June 6, 2023
Orion: Sales Down but Customer Base Broadens
A 38% drop in sales accompanied by important move away from Home Depot reliance. EV business growing nicely.
Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: OESX) , an energy-efficient LED lighting, maintenance services, and EV charging station solutions provider, reported revenue of $77.4M for its fiscal year 2023 (FY 2023) ended March 31, 2023. This figure represented a significant drop from FY 2022, when the company achieved revenue of $124.4M. The decrease in revenue of $47M, or about 38%, was primarily due to lower revenue from Orion's largest customer, The Home Depot, as well as delays in the start of certain large LED retrofit projects.
Despite this downturn, Orion managed to increase FY 2023 revenue outside of its dealings with The Home Depot by approximately 11% compared to FY 2022, suggesting successful diversification of Orion's customer base and revenues across its various business sectors. In the three prior years, 2020 – 2022, Orion generated $61 – $112 million in sales with The Home Depot alone. Due to the store retrofit work winding down, that number dipped below $25 million in fiscal year 2023.
Orion's maintenance services revenue saw a considerable uptick, rising 152% to $14.6M in FY 2023 from $5.8M in FY 2022. This leap signals a growing demand for Orion's maintenance services.
Orion's EV charging solutions, a new line of business following the acquisition of Voltrek early in Q3'23, contributed initial revenue of $6.3M in the second half of FY 2023. Before the acquisition, Voltrek had 2021 revenue of $4.8M primarily from projects in New England, so Orion’s much larger entrenchment to wider geographies seems to be helping the EV business unit.
However, the company's financial health appears to have taken a significant hit, as evidenced by a net loss of $34.3M, or $1.08 per share in FY 2023. This is a stark reversal from FY 2022 when the company reported a net income of $6.1M, or $0.19 per share. This loss included a $17.8M non-cash tax charge to record a valuation allowance against Deferred Tax Assets and a $4.0M accrual for the earnout associated with the Voltrek acquisition.
Despite these losses, Orion's liquidity position appears resilient, closing FY 2023 with $23.2M of financial liquidity, comprising of $16.0M in cash and cash equivalents and $7.2M available on its credit facility.
While Orion's financial year 2023 ended with decreased revenues and a net loss, there are signs of resilience and potential areas of growth. Diversification efforts have led to increased revenue outside of their dealings with The Home Depot, and new service areas, like maintenance services and EV charging solutions, have shown substantial growth. Looking forward, the management of Orion expects to leverage these strengths to deliver a 30% or more revenue growth in FY 2024.
