Exhibit 99.1
Flux Power Q1’ 19 Revenue Increased Ten-Fold to Record
$1.84M,
Driven by Large Customer Adoption of Lithium-Ion Industrial
Batteries
Vista, CA – November 14, 2018 -- Flux Power Holdings,
Inc. (OTCQB: FLUX), a developer of advanced lithium batteries for
industrial applications including electric forklifts and airport
ground support equipment (“GSE”), today reported
results for its fiscal 2019 first quarter ended September 30, 2018
(Q1 ‘19).
Highlights:
●
Q1 ’19 Revenue Rose over tenfold to
$1.84M versus Q1 ’18 revenue of $0.15M and increased
67% sequentially from Q4’18 revenue of $1.1M. Q1 ’19
revenue included $0.8M of lithium-ion GSE battery shipments to a
leading global airline, in addition to LiFT Pack batteries for
Class 3 “walkie” pallet jack forklifts. Flux is seeing
accelerating commercial adoption of its lithium-ion batteries to
replace traditional lead-acid chemistry and power forklifts and
airport ground support equipment more efficiently and cost
effectively.
●
Expanding Product Line with Larger, Higher
Value Solutions – In the fall, Flux started shipping
its new larger, more powerful and higher cost LiFT Packs for Class
1 counterbalance trucks. Flux is also preparing for the December
commercial launch of its new line of Flux LiFT Pack batteries for
Class 2 Narrow Aisle and Class 3 End Rider forklifts. These planned
launches follow successful piloting of these solutions with several
customers over the past five months. Flux developed these new
product lines in response to current customer, customer prospect
and forklift manufacturer requests that Flux expand its offerings
to also meet the needs of larger scale forklifts.
●
Airport Ground Support Equipment (GSE) Battery
Pipeline – In October Flux received a $0.3M order for
additional airport GSE batteries from an existing global airline
customer. That customer is expected to place significant additional
orders in calendar 2019. Two other major airlines are piloting our
packs and we anticipate them commencing orders in CY
2019.
●
Flux anticipates at least doubling its revenue
in fiscal 2019 over fiscal 2018 revenues of $4.1M. This
outlook is supported by the ongoing expansion of interest, and
sales dialogues, regarding Flux’s expanding line of
lithium-ion battery solutions as customers in materials
handling-intensive industries recognize the many performance,
efficiency and total cost of ownership benefits of lithium-ion
storage versus lead-acid chemistry, which until recently was the
only viable battery technology for industrial
equipment.
Financial Results:
Q1
‘19 revenue rose over tenfold to $1,835,000 compared to Q1
‘18 revenue of $153,000, principally due to Walkie LiFT Pack
shipments to a Fortune 100 global customer and initial shipments of
airport GSE battery packs.
Q1
‘19 cost of sales rose to $1,817,000 compared to $314,000 in
Q1 ’18, principally due to the significant increase in LiFT
Pack unit sales, yielding a Q1 ’19 gross profit of $18,000
versus a year ago gross loss of ($161,000). The gross profit
improvement is the result of increased production volumes combined
with initial benefits from Flux’s comprehensive margin
enhancement plan. The plan involves design, production, procurement
and pricing initiatives, in addition to expected efficiency
improvements through higher production volumes, that should enable
Flux to achieve attractive gross margins.
Selling
and administrative expenses increased to $1,483,000 in Q1 ‘19
from $671,000 in Q1 ’18 primarily due to the addition of
sales and support staff, as well as a related increase in
stock-based compensation and
professional fees.
Research
& development expenses increased to $662,000 in Q1 ‘19,
compared to $478,000 in Q1 ‘18, as Flux invested in
completing development of its larger Class 1 and Class 2 battery
solutions. R&D expenses are expected to remain significant as
Flux builds out its complete forklift and airport GSE product
lines, develops solutions for other potential motive power markets,
and continues to enhance features and functionality for its product
lines in order to maintain its leadership position.
Flux’s
Q1 ‘19 operating loss increased to $2.13M from $1.31M in Q1
‘18, principally due to higher operating expenses supporting
a full product line rollout. Net loss in Q1 ‘19 increased to
$2.40M, or ($0.08) per basic share, from $1.45M, or ($0.06) per
basic share, in Q1 ‘18, reflecting the higher operating loss
and increased interest expense due to higher average borrowings.
Flux had 31.1M and 25.1M weighted average basic common shares
outstanding for the periods ending Q1’19 and Q1’18,
respectively.
Financial Position:
Borrowings
under Flux’s $10.0M Unrestricted and Open Line of Credit
provided by Esenjay Investments LLC, owned by the company’s
largest shareholder, were $7.98M as of September 30, 2018, and
borrowings under the Company’s $5.0M Short Term Line of
Credit were $2.4M as of September 30, 2018.
