TPI Composites - Earnings Call - Q1 2025

Executive Summary

• Net sales rose 14.3% year over year to $336.2M; adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed to -$10.3M (-3.1% margin) and diluted EPS was -$1.01, supported by higher ASPs, improved utilization, and Mexico restarts.
• Guidance was lowered: FY25 adjusted EBITDA margin revised to 0–2% (from 2–4%) and utilization to 80–85% on 34 lines (from ~85%); net sales and capex guidance unchanged at $1.4–$1.5B and $25–$30M respectively.
• Board initiated a strategic review to optimize the capital structure; NASDAQ minimum bid price non-compliance notice adds urgency and could be a stock reaction catalyst alongside the guidance cut.
• Operationally, Iowa (Newton) restarted in May with two lines in 2025; Mexico blades into the U.S. are USMCA-compliant (exempt from tariffs). A Q2 safety stand‑down following an accident is expected to reduce Q2 sales by ~$35M, partly recovered later in the year.

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

• Year-over-year revenue growth and improved adjusted EBITDA margin, with operating cash flow positive at $4.6M in Q1.
• Strong U.S. demand; Mexico volume ramp to 24/7, with USMCA-compliant blades exempt from tariffs. “We remain focused on operational excellence...” (Bill Siwek).
• Field Services revenue increased 38.4% YoY as technicians shifted back to revenue-generating projects.

What Went Wrong

• FY25 adjusted EBITDA margin guidance lowered to 0–2% (from 2–4%) due to warranty charges and April production suspension; utilization trimmed to 80–85% (from ~85%).
• Elevated pre‑existing warranty charges and labor cost inflation in Türkiye and Mexico pressured profitability.
• NASDAQ minimum bid price non‑compliance letter increases financing and listing risk amid strategic review uncertainty.

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Greetings and welcome to the TPI Composites first quarter 2025 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Jason Wegmann, Vice President, Investor Relations and Sustainability. Please go ahead.

Jason Wegmann (VP of Investor Relations)

Thank you, Operator. I would like to welcome everyone to TPI Composites first quarter 2025 earnings call. We will be making forward-looking statements during this call that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially. A detailed discussion of applicable risks is included in our latest reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be found on our website, tpicomposites.com. Today's presentation will include references to non-GAAP financial measures. You should refer to the information contained in the slides accompanying today's presentation for definitional information and reconciliations of historical non-GAAP measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures. With that, let me turn the call over to Bill Siwek, TPI Composites President and CEO.

Bill Siwek (President and CEO)

Thanks, Jason. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining our call. In addition to Jason, I am here with Ryan Miller, our CFO. Please turn to slide five. I'm pleased to report a solid start to the year with Q1 revenue up 14% year over year, positive cash flows of $4.6 million provided by operating activities, and we ended the quarter with $172 million of cash. 2024 included a significant number of line startups and transitions, with 10 lines reaching serial production and several facilities in Mexico moving to 24/7 operations. As we exit the first quarter, all the line startups and transitions that began in 2024 are completed. We have substantially completed four lines that transitioned in the first quarter of this year and are well into the hiring at our Newton, Iowa plant, where we are starting production this week.

Our focus now is on leveraging the investments made over the last year by utilizing lean tools to foster a culture of operational excellence. This drive aims to deliver repeatable world-class quality and delivery performance while achieving cost savings throughout the organization. As mentioned in previous quarters, customer demand continues to be strong for our Mexico operations capacity for 2025, and we are acutely focused on delivering on the commitments made to our customers. Sales for the quarter were $336.2 million and were in line with our expectations. The increase in sales of 14% over the prior year is primarily related to strong demand in the U.S. and the fact that we worked through a number of line transitions from 2024 that are now in serial production.

Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $10.3 million but included a $12.7 million warranty charge, $8.4 million of startup and transition costs from six lines in startup and transition, and $4 million in costs to transition certain of our Mexico factories to the 24/7 shift structure. Our Adjusted EBITDA margin benefited from strong sales into the U.S. in the quarter, partially offset by weaker sales coming out of our Turkey A factories. As previously disclosed, in December 2024, we committed to a restructuring plan in Turkey A to rationalize our workforce in response to lower forecasted demand amid intense Chinese competition and the continued hyperinflationary environment. This restructuring plan impacted approximately 20% of our Turkish workforce. Looking forward, we expect we will further rationalize our workforce during the second half of 2025, as we have extensions for just two manufacturing lines beyond 2025 at this time.

