Plug Power Inc. shares fell more than 10 percent in the extended session on Tuesday after the fuel cell company said it would have to reconsider its financial statements for fiscal years 2018 and 2019, as well as some recent quarterly records.
Power plug,
stated that it had identified accounting errors related mainly to non-cash items, including how it classified some costs, which led to less research and development expenditure and a corresponding increase in the cost of revenue; the reported carrying amount of assets under the right of use; accumulations of losses for certain service contracts; and the depreciation of long-term assets.
It did not detect any misconduct.
“Retrofit accounting is complex and technical and involves significant assessments of how GAAP is applied in the US, given the innovative nature of the company’s business and its leadership in a new and rapidly growing industry,” he said. Plug Power said in a statement.
The company will also replenish quarterly shipments for 2019 and 2020. As a result of the fixes, Plug Power will not submit its 10K form until Tuesday, as planned, it said. He said he would do it “as soon as possible.”
“Revised accounting will change the way the company accounts for certain transactions and items, but is not expected to impact the company’s cash position, business operations or the economy of business agreements,” Plug Power said.
The company said it continues to expect to meet some of its previously stated targets, including gross sales of $ 475 million in 2021, $ 750 million in 2022 and $ 1.7 billion in 2024.
Plug Power also said that at that time it had published the results for the fourth quarter and for the whole of 2020 and, before the audit, no material issues were raised. However, following the results of February and during the preparation of the audit, both the company and the KPMG auditor identified the problems, which “did not result from any overwriting of controls or a deviation”.
Plug Power shares have gained nearly 1,450% in the last 12 months, compared to gains of about 66% for the S&P 500 SPX,
during the same period.