Microvast - Earnings Call - Q2 2025

Executive Summary

• Q2 2025 delivered record Q2 revenue of $91.3M (+9.2% Y/Y) and 34.7% gross margin, with positive adjusted EBITDA of $25.9M; however, GAAP net loss was $106.1M driven by a $121.5M non‑cash fair value charge on the convertible loan and warrants.
• Versus consensus, revenue missed ($91.3M vs $107.7M*), while adjusted EPS beat ($0.05 vs $0.02*) as operating execution and cost control supported profitability on an adjusted basis.
• Guidance: Revenue outlook maintained at $450–$475M; full‑year gross margin target raised from 30% to 32%—a constructive signal on mix/efficiency despite regional timing headwinds.
• Key narrative drivers: EMEA program launches were pushed into later quarters (weighing on Q2 top line), US mix improving (rev share 5%), capacity expansion (Huzhou Phase 3.2) on track to complete installation by year‑end with initial production to follow—setting up 2026 capacity.

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

• What Went Well

  • Sustained margin and adjusted profitability: gross margin expanded Y/Y to 34.7% and adjusted EBITDA reached $25.9M; management highlighted “a record second quarter” with “adjusted EBITDA of $25.9 million”.
  • OpEx discipline: Operating expenses fell to $16.5M from $126.7M in Q2’24 (prior year included impairments); adjusted OpEx was $15.7M vs $116.0M in Q2’24.
  • Technology milestones: multi‑layer all‑solid‑state battery progress (functional 12‑layer 48V monolithic stack; >99.89% coulombic efficiency in 5‑layer cell), positioning for robotics/AI/aerospace applications.
  • Quote: “We delivered a record second quarter… This growth is matched with gross margin expansion to 34.7%… and a positive adjusted EBITDA of $25.9 million” — Yang Wu, CEO.

• What Went Wrong

  • Top‑line timing/miss: EMEA revenue timing (customer platform launches pushed into later quarters) pressured Q2 revenue versus expectations, contributing to a revenue miss vs consensus.
  • GAAP optics: GAAP net loss of $106.1M driven by $121.5M non‑cash fair value changes in warrants/convertible loan, masking underlying adjusted profitability.
  • Backlog moderation: reported backlog declined to ~$320M vs $351M in Q1’25 and $401.3M at FY’24, a watch item for near‑term visibility.

Transcript

Speaker 2

Thank you for standing by. This is the Conference Operator. Welcome to the Microvast Holdings Inc. second quarter 2025 earnings call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode, and the conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Microvast investor relations. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Thank you, operator, and thank you everyone for joining our update today. This is Rodney Worthen, Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Interim Chief Financial Officer, and with me on today's call is Mr. Yang Wu, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Wu will start off with a high-level overview of the second quarter results before providing some operational and business updates. I will then discuss our financials in more detail before handing it back to Mr. Wu to wrap up with our outlook for the remainder of the year and closing remarks. Ahead of this call, Microvast Holdings Inc. issued its second quarter earnings press release, which can be found on the investor relations section of our website, ir.microvast.com. We have also posted a slide presentation to accompany management's prepared remarks today. As a reminder, please note that this call may include forward-looking statements.

These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and should not be relied upon as representative of views for subsequent dates. We undertake no obligation to revise or release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements due to new information or future events. Actual results may differ materially from expectations due to a variety of risks and uncertainties. For more information on material risks and other important factors that could affect our financial results, please refer to our filings with the SEC. We may also discuss non-GAAP financial measures during this call. These measures should be considered in addition to and not as a substitute for or in isolation from GAAP results. These non-GAAP measures have been reconciled to the most comparable GAAP metrics in the tables included at the end of our press release and slide presentation.

After the conclusion of this call, a webcast replay will be available on the investor relations section of Microvast Holdings Inc.'s website. Now, I'll turn the call over to Mr. Wu to kick things off.

Speaker 0

Hello everyone. Thank you for joining us today. To those of you who have been with us for years, and for those who are new to our story, I want to start by reminding you of our core mission. Founded in Texas in 2006, Microvast Holdings Inc. has grown into a global leader in advanced battery technology. With over 810 patents granted or pending, and our electrified solutions successfully deployed worldwide, we are proud to be a driving force in the global energy transition, building a more sustainable future, one battery at a time. Over the past year, our commitment to innovation has delivered some major milestones. We launched the ME6, our pioneering overhaulable LFP-based energy storage system. We have also made great strides in our silicon-based cell technologies and are making significant progress in our development of all-solid-state batteries.

These innovations are the engine of our growth, and we are excited to share some updates in the future. Please turn to slide four, and I will cover some key results. We posted a record second quarter revenue of $91.3 million, which is a solid 9.2% growth year over year. What makes this continued growth remarkable is that we attained it while improving our gross margin to 34.7%, a 2.2 percentage point improvement from the same period last year. This demonstrates not only our ability to grow, but also to achieve this growth efficiently. We continue to focus on improving both efficiency and profitability, and I am happy to say that we achieved operating profit in the second quarter of $16.2 million. We then adjusted net profit of $16.3 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $25.9 million. This isn't just a milestone for Microvast Holdings Inc.

