Press Release & Investor Call
Acorn’s Q1’24 EPS Improves to $0.03 vs. ($0.03) Loss Per Share on Continued
Growth in Remote Monitoring and Control Hardware and Services Revenue
Investor Call Today at 11am ET; Dial-in: 1-844-834-0644
Wilmington, DE – May 9, 2024 – Acorn Energy, Inc. (OTCQB: ACFN) (Acorn), a provider of remote
monitoring and control solutions for backup power generators, gas pipelines, air compressors and other mission
critical assets, announced results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (Q1’24) and will hold an investor
call today at 11am ET (see call details below).
Summary Financial Results
Q1’24
Q1’23
Change
(dollars in thousands)
Monitoring revenue
$
1,102
$
1,024
+ 7.6
%
Hardware revenue
1,030
725
+42.1
%
Total revenue*
$
2,132
$
1,749
+21.9
%
Gross profit Margin
74.6
%
75.2
%
Net income (loss) attributable to Acorn stockholders
$
65
$
(85
)
+$150
Net income (loss) per share
$
0.03
$
(0.03
)
+$0.06
*All of Acorn’s revenue is derived from its 99%-owned operating subsidiary, OmniMetrix.
CEO Commentary
Jan Loeb, Acorn’s CEO, commented, “Acorn’s Q1 results reflect the strength of our product and service
offerings and the operating leverage of our business model. Acorn achieved solid growth in new monitoring
hardware sales and continued to build on our base of annually recurring, high-margin monitoring service
revenue. We are off to a promising start in 2024 and believe Acorn is establishing a foundation early this year to
achieve our long-term goal of 20% average annual top-line growth in 2024. We have a range of business
development initiatives and significant opportunities that we are currently in various stages of pursuing that
support our optimism.
“We continue to advance the rollout of OmniMetrix Demand Response (DR) programs within the standby
generator market. We secured our first DR customer enrollments late in 2023, added to that base in the first
quarter of 2024 and expect the pace of enrollments to continue to build as the benefits of the program become
better known to our dealer network and their customers. Our initial customers have been approved by ERCOT,
the largest grid operator in Texas, in time for the peak summer season, when the grid is typically most stressed.
“DR programs allow generator owners to be compensated for allowing grid operators to automatically turn on
their generators to help the electric grid meet peak power demands. OmniMetrix provides the critical monitoring
and control links that enable DR functionality, providing a very compelling add-on to our service offerings
which has the potential to double our profitability on each enrolled DR endpoint. We expect a modest revenue
contribution from DR to be realized later in 2024 and believe DR has the potential to become an important,
long-term revenue driver for our business.
“We also continue to invest in enhancing our solutions to provide increased value to our customers and to
maintain our position as a leader in the markets we serve. In Q4’23, we launched our new user interface that we
call OV2 for our OmniView data portal which provides a range of new efficiency features such as self-service
reporting and access to air quality data to support customer compliance with state laws and regulations. We
have been getting very good feedback on the access provided to air quality index (AQI) data, which is required
by certain states and EPA regulations for the operation of industrial power generators. We believe that our new
AQI feature differentiates our service from competitors and could be a key competitive advantage due to
increasing climate concerns and related regulations.
“Based on new leads and deal flow from our sales and marketing team, we are also very bullish about the
potential to secure more significant commercial and industrial (C&I) monitoring projects in 2024.”
Financial Review
Q1’24 revenue rose 21.9% to $2,132,000 over Q1’23 revenue of $1,749,000, driven by a 42.1% increase in
hardware revenue and a 7.6% increase in monitoring revenue. Q1’24 hardware revenue growth is primarily
attributable to sales of new product versions. Revenue increases were attributable to increased sales of
TrueGuard (TG) Pro and TG2 in the Power Generation (generator monitoring) segment as well as to sales of
Hero2 units in the Cathodic Protection (Pipeline) segment. Sales of new hardware are recognized to revenue on
the shipment of product, whereas monitoring revenue is deferred and amortized over the term of the monitoring
contract, typically one year.
