Strong growth despite a challenging year

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Positive outlook for 2023

Operational highlights FY 2022

  • Largest order ever received from Deutsche Bahn for up to 800 buses
  • Reveal of the Ebusco 3.0 18m, the most efficient articulated bus on the market
  • First orders in Spain (21 Ebusco 12m 2.2) and Sweden (multiple 12m and 18m Ebusco 3.0)
  • Acquisition of stake in Zero Emission Services and first contract for Energy Storage Solutions signed
  • Introduction of the Ebusco 2.2 for the Australian market

Financial results FY 2022

  • Revenue increased by 360% to €111.6 million despite delayed shipments and deliveries
  • EBITDA loss of €34.8 million due to the ramp up and supply chain related production inefficiencies
  • Net loss for the year of €32.2 million
  • Cash & Cash Equivalents of €95.2 million and contract asset of €63.0 million largely for 1H23 delivery
  • The order book grew from 325 to 1,474 buses including 388 Ebusco 3.0 orders

Highlights YTD 2023

  • Rouen letter-of-intent converted to lease agreement with casco production to start in 2H23
  • Significant order from Qbuzz for up to 63 Ebusco 3.0 12m and 18m buses
  • Selected by UGAP in the category Electric Buses for delivery in France, the largest market in Europe
  • Ramp up continued but impacted by supply chain and skilled blue collar labor shortage
  • First Ebusco 3.0 serial produced buses near completion, with delivery expected in 2Q23

Outlook 2023

Based on the order intake, tender activity and anticipated deliveries, Ebusco’s 2023 outlook:

  • Revenue to increase sharply again with 550-600 buses contributing to revenue
  • Improvement in gross margin and positive EBITDA for the full year, weighted towards the 2H23
  • Ongoing growth of the order book based on current tender pipeline
  • Capital expenditure of €10-15 million focused on future growth

Medium term objectives

  • Ebusco confirms the objective to produce over 3,000 zero emission buses per year and adds that it expects to reach this level within the next five years
  • Considering amongst others the ongoing disturbance in the supply chain and inflationary environment, Ebusco evaluated its medium term profitability objective. The result of this evaluation is that Ebusco expects to reach an EBITDA margin of 20-25% within the next five years compared to 35% previously

Peter Bijvelds, founder and CEO: “As indicated in our full-year update on February 14th, 2022 has been a year of recovery and expansion for Ebusco. The year resulted in a sharp increase of revenue of 360% and strong growth of our order book which ended the year at 1,474 buses compared to 325 at year end 2021. This growth was mainly driven by the Deutsche Bahn framework and the commercial success of both the 12m and 18m Ebusco 3.0.

Much of our growth can be explained by our people. We already learned early on that we have to be more efficient, smarter and different to outweigh the competition. Innovation is in the DNA of our people. Evidence of this includes the launch of the Ebusco 3.0 18-meter only a year after the first 3.0 was delivered, already resulting in 184 buses in order. It is a clear example of the non-hierarchical and decisive culture we have been able to foster. While the release of the 18-meter bus in 2022 may be the most telling example, the entrepreneurial culture is deeply rooted in our company. 10 years of experience allow us to make daily decisions based on real-road data, ensuring our solutions are well aligned with reality.

Although we can be proud of many milestones, it’s equally true that we are facing ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and global supply chain constraints, impacting the number of buses assembled, shipped and delivered. In relation to the Ebusco 3.0, parts availability has triggered production inefficiencies as buses had to be moved in and out of the production line. For the Ebusco 2.2, high transport prices had a pressing effect on our profitability as did the resurgence of COVID-19 in China, forcing us to move part of our shipments from 2022 to 2023. Next, attracting skilled personnel is a challenge.

The market for zero emission buses continues to grow and our objective remains to produce 3,000 buses with the aim to reach this in the next five years. Given the supply chain disruptions and inflation we however feel it is more prudent at this point to lower our profitability goals to an EBITDA margin of 20-25% to be reached in the next five years.

I would like to thank the entire Ebusco family, our clients, partners, shareholders and Supervisory Board
for their ongoing support to achieve our vision ‘to drive the transition to sustainable transport.’ Not only in 2022, but throughout a decade of Ebusco. Focus for 2023 is to grow production capacity, further optimise our supply chains, improving gross margin and operational efficiencies while keeping our innovation based commercial momentum.”

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