It's a testament for both the long-term commitment required in the industry and the strength of our business model. This strength is also shown by looking back over the last several years, where our Q2 revenue has continuously grown. This growth illustrates the increase in market demand for our high-performance product. Our gross profit has also seen continuous improvement, which shows that we can commercialize our advanced technologies and operate at scale. Our rapid growth has given us invaluable experience, allowing us to successfully commercialize products across our diverse portfolio and refine our manufacturing processes. Moving forward, our focus remains on three things: continuous innovation, the execution of our strategic growth objectives, and expanding our capacity to meet the growing demand from our customers. We are well positioned for the future. Let's move to slide five, where I will highlight our consistent focus.

At its core, Microvast is a vertically integrated battery technology innovator. Our primary engine for growth is a relentless commitment to technology and product development, fueling a promising pipeline of advanced solutions. We are actively expanding our revenue streams with a diverse portfolio of products and services, all designed to accelerate the global energy transformation. A key element of our strategy is our aggressive push to capture greater market share. We are making significant investments to commercialize both our current available and our highly anticipated future advanced products. We are staying disciplined with a dual focus on pioneering product innovation and expanding our market presence. This is how we intend to achieve significant sustainable growth and optimize our operations with the ultimate goal of attaining sustained profitability. Turning to slide six, I am pleased to give you an update on our Huzhou Phase 3.2 expansion.

The clean rooms are completed, and the utility equipment installation is finished. We are now in the stage of installing and commissioning the production equipment. Our Phase 3.2 expansion is still anticipated to add about 2 GWh of annual production capacity, which is strategically timed to meet the strong market demand for our solutions, both currently and upcoming. This expansion leverages our existing infrastructure and deep industry expertise, and we anticipate the first qualified production from this new line to commence in the fourth quarter of 2025. This is an exciting step forward in our growth story into 2026 and beyond. Moving to slide seven, I'd like to give an update on our all-solid-state battery milestones. Building on our update in Q1, our proprietary five-layer cell has stable cycling with a continued high coulombic efficiency.

It has achieved over 304 charge-discharge cycles at 1C, with steady capacity retention across the cycling window, shown in figure one. This indicates robust interfacial integrity with minimal losses during charge transfer, which is critical for battery longevity and performance. This result affirms our engineering approach and the structural stability of our all-solid-state architecture under long-term stress conditions. Additionally, our 12-layer functional prototype achieved 48 volts from a single integrated stack. The voltage capacity profile is seen in figure two, and it validates its performance. Figure three shows a cross-sectional image that confirms the uniformity and series-connected architecture. This validates the feasibility of high-voltage solid-state cells with minimal packaging complexity. On slide eight, we will continue the discussion of our all-solid-state battery achievements, with a focus on advantages versus traditional battery and anticipated avenues for commercialization.

The first key advantage is simplified system design, where traditional battery cells are constrained by liquid electrolyte decomposition at a voltage between 4 to 5 volts. Our technology allows us to output tens to hundreds of volts. Additionally, the removal of liquid electrolytes present in traditional batteries also eliminates the need for complex and costly voltage conversion. This simplified architecture opens the door for new applications and end users. Our all-solid-state battery design also portrays inherited fault tolerance. Unlike conventional cells, our multi-layered design localizes any potential defect and prevents a single point of failure situation. This resiliency is crucial for mission-critical applications. With high voltage output capability and a simplified architecture, fewer required connections, and lower manufacturing costs, our design accelerates a path to potential commercial-scale production.

With the combination of all-solid-state safety, compact form factor, and flexible voltage, this technology is ideally suited for emerging sectors like robotics, AI, and aerospace applications. Now I will turn the call over to Rodney to discuss our financials for the second quarter and the year to date.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Mr. Wu. Please join me on slide ten. We're proud to report another record-breaking second quarter, with revenue growing 9.2% year over year to $91.3 million from $83.7 million last year. Our year-to-date revenue represents a top-line growth of 25.9% to $208 million from $165 million in the prior year period, driven by an increase of approximately 300 megawatt-hours in sales volume. Turning to profitability, our gross profit for the second quarter was $31.7 million, a 17% improvement over the same period last year, driven by our relentless focus on operational execution, increased utilization, and cost controls. Our gross margin improved by 2.2 percentage points to 34.7%, up from 32.5% in Q2 2024. Our year-to-date gross profit is now $74.7 million, a 68% increase over last year, with gross margins improving to 36%, a 9.1 percentage point improvement.

