THORNTON, CO , March 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: ASTI), a developer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art, lightweight, and flexible thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solutions, reported results for the full year ended December 31, 2017.
FY2017 Financial Results:
The Company posted net revenue of $0.64M in 2017, a decline of approximately 63.2% from $1.75M in 2016. Loss from operations in 2017, however, improved greatly by $10.48M, or 42.6% from -$24.6M in 2016 to -$14.15M. Ascent Solar attributes this to the disposal of the EnerPlex™ brand and discontinuation of retail consumer business in early 2017, resulting in substantial reduction in SG&A Expenses of about 45.7% from $10.3M in 2016 to $5.6M in 2017. Lower depreciation and amortization, as well as progressive cost reduction initiatives in R&D and manufacturing operations, also contributed to the improved operating results. These expenses are expected to remain stable or decline marginally as the Company continues to restructure and streamline its operations in 2018.
The revenue decline is a direct result of (i) the Company’s exit from brick and mortar retail customers due to a number of factors, including the high cost of doing business especially with those who were overly battery centric which is no longer in line with Ascent’s overall roadmap; (ii) and charged-back and revenue contras from prior commitments resulting from discontinuation of EnerPlex™ sales channels.
Net loss for the year 2017 was -$18.56M, which included approximately $4.4M in non-cash interest expense, changes in fair value of derivatives, and extinguishment of liabilities associated with the outstanding convertible notes and convertible preferred stocks. Overall, net loss improved substantially by $20.29M, or approximately 52.2% from -$38.9M in 2016 to -$18.56M in 2017.
Management Comments:
“We will continue to improve our results as we moved on from the brick and mortar consumer business in early 2017 to focus on our core strength in the specialty PV markets,” commented Victor Lee, President and CEO of Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. “We have streamlined our business model to better allocate our resources to the emerging high-value, specialty PV markets such as the space & near-space applications, aviation (drones), military, 1st responders and emergency power with high entry barriers.”
“The Company has made significant progress in these high-value markets and will continue to sharpen our focus in such areas where Ascent is truly at the forefront of the competition. Notable milestones include string of announcements that the Company’s superlight thin-film modules were selected by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) as well as the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for further testing and evaluation for deep space mission. The Company has also recently completed a shipment of approximately $0.32M for our superlight thin-film modules to a European based customer involving in the development of Lighter-than-air-vehicle (LTAV) for high-altitude application.” “Our effort of being the first and only flexible CIGS manufacturer to have achieved ISO 9001:2015 certification, has enabled us to serve a larger universe of premium market customers who prefer products manufactured under a superlative Quality Management System and must be as robust and fail proof as possible.”
Mr. Lee concluded, “Great progress was also made in the defense and emergency power market, which we believe will add to revenue growth in 2018 and beyond.” “We are optimistic and certainly look forward to a stronger 2018 and beyond, as our high-value PV market focus begins to take shape. We look forward to updating our shareholders as we make continued progress.”
ABOUT ASCENT SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES, INC:
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., an ISO 9001-2015 certified company, is a developer of thin-film photovoltaic modules using flexible substrate materials that are more versatile and rugged than traditional solar panels. Ascent Solar modules were named as one of the top 100 technologies in both 2010 and 2015 by R&D Magazine, and one of TIME Magazine's 50 best inventions for 2011. The technology described above represents the cutting edge of flexible power and can be directly integrated into consumer products and off-grid applications, as well as other aerospace applications. Ascent Solar is headquartered in Thornton, Colorado, where the company’s quality management system has achieved ISO 9001:2015 certification. More information can be found at www.AscentSolar.com.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the Company's actual operating results to be materially different from any historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe these risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements that contain terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "expect," "intends," "intend," "anticipate," "anticipates," "plans," "plan," to be uncertain and forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.