EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1455684
Filing Year: 2024
Filename: 1455684_10-K_2024_0000950170-24-018800.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. Business
Description of Business
TPI Composites, Inc. is the holding company that conducts substantially all of its business operations through its direct and indirect subsidiaries (collectively, the Company, TPI or we). The Company was founded in 1968 and has been producing composite wind blades since 2001. The Company is incorporated in the State of Delaware.
Discontinued Operations
In December 2022, we committed to a restructuring plan to rebalance our organization and optimize our global manufacturing footprint. Changing economic and geopolitical factors, including increased logistics costs and tariffs imposed on components of wind turbines from China, including wind blades, had an adverse impact on demand and profitability for our wind blades manufactured in our Chinese facilities. In connection with our restructuring plan, we ceased production at our Yangzhou, China manufacturing facility as of December 31, 2022 and are in the final stages of shutting down our business operations in China. Our business operations in China comprised the entirety of our Asia reporting segment. This shut down has had a meaningful effect on our global manufacturing footprint and consolidated financial results. Accordingly, the historical results of our Asia reporting segment have been presented as discontinued operations in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Consolidated Balance Sheets. Our China operations represented a geographic operating segment that included (1) the manufacturing of wind blades at our facilities in Dafeng, China and Yangzhou, China, (2) the manufacturing of precision molding and assembly systems at our Taicang Port, China facility and (3) wind blade inspection and repair services. The following discussion reflects continuing operations only, unless otherwise indicated.
Overview
We are the only independent manufacturer of composite wind blades for the wind energy market with a global manufacturing footprint. We enable many of the industry’s leading wind turbine original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to outsource the manufacturing of a portion of their wind blades through our global footprint of advanced manufacturing facilities strategically located to serve large and growing wind markets in a cost-effective manner. Given the importance of wind energy capture, turbine reliability and cost to power producers, the size, quality and performance of wind blades is highly strategic to our OEM customers. As a result, we have become a key supplier to our OEM customers in the manufacture of wind blades and related precision molding and assembly systems. We have entered into supply agreements pursuant to which we dedicate capacity at our facilities to our customers and manufacture wind blade sets (each set consisting of three wind blades) for our customers. This collaborative dedicated supplier model provides us with contracted volumes that generate revenue visibility, drive capital efficiency and allow us to produce wind blades at a competitive cost, while ensuring critical dedicated capacity for our customers.
We also provide field service inspection and repair services to our OEM customers and wind farm owners and operators. Our field service inspection and repairs services include diagnostic, repair and maintenance service offerings for wind blades that have been installed on wind turbines located at wind farms. Our field service inspection and repair services can be performed up-tower, where a blade technician performs these services in the air or from the wind turbine tower on a wind turbine blade, or down tower, where a blade is first removed from a wind turbine and these services are performed on the ground at the wind farm site or in a repair facility.
We also leverage our advanced composite technology and history of innovation to supply high strength, lightweight and durable composite products to the automotive market. Composites offer multiple advantages to metallics in the automotive market, including strength, weight and ratio of strength to weight. We have numerous contracts with OEMs in various stages of maturity from design and development to full scale production. We are in the process of exploring strategic alternatives to ensure the automotive business is sufficiently funded to execute on its growth strategies as we intend to prioritize capital for growth opportunities in the wind blade business in the near term. We expect to complete this process no later than June 30, 2024.
Our wind blade and precision molding and assembly systems manufacturing businesses accounted for approximately 96%, 92%, and 94% of our total net sales for each of the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Financial Information about Segments and Geographic Areas
We divide our business operations into four geographic operating segments - (1) the United States (U.S.), (2) Mexico, (3) Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and (4) India as follows:
•Our U.S. segment includes (1) the manufacturing of wind blades at our Newton, Iowa facility in which production has been shut down since the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, and is expected to resume within the next 12 to 18 months, (2) the manufacturing of precision molding and assembly systems used for our automotive business at our Warren, Rhode Island facility, (3) the manufacturing of composite solutions for the automotive industry, which we also conduct at our Warren, Rhode Island facility, (4) wind blade inspection and repair services, (5) our advanced engineering center in Kolding, Denmark, which provides technical and engineering resources to our manufacturing facilities, (6) our engineering center in Berlin, Germany and (7) our corporate headquarters.
•Our Mexico segment includes (1) the manufacturing of wind blades at our three facilities in Juárez, Mexico and two facilities in Matamoros, Mexico, (2) the manufacturing of precision molding and assembly systems and composite solutions for the automotive industry at our fourth Juárez, Mexico facility and (3) wind blade inspection and repair services.
•Our EMEA segment includes (1) the manufacturing of wind blades at our two facilities in Izmir, Türkiye, and wind blade inspection and repair services in Türkiye, (2) our wind blade inspection and repair service facility in Madrid, Spain, (3) wind blade inspection and repair services in the United Kingdom, and (4) wind blade inspection and repair services in France.
•Our India segment manufactures wind blades at our manufacturing facility in Chennai, India.
For additional information regarding our discontinued operations, and operating segments and geographic areas, see Note 2 - Discontinued Operations, and Note 22 - Segment Reporting, respectively, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Business Strategy
Our long-term success will be driven by our business strategy. The key elements of our business strategy are as follows:
•Capitalize on the long-term, global trends of decarbonization of the electric sector. We believe we are well-positioned to participate and benefit from the long term, global trend of decarbonization of the electric sector. Although regulatory uncertainty, as well as permitting, siting and transmission challenges in the U.S. and Europe has tempered demand for wind energy in the near term, we expect global demand for renewable energy, and wind energy in particular, will continue to grow in the long term due to a multitude of factors, including: increased cost competitiveness of wind energy compared to fossil fuel generated electricity; increased demand from corporations and utility providers for renewable energy; the need for energy independence and security and recent international policy initiatives designed to promote the growth of renewable energy. We believe our global footprint of manufacturing facilities will allow us to capitalize on the expected long term, global growth of wind energy.
•Grow our existing relationships and develop new relationships with leading industry OEMs. We plan to continue growing and expanding our relationships with existing customers who, according to data from BloombergNEF (Bloomberg), represented approximately 34% of the global onshore wind energy market, approximately 77% of that market excluding China, and 87% of the U.S. onshore wind turbine market over the three years ended December 31, 2022, based on megawatts (MWs) of energy capacity installed, as well as developing new relationships with other leading industry OEMs. We expect to be presented with opportunities to expand our existing relationships and develop new relationships with industry OEMs as they seek to capitalize on the benefits of outsourced wind blade manufacturing while
maintaining high quality customization and dedicated capacity. In December 2022, we extended our supply agreements with GE Vernova at two of our Juarez, Mexico manufacturing facilities through 2025. In December 2023, we added our third blade manufacturing facility in Juarez, Mexico to our agreement with GE Vernova for four new lines through 2025. In December 2023, we also extended our supply agreements with Vestas in Mexico and India through 2024, added two manufacturing lines with Nordex in Türkiye through 2025, and extended our other supply agreements with Nordex in Türkiye through 2024.