In late October, Flux secured short-term credit facilities
providing up to $2.5M in potential borrowings through an
institutional shareholder and a private investor. The facilities
are intended to fund working capital needs as Flux works to ramp
sales of its expanding line of lithium-ion forklift battery packs.
Separately, Flux substantially enhanced its financial position
through the conversion of $9.6 million of borrowings and
interest into 15.8 million
shares of restricted Flux common stock. As a result of the debt
conversions, Flux now has approximately 46.9M shares of common
stock issued and outstanding.
CEO Comments:
CEO,
Ron Dutt, commented, “Aided by the investments we have made
in product development, sales and marketing and building industry
relationships with OEMs, dealers and distributors over the past
five years, Flux is now seeing meaningful and expanding demand for
our lithium-ion battery technology as a replacement for lead-acid.
This is truly a collaborative effort working closely with
end-customers, equipment manufacturers and dealers and
distributors, setting the stage for Flux to deliver a growing array
of industry leading products to an expanding customer
base.
“We
continue to gain traction with our LiFT Pack solution in the Walkie
forklift market that launched in earnest in the second quarter of
last fiscal year. At the same time we have been expanding sales of
our airport GSE battery solutions to leading airlines and airport
logistics suppliers. Flux also recently begun shipments of our
larger, higher cost LiFT Pack solutions for Class 1 electric
counterbalance forklifts and Class 2 narrow aisle reach trucks,
including $1.4M in initial shipments since October 1, 2018 to a
Fortune 100 heavy machinery conglomerate following their successful
pilot earlier this calendar year.
“To support Flux’s growth, we continue to make progress
on strengthening Flux’s financial position and funding
access. We believe the recent debt conversions represent a very
positive step for Flux, as they served to substantially de-leverage
and strengthen our balance sheet, making Flux far more attractive
to prospective customers and investors.”
About Flux Power Holdings, Inc. (www.fluxpwr.com)
Flux
Power develops advanced lithium-ion batteries for industrial uses,
including its first-ever UL 2271 Listed lithium-ion “LiFT
Pack” forklift batteries. Flux solutions utilize its
proprietary battery management system and in-house engineering and
product design. Flux batteries deliver improved performance,
extended cycle life and lower total cost of ownership than legacy
lead-acid solutions. Flux sells primarily to lift equipment
OEM’s, their dealers and battery distributors. Current
products include advanced battery packs for motive power in the
lift equipment and airport ground support markets.
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This release contains projections and other "forward-looking
statements" relating to Flux’s business, that are often
identified by the use of "believes," "expects" or similar
expressions. Forward-looking statements involve a number of
estimates, assumptions, risks and other uncertainties that may
cause actual results to be materially different from those
anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, etc. Such
forward-looking statements include the development and success of
new products, projected sales, the Company’s ability to
timely obtain UL Listing for its products, the Company’s
ability to fund its operations, distribution partnerships and
business opportunities and the uncertainties of customer acceptance
of current and new products. Actual results could differ from those
projected due to numerous factors and uncertainties. Although Flux
believes that the expectations, opinions, projections, and comments
reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they
can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be
correct, and that the Flux’s actual results of
operations,
financial condition and performance will not differ materially from
the results
of operations, financial condition and performance reflected or
implied by these forward-looking
statements. Undue reliance should not be placed on the
forward-looking statements and Investors should refer to the risk
factors outlined in our Form 10-K, 10-Q and other reports filed
with the SEC and available at www.sec.gov/edgar. These
forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news
release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update these
statements or the reasons why actual results could differ from
those projected.
Flux,
Flux Power and associated logos are trademarks of Flux Power
Holdings, Inc. All other third party brands, products, trademarks,
or registered marks are the property of and used to identify the
products or services of their respective owners.
Media & Investor Relations:
Catalyst
IR
David
Collins or Chris Eddy
212-924-9800
flux@catalyst-ir.com
FLUX POWER HOLDINGS, INC.
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CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
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(Unaudited)
|
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Three Months Ended September 30,
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|
|
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Net
revenue
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$1,835,000
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$153,000
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Cost
of sales
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1,817,000
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314,000
|
|
|
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Gross
profit (loss)
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18,000
|
(161,000)
|
|
|
|
Operating
expenses:
|
|
|
Selling
and administrative expenses
|
1,483,000
|
671,000
|
Research
and development
|
662,000
|
478,000
|
Total
operating expenses
|
2,145,000
|
1,149,000
|
|
|
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Operating
loss
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(2,127,000)
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(1,310,000)
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|
|
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Other
income (expense):
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Interest
expense
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(274,000)
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(136,000)
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|
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Net
loss
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$(2,401,000)
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$(1,446,000)
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Net
loss per share - basic and diluted
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$(0.08)
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$(0.06)
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Weighted
average number of common shares outstanding - basic and
diluted
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31,068,411
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25,086,794
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