarantee that any of the parts or components that we purchase will be of adequate quality or that the prices we pay for the parts or components will not increase. Inadequate quality of products from suppliers could interrupt our ability to supply quality products to our customers in a timely manner. Additionally, defects in materials or products supplied by our suppliers that are not identified before our products are placed in service by our customers could result in higher warranty costs and damage to our reputation. We also outsource certain of our components internationally. As a result of outsourcing internationally, we may be subject to delays in delivery because of regulations associated with the import/export process, delays in transportation or regional instability.
Commodity market factors impact our costs and availability of materials.
Our products contain a number of commodity materials from metals, which include steel, special high temperature alloys, copper, nickel, and molybdenum, to computer components. The availability of these commodities could impact our ability to acquire the materials necessary to meet our production requirements. The cost of metals has historically fluctuated. The pricing could impact the costs to manufacture our products. During Fiscal 2023 and 2022, as a result of COVID-19 and other ongoing macroeconomic events, we saw significant price increases in the cost of our commodity materials. If we are not able to acquire commodity materials at prices and on terms satisfactory to us or at all, our operating results may be materially adversely affected.
We operate in a highly competitive market among competitors that have significantly greater resources than we have, and we may not be able to compete effectively.
We compete with several technologies, including reciprocating engines, fuel cells, and solar power. Competing technologies may receive certain benefits, like governmental subsidies or promotion, or be able to offer consumer rebates or other incentives that we cannot receive or offer to the same extent. This could enhance our competitors’ abilities to fund research, penetrate markets, or increase sales. We also compete with other manufacturers of microturbines.
Our competitors include several well-known companies with histories of providing power solutions. They have substantially greater resources than we do and have established worldwide presence. Because of greater resources, some of our competitors may be able to adapt more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements, to devote greater resources to the promotion and sale of their products than we can or lobby for governmental regulations and policies to create competitive advantages vis-à-vis our products. We believe that developing and maintaining a competitive advantage will require continued investment by us in product development and quality, as well as attention to product performance, our product prices, our conformance to industry standards, manufacturing capability, and sales and marketing. In addition, current and potential competitors have established or may in the future establish collaborative relationships among themselves or with third parties, including third parties with whom we have business relationships. Accordingly, new competitors or alliances may emerge and rapidly acquire significant market share.
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Overall, the market for our products is highly competitive and changing rapidly. We believe that the primary competitive factors affecting the market for our products, including some that are outside of our control, include, but are not limited to:
● name recognition, historical performance and market power of our competitors;
● product quality and performance;
● operating efficiency;
● product price;
● availability, price and compatibility of fuel;
● development of new products and features; and
● emissions levels.
There is no assurance that we will be able to successfully compete against either current or potential competitors or that competition will not have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition, and cash flow.
Our business and financial performance depends in part on the oil and natural gas industry, where a continued movement towards clean energy and away from fossil fuels, as well as fluctuations in prices for oil and natural gas, may have an adverse effect on our revenue, cash flows, profitability, and growth.
Revenue in the oil and natural gas industry has been in decline for several years from historical highs, due to volatility in oil prices, as well as a movement towards clean energy and away from fossil fuels, which has impacted capital expenditures in the oil and natural gas industry. We continue to be impacted by the volatility of the global oil and gas industry. If prices were to decline and remain low for a sustained period, we would expect to see additional declines in our customers’ spending, which would have an adverse effect on our revenue. In addition, a worsening of these conditions may have a material adverse impact on certain of our customers’ liquidity and financial positions, resulting in further spending reductions, delays in the collection of amounts owing to us, and other similar adverse effects. Despite a recent increase in oil prices, we have not yet seen a corresponding significant increase in sales activity, primarily due to the customers in our natural resources market vertical not yet increasing their spend on capital expenditures that would include our microturbine product.
Our sales and results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted by risks inherent in international markets.