Babcock Wilcox Enterprises Inc

Components of Our Results of Operations

Revenue

Revenue is the total amount of income generated by our business and consists primarily of income from the renewable, environmental and thermal technology solutions and services we provide to a broad range of industrial, electric utility and other customers. Revenue from our operations is assessed based on our three market-facing segments, B&W Renewable, B&W Environmental and B&W Thermal.

Operating (loss) income

Operating (loss) income consists primarily of revenue minus costs and expenses, including cost of operations, SG&A, and advisory fees and settlement costs.

Net loss

Net loss consists primarily of operating (loss) income minus other income and expenses, including interest income, foreign exchange and expense related to our benefit plans, and provision for income taxes.

Consolidated Results of Operations

The following discussion of our consolidated and business segment results of operations includes a discussion of adjusted EBITDA, which, when used on a consolidated basis, is a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA differs from net loss, the most directly comparable measure calculated in accordance with GAAP. Management believes that this financial measure is useful to investors because it excludes certain expenses, allowing investors to more easily compare our operating performance period to period. A reconciliation of net loss to adjusted EBITDA is included in “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below.

Revenues decreased by $33.7 million to $207.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to $241.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily driven by a $22.1 million decrease in B&W Renewable segment revenue because fewer waste-to-energy projects were performed in the current year as, consistent with our stated strategy, we shift our focus to our higher-margin and lower-risk European Renewable parts and services business and a $6.2 million decrease in B&W Thermal segment revenue as a large project in our U.S. construction business was completed in 2023 that was not fully replaced in 2024.

Operating income for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was$4.3 million as compared to $1.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023. The increase in 2024 was driven by a $6.6 million reduction in Selling, general and administrative costs primarily attributable to a favorable final settlement of a liability to the former owner of B&W Solar, and offset by $3.4 million lower gross margin due to the reduced revenue. Gross margin is defined as Revenues less Cost of Sales. Loss from continuing operations increased by $3.1 million to $15.8 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to $12.7 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023. The increase was driven by a $5.1 million Loss on debt extinguishment as the remaining deferred financing fees associated with the terminated PNC Revolving Credit Agreement were written off.

Bookings and Backlog

Bookings and backlog are our measures of remaining performance obligations under our sales contracts. In addition, we monitor Implied Bookings and Backlog, which are bookings (backlog) plus amounts related to projects that have been awarded to us but are not fully under contract and/or projects under contract that are not yet fully released for performance. We believe these metrics provide investors, lenders and other users of our financial statements with a leading indicator of future revenues. It is possible that our methodology for determining bookings and backlog may not be comparable to methods used by other companies.

We generally include expected revenue from contracts in our backlog when we receive written confirmation from our customers authorizing the performance of work and committing the customers to payment for work performed. Backlog may not be indicative of future operating results, and contracts in our backlog may be canceled, modified or otherwise altered by customers. Backlog can vary significantly from period to period, particularly when large new-build conversion projects or operations and maintenance contracts are booked because they may be fulfilled over multiple years. Because we operate globally, our backlog is also affected by changes in foreign currencies each period.

Bookings represent changes to the backlog. Bookings include additions related to booking new business or increases in project scope, subtractions due to customer cancellations or reductions in scope, changes in estimates that affect selling price and revaluation of backlog denominated in foreign currency. We believe comparing bookings on a quarterly basis or for periods less than one year is less meaningful than for longer periods, and that shorter-term changes in bookings may not necessarily indicate a material trend.

Implied bookings(1) as of March 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:

(1)Implied bookings are bookings plus projects that are awarded or under contract but not fully released for performance. B&W Renewable included $10.1 million in additional implied bookings for the three months ended March 31, 2024. B&W Environmental included $26.6 million and $5.9 million in additional implied bookings for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. B&W Thermal included $256.9 million and $4.8 million in additional implied bookings for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Backlog as of March 31, 2024 and 2023 was as follows:

(1) B&W Renewable backlog above excludes $117.6 million and $52.9 million as of March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023 respectively related to O&M contracts that are recognized as disposed.

Implied backlog(1) as of March 31, 2024 and 2023 was as follows:

(1)Implied backlog is backlog plus projects that are awarded or under contract but not fully released for performance. B&W Renewable included $10.1 million in additional implied backlog for the three months ended March 31, 2024. B&W Environmental included $26.6 million and $5.9 million in additional implied backlog for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. B&W Thermal included $256.9 million and $4.8 million in additional implied backlog for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

(2) B&W Renewable implied backlog above excludes $117.6 million and $52.9 million as of March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023 respectively related to O&M contracts that are recognized as disposed.