•Leverage our footprint in large and growing wind markets, capitalize on the continuing outsourcing trend and evaluate strategic acquisitions. As many wind turbine OEMs continue to shift towards increased outsourcing of wind blade manufacturing, we believe we are well-positioned with our global footprint. We utilize our strengths in composites technology and manufacturing, combined with our collaborative dedicated supplier model to provide our customers with an efficient solution for their expansion in large and growing onshore wind markets. In addition, our demonstrated ability to enter into new markets and the strength of our manufacturing capabilities afford us the optionality to build new factories or grow through strategic acquisitions.
•Continue to ensure that wind energy remains competitive with other energy sources. We continue to work with our customers on wind blade models that maximize the capture of wind energy so that the levelized cost of energy for wind energy remains competitive with other energy sources such as solar and natural gas. We also continue to utilize our advanced technology, regional manufacturing facilities strategically located to cost effectively serve large and growing wind markets and ability to source materials globally at competitive costs to deliver high-performing, composite wind blades. Our collaborative engineering approach and our advanced precision molding and assembly systems allow us to integrate our customer’s design requirements with cost-efficient, replicable and scalable manufacturing processes. This collaborative engineering approach with our customers also allows us to reduce manufacturing cycle times, new line and factory start up times and new blade model transition times. We also continue to work with our customers to minimize the impacts of inflation, including increases in the cost of materials and production in a manner that further strengthens our customer relationships and mitigates the impact to our margins.
•Expand our field service inspection and repair business and introduce new ancillary products and services to help our customers better manage the full life cycle of a wind blade. We plan to continue to expand our field service inspection and repair business by leveraging our existing wind blade manufacturing and composites expertise and global footprint. We believe there is an increasing demand and growing market for experienced wind blade inspection and repair services worldwide as the number of wind turbines installed worldwide continues to grow and the fleet of existing wind turbines continues to age. We also expect that the operating margins at our field service inspection and repair business will improve in 2024 and will be higher than the operating margins of our wind blade manufacturing business in future periods. We also are seeking to develop a more comprehensive suite of products and services to help our customers better manage the full life cycle of a wind turbine blade.
•Focus on continuing innovation. We have a history of innovation in advanced composite technologies and production techniques and use several proprietary technologies related to wind blade manufacturing. With this culture of innovation and a collaborative “design for manufacturability” approach, we continue to address increasing physical dimensions, demanding technical specifications and strict quality control requirements for our customers’ most advanced wind blades.
Wind Blade Manufacturing Operations and Process
We have developed significant expertise in advanced composite technology and we use high performance composite materials, precision molding and assembly systems including modular tooling, and advanced process technology, as well as sophisticated measurement, inspection, testing and quality assurance tools, allowing us to produce over 92,000 wind blades since 2001 from our continuing and discontinued operations with a strong, long-term field performance record in a market where reliability is critical to our customers’ success. We manufacture or have manufactured wind blades ranging from 30 meters to over 80 meters in length across our global facilities and have the capability to manufacture wind blades of greater lengths as required by existing or new customers. In
combination with our advanced technologies, we seek to create manufacturing processes that are replicable and scalable in our manufacturing facilities located worldwide, regardless of cultural or language barriers. Using continuous improvement principles, we can customize each manufacturing step, from raw materials to finished products. This also allows us to systematically design for the entire manufacturing process so that we can achieve better quality control and increase production efficiencies. We believe that our focus on simplifying and, where feasible, automating production processes is critical to manufacturing high-precision, lightweight and durable products at a competitive cost for our customers. We produce high unit volumes of near-aerospace grade products at industrial costs.
Raw Materials
The key raw materials for the wind blades we manufacture include highly advanced fiberglass fabrics, select carbon reinforcements, foam, balsa wood, resin, adhesives for assembly of molded components, gel coat or paint for preparation of cosmetic surfaces and attachment hardware including steel components. Most of these materials are available in multiple geographic regions and in reasonably close proximity to our manufacturing facilities. Our agreements for the supply of raw materials are designed to secure volumes that we believe will be required to fulfill our customers’ wind blade commitments for fixed prices with limited contractual price adjustment provisions. A portion of our raw materials are subject to price volatility, such as the resins and carbon reinforcements used in our manufacturing processes.
Although the majority of materials incorporated into our products are available from a number of sources, certain materials are available only from a relatively limited number of suppliers. We seek multiple suppliers for our raw materials and continually evaluate potential new supplier relationships. However, one of our customers sources all of the critical raw materials that we use to produce such customers' wind blades. Since we do not source procurement of these raw materials for this customer, we have fewer controls and remedies to mitigate raw material and supply chain risks and disruptions relating to such raw materials for such customer.
Precision Molding and Assembly Systems
Over the last decade, we have produced hundreds of precision molding and assembly systems, ranging from 30 meters to over 80 meters in length, to support our global operations.
Our tooling solutions include precision wind blade patterns, precision molding and assembly systems, including modular tooling techniques. We believe that our technological and production expertise are key factors in our continued competitiveness, as we address continually increasing physical dimensions, demanding technical specifications, and strict quality control requirements for wind blades.
Wind Blade Production Process
Production of wind blades requires adherence to the unique specifications of each of our customers, who design their wind turbines and wind blades to optimize performance, reliability and total delivered cost. With our culture of innovation and a collaborative “design for manufacturability” approach, we have the capability and expertise to manufacture wind blades of different designs, utilizing fiberglass, carbon fiber, or other advanced composite materials to meet unique customer specifications. We also have the flexibility to quickly transition our manufacturing facilities to produce different wind blade models and sizes using our precision molding and assembly systems, including modular tooling techniques.
We have developed a highly dependable method for making high-quality wind blades. In conjunction with our continuous improvement principles, we design our proprietary manufacturing processes to be replicable, scalable and transferable to each of our advanced manufacturing facilities worldwide. As a result, we can repeatedly move a product from its design phase to serial production while maintaining quality, even in developing regions of the world. Similarly, we have developed the manual portions of our manufacturing processes based on proven technologies and production methods that can be learned and implemented rapidly by line personnel. We focus on safety, consistency and quality control across our facilities, using hands-on training methods and employing repeatable manufacturing processes.
We use an advanced form of vacuum-assisted resin transfer tooling process to pull liquid resin into a dry lay-up, resulting in light, strong, and reliable composite structures. In our manufacturing process, fiber reinforcements and core materials are laid up in a mold while dry, followed by a vacuum bag that is placed over the layup and sealed to the mold. The wind blade component is then placed under vacuum. The resin is introduced into the wind blade component via resin inlet ports and then distributed through the reinforcement and core materials via a flow medium and a series of channels, saturating the wind blade component. The vacuum removes air and gases during processing, thereby eliminating voids. Pressure differentials drive resin uniformly throughout the wind blade component, providing a consistent laminate. By using a variety of reinforcement and core materials, the structural characteristics of the wind blade can be highly engineered to suit the custom specifications of our customers. Although only occasionally required by our customers, we are also capable of employing additional composite fabrication processes, such as pre-impregnated laminates, in addition to our vacuum infusion process.
