Share price development as of Dec. 20, 2016

Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh is looking to establish framework agreements with Chinese companies, as he believes the country to be a very promising market. China is said to have already invested more than USD 100 billion in fuel cell technology over the years, as it has recognized that there is large potential to tap (see Ballard). Talks with Chinese-based automotive suppliers are ongoing. In the US, Plug Power hopes that there will be other tax incentives for fuel cell vehicles. The investment tax credits have certainly been a factor in getting orders for forklift truck retrofits. Donald Trump, however, is said to be opposed to these types of incentives as much as in the wind and solar industry. But his slogan “America First” could be the basis for renewing them, since they would support the fuel cell industry in the US. There are always two sides to an issue.

As per Sept. 30, 2016, the net loss attributable to common shareholders was USD 0.07 per share, USD 0.02 worse than expected. It’s interesting to see how the company has gone from a negative gross margin of 55 percent to a plus of 5.9 percent during the reporting period, targeting breakeven and beyond. At the core, it seems to me as if Plug is well-prepared for the times ahead – not least because of its number of orders bookings despite partially reduced revenue growth due to certain lease agreements (Walmart). By its own account, the company is working on refinancing and “releasing” a large part of the restricted cash for use in other business areas.

Risk warning

Investors must understand that buying and selling shares is done at their own risk. Consider spreading the risk as a sensible precaution. The fuel cell companies mentioned in this article are small and mid-cap ones, i.e., they do not represent stakes in big companies and the volatility is significantly higher. This article is not to be taken as a recommendation of what shares to buy or sell – it comes without any explicit or implicit guarantee or warranty. All information is based on publicly available sources and the assessments put forth in this article represent exclusively the author’s own opinion. This article focuses on mid-term and long-term perspectives and not short-term profit. The author may own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.

Author: Sven Jösting (written Dec. 2016)