Windar Photonics (WPHO) , a developer of LiDAR equipment and software for wind turbines, announced a new order valued at up to US$1.27m for delivery to a North American customer in H1 2024.
The undisclosed customer operates a number of sites using Vestas V82 wind turbines. Windar said the initial order unlocks opportunities for more business from the same customer, which has 5 times as many V82 turbines as covered by today's announcement.
The new order is Windar's third full wind farm deployment in North America with V82s using its proprietary WindEye / WindTimizer optimisation solution. The order also represents Windar's first revenue from software with c. 10% of the estimated order value attributable to software-related income from WPHO's recently launched Windar Nexus software suite.
Windar also announced a proposed placing to raise up to £4m at 35p, with further details to follow. WPHO said it has received expressions of interest amounting to £2m so far. Proceeds will be used for working capital to fulfill the company's growing orderbook and achieve growth targets, as well as for R&D with an emphasis on software, and marketing.
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A major contract win for Windar Photonics from a large US customer for a new site of Vestas V82 wind turbines. The order significantly adds to Windar's visibility in the North American market, with material upside as the customer operates additional US sites with 5x more turbines as covered by the initial order. Markets welcomed the news, sending WPHO shares 9% higher on Monday.
The order also represents Windar's first revenue stream from software sales as WPHO seeks to expand its software arm by offering not only upfront licenses, but also turbine performance improvement software services. Windar said its recently launched Windar Nexus software suite was integral to winning the order. The simultaneously announced £2-4m placing should further help with R&D of the company's software products.
Windar closed FY23 to December 31, 2023 with revenues of €4.8m, reflecting 150% year-on-year growth. FY23's EBITDA of c. €0.4m delivered the company's first positive EBITDA and a conversion of year-on-year incremental revenue to EBITDA of over 40% from FY22's loss. Moreover, 67% of FY23 revenue was earned in the final 5 months of the year as orders, sales conversion, and production capacity gained momentum.
The momentum carried to FY24, with sales and orders of c. €5.9m so far, already exceeding FY23's revenue. As a result, Windar expects similar year-on-year revenue growth to last year of c. 150%.
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