Wind Blade Supply Agreements
Our current wind blade customers, which include Vestas, GE Vernova, Nordex, and ENERCON GmbH (ENERCON), are some of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers. According to data from Bloomberg, our customers represented approximately 34% of the global onshore wind energy market, approximately 77% of that market excluding China, and 87% of the U.S. onshore wind turbine market over the three years ended December 31, 2022, based on MWs of energy capacity installed. In our collaborative dedicated supplier model, our customers are incentivized to maximize the volume of wind blades purchased due to pricing at higher purchase volumes. Our supply agreements generally contain liquidated damages provisions in the event of late delivery, however, we generally do not bear the responsibility for transporting the wind blades we manufacture to our customers.
Some of our supply agreements with our customers provide us with downside protection through minimum annual volume commitments, as well as encourage our customers to maximize the volume of wind blades they purchase from us, since purchasing less than a specified amount typically triggers higher pricing. Some of our supply agreements also provide for annual sales price reductions reflecting assumptions regarding improvements in our manufacturing efficiency and increases in productivity. We work to continue to drive down or minimize the impact of increases in the cost of materials and production through innovation and global sourcing, a portion of the benefit of which we share with our customers contractually, further strengthening our deep customer relationships. Similarly, we typically share any raw material price increases with our customers. However, one of our customers sources all of the critical raw materials that we use to produce such customers' wind blades and this customer assumes 100% of any such raw material price increases or decreases. Wind blade pricing is based on annual commitments of volume as established in the customer’s contract, with orders less than committed volume resulting in additional costs per wind blade to the customer. Orders in excess of annual commitments may result in discounts to customers from the contracted price for the committed volume. Customers may utilize early payment discounts, which are reported as a reduction of revenue at the time the discount is taken.
Vestas
In December 2023, we extended our supply agreements with Vestas at our manufacturing facilities in India and in Matamoros, Mexico through 2024. The term of the Matamoros supply agreement will continue until the one-year anniversary of the date upon which we commence production of a new Vestas wind blade model on up to four manufacturing lines at our Matamoros manufacturing facility. We expect to commence production of this new wind blade model in July 2024. We have the right to terminate the Matamoros supply agreement as of December 31, 2024 if Vestas’ projected annual demand for this new wind blade model is less than or equal to 50% of our dedicated manufacturing capacity allocated to this new wind blade model.
GE Vernova
We have two supply agreements with GE Vernova to manufacture wind blades from three manufacturing facilities in Juárez, Mexico. In October 2022, we signed an agreement with GE Vernova that enabled us to secure a ten-year lease extension of our Iowa manufacturing facility. Under the agreement, we and GE Vernova plan to develop competitive blade manufacturing options. In December 2022, we extended our supply agreements with GE Vernova for ten of our existing lines in two of our Juarez, Mexico manufacturing facilities through December 2025,
and in December 2023, we added a third manufacturing facility in Juarez, Mexico for four new manufacturing lines, also through December 2025.
Nordex
Generally, our supply agreements with Nordex provide for a minimum number of wind blade sets to be purchased by Nordex each year during the term, and we commit to dedicate a specific number of manufacturing lines to Nordex for each of the years under the supply agreements. We supply wind blades to Nordex from our manufacturing facilities in Türkiye, and India, and from a manufacturing facility in Matamoros, Mexico that we took over from Nordex in July 2021, pursuant to a three-year supply agreement expiring on June 30, 2024. We are in the process of transitioning the operation of this Matamoros manufacturing facility back to Nordex. In December 2023, we extended two of our supply agreements with Nordex at our Türkiye manufacturing facilities for eight lines through the end of 2024 and added two new lines through the end of 2025.
Research and Development
We conduct research and development in close collaboration with our customers and suppliers in areas of design for manufacturing and deployment of innovative manufacturing processes, including automation, advanced materials, and emerging product quality inspection tools. We have partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy, national laboratories, universities, suppliers, and our customers to innovate through cost-sharing and funded development of advanced manufacturing, sustainability (including material recycling) and other innovative programs. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we collaborated on a variety of proposals with universities, government laboratories and private industry resulting in the award of several new projects that include inspection technologies, additive manufacturing of modular wind blades, as well as manufacturing automation applying recycled materials to ensure movement toward a more sustainable, carbon neutral future. We continue to collaborate in national consortia including the Institute for Advanced Composite Manufacturing Innovation as a premium member with responsibility to direct research activity by our industrial, government laboratory and university members. We maintain a position on the Industrial Advisory Board for WindSTAR, a National Science Foundation Industry/University Collaborative Research Consortium, and study a broad range of wind energy related technologies with our customers and wind energy owner operators. One such set of activities is an internal and external collaborative development program to create a comprehensive multi-layered Artificial Intelligence powered vision system that supports production metrics such as cycle-time and labor headcount and will also drive quality by reducing infusion defects and ensuring uniform resin process across the entire surface of the wind turbine blade.
We continue to expand our intellectual property portfolio through funding internal research and development. Our manufacturing technology team is leveraging our in-house knowledge and expertise in modeling, data analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and optical vision systems to implement an engineering configuration that allows for an effective roll-out of a closed-loop blade manufacturing system which will positively impact quality, labor productivity and cycle-time. We are expanding and diversifying our Model-Based Manufacturing tools and techniques to cover broad technical areas including design, manufacturability, finishing processes and factory level repairs.
We employ a highly experienced workforce of engineers in various facets of our business, from research and development projects, to the ongoing, real-time development and implementation of incremental manufacturing and material improvements. We have an advanced engineering center based in Berlin, Germany which focuses on blade design, tooling, materials and process technology development. In addition, we have an advanced engineering center based in Kolding, Denmark which provides technical and engineering resources to our manufacturing facilities and our customers. Our research and development effort places a priority on improving quality through process and procedure improvement, in addition to reducing cost through specification changes and sourcing of more cost-effective suppliers. Other areas of emphasis include composite design, in-house fabrication of precision molding and assembly systems, prototyping, testing, optimization and volume production capabilities. We also encourage our associates to invent and develop new technologies to maintain our competitiveness in the marketplace. In addition to our internal research and development activities, from time to time, we also conduct research and development activities pursuant to funded development arrangements with our customers and other third parties and we intend to
continue to seek opportunities for product development programs that could create recurring revenue and increase our overall profitability over the long term.
Competition
The wind blade market is highly concentrated, competitive and subject to evolving customer needs and expectations. Our competitors include LM Wind Power (a subsidiary of GE Vernova) and other independent wind blade manufacturers such as Sinoma Science & Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Aeolon Wind Energy Technology Development (Group) Co., Ltd., Aeris Industria E Comercio De Equipamentos Para Geracao De Energia S.A. and ZhongFu Lianzhong Composites Group Co., Ltd., as well as regional wind blade suppliers in geographic areas where our current or prospective manufacturing facilities are or will be located.
We also compete with vertically integrated wind turbine OEMs that manufacture their own wind blades.
The principal competitive factors in the wind blade market include reliability, total delivered cost, manufacturing capability, product quality, engineering capability and on-time delivery of wind blades. We believe we compete favorably with our competitors with respect to each of these factors. Our ability to compete will depend to a great extent upon our ongoing performance in the areas of manufacturing capability, total delivered costs, on-time delivery and product quality.