Although there continues to be interest in our manufacturing capacity, it is unclear when or if that interest will ultimately result in firm contracts. Please turn to slide six. With respect to the wind market, the world is experiencing unprecedented energy demand by factors like the reshoring of manufacturing, industrial electrification, and a focus on national security. This demand is being further intensified by the rapid growth of data centers. In the U.S., demand is expected to surpass 450 gigawatts by 2030, requiring a balanced and practical energy strategy. We believe this strategy should embrace all available energy solutions, recognizing the immediate and accelerating need for power. It must also be acknowledged that different energy technologies have varying levels of current readiness and cost implications.

Today, renewable energy and battery storage are the most affordable power sources and can be deployed rapidly, unlike technologies like new natural gas plants and nuclear energy, which face increasing costs and likely cannot be deployed in time to address energy demands that are here today. Consequently, we believe a comprehensive energy policy focusing on an all-of-the-above approach is crucial to effectively meet the substantial demand while considering the timely availability and affordability of each energy option. As a trusted and key supplier of wind blades for the leading Western Turbine OEMs, we remain a critical cog of the wind industry supply chain. The relationships we have developed with these OEMs and our strategic footprints in low-cost locations have positioned us well for their blade needs. While our supported markets are currently complex, their long-term prospects remain positive.

It is crucial, however, to discuss the potential impacts on our business stemming from uncertainty around tariffs, permitting, and possible changes to the IRA in the U.S. Concerning tariffs, as you know, we operate eight plants across four countries. While completed blade sales from all plants into the U.S. are potentially subject to U.S. tariffs, assessing the impact requires a country-by-country analysis. Our Mexico plants almost exclusively support the U.S. market, as will our Iowa facility. Importantly, under current regulations, all blades produced in our Mexico plants are USMCA compliant and therefore exempt from tariffs. In Europe, our Turkey A plants primarily serve the EU and Turkey A, with a small fraction of blades destined for the U.S. Our India plant supplies blades to the U.S., Asia, South America, and Africa, with approximately 40% of its production shipped to the U.S. during the first quarter. Blades sold into the U.S.

Out of our plants in India and Turkey are subject to the existing tariff structures for those countries. However, our current contractual agreements with OEMs we serve stipulate that the OEMs bear the responsibility for these tariffs. Our supply chain is also experiencing the effects of U.S. tariffs. Years of developing strong strategic partnerships and redundancy within our supply base provide us with some flexibility to mitigate long-term cost impacts. The cost of blades produced at our Newton facility will likely be affected, though the final impact is still being assessed as we continue to develop mitigation strategies. It's important to remember that Newton is in the startup phase with minimal production expected in 2025. As for the IRA, the final content of a budget reconciliation bill and timing remain uncertain, while reshoring manufacturing and creating associated U.S. jobs are critical priorities for this U.S. administration.

Given the significant impact on jobs and investment in the U.S., we currently believe a full repeal seems unlikely. However, we expect concessions will likely have to be made to align with the administration's spending priorities. The reopening of TPI's Newton, Iowa facility is evidence of an IRA-driven job creation. In collaboration with GE Vernova, we plan to have two production lines operational this year, providing approximately 400 good-paying jobs. At full capacity, this facility can operate five lines and employ around 1,000 people. The EU market presents a significant long-term growth opportunity, though considerable challenges persist in the current environment, including strong competition from Chinese manufacturers and the ongoing impact of hyperinflation in Turkey, which pose continued risks for TPI.

Positively, the EU's permitting reforms, notably the Renewable Energy Directive, have provided for streamlined processes and prioritized renewables, leading to faster project approvals, as demonstrated by the wind energy market in Germany, where supportive legal frameworks recognize wind energy's overriding public interest. While the EU's permitting reforms and initiatives like the Net Zero Industrial Act's auction resilience guidelines are encouraging steps, their slow adoption and inconsistent implementation across member countries remain impediments to the broader wind industry, creating uncertainty about their short-term impact on TPI Composites. Overall, the various economic challenges presented in the markets where we operate, as discussed above, continue to create uncertainty in the industry's near-term outlook and continue to challenge our operations. In the near term, we are continuing to focus on maximizing value and ensuring we have sufficient liquidity to operate.

