Coinciding with the presentation of second-quarter results this year, Wallbox has announced the acquisition of Coil, an electric vehicle charging installer that supplies the US market, and also Ares Electronics, a Spanish supplier of printed circuit boards.
These two acquisitions have been made with Wallbox shares for 70% of their total amount ---which has not been disclosed--- in each case, according to Enric Asunción, co-founder and CEO of the electric vehicle charging solutions manufacturer. Asunción explained that Coil is strategic in the United States now that Joe Biden's government will open the investment program to install 500,000 electric chargers on the country's roads and expects it to contribute to the group's growth in 2023.
The acquisition of Coil will also guarantee the industrial alliance with Nissan, with whom Wallbox has committed to providing chargers and charging facilities to buyers of the new Ariya in the United States. It should be noted that the Catalan firm that is listed on Nasdaq is building a factory in Texas, which it plans to inaugurate next September and which will join those the manufacturer has in the Zona Franca of Barcelona, Sant Andreu de la Barca, and China.
Regarding Ares Electronics, Wallbox officials have chosen to strengthen the relationship they had with this supplier, of which they are the main client, and in parallel they ensure the supply of printed circuits: "This way we can offer products with more guarantees," said the CEO.
Asunción has expressed confidence that the business plan will meet its annual forecasts: a turnover of between 175 and 195 million euros for the whole of 2022, which represents an approximate annual growth rate of between 145% and 170%. This after closing the second quarter in line with the beginning of the year with "record" revenues of 39.5 million euros, 124% more than in the same period of 2021, due to the sale of almost 64,000 chargers, 95% more than in the second quarter of 2021
From April to June last year, the firm achieved an adjusted profit before interest and taxes that resulted in a negative balance with losses of 15.6 million. The gross margin was 41.1%. Asunción recalled that the business plan is long-term, with the goal of being profitable "because we are in a market that is emerging and growing" and the company's potential on and off the stock market "will be realized in three to five years."
Regarding markets, second-quarter growth has been driven primarily by Southern Europe and the United States. Among the more than one hundred countries where Wallbox operates, Asunción highlighted that sales growth "has multiplied by three, four, and five" in all countries, with significant weight in Spain (with a 400% increase) and the United States (500%).
Wallbox, headquartered in Barcelona with 1,100 employees, has an active presence in 105 markets worldwide, "and now what's next is to strengthen ourselves in all of them, especially in those that have joined more recently such as Canada or Mexico and the Latin American area, and we will work to boost the four that are priorities for us in Europe: Germany, England, France, and Spain," states Asunción. The company's growth plan aims to control between 15% and 20% of the international market share by 2025.
Asked about the possibility of Wallbox expanding into other products besides electric vehicle chargers, Asunción emphasized that in the medium term they are "100% focused" on electric cars. "Focusing on other areas would divert us a bit from what is truly important," he opined. "In the future, we will orient ourselves more towards energy management and getting the most out of the charger and the electric vehicle than towards producing chargers for other types of vehicles," he advanced.
The company aspires to be a global energy manager, maximizing the potential of electric chargersSo far this year, the company has made new collaborations and has increased the production of its Supernova fast charger, as they have highlighted. "Although geopolitical uncertainty and inflation pose a challenge for most companies, we find ourselves in a unique position in a very attractive market that benefits from tailwinds," Asunción added.
Regarding the depreciation of the euro, the CFO, Jordi Lainz, assured that the company increasingly has a higher percentage of sales in the US market, more than 10% in the second quarter, and that with the IPO the company raised 250 million dollars, "so there is a significant part of the cash that remains in dollars."
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