Competitive advantages in the wind blade service market include total delivered cost, speed of response, local footprint, repair quality, competitive labor pricing and capacity to work across regions as demand adapts to business seasonality. Our ability to improve our product and service offerings, including strengthening our response time, adding and managing labor resources, sourcing materials globally at competitive rates while further expanding into new countries, and offering additional value-added engineering support and technical solutions.
The automotive supply industry is highly competitive, and our composite solutions compete against alternative materials and a broad range of competitive suppliers. Our ability to compete will depend on our ability to provide superior performance attributes with our composites solutions, time to market, and continuing to provide a lower upfront investment for our customers.
Automotive Products
We believe automotive products, including buses, trucks, electric vehicles and high-performance automotive products and components, are ideally suited for our advanced composite technology because of the benefits derived from weight reduction, corrosion resistance, strength, durability and lower upfront capital costs. These benefits should allow us to develop structural composite solutions to assist our customers in developing electric vehicles, including light, medium and heavy-duty trucks, buses and automobiles with clean propulsion systems or in meeting new and developing fuel economy standards.
In addition, by producing a range of composite structures, we are able to leverage the materials and manufacturing process technology and expertise developed through one project to maximize production quality, improve performance and minimize costs across our other manufacturing efforts, including our wind blade business. Our projects for customers in the automotive market have historically generated project-related revenues for a specific duration.
Our facilities in Warren, Rhode Island and Juárez, Mexico manufacture products for customers in the automotive market using, in some cases, similar proprietary and replicable manufacturing processes that we use to produce wind blades. Our projects for customers in the automotive market include, or have included, the supply of all-composite bodies for electric buses and last-mile delivery as well as automated people mover systems for airports.
Our current principal competitors in the automotive market include suppliers of conventional steel and aluminum products and non-structural automotive fiberglass and other advanced composites-based manufacturers for automotive applications.
Intellectual Property
We have a variety of intellectual property (IP) rights, including trademarks, copyrights and patents issued, filed and applied-for in a number of jurisdictions, including the U.S., Germany, the European Union, Türkiye, India and China, trademarks and copyrights, but we believe that our continued success and competitive position depend, in large part, on our proprietary materials, tooling, process and inspection technologies and our ability to innovate and not on our IP alone. Accordingly, we take measures to protect the confidentiality and control the disclosure of our proprietary technology. We rely primarily on a combination of patents, know-how and trade secrets to establish and protect our proprietary rights and preserve our competitive position. We also seek to protect our proprietary technology, in part, by confidentiality agreements with our customers, associates, consultants and other contractors. Trade secrets, however, are difficult to protect. These agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors. To the extent that our customers, associates, consultants or contractors use IP owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions.
Backlog
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, our backlog for wind blades and related wind products totaled $767.3 million and $919.9 million, respectively. Our backlog includes purchase orders issued in connection with our supply agreements. We generally record a purchase order into backlog when the following requirements have been met: a signed supply agreement or other contractual agreement has been executed with our customer, a purchase order has been issued by our customer and we expect to ship wind blades to or produce the related wind products for such customer in satisfaction of any purchase order within 12 months. Backlog as of any particular date should not be relied upon as indicative of our revenue for any future period.
Regulation
Wind Energy
Our operations are subject to various foreign, federal, state and local regulations related to environmental protection, health and safety, labor relationships, general business practices and other matters. These regulations are administered by various foreign, federal, state and local environmental agencies and authorities, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor and comparable agencies in Mexico, Türkiye, India and individual U.S. states. In addition, our manufacturing operations in Mexico, Türkiye and India are subject to those countries’ wage and price controls, currency exchange control regulations, investment and tax laws, laws restricting our ability to repatriate profits, trade restrictions and laws that may restrict foreign investment in certain industries. Some of these laws have only been recently adopted or are subject to further rulemaking or interpretation, and their impact on our operations, including the cost of complying with these laws, is uncertain. We believe that our operations currently comply, in all material respects, with applicable laws and regulations. Further, as a U.S. corporation, we are subject to The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA), which generally prohibits U.S. companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business. As a U.S. corporation with global operations, we are also subject to foreign antibribery laws and regulations in the countries where we conduct business, including the U.K. Bribery Act and the India Prevention of Corruption Act.
In August 2022, the U.S. Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) which effectively extended the Production Tax Credit for Renewable Energy (PTC), which provides owners of wind turbines with a credit against its U.S. federal income tax obligations based on the amount of electricity generated by the wind turbine, until the later of 2032 or when greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by 75% compared to 2022. In addition, a new advanced manufacturing production tax credit (AMPC) was created that can be claimed for the domestic production and sale of clean energy components, such as wind turbine blades. We expect to utilize the AMPC when we restart our Newton, Iowa manufacturing plant. Although the passing of the IRA is expected to provide long-term incentive certainty in the U.S. market, the U.S. wind industry is waiting on more specific and definitive guidance from the Internal Revenue Services and U.S. Treasury Department, among others, to define and clarify the implementation of this complex legislation.
At the state level, as of December 31, 2023, 30 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have implemented renewable portfolio standard (RPS) programs that generally require that, by a specified date, a certain percentage of a utility’s electricity supplied to consumers within such state is to be from renewable sources (ranging from 10% to 100% and from between the present and 2050).
In addition, there are also increasing regulatory efforts globally to promote renewable power. In December 2020, the European Union (EU) agreed to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. In May 2022, the EU announced the REPowerEU plan which seeks to rapidly reduce the EU's dependence on fossil fuels by 2027. Furthermore, the EU introduced the Green Deal Industrial Plan that is expected to further accelerate the expansion of renewable energy and green technologies including easing state aid rules to enable higher subsidies. A key component of the Green Deal Industrial Plan is the Net-Zero Industry Act to simplify regulations, speed up permits and promote cross-border projects to accelerate climate neutrality. In November 2023, EU’s Renewable Energy Directive III entered into effect, which aims to raise the share of renewable power in the EU’s overall energy consumption to 42.5% by 2030, with an additional 2.5% indicative top up that would allow the overall share to reach 45%. Similarly, in December 2020, China announced its goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, and in November 2021, India targeted to increase its renewable energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030 and to reach carbon neutrality by 2070. Additionally, Türkiye enacted Law No. 5346 in 2005, which was amended and extended in January 2021, to promote renewable-based electricity generation within their domestic electricity market through feed-in- tariffs and purchase obligations for distribution companies requiring purchases from certified renewable energy producers.
Human Capital
As of December 31, 2023, we employed more than 12,300 full-time associates, approximately 500 of whom were located in the U.S., 6,600 in Mexico, 3,600 in Türkiye, and 1,600 in India. Certain of our associates in Türkiye and at our manufacturing facilities in Matamoros, Mexico are represented by labor unions. We believe that our relations with our associates are generally good.
