Nasdaq warns FuelCell Energy it could be delisted
Nasdaq issued FuelCell Energy a warning that it risks being delisted if the company’s shares remain below the $1 mark, after 30 consecutive days the issue has traded below that threshold.
FuelCell has its headquarters in Danbury and manufactures fuel cells in Torrington that create electricity through a chemical process. Its fiscal third quarter revenue went up 17 percent from a year ago to $12.1 million, but the company reported a $17.6 million loss for the period ending in July including dividends paid out to preferred investors.
The company’s shares are traded under the FCEL ticker symbol, closing Tuesday at 64 cents. The markets were closed Wednesday in observance of the national day of mourning for former president George H.W. Bush.
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, FuelCell has until the end of next May to regain compliance, which would be satisfied if the company’s shares trade above $1 for 10 consecutive days. Failing that, FuelCell could apply to transfer its securities to the Nasdaq Capital Market and the opportunity for a new, six-month window.
In response to a Hearst Connecticut Media query, FuelCell’s head of investor relations Tom Gelston indicated FuelCell has no immediate plans for a reverse stock split to boost the price of its shares as a way to regain compliance, and that the company has been raising cash via debt rather than through the new issuance of stock.
FuelCell stock has been falling even as the company has been increasing capacity in Torrington to fulfill orders from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, among others, for new fuel cell power plants, a year after getting state assistance to put employees on shortened workweeks to keep its workforce intact in anticipation of a boost in business.
“Beginning next month and continuing into March 2019, we’ll incrementally increase the annual production run rate at our Torrington facility from the current 25 megawatts to 55 megawatts, an increase of 120 percent,” CEO Chip Bottone said in a September conference call. “We are already in the process of hiring over 100 new employees for highly skilled manufacturing jobs between now and March.”
The company lists a starting rate of $14 an hour for assembly and production job openings in Torrington, with FuelCell also looking for engineering help at its Danbury headquarters.