On May 8th, 2025, our Board of Directors formed a committee to, among other things, assist with conducting a strategic review of our business and evaluation of potential strategic alternatives focused on optimizing our capital structure for the current environment. To assist in leading the strategic review, we appointed two new independent directors to our board, Tim Poole and Neil Goldman. Both Tim and Neil have significant experience as strategic advisors and representing companies in strategic planning, negotiating complex transactions, M&A, capital raising, valuation, corporate governance, and liability management. With their assistance, we are in the process of assessing approaches to enhance our capital structure while maintaining sufficient liquidity. No timetable has been established for the conclusion of this review, and no decisions related to any further actions or potential strategic alternatives have been made at this time.

In addition, as reported in a Form 8K on May 2nd, 2025, the company received a notification letter from NASDAQ notifying the company that it is not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on NASDAQ. The notification letter does not impact the company's listing on NASDAQ at this time, as we have 180 calendar days or until October 29th, 2025, to regain compliance with NASDAQ's listing rules. To regain compliance, the bid price of the company's common stock must have a closing bid price of at least $1 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days. We intend to consider all available options to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement, including in connection with the ongoing review of strategic alternatives I previously mentioned. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ryan to review our financial results.

Ryan Miller (CFO)

Thanks, Bill. Please turn to slide eight. In the first quarter of 2025, net sales were $336.2 million compared to $294 million for the same period in 2024, an increase of 14.3%. Net sales of wind blades, tooling, and other wind-related sales increased by $40.1 million or 13.9% to $329 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to $288.9 million in the same period in 2024. This increase was primarily due to higher average sales prices due to changes in the mix of wind blade models produced and a 4% increase in the number of wind blades produced.

The increase in volume was primarily due to the restart of production at one of our previously idled facilities in Juarez, Mexico, and higher utilization as several of our manufacturing lines in Mexico and Turkey A were in serial production in the current period that were either in startup or transition during the prior comparative period. The increase in wind sales was partially offset by volume declines based on market activity levels impacting our Turkey A facilities and volume declines related to the Nordex Matamoros facility that shut down at the conclusion of the contract on June 30, 2024. Field service inspection and repair services sales increased $2 million or 38.4% to $7.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to $5.1 million in the same period in 2024.

The increase was primarily due to the increase in technicians deployed to revenue-generating projects due to a decrease in time spent on non-revenue-generating inspection and repair activities. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $10.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, as compared to Adjusted EBITDA loss of $23 million during the same period in 2024. Adjusted EBITDA margin was a loss of 3.1% as compared to an Adjusted EBITDA margin loss of 7.8% during the same period in 2024. The improvement was primarily due to the absence of losses from the Nordex Matamoros facility, which was shut down at the end of the second quarter in 2024, increased volume in our other Mexico locations, lower startup and transition costs, and cost savings initiatives.

These improvements were partially offset by higher pre-existing warranty charges, higher labor costs in Turkey A, Mexico, and 24/7 shift ramp-up costs in a number of our Mexico factories. Moving to slide nine, we ended the quarter with $172 million of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and $616 million of total debt. Free cash flow was negative $1.9 million in the first quarter of 2025 compared to negative free cash flow of $47.3 million in the same period in 2024. The net use of cash in the first quarter of 2025 was primarily due to interest payments, tax payments, and capital expenditures slightly outpacing cash earnings and working capital improvements. Note that we had positive cash flow provided by operating activities in the quarter of $4.6 million. A summary of our financial guidance for 2025 can be found on slide 10.

We continue to anticipate sales from continuing operations in the range of $1.4 billion-$1.5 billion, representing high single-digit year-over-year growth at the midpoint of the guidance. This projected growth is primarily driven by increased blade shipments from our Mexico facilities to support the U.S. market and the planned reopening of our Iowa site, partially offset by projected reduced sales from our Turkey A and India facilities driven primarily by anticipated lower demand from our Nordex lines. We have six lines in startup and transition in 2025, including the two new lines reopening at our Iowa plant. We expect average selling prices to remain relatively flat year-over-year. Field services revenue is expected to increase more than 50% driven by a shift of technicians back to historical levels of revenue-generating activity.

We expect Adjusted EBITDA margin from continuing operations to be in the range of 0%-2%, which has been revised from our previous guidance of 2%-4%. The downward revision is primarily due to the warranty charge we recorded in the first quarter and the impact of a production suspension we experienced during April because of a safety stand-down put in place following an accident in one of our factories. 2025 utilization is expected to be in the range of 80%-85% on 34 lines in production. Finally, we expect capital expenditures of about $25 million-$30 million in 2025. With that, I'll turn the call back over to Bill.