Of the backlog at March 31, 2024, we expect to recognize revenues as follows:

During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, we recognized changes in estimated gross profit related to long-term contracts accounted for on the over time basis, which are summarized as follows:

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We use non-GAAP financial measures internally to evaluate our performance and in making financial and operational decisions. When viewed in conjunction with GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliation, we believe that the presentation of these measures provides investors with greater transparency and a greater understanding of factors affecting our financial condition and results of operations than GAAP measures alone. The presentation of non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP.

The following discussion of our business segment results of operations includes a discussion of Adjusted EBITDA on a consolidated basis, which is a non-GAAP metric and differs from the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Adjusted EBITDA on a consolidated basis is defined as the sum of the adjusted EBITDA for each of the segments, further adjusted for corporate allocations and research and development costs. At a segment level, the adjusted EBITDA presented below is consistent with the way our chief operating decision maker reviews the results of operations and makes strategic decisions about the business and is calculated as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization adjusted for items such as gains or losses arising from the sale of non-income producing assets, net pension benefits, restructuring activities, impairments, gains and losses on debt extinguishment, costs related to financial consulting, research and development costs and other costs that may not be directly controllable by segment management and are not allocated to the segment. We present consolidated adjusted EBITDA because we believe it is useful to investors to facilitate comparisons of the ongoing, operating performance before corporate overhead and other expenses not attributable to the operating performance of our revenue-generating segments.

(1)Costs associated with development of commercially viable products that are ready to go to market.

(2)Certain 2023 amounts have been reclassified in the reconciliation to conform to the 2024 presentation.

Corporate

Corporate costs in adjusted EBITDA include SG&A expenses that are not allocated to the reportable segments. These costs include, among others, certain executive, compliance, strategic, reporting and legal expenses associated with governance of the organization and being an SEC registrant. Corporate expenses not allocated to the reportable segments totaled $6.0 million and $5.1 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase is primarily due to the timing of expenses incurred for professional fees.

Research and development

Our research and development activities are focused on improving our products through innovations to reduce their cost and improve competitiveness and/or reduce performance risk of our products to better meet our and our customers’ expectations.

Research and development expenses totaled $0.1 million and $1.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. In 2024, the focus of our development activities shifted to our BrightLoop TM and ClimateBright TM portfolio, which is captured in the Product development category.

Benefit plans, net

We recognize benefits from our defined benefit and other postretirement benefit plans based on actuarial calculations primarily because expected return on assets is greater than service cost. Service cost is low because our plan benefits are frozen except for a small number of hourly participants. Pension benefits for defined benefit and other postretirement benefits plans before MTM were a benefit of $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and expense of$0.1 million for thethree months ended March 31, 2023, respectively.

Our pension costs include MTM adjustments and are primarily a result of changes in the discount rate, curtailments and settlements. Any MTM charge or gain should not be considered to be representative of future MTM adjustments as such events are not currently predicted and are in each case subject to market conditions and actuarial assumptions as of the date of the event giving rise to the MTM adjustment. There were no MTM adjustments for the three months ended March 31, 2024 or 2023.

Refer to Note 12 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding our pension and other postretirement plans.

Loss on asset sales, net

We, at times, will sell or dispose of certain assets that are unrelated to our operations, therefore, we believe it is useful to exclude these gains and losses from our non-GAAP financial measures in order to highlight the performance of the business. We had $0.1 million and $0.9 million in losses on sales in the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Stock Compensation

The grant date fair value of stock compensation varies based on the derived stock price at the time of grant, valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions, and reward types. This may make the impact of this form of compensation on our current financial results difficult to compare to previous and future periods. Therefore, we believe it is useful to exclude stock-based compensation from our non-GAAP financial measures in order to highlight the performance of the business and to be consistent with the way many investors evaluate our performance and compare our operating results to peer companies.

Expenses related to restricted stock units are recorded at the Corporate level and are recognized on a straight-line basis over a 3-year vesting period, except for market-based restricted stock units which are recognized over a derived service period.

Stock compensation was $1.4 million and $3.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Restructuring activities and business service transition costs

Restructuring activities and business services transition actions across our business units and corporate functions resulted in expense of $1.6 million and $1.0 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The restructuring charges primarily consist of severance and related costs associated with non-recurring actions taken to transform our operations with impacts on employees and facilities used in our businesses. Business services transition costs relate to new technology implementation, expected to provide future benefit and are included in Selling, general and administrative expenses in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.