Our human capital strategy focuses on creating an exceptional associate experience and ensuring that we foster a learning culture where our associates want to grow with us. Our primary focus areas of our human capital strategy are as follows:
Culture
We believe our unique culture is a key strategic advantage for us. Our associates are highly engaged, have a strong sense of inclusion and belonging, and are committed to the Company, their teams, and the jobs they perform based on our most recent associate engagement surveys. Our associate engagement is due in part to a strong sense of purpose given our role in the broader renewable energy supply chain. We believe associate engagement and feelings of inclusion and belonging translates into a strong quality focus and orientation. When we select new persons to join our team, we ensure that the individuals have high levels of commitment and adaptability in addition to the skills needed for the role. Our associates embrace our core values of safety, operational excellence, commitment, integrity and leadership. Our team members bring our values to life by applying their diverse backgrounds and skillsets to the jobs they are performing, demonstrating high discretionary effort, and embracing our values in their day-to-day lives.
Safety
Safety is our most important and first core value. We believe that all accidents are preventable and that every associate should return at the end of their shift to their families in the same healthy condition in which they showed up for work. To help drive these beliefs it is our goal to continuously improve our zero-harm culture and implement a global behavior-based safety (BBS) program resulting in zero unsafe behaviors. All of our manufacturing facilities have safety management systems in place that cover their associates and activities. We ensure the safety of our associates to support our zero-harm culture in a variety of ways, starting with safety education. Safety education is
the foundation for our other safety measures. Associates receive regular training on environmental, health and safety (EHS) related topics. This training includes but is not limited to:
•general awareness EHS training
•ergonomics training
•compliance training
•hazard-specific training as required for the job or task
•fire hazard and prevention training
•hazardous material training
•equipment-specific safety training
•safety incident and corrective action training
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Awareness
We value diversity in all forms, especially diversity of thought, and aspire to create an environment that recognizes and celebrates the benefits that come with a diverse workforce. We know that diversity of our associate population makes us better and we strive to continue to improve and act with intention in these areas. Most importantly we strive to create a culture of inclusion where everyone has a true sense of belonging and feels they can be themselves in the workplace.
As a global business, we have an incredible opportunity to benefit from the diversity we have in our Company. We can and will do more to maximize the positive impact that inclusion, diversity, equity, awareness and a feeling of belonging can bring. We believe that this and the rest of our vision statement for inclusion, diversity, equity, and awareness is a solid representation of what we believe in, are committed to, and how we will hold associates and leaders accountable. We have made progress towards increasing our representation of women at all levels of our organization, but we recognize we have an opportunity to further increase the representation of women as well as increase overall diversity in leadership as we add more talent to our leadership levels.
Talent
We market open jobs across multiple platforms such as our website, LinkedIn, internal postings and local job boards to ensure that our candidate pool is as diverse as possible. We promote having diversity on the interviewing and selection panel to ensure different points of view are considered as part of the final selection process. We enjoy high levels of retention across all of our geographies. On a global basis, our overall turnover rate declined in 2023 after a slight increase in 2022. We facilitate an annual talent review process in all regions and functional teams to promote the internal development and promotion of internal talent. We have enjoyed high participation in associate surveys, high engagement levels against industry normative data, and facilitated an inclusion survey in 2022 and 2023.
Environmental, Health and Safety
We are subject to various environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and permit requirements in the jurisdictions in which we operate governing, among other things, health, safety, pollution and protection of the environment and natural resources, the handling and use of hazardous substances, the generation, storage, treatment and disposal of wastes, and the cleanup of any contaminated sites. We are not aware of any pending environmental compliance or remediation matters that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position or results of operations. However, failure by us to comply with applicable environmental and other requirements could result in fines, penalties, enforcement actions, third party claims, remediation actions, and could negatively impact our reputation with customers. We have adopted environmental, health and safety policies outlining our commitment to environmental responsibility and accountability and our desire to eliminate unsafe behaviors in the workplace. These policies apply to the Company as a whole, and our vendors and suppliers and are available on our website. We have a company-wide focus on safety and have implemented a number of measures to promote workplace safety. Customers are increasingly focused on safety records in their sourcing decisions due to increased regulations to report all incidents that occur at their sites and the costs associated with such incidents.
Available Information
Our website address is www.tpicomposites.com. All of our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including this Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, statements of changes in beneficial ownership and amendments to those reports, along with any exhibits to such reports, are available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. The information contained on our website is neither a part of, nor incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The SEC also maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is www.sec.gov.
Our investor relations website address is https://ir.tpicomposites.com/websites/tpicomposites/English/0/investor-relations.html and includes key information about our corporate governance initiatives, including our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee charter, charters of the Audit and Compensation committees and our Code of Business Conduct & Ethics.
Information about our Executive Officers
The following table sets forth certain information regarding our Executive Officers as of February 22, 2024:
Name, Age
Position
Year Appointed as Executive
Officer of TPI Composites, Inc.
Business Experience since January 1, 2018
William Siwek, 61
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
TPI Composites, Inc.: Chief Executive Officer since May 2020, President from May 2019 to May 2020, Chief Financial Officer from August 2013 to May 2019.
American Clean Power Association: Director since March 2021.
Charles Stroo, 48
Chief Operating Officer, Wind
TPI Composites, Inc.: Chief Operating Officer since November 2023.
Collins Aerospace: Vice President of Power & Controls Operations from March 2023 to November 2023, Vice President of Avionics Operations from February 2020 to March 2023, Senior Director Operations from March 2019 to February 2020, Director Mexicali Operations from November 2015 to March 2019.
Ryan Miller, 49
Chief Financial Officer
TPI Composites, Inc.: Chief Financial Officer since May 2022.
Collins Aerospace: Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Avionics Division from November 2018 to February 2022.
Rockwell Collins: Vice President and Controller of the Commercial Systems Division from April 2017 to November 2019.
Lance Marram, 52
Chief Commercial Officer, Wind
TPI Composites, Inc.: Chief Commercial Officer since January 2022, Senior Vice President, Global Service from October 2019 to January 2022.
Senvion North America: Managing Director from June 2017 to July 2019.
Jerry Lavine, 55
President, Automotive
TPI Composites, Inc.: President, Automotive since June 2021.
Independent Consultant: From January 2021 to June 2021.
Bordrin New Energy Vehicle Corporation: Chief Technology Officer and President of North America from November 2017 to January 2021.
Steven Fishbach, 54
General Counsel and Secretary
TPI Composites, Inc.: General Counsel since January 2015.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors
You should carefully consider the following risk factors. If any of the events contemplated by the following discussion of risks should occur, our business, results of operations, financial condition, growth prospects and cash flows could suffer significantly. Additional risks that we currently do not know about or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also impair our business. Certain statements below are forward-looking statements. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Risks Related to Our Wind Business
A significant portion of our business is derived from a small number of customers, therefore any loss of or reduction in purchase orders, failure of these customers to fulfill their obligations or our failure to secure supply agreement renewals from these customers could materially harm our business.