Bill Siwek (President and CEO)

Thanks, Ryan. Please turn to slide 12. Before we close our prepared remarks, I'm pleased to announce the publication of our 2024 Sustainability Report in March of this year. We remain committed to our publicly stated goals of fostering a zero-harm culture and achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 through 100% renewable energy procurement. Wind blades produced by us in 2024 are estimated to prevent approximately 264 million metric tons of CO2 emissions over their 20-year lifespan. We are progressing towards our 2030 carbon neutrality goal, having achieved a 17% reduction in overall market-based Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions. In Turkey A, one-third of our site's electricity was generated from renewable energy, and in India, one-quarter.

For our sites in Mexico, we signed a power purchase agreement to ensure all our sites are powered by 100% renewable energy by the end of 2025, and we achieved our 5% reduction goal in production waste and continue to foster a culture of safety. We continue to partner with our OEMs to share best practices aimed at Scope 1 reductions. Furthermore, we are working to expand our PPA in India and exploring clean energy options for our Newton, Iowa facility. These investments not only provide environmental benefits but also make strong economic sense, directly contributing to improved financial performance. Please turn to slide 14. In closing, it's been a challenging environment, and we have a lot in front of us as we evaluate our strategic alternatives. I'm proud of how our team has managed through some challenging startups and transitions and driven operational improvements across the company.

While we acknowledge the complexities and uncertainties within the global wind market, including policy considerations in the U.S. and macroeconomic factors in Europe and in Turkey, our underlying fundamentals remain strong. We believe our focus on operational excellence and strategic partnerships positions us well to navigate these challenges and capitalize on the long-term opportunities within the renewable energy sector. We look forward to providing further updates on our progress throughout the year. Before we open the call for Q&A, I want to once again extend my gratitude to all our TPI associates for their continued commitment and dedication to TPI and our mission to safely decarbonize and electrify the world. I'll now turn it back to the operator to open the call for questions.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. We'll now be conducting a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star two to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the Star keys. One moment, please, while we pull for. Our first question is from Mark Strauss with JP Morgan.

Mark Strouse (Equity Research Analyst)

Yep. Good afternoon, guys. Thank you very much for taking our questions. I just wanted to clarify, first of all, on the strategic review. Ryan, I've heard you say a few times in the past, kind of evaluating optimal capital structures. Can you just talk about the nuances of what exactly is different with this strategic review versus what has been going on the last few quarters? Thank you.

Bill Siwek (President and CEO)

Yeah. Hey, Mark. It's Bill. We've been evaluating our capital structure and looking at alternatives. It's just turned into a more formal process. That's really the only difference. We're looking at how do we restructure our balance sheet. It's really a right-sided balance sheet challenge, as you know. How do we right-size our balance sheet for the near term and then for the long-term health of the entity?

Mark Strouse (Equity Research Analyst)

Okay. All right. That makes sense. Thanks, Bill. I fully appreciate that it's probably too early for you guys to give a fully robust view on this, but I did want to get kind of your initial views anyway on the House reconciliation language that just came out an hour and a half or so before your press release. Thank you.

Bill Siwek (President and CEO)

Yeah. It's still a little bit fresh. I think on 45Y, the phase, I think most were expecting some sort of a phase-out. I think the challenge there is the completion placed into service versus startup construction, which is a bit different and could pose some challenges there. I think on 45X, a little bit surprised that wind is getting treated differently than other technologies with an end date of 2027. Obviously, that's something that we heard rumors of that last week, but a little disappointed to see that. I think on transferability, which is another key component of the IRA, it's a little unclear still. I didn't get all the way through that section of the bill, but we'll be doing a little bit more work on that this evening to see how that might impact things.

Mark Strouse (Equity Research Analyst)

Yep. Makes sense. Okay. Very helpful. I'll take the rest offline. Thank you.

Bill Siwek (President and CEO)

Thanks, Mark.

Operator (participant)

Our next question is from Eric Stein with Craig-Hallum Capital.

Hey, this is Luke on for Eric. Appreciate you taking our questions. First year on the Iowa restart, obviously on track here with production starting next week. Have you seen anything out there in the market in terms of demand that would make you consider potentially bringing on more lines there in the near future for 2026?