Settlements and related legal costs

Settlements and related legal costs were a benefit of $4.1 million and $2.5 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The current year benefit is driven by the favorable final settlement of amounts owed to the former owner of B&W Solar, offset by expenses related to several smaller litigation matters. The benefit in the prior year was driven by a $2.5 million litigation settlement.

Product development

Our product development activities include expenses that relate to sales, marketing, and other business development expenses for products and services still under development and not yet widely available. Product development expenses totaled $1.6 million and $1.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase resulted primarily from timing of specific research and increased development efforts and activities related to our BrightLoop TM commercialization efforts and to further develop our ClimateBright TM portfolio. Management excludes these expenses from adjusted EBITDA as they often may not correlate to revenue or other operations occurring in the current period.

Foreign exchange

Foreign exchange was a loss of $1.3 million and $0.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

We translate assets and liabilities of our foreign operations into U.S. dollars at current exchange rates, and we translate items in the statement of operations at average exchange rates for the periods presented. We record adjustments resulting from the translation of foreign currency financial statements as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). We report foreign currency transaction gains and losses in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Financial advisory services

We had financial advisory services of $0.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024. There were no financial advisory services in 2023.

Contract Disposal

We are in the process of exiting our only remaining fixed fee operational and maintenance ("O&M") contract in our Renewable segment. Losses related to this contract totaled $0.6 million and $1.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We believe it is useful to exclude the impact of this contract on our operating results in order to highlight the performance of the ongoing business.

Letter of credit fees

Letter of credit fees included in Cost of operations were $2.4 million and $1.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Letter of credit fees are routinely incurred in the course of executing customer contracts. A portion of the fees are included in the contract prices with our customers. These amounts represent performance guarantees akin to insurance that are not passed along to our customers and are excluded from adjusted EBITDA as they do not reflect the performance of the business.

Interest Expense

Interest expense in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements consisted of the following components:

Income Taxes

Income tax expense in the first quarter of 2024 reflects a full valuation allowance against our net deferred tax assets, except in Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Finland, Germany, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Sweden. Deferred tax assets are evaluated each period to determine whether realization is more likely than not. Valuation allowances are established when management determines it is more likely than not that some portion, or all, of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Valuation allowances may be removed in the future if sufficient positive evidence exists to outweigh the negative evidence under the framework of ASC 740, Income Taxes ASC 740.

The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2024 is not reflective of the United States statutory rate primarily due to a valuation allowance against certain net deferred tax assets and unfavorable discrete items. In certain jurisdictions where we anticipate a loss for the fiscal year or incurs a loss for the year-to-date period for which a tax benefit cannot be realized in accordance with ASC 740, we exclude the loss in that jurisdiction from the overall computation of the estimated annual effective tax rate.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation expense was $2.1 million and $2.9 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Amortization expense was $2.3 million and $2.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

RESULTS BY SEGMENT

B&W Renewable Segment Results

Revenues in the B&W Renewable segment decreased 38% or $31.8 million, to$52.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to$84.1 million in thethree months ended March 31, 2023. Consistent with our stated strategy, fewer waste-to-energy projects were performed in the current year as we shift our focus to our higher-margin and lower-risk European Renewable parts and services business, leading to a decrease in revenue of $22.1 million.

Adjusted EBITDA in the B&W Renewable segment decreased $2.7 million, to $1.7 million in thethree months ended March 31, 2024 compared to $4.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 driven by a decrease of $3.6 million due to the reduced volume of waste-to-energy projects, partially offset by an increase of $1.1 million attributable to the European Renewable parts and services business.

B&W Environmental Segment Results

Revenues in the B&W Environmental segment increased 23%, or $8.9 million to $48.4 million in thethree months ended March 31, 2024 compared to $39.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023. The increase is primarily driven by higher revenue of $2.0 million in SPIG, our Air-Cooled Condenser business, and $2.1 million in our Allen-Sherman-Hoff ("ASH") ash handling business, as well as slightly increased volume in our parts business.

Adjusted EBITDA in the B&W Environmental segment was$3.3 million in thethree months ended March 31, 2024 compared to$1.9 million in thethree months ended March 31, 2023. The increase is primarily attributable to the higher revenue from SPIG and ASH projects and improved operating performance as certain environmental projects were completed in the quarter.

B&W Thermal Segment Results

Revenues in the B&W Thermal segment decreased 8%, or$9.0 million to$110.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to$119.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023. A large project in our U.S. construction business was active in 2023 and was not fully replaced in 2024, resulting in decreased revenue of $6.2 million.

Adjusted EBITDA in the B&W Thermal segment was unchanged at $13.7 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, as an increase in international sales of $1.6 million was largely offset by the decreased Adjusted EBITDA in the U.S. construction business.