Substantially all of our revenues are derived from three wind blade customers. Vestas, GE Vernova and Nordex accounted for 35.8%, 24.6% and 30.3%, respectively, of our total net sales for the year ended December 31, 2023, and 36.2%, 20.8% and 32.6%, respectively, of our total net sales for the year ended December 31, 2022, and 30.9%, 29.0% and 25.4%, respectively, of our total net sales for the year ended December 31, 2021. Accordingly, we are substantially dependent on continued business from our current wind blade customers. If one or more of our wind blade customers were to reduce or delay wind blade orders, file for bankruptcy or become insolvent, fail to pay amounts due or satisfactorily perform their respective contractual obligations with us or otherwise terminate or fail to renew their supply agreements with us, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially harmed.
Defects in materials and workmanship or wind blade failures could harm our reputation, expose us to product warranty or other liability claims, decrease demand for wind blades we manufacture, or materially harm existing or prospective customer relationships, and our reserves for warranty expenses might not be sufficient to cover all future costs.
Defects in the wind blades we manufacture are unpredictable and an inherent risk in manufacturing technically advanced products that involve a significant amount of manual labor and processes. Defects may arise from multiple causes, including design, engineering, materials, manufacturing and component failures as well as deficiencies in our manufacturing processes. Under our supply agreements, we warranty the materials and workmanship of the wind blades while our customers are responsible for the fitness of use and design of the wind blades. We have experienced wind blade failures and defects at some of our facilities during the startup manufacturing phase of new products, and we may experience failures or defects in the future. Wind blades that we have manufactured have also failed in the field. Any wind blade failures or other product defects in the future could materially harm our existing and prospective customer relationships. Specifically, negative publicity about the quality of the wind blades we manufacture or defects in the wind blades supplied to our customers could result in a reduction in wind blade orders, increased warranty claims, product liability claims and other damages or termination of our supply agreements or business relationships with current or new customers. Any of the foregoing could materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
We provide warranties for all of the wind blades and precision molding and assembly systems we produce, including parts and labor, for periods that typically range from two to five years depending on the product sold. Our estimate of warranty expense requires us to make assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain, including future rates of product failure, repair costs, shipping and handling and de-installation and re-installation costs at customers’ sites. Our assumptions could be materially different from the actual performance of our products and these remediation expenses in the future. The expenses associated with wind blade repair and remediation activities can be substantial and may include changes to our manufacturing processes. If our estimates prove materially incorrect, we could incur warranty expenses that exceed our reserves and we could be required to make material unplanned cash expenditures, which could materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
We have experienced, and could in the future experience, quality or operational issues in connection with plant construction, expansion or assumption which could result in losses and cause delays in our ability to complete our projects and may therefore materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We dedicate most of the capacity of our current wind blade manufacturing facilities to existing customers and, as a result, we may need to build additional manufacturing capacity or facilities to serve the needs of new customers or expanded needs of existing customers. We currently conduct operations at five manufacturing facilities in Mexico, one in Türkiye, and one in Chennai, India. The construction of new plants and the expansion or assumption of existing plants involves significant time, cost and other risks. We generally expect our plants to generate losses in their first 12 to 18 months of operations related to production startup costs. Additionally, numerous factors can contribute, and have in the past contributed, to delays or difficulties in the startup of, or the adoption of our manufacturing lines to produce larger wind blade models, which we refer to as model transitions, in our manufacturing facilities. These factors include permitting, construction or renovation delays, defects or issues with product tooling, the engineering and fabrication of specialized equipment, the modification of our general production know-how and customer-specific manufacturing processes to address the specific wind blades to be tested and built, changing and evolving customer specifications and expectations and the hiring and training of plant personnel. Any delays or difficulties in plant startup, expansion or assumption may result in cost overruns, production delays, contractual penalties, loss of revenues, reduced margins and impairment of customer relationships, which could materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. In 2022 and 2023, we experienced significant production delays at the Matamoros, Mexico manufacturing facility that we took over from Nordex in July 2021 due to the poor condition of the facility and related equipment, which adversely impacted our profitability and financial condition.
Some of our supply agreements with our customers are subject to early termination and volume reductions at the discretion of our customers, and any early termination of or reduced volumes of wind blades purchased under these agreements could materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our supply agreements expire between December of 2024 and December of 2025. Some of our supply agreements contain provisions that allow for the early termination of these agreements upon the customer providing us with advance written notice and paying an early termination fee. Our supply agreements generally establish annual purchase requirements on which we rely for our future production and financial forecasts. However, the timing and volume of purchases, within certain parameters, may be subject to change by our customers. The amount of the annual purchase requirements typically declines in the later years of our supply agreements. Our customers may not continue to maintain supply agreements with us in the future. For example, Vestas terminated its Yangzhou, China supply agreement at the end of 2022, even though it was set to expire at the end of 2023, and paid to us an early termination fee. If one or more of our customers terminate or reduce the number of manufacturing lines and volumes of wind blades purchased, or fail to renew their supply agreements with us, it may materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Although a majority of our manufacturing facilities are located outside the U.S., our business is still heavily dependent upon the demand for wind energy in the U.S. and any downturn in demand for wind energy in the U.S. could materially harm our business.
We have developed a global footprint to serve the growing wind energy market worldwide and have wind blade manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Mexico, Türkiye and India. Although a majority of our manufacturing facilities are located outside of the U.S., historically more than half of the wind blades that we produced were deployed in wind farms located within the U.S. Our Iowa manufacturing facility, where production has been shut down since the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, and our Mexico manufacturing facilities manufacture wind blades that are generally deployed within the U.S. In addition, many of our wind blades are exported from our Türkiye and India manufacturing facilities to the U.S. Consequently, demand for wind energy and our wind blade sales could be adversely affected by a variety of reasons and factors, and any downturn in demand for wind energy in the U.S. could materially harm our business. We expect that demand for wind turbine blades in 2024 will be slightly down compared to 2023 due to our customers and wind farm developers continuing to defer investments into the future until inflationary pressure and global economies stabilize, and there is clearer regulatory guidance with respect to the IRA and actions proposed by the EU under the REPowerEU plan and the Green Deal Industrial Plan.
We have experienced volatility in the price and availability of raw materials and components that are critical to our manufacturing needs, as well as ongoing inflationary pressures impacting many of our labor and other costs, and we may continue to, or in the future, experience price increases, supply constraints, and inflationary pressures, which may hinder our ability to perform under our supply agreements and adversely impact our profitability and financial condition.
We rely upon third parties for raw materials, such as fiberglass, carbon fiber, resins, foam core and balsa wood, and various components for the products we manufacture. Some of these raw materials and components may only be purchased from a limited number of suppliers. Current geopolitical climate, such as the attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea, and the economic environment generally, including with respect to inflation, continue to evolve and affect supply chain performance and underlying assumptions in various ways - specifically with volatility in commodity, energy, and logistics costs. However, the overall pricing for the raw materials that we source decreased in 2023 compared to 2022 due to decreases in pricing and logistics costs. We expect to see a further decrease in material pricing in 2024. If the prices for these raw materials and logistics costs revert back to the levels we experienced in 2021 and 2022, such elevated price levels could have a material impact on our results of operations.