Bill Siwek (President and CEO)

We've had discussions about we do have capacity for up to five lines. We've had ongoing discussions with our customer there. I think that will just depend on how demand develops and how reconciliation turns out, quite frankly, and tariff situation. It is a little bit early to tell, but we have had discussions, and we would certainly like to light up more lines there if we can.

Of course. Makes a ton of sense. Secondly here, you talked a few quarters back about identifying some potential supply chain cost reductions. I think the number you threw around was maybe 8% year-over-year in 2025. I mean, given we've had a ton of market uncertainty since then with both tariffs and the IRA, how has this view really evolved for you? Would you consider that to still be roughly a realistic target, or should we be thinking about that differently?

No, I think we're on target for the most part with all of those cost reductions as it relates to the supply chain specifically. That's primarily just for the BOM, the bill of material. Depending on where tariffs end up, and obviously, it changed last night from China, there could be a small impact on our bill of material in Iowa based on where those it'll be much smaller now given the change in the tariff rate at least for 90 days. The number we gave before is we're right on track with that, if not a little bit better, and the market's been cooperating. We're still on track.

Great. Very helpful. I'll turn it over here. Thanks.

Thanks.

Operator (participant)

Our next question is from Justin Clare with Roth Capital.

Justin Clare (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Hey, guys. Thanks for the questions here. I just wanted to follow up on the 45X. As you mentioned in the draft bill from the House here, the 45X could be phased down earlier than we would have anticipated, so by year end 2027. If that change does actually make it through to the final bill, how might that affect your decisions to either add lines in Iowa or I know you're potentially considering another site where you could expand manufacturing. Maybe just to, I know it's very early here, it just came out, but speak to how you might think about it.

Bill Siwek (President and CEO)

Yeah. Again, it really will depend on demand dynamics over the next couple of years, but that could certainly impact it. As far as for another site, again, if 45X stays where it's at, that could impact whether or not it's feasible to open another site as well.

Justin Clare (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Right. Okay. That makes sense. Just on tariffs, I think, I guess first, you had previously talked about your customers wanting basically everything that you can produce for the U.S. market in 2025. Wondering if the tariffs have affected that or permitting issues or if that's still the case. Maybe if you could just speak to what you're seeing in terms of things shaping up for 2026 and specifically for the U.S. market.

Bill Siwek (President and CEO)

Yeah. For 2025, no change in what the demand profile is for our plants providing blades for the U.S. market. For 2026, it's a little bit early still, and with some of the uncertainty that we're all very well aware of. Right now, it looks like I would expect the U.S. market, at least demand from our perspective, to be flat with 2025 at this point. Not a dip, but likely to be flat in 2026 as we see it today.

Justin Clare (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Got it. Okay. And then just one more. You had mentioned, I think it was an incident in Q2 that might affect your EBITDA margins. Just wondering if you could speak to how you see the EBITDA margins trending through the year. Do we get a dip or kind of flat with Q1 and Q2 and then increase in Q3, Q4? Maybe you could just speak to, if you can, where you think EBITDA margins might be, what the run rate could be heading into 2026.

Ryan Miller (CFO)

Hey, Justin. Q1, we did have the warranty charge that impacted our EBITDA margins. Excluding that, I'm expecting our Q2 to probably be a little bit higher volume than we had, but we are dealing with an accident that we had with the safety stand down. The impact to that is we're expecting right now to be about probably $30 million-$35 million of sales for the quarter. We will recover some of that throughout the balance of the year, but some of that will probably impact our full year. Still believe our full year sales guidance is at $1.45 billion. Still believe we can achieve that. From a margin perspective for the second half and our run rate going into 2026, do expect more healthy margins. Volume will be our third quarter will probably be our highest volume quarter.

It will also be a quarter in which our margins should peak for the year. Kind of seasonally, the fourth quarter, we tend to come down a little bit, but still should have a pretty strong second half in comparison to the first. Again, that first quarter impacted by the warranty charge and the second quarter impacted by the safety stand down that we had.

Justin Clare (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Okay. Very helpful. Thank you.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I'd like to hand the floor back over to Bill Siwek for any closing comments.

Bill Siwek (President and CEO)

Thank you again for your time today and continued interest and support of TPI. Look forward to keeping you up to date on our progress throughout the quarter. Thank you.

Operator (participant)

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.