Accounting problems make Plug Power, one of the hottest titles in the last year, shake. US society leader in the development of hydrogen fuel cell systems stated that it will have to reformulate the financial statements for the fiscal years 2018 and 2019, as well as some recent quarterly documents.
News that brought the stock to its knees, which marks -15% to $ 36.5 at the start after closing yesterday at -8%. These are values more than halved compared to the peaks in the 75 $ area to which it had jumped in the first month of the year (in the wake of the 2020 accounts and the rise in estimates to 2024) and which had allowed it to score a phenomenal + 1,500% compared to early 2020 levels.
The announcement on accounting problems
Plug Power said it found errors in the accounting mainly related to non-monetary items, including the how he classified some costs, which resulted in lower research and development expenses and a corresponding increase in the cost of revenues; the reported carrying amount of the right-of-use assets; provisions for losses for certain service contracts; and devaluation of some long-term assets. “Reassessment accounting is complex and technical and involves meaningful assessments of how to apply US GAAP, given the innovative nature of the company’s business and its position as a leader in a new and rapidly developing industry,” said Plug Power. in a note specifying to expect that the audit of the accounts will not affect the liquidity of the company. As a result of these issues, Plug Power will not submit its 10K form by Tuesday as expected.
Plug Power confirms its 2024 objectives declared at the beginning of the year ($ 1.7 billion in gross revenues). At the beginning of the year, Plug Power signed a partnership con Renault to set up a joint venture aimed at the realization of hydrogen commercial vehicles.
The strategy of the company led by Andy Marsh focuses decisively on green hydrogen by expecting to produce 1,000 tons of green hydrogen globally by 2028.
Plug Power e l’ETF iShares clean energy
Plug Power, a leading provider of hydrogen engines and power solutions for electric mobility, is the most important title within the world‘s largest clean energy ETF (the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF) with a weight of close to 10 per cent (9.71%, data at 6 (3/2021). Yesterday the ETF in question lost 1.52% and today is still in danger of derailing thanks to the fall of Plug Power. In the last month the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF, also listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, marks a drop of more than 20% after last year’s green euphoria that had led to the prices tripling compared to the lows of March 2020.
The S&P Global Clean Energy Index, the underlying of the iShares ETF, could soon be revised by increasing the number of components to 100 (currently there are 30). The index includes in detail companies that produce clean energy through solar technology, biofuels, ethanol, geothermal, hydroelectric or wind, as well as companies that develop technologies and equipment used in those segments. Looking at the sector weight, utilities prevail, but information technology has a large share.