Additionally, our ability to purchase the appropriate quantities of raw materials is constrained by our customers’ transitioning wind blade designs and specifications. As a result, we maintain, closely monitor and manage inventory and acquire raw materials and components as needed and with consideration to lead time factors. Due to fluctuating international demand for these raw materials from many industries, and extended logistics lead times, we may be unable to acquire sufficient quantities or secure a stable supply for our manufacturing needs. One of our customers sources all of the critical raw materials that we use to produce such customers' wind blades. Since we do not source procurement of these raw materials for this customer, we have fewer controls and remedies to mitigate raw material and supply chain risks and disruptions relating to such raw materials for such customer.
In 2023, we procured approximately 11% of our raw materials from China so any ocean logistic delays arising from attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea or otherwise, weather events, strikes, other force majeure events or geopolitical developments impacting China could disrupt our supply chain. In addition, a disruption in any aspect of our global supply chain caused by transportation delays, customs delays, cost issues or other factors could result in a shortage of raw materials or components critical to our manufacturing needs. Any supply shortages, delays in the shipment of materials or components from third party suppliers, or changes in the terms on which they are available could disrupt or materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Ongoing inflationary pressures have caused and may continue to cause many of our material, labor, and other costs to increase, which can have adverse impacts on our results of operations. The government of Mexico increased minimum wages approximately 20% effective January 1, 2023, and an additional 20% effective January 1, 2024. The government of Türkiye increased minimum wages approximately 55%, 34% and 49%, respectively, effective January 1, 2023, July 1, 2023, and January 1, 2024. In May 2023 we agreed to an amendment to our collective bargaining agreement with our associates in Türkiye which resulted in significantly increased wages for these associates. While our customer contracts allow us to pass a portion of these increases to our customers, we will not be able to recover 100% of the wage inflation. If our manufacturing facilities in these countries continue to experience wage inflation at these levels and the increased costs in local currency are not offset with favorable foreign currency fluctuations, such elevated wages could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition.
Demand for the wind blades we manufacture may fluctuate for a variety of reasons, including the growth of the wind industry, and decreases in demand could materially harm our business and may not be sufficient to support our growth strategy.
Our revenues, business prospects and growth strategy heavily depend on the continued growth of the wind industry and our customers’ continuing demand for wind blades. Customer demand could decrease from anticipated levels due to numerous factors outside of our control that may affect the development of the wind energy market generally, portions of the market or individual wind project developments, including:
•general economic conditions;
•the general availability and demand for electricity;
•wind energy market volatility;
•cost-effectiveness, availability and reliability of alternative sources of energy and competing methods of producing electricity, including solar and non-renewable sources such as natural gas;
•foreign, federal and state governmental tariffs, subsidies and tax or regulatory policies;
•delays or cancellations of government tenders or auctions for wind energy projects;
•the availability of financing for wind development projects;
•the development of electrical transmission infrastructure, the ability to implement a proper grid connection for wind development projects, and the ability to obtain timely permitting approvals;
•permitting and siting regulations and challenges;
•foreign, federal and state laws and regulations regarding avian protection plans, noise or turbine setback requirements and other environmental laws and regulations;
•our customers’ cost of transporting wind blades from our manufacturing facilities to wind farms;
•increases in the price or lack of availability of raw materials used to produce our wind blades;
•administrative and legal challenges to proposed wind development projects; and
•public perception and localized community responses to wind energy projects.
In 2023, we experienced a decline in demand for our wind turbine blades due primarily to regulatory uncertainty as our customers and wind farm developers continued to defer investments into the future until inflationary pressure and global economies stabilize, and there is clearer regulatory guidance with respect to the IRA and actions proposed by the EU under the REPowerEU plan, which adversely impacted our operating results. We expect that demand for wind turbine blades in 2024 will remain slightly down. In addition to factors affecting the wind energy market generally, our customers’ demand may also fluctuate based on other factors beyond our control. Any decline in customer demand below anticipated levels could materially harm our revenues and operating results and could delay or impede our growth strategy.
We have experienced in the past, and our future wind blade production could be affected by, operating problems at our facilities, which may materially harm our operating results and financial condition.
Our wind blade manufacturing processes and production capacity have in the past been, and could in the future be, disrupted by a variety of issues, including:
•production outages to conduct maintenance activities that cannot be performed safely during operations;
•prolonged power failures or reductions;
•breakdowns, failures or substandard performance of machinery and equipment;
•our inability to comply with material environmental requirements or permits;
•inadequate transportation infrastructure, including problems with railroad tracks, bridges, tunnels or roads;
•supply shortages of key raw materials and components;
•damage or production delays caused by earthquakes, fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme weather conditions such as windstorms, hailstorms, drought, temperature extremes, typhoons or other natural disasters or terrorism or health epidemics; and
•labor unrest or shortages in skilled labor.
The cost of repeated or prolonged interruptions, reductions in production capacity, or the repair or replacement of complex and sophisticated tooling and equipment may be considerable and could result in damages
or the termination of our supply agreements or penalties for regulatory non-compliance, any of which could materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
We operate a substantial portion of our business in international markets and we may be unable to effectively manage a variety of currency, legal, regulatory, economic, social and political risks associated with our global operations and those in developing markets.
We currently operate manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Mexico, Türkiye, and India. Since the third quarter of 2016, we commenced operations at five new manufacturing facilities in Mexico, one in Türkiye, and one in Chennai, India. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, approximately 96%, 94% and 87%, respectively, of our net sales were derived from our continuing international operations. Our overall success depends, in part, upon our ability to succeed in differing legal, regulatory, economic, social and political conditions. The global nature of our operations is subject to a variety of risks, including:
•difficulties in staffing and managing multiple international locations;
•the risk of significant wage inflation in Türkiye, Mexico and other countries in which we operate, and continuing general inflationary pressures in these markets;
•increased exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risk or currency exchange controls imposed by foreign countries;
•the risk of import, export and transportation regulations and tariffs on foreign trade and investment, including boycotts and embargoes;
•taxation and revenue policies or other restrictions, including royalty and tax increases, retroactive tax claims and the imposition of unexpected taxes;
•the imposition of, or rapid or unexpected adverse changes in, foreign laws, regulatory requirements or trade policies;
•restrictions on repatriation of earnings or capital or transfers of funds into or out of foreign countries;
•limited protection for IP rights in some jurisdictions;
•inability to obtain adequate insurance;
•difficulty administering internal controls and legal and compliance practices in countries with different cultural norms and business practices;
•the possibility of being subjected to the jurisdiction of foreign courts in connection with legal disputes and the possible inability to subject foreign persons to the jurisdiction of courts in the U.S.;
•the misinterpretation of local contractual terms, renegotiation or modification of existing supply agreements and enforcement of contractual terms in disputes before local courts;
•the inability to maintain or enforce legal rights and remedies at a reasonable cost or at all; and
•the potential for political unrest, expropriation, nationalization, revolution, war or acts of terrorism in countries in which we operate.