Operating expenses decreased to $16.5 million for the quarter compared to $126.7 million in Q2 2024, an 87% reduction year over year. This reduction across G&A, R&D, and sales and marketing was largely due to reduced share-based compensation and previously implemented cost control measures. There is also a significant decrease due to impairment costs incurred in the prior year period. For the same reasons, OpEx also decreased for the first half of the year to $42 million, down from $168 million in the prior year period. We reported a GAAP net loss of $106.1 million in the quarter. However, after adjusting for non-cash expenses, such as share-based compensation of $0.8 million and fair value changes to our convertible loan and associated warrants of $121.5 million, we achieved an adjusted net profit of $16.3 million, a substantial improvement from adjusted net loss of $87.9 million last year.

For the six-month period, GAAP net loss was $44.3 million compared to a net loss of $126.4 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP adjusted net profit year to date was $35.6 million, a major improvement from an adjusted net loss of $100.9 million last year. Our commitment to sustainable profitability is evident as we report another consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA reaching $25.9 million. This is a substantial turnaround from a negative adjusted EBITDA of $78.4 million in Q2 2024. Positive adjusted EBITDA for the six-month period reached $54.4 million compared to a negative adjusted EBITDA of $82.1 million in the prior year period. The financial reconciliations of these non-GAAP metrics can be found in the tables at the end of our earnings press release and this slide presentation. On slide 11, we show the geographic breakdown of our revenue mix compared to the prior year period.

Our EMEA business accounted for 43% of our quarterly revenue. This is down slightly year over year due to customer platform launches being pushed into later quarters. However, growth over the six-month period still saw an improvement of 31% compared to the prior year. The U.S. increased from 2% to 5% of revenue share, both for the quarter and year to date when compared to the prior year periods, as we continue to make inroads with domestic customers. The APAC region continues to do well, growing 34% in the quarter and 13% year to date compared to 2024, as we also successfully target higher margin opportunities. Please turn to slide 12, and we will briefly review our cash flow for the year. We are pleased to have generated positive operating cash flow of $44.3 million for the six-month period.

Net loss is primarily offset by a $7.1 million decrease in inventory and non-cash adjustments of $16.5 million in D&A and $78.4 million from changes in fair value of warrant liability and convertible loan. This was partially decreased by a $14.5 million increase in net receivables and a $12.6 million decrease in net liabilities and accrued expenses. From investing activities, we had a net outflow of $5.1 million, primarily related to CapEx for our Huzhou operations, including our Phase 3.2 expansion. Financing cash flow resulted in a net outflow of $6.8 million. Overall, when combined with a negative adjustment from exchange rates of $3.2 million, we had an increase in cash of $29.2 million. This resulted in total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of $138.8 million at quarter's end. This financial strength is a testament to our disciplined approach to growth.

On one last note, I would like to thank again our long-term investors. We recognize that our share price has been volatile at times, and we appreciate your continued support and recognition of the goals that we are striving for as a company. Our teams have been singularly focused on turning around our operations and delivering these results, and we are grateful for your patience. It's been a turbulent few years for the whole industry, and the turnaround in the past year for the company has been a great effort from the team. While we need to continue executing and strengthening our financial position, our performance confirms that we have established a profitable and resilient foundation powered by strong market demand. We're not just improving, we're building momentum. Our unwavering focus on sustainable profitability, enhancing margins, and boosting operational efficiencies is propelling us forward.

We remain committed to our strategic vision and believe our continued progress will increasingly reveal the true value Microvast delivers as a leader across the electric energy markets. Now, I will hand it back over to Mr. Wu to go over our outlook for the remainder of the year and closing remarks.

Speaker 0

Thank you, Rodney. Please turn to slide 14, which provides a summary outlook for the rest of the year. For the remainder of 2025, our initial revenue guidance holds firm. We are targeting a year-over-year revenue increase of 18% to 25%, which puts our projected range between $450 million and $475 million. We are slightly updating our targeted full-year gross margin from 30% to 32%, as we are focusing on stronger performing, higher margin products. In our APAC operations, all eyes are on our Phase 3.2 expansion at the Huzhou facility, which we anticipate will come online later this year. This additional capacity of up to 2 GWh annually is a direct response to the robust customer demand for our solutions. Our development teams are also making significant progress on the next wave of advanced products.

Our high-growth EMEA business is expected to maintain strong momentum, continuing to drive significant year-over-year revenue increases. We are actively pursuing new strategic partnerships to support both our current and upcoming product lines in the region. In the U.S., we anticipate continued revenue growth and are being proactive in customer acquisitions and assessing our financial needs to support strategic objectives. Despite navigating global dynamics and localized market pressures, our proactive cost management and a strategic focus on high-demand sectors have positioned us for continued growth. We remain laser-focused on achieving our priorities for the remainder of this year, which are achieving positive cash flow, sustaining our strong margins, and expanding our market reach through relentless innovation and strategic collaboration. We are confident that we can continue to capitalize on the electrification trend and deliver long-term value to our shareholders.

Thank you, everyone, for joining us today to review another historical quarter for Microvast Holdings Inc. We look forward to updating you again next quarter.

Speaker 2

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.