Transcript
Thank you for standing by. My name is Kate, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to TOYO Co., Ltd. announces first half 2025 financial results. I would now like to turn the call over to Crocker Coulson, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Thanks so much, Kate. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us to review TOYO's 2025 first half results. This morning, TOYO posted both the earnings release and the related investor presentation to its website, and you can find that at investors.toyo-solar.com. With us on the call today, we have Mr. Junsei Ryu, TOYO's Founder and Chief Executive Officer. We also have Raymond Chung, TOYO's Chief Financial Officer, and Simon Shi. The senior management team is in New York today in advance of participating in the HCW conference today and tomorrow, and they will also be present at the RE+ Conference on September 10 and 11. After the prepared remarks are concluded, we're going to open up this call to your questions. But before we begin, I'd like to let you know that some statements in the teleconference are forward-looking within the meaning of federal securities laws. Although we believe these statements are reasonable, we can provide no assurance that they will prove to be accurate because they are prospective in nature. Actual results could differ materially from those we discuss today. We encourage you to review the most recent report on Form 6-K and other SEC filings for risk factors that could materially impact our results. As I mentioned, the earnings release is available on our website at investors.toyo-solar.com. With those formalities now out of the way, it's my great pleasure to turn this call over to Mr. Junsei Ryu, Chief Executive Officer. Ryu-san, please go ahead.
Against the highly dynamic backdrop for the renewable energy sector, our team has executed with agility and precision. We have successfully adapted our sourcing and production strategy to maintain successful operations. Thank you. Last week, we announced the acquisition of the VSUN brand from our sister company, Vietnam Sun Energy Joint Stock Company, to streamline and unify TOYO's operations. VSUN and TOYO have long operated as sister companies through common control and ongoing business collaboration. This acquisition positions us to accelerate TOYO's growth and expansion. Since 2018, many of VSUN's solar modules have been delivered to the U.S. market, demonstrating the brand's strong credibility and success in utility-scale development, recognized by leading financial institutions and backed by insurance from top providers. The VSUN brand strengthens TOYO's market credibility and fosters customer confidence. Our new solar cell manufacturing facility in Ethiopia is now operating at a full 2 gigawatt capacity, and we have begun production for an additional 2 gigawatt capacity, aiming to double that to 4 gigawatts by October 2025. This facility offers a compelling cost structure, advanced technology, abundant green power, and some of the lowest tariff rates available, a trend we expect to continue. In the U.S., we have started trial production at our new module facility in the Houston area, supporting our strategy of producing in the U.S. for the U.S. Through VSUN, we will leverage the newly acquired brand to strengthen relationships with leading utility-scale developers in North America who seek to deploy technologies that offer industry-leading performance and substantial cost benefits. Looking ahead, we will continue collaborating with our industry partners to relocate key components to the U.S. where feasible, thereby enhancing our supply chain and reinforcing our commitment to American manufacturing. I will now turn the call over to our CFO, Raymond Chung, to review our financial results.
Thank you, Ryu-san. Okay, let me take over from here. In the first half of 2025, we delivered 1.6 gigawatts of solar cells, up from 985 megawatts in the same period last year. In terms of revenue, we generated approximately $139 million in the first half of 2025, which increased 0.7% from $138.1 million in the same period last year. The increase was due to the positive contribution of our new solar sales line in Ethiopia, which began in April 2025, serving U.S. customers, and providing more attractive pricing and margin opportunities. Our cost of revenue was approximately $160 million for the first half of 2025, compared to $111.4 million for the same period last year. Gross profit margin was 16.6% for the first half of 2025, compared to 19.3% for the same period last year. The decrease was due to the increasing unit cost of raw materials. Total operating expenses increased 219.9% to approximately $30 million for the first half of 2025, from $4.2 million for the same period last year. Selling expenses were approximately $3 million for the first half of 2025, compared to $40,000 for the same period last year. The increase was attributable to higher sales commission from new customers. General and administrative expenses were approximately $11 million for the first half of 2025, compared to $3.8 million for the same period last year. The increase was primarily due to expenses related to managing new facilities in Houston and Ethiopia, as well as increased expenses associated with being a public company. Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was approximately $23 million for the first half of 2025, compared to $33 million for the same period last year, reflecting increases in operating expenses and reduced sales volume to the U.S. market as Vietnamese capacity was allocated to non-U.S. regions, while Ethiopia's operations only commenced in April 2025, as well as changes in fair value of contingent consideration payable related to earn-out shares. Net income attributable to our shareholders was approximately $4 million for the first half of 2025, compared to $19.6 million for the same period last year. Earnings per share, basic and diluted, were $0.10 compared to earnings per share, basic and diluted, of $0.48 for the same period last year. Turning to our balance sheet, as of June end 2025, we had a total of approximately $30 million in cash and current restricted cash, compared to $15.1 million as of December end 2024. As we move into the second half of 2025, our priorities are clear. We are expanding solar cell production at our Ethiopian facility for the 4 gigawatts run rate, while strategically redirecting output from our Vietnam operations to high-growth markets that are not impacted by the elevated U.S. tariffs. In the U.S., we will take a measurable approach to expanding our module capacity, aligning that growth with the refinement of our sourcing strategy and disciplined allocation of investment. Even with the recent shift in energy policy, we remain confident that solar is the fastest, most cost-effective way to add capacity to the energy grid and meet the increasing rise in electricity demand across the U.S. and other developing countries. The cash flow generated from our facilities will give us the flexibility to fund this expansion from within. The launch of U.S. production also marks the beginning of a strategic consolidation of the VSUN brand, sales channels, and customer base into TOYO. This integration will create a unified organization capable of delivering the high-performance solar solutions that utility-scale customers expect. With these strategic initiatives for the full year of 2025, we expect to exceed our previous guidance of 3.5 gigawatts in solar cell shipments, projecting approximately 4.2 gigawatts to 4.4 gigawatts for the full year 2025. This is anticipated to drive revenue in the range of approximately $375 million to $400 million, with projected net income between approximately $39 million and $45 million. We look forward to sharing more on our strategy in the near future, as we believe it will meaningfully strengthen our financial profile and enhance the value we deliver to our shareholders. With that, we'll be happy to address your questions.
Congratulations on the good quarter and first half of the year. My question relates to the gross profit margin you discussed. I saw that it briefly declined or very marginally declined year-over-year. But as the Ethiopia facility reaches scale and Houston production comes online, do you see any way where those gross margins start trending back higher up to where they were in the first half of '24? Or are some of these tariff-related costs weighing on that and putting a cap on that?
Justin, thank you for the question. Yes, our gross margin decreased slightly for the first half of the year, mainly for two reasons. Number one, the blend of the product destination for our products shifted earlier this year compared to last year. Last year, over 80% were shipped to the U.S., and for the first half of the year, we only had 44% going to the U.S. With the change in the product blend, our margin was slightly affected. Secondly, we were in the process of ramping up production in Ethiopia, so the overall cost of the products were still being refined. That's why our gross margin is slightly lower than what it was last year. Going forward, with our efforts to refine our cost structure and sourcing strategy, we hope to see our gross margin level at least return to what it was last year.
So we want to thank you all for your time this morning. I know that the company is going to be visiting with a number of investors and analysts later this week. I'm happy to answer your questions in person. If anybody has any follow-up questions after the call, please reach out to Investor Relations, and we're happy to either get back to you or schedule a meeting with management. This now concludes our call. Operator, thank you so much.