As we continue to operate our business globally, our success will depend, in part, on our ability to anticipate and effectively manage these and other related risks. We may be unsuccessful in developing and implementing policies and strategies that will be effective in managing these risks in each country where we do business or conduct operations. Our failure to manage these risks successfully could materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
A drop in the price of energy sources other than wind energy, or our inability to deliver wind blades that compete with the price of other energy sources, may materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We believe that the decision to purchase wind energy is, to a significant degree, driven by the relative cost of electricity generated by wind turbines compared to the applicable price of electricity from traditional (i.e., thermal) and other renewable energy sources. Decreases in the prices of electricity from traditional or renewable energy sources other than wind energy, such as solar, could harm the market for wind energy. In particular, a drop in natural gas prices could lessen the appeal of wind-generated electricity. Technological advancements or the construction of a significant number of power generation plants, including nuclear, coal, natural gas or power plants utilizing other renewable energy technologies, government support for other forms of renewable energy or construction of additional electric transmission and distribution lines could reduce the price of electricity produced by competing methods, thereby making the purchase of wind energy less attractive. The ability of energy conservation technologies, public initiatives and government incentives to reduce electricity consumption or support other forms of renewable energy could also lead to a reduction in the price of electricity, which would undermine the attractiveness of wind energy and thus wind turbines, and, ultimately wind blades. If prices for electricity generated by wind turbines are not competitive, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially harmed.
We encounter intense competition for limited customers from other wind blade manufacturers, as well as in-house production by wind turbine OEMs, which may make it difficult to enter into supply agreements, keep existing customers and potentially get new customers.
We face significant competition from other wind blade manufacturers, and this competition may intensify in the future. The wind turbine market is characterized by a relatively small number of large OEMs. The competitive environment in the wind energy industry recently has become more challenging primarily due to ongoing regulatory uncertainty and supply chain constraints and significant raw material price increases. This challenging environment may lead to further consolidation in the industry, which could lead to us having even fewer customers. In addition, a significant percentage of wind turbine OEMs, including all of our current customers, produce some of their own wind blades in-house. As a result, we compete for business from a limited number of customers that outsource the production of wind blades. We also compete with a number of wind blade manufacturers in China, who are growing in terms of their technical capability and aspire to expand outside of China. Some of our competitors have more experience in the wind energy industry, as well as greater financial, technical or human resources than we do, which may limit our ability to compete effectively with them and maintain or improve our market share. Additionally, our supply agreements dedicate capacity at our facilities to our customers, which may also limit our ability to compete if our facilities cannot accommodate additional capacity. If we are unable to compete effectively for the limited number of customers that outsource production of wind blades, our ability to enter into supply agreements with potential new and existing customers may be materially harmed.
Various legislation, infrastructure, regulations including permitting and siting and incentives that are expected to support the growth of wind energy in the U.S. and around the world may not be extended or may be discontinued, phased out or changed, or may not be successfully implemented, which could materially harm wind energy programs and materially decrease demand for the wind blades we manufacture.
The U.S. wind energy industry has been dependent in part upon governmental support through certain incentives including federal tax incentives and state RPS programs and may not be economically viable if a large number of these incentives are not continued. Government-sponsored tax incentive programs including the PTC, and the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) have supported the U.S. growth of wind energy. In August 2022, the PTC was extended until the later of 2032 or when greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by 75% compared to 2022. In addition, a new advanced manufacturing production tax credit (AMPC) was created that can be claimed for the domestic production and sale of clean energy components, such as wind turbine blades. There are also increasing regulatory efforts globally to promote renewable energy. In December 2020, the EU agreed to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. In May 2022, the EU announced the REPowerEU plan which seeks to rapidly reduce the EU's dependence on fossil fuels by 2027. Furthermore, the EU introduced the Green Deal Industrial Plan that is expected to further accelerate the expansion of renewable energy and green technologies including easing state aid rules to enable higher subsidies. A key component of the Green
Deal Industrial Plan is the Net-Zero Industry Act to simplify regulations, speed up permitting and promote cross-border projects to accelerate climate neutrality in Europe. In November 2023, EU’s Renewable Energy Directive III, which aims to raise the share of renewable power in the EU’s overall energy consumption to 42.5% by 2030, with an additional 2.5% indicative top up that would allow the overall share to reach 45%, entered into effect. We expect that the new government policy will accelerate long-term growth in the wind industry. Despite these favorable long-term policy trends, we don’t expect an increase in demand until 2025, while the wind industry awaits clarity on the implementation guidance related to key components of the IRA and clarity around more robust policies in Europe. In addition, permitting, transmission, transmission queues, the ability of the broader wind industry supply chain to ramp volume, elevated interest rates and inflation, and the cost and availability of capital are further factors limiting the timing of the wind market recovery.
Because of the long lead times necessary to develop wind energy projects, including obtaining necessary permits or access to transmission infrastructure, any uncertainty or delay in reinstituting the PTC and ITC or adopting, extending or renewing other incentives promoting wind energy beyond their current or future expiration dates could negatively impact potential wind energy installations and result in industry volatility. There can be no assurance that governmental programs or subsidies for renewable energy will remain in effect in their present form or at all, or that the required transmission infrastructure expansion occurs, and the elimination, reduction, or modification of these programs or subsidies could materially harm wind energy programs in the U.S. and international markets and materially decrease demand for the wind blades we manufacture and, in turn, materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition. Although regulatory uncertainty, as well as permitting, siting and transmission challenges in the U.S. and Europe has tempered demand for wind energy in the near term, we expect global demand for renewable energy, and wind energy in particular, will continue to grow in the long term due to a multitude of factors, including: increased cost competitiveness of wind energy compared to fossil fuel generated electricity; increased demand from corporations and utility providers for renewable energy; and recent international policy initiatives designed to promote the growth of renewable energy.
Risks Related to Our Automotive Business
Our efforts to expand our automotive business or consummate a strategic transaction to further expand and fund our automotive business may not be successful.
While our primary focus has been to manufacture composite wind blades, we also serve the automotive market. We have experienced startup challenges and incurred significant losses to date in connection with our automotive business. The expansion of our automotive business and our entry into other strategic markets will require improved execution in terms of our start up activity and ongoing manufacturing performance as well as significant levels of investment. As a result, we are in the process of exploring strategic alternatives to ensure our automotive business is sufficiently funded to execute on its growth strategies. We expect to complete this process no later than June 30, 2024. There can be no assurance that we will be able to grow or adequately fund our automotive business which could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may incur material losses and costs as a result of product liability and warranty claims, litigation and other disputes and claims.
We are exposed to warranty and product liability claims if our automotive products fail to perform as expected. We may in the future be required to participate in a recall of these products or the vehicles incorporating our products. If public safety concerns are raised, we may have to participate in a recall even if our products are ultimately found not to be defective. Vehicle manufacturers have experienced increasing recall campaigns in recent years. Our customers may look to us for contribution when faced with recalls and product liability claims. If our customers demand higher warranty-related cost recoveries, or if our automotive products fail to perform as expected, our business, financial condition and results of operations could materially suffer.
Risks Related to Our Business as a Whole
Our financial position, revenue, operating results, profitability and cash flows are difficult to predict and may vary from quarter to quarter, which could cause our share price to decline significantly.
Our quarterly