Driven by revenue growth, gross profit grew 20.9% to $1,591,000 in Q1’24, reflecting a gross margin of 74.6%,
as compared to gross profit of $1,316,000 and gross margin of 75.2% in Q1’23. The decrease in gross margin
was primarily attributable to a higher proportion of hardware in the revenue mix versus monitoring revenue,
which carries a higher gross margin. Nonetheless, Acorn was able to increase its gross margin on hardware to
53.5% in Q1’24 from 50.6% in Q1’23, principally due to sales of new products which deliver more value and,
therefore, can command higher price points.
Total operating expenses rose 7.2% to $1,513,000 in Q1’24 versus $1,411,000 in Q1’23, due to a $78,000
increase in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses and a $24,000 increase in research and
development (R&D) expenses. Increased SG&A expenses included $36,000 in additional personnel expenses
due to compensation increases and staff additions, $25,000 in higher audit engagement fees and timing with
more audit expenses falling in Q1’24 than Q1’23, as well $16,000 in tax consulting fees in Q1’24. The increase
in R&D included salary increases of our engineering team, the continued development of next-generation
products and exploration into new possible product lines. OmniMetrix continues to work on initiatives to
enhance the design of existing products and to develop new product lines to address evolving customer needs.
Net income attributable to Acorn stockholders improved to $65,000, or $0.03 per share, in Q1’24 from a net
loss of ($85,000), or ($0.03) per share, in Q1’23. Acorn’s Q1’24 profitability improvement was driven by
revenue and gross profit growth that significantly exceeded increases in operating expenses. Per-share amounts
have been adjusted to account for the 1-for-16 reverse stock split executed in September 2023.
Liquidity and Cash Flow
Excluding deferred revenue of $3,823,000 and deferred cost of goods sold of $709,000, which have no impact
on future cash flow, net working capital was $2,494,000 at March 31, 2024 compared to $2,654,000 at
December 31, 2023 and $2,569,000 at March 31, 2023. Acorn had cash and cash equivalents of $1,417,000 at
March 31, 2024 vs. $1,449,000 at year-end 2023 and $1,346,000 at March 31, 2023 and no debt.
Acorn used $32,000 of net cash in Q1, of which $43,000 was used in operating activities; $2,000 was used in
investing activities (technology investments), offset by $13,000 received from the exercise of stock options.
Investor Call Details
Date/Time:
Thursday, May 9
th
at 11:00 AM ET
Dial-in Number:
1-844-834-0644 or 1-412-317-5190 (Int’l)
Online Replay/Transcript:
Audio file and call transcript will be posted to the
Investor section of Acorn's website when available.
Submit Questions via Email:
acfn@catalyst-ir.com – before or after the call.
About Acorn (www.acornenergy.com) and OmniMetrix
TM
(www.omnimetrix.net)
Acorn Energy, Inc. owns a 99% equity stake in OmniMetrix, a pioneer and leader in Internet of Things (IoT)
wireless remote monitoring and control solutions for stand-by power generators, gas pipelines, air compressors
and other industrial equipment. OmniMetrix serves tens of thousands of commercial and residential customers,
including over 25 Fortune/Global 500 companies, supporting cell towers, manufacturing plants, medical
facilities, data centers, retail stores, public transportation systems, energy distribution and federal, state and
municipal government facilities and residential backup generators.
OmniMetrix’s proven, cost-effective solutions make critical systems more reliable and also enable automated
“demand response” electric grid support via enrolled backup generators.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release includes forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. There are
no assurances that Acorn will be successful in growing its business, increasing its revenue, increasing
profitability, or maximizing the value of its operating company and other assets. A complete discussion of the
risks and uncertainties that may affect Acorn Energy’s business, including the business of its subsidiary, is
included in “Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed by the Company
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Follow us
Twitter: @Acorn_IR and @OmniMetrix
StockTwits: @Acorn_Energy
Investor Relations Contacts
Catalyst IR
William Jones, 267-987-2082
David Collins, 212-924-9800
acfn@catalyst-ir.com
ACORN ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)
(IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA)
Three months ended March 31,
2024
2023
Revenue
$
2,132
$
1,749
COGS
541
433
Gross profit
1,591
1,316
Operating expenses:
Research and development expenses (R&D)
238
214
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses
1,275
1,197
Total operating expenses
1,513
1,411
Operating income (loss)
78
(95
)
Interest income, net
15
11
Income (loss) before income taxes
93
(84
)
Income tax expense
25
—
Net income (loss)
68
(84
)
Non-controlling interest share of income
(3
)
(1
)
Net income (loss) attributable to Acorn Energy, Inc. stockholders
$
65
$
(85
)
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share attributable to Acorn Energy, Inc.
stockholders:
Net income (loss) per share attributable to Acorn Energy, Inc. stockholders –
basic and diluted*
$
0.03
$
(0.03
)
Weighted average number of shares outstanding attributable to Acorn Energy, Inc.
stockholders – basic and diluted:
Basic*
2,486
2,483
Diluted*
2,494
2,483
*
As adjusted to reflect the September 2023 1-for-16 reverse stock split.
ACORN ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT SHARE AND PER SHARE DATA)
As of
March 31, 2024
As of
December 31, 2023
(Unaudited)
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash
$
1,417
$
1,449
Accounts receivable, net
487
536
Inventory, net
788
962
Deferred cost of goods sold (COGS)
709
809
Other current assets
285
280
Total current assets
3,686
4,036
Property and equipment, net
544
570
Right-of-use assets, net
166
193
Deferred COGS
341
476
Other assets
142
174
Total assets
$
4,879
$
5,449
LIABILITIES AND DEFICIT
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$
208
$
288
Accrued expenses
124
132
Deferred revenue
3,823
4,034
Current operating lease liabilities
124
123
Other current liabilities
27
30
Total current liabilities
4,306
4,607
Long-term liabilities:
Deferred revenue
1,205
1,550
Noncurrent operating lease liabilities
66
98
Other long-term liabilities
21
20
Total liabilities
5,598
6,275
Commitments and contingencies
Deficit:
Acorn Energy, Inc. stockholders
Common stock - $0.01 par value per share: 42,000,000 shares authorized,
2,537,485 and 2,534,969 shares issued at March 31, 2024 and December
31, 2023, respectively, and 2,487,307 and 2,484,791 shares outstanding
at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively
25
25
Additional paid-in capital
103,361
103,321
Accumulated stockholders’ deficit
(101,083
)
(101,148
)
Treasury stock, at cost – 50,178 shares at March 31, 2024 and
December 31, 2023
(3,036
)
(3,036
)
Total Acorn Energy, Inc. stockholders’ deficit
(733
)
(838
)
Non-controlling interests
14
12
Total deficit
(719
)
(826
)
Total liabilities and deficit
$
4,879
$
5,449
ACORN ENERGY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(UNAUDITED) (IN THOUSANDS)
Three months ended March 31,
2024
2023
Cash flows used in operating activities:
Net income (loss)
$
68
$
(84
)
Depreciation and amortization
28
38
(Decrease) increase in the provision for credit loss
(7
)
2
Impairment of inventory
9
3
Non-cash lease expense
32
31
Stock-based compensation
27
17
Change in operating assets and liabilities:
Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable
56
(176
)
Decrease (increase) in inventory
165
(18
)
Decrease in deferred COGS
235
37
Decrease (increase) in other current assets and other assets
27
(20
)
(Decrease) increase in deferred revenue
(556
)
45
Decrease in operating lease liability
(36
)
(33
)
(Decrease) increase in accounts payable, accrued expenses, other current
liabilities and non-current liabilities
(91
)
75
Net cash used in operating activities
(43
)
(83
)
Cash flows used in investing activities:
Investments in technology
(2
)
(26
)
Net cash used in investing activities
(2
)
(26
)
Cash flows provided by financing activities:
Stock option exercise proceeds
13
—
Warrant exercise proceeds
—
5
Net cash provided by financing activities
13
5
Net decrease in cash
(32
)
(104
)
Cash at the beginning of the period
1,449
1,450
Cash at the end of the period
$
1,417
$
1,346
Supplemental cash flow information:
Cash paid during the year for:
Interest
$
1
$
—
Income taxes
$
2
$
—
Non-cash investing and financing activities:
Accrued preferred dividends to former CEO of OmniMetrix
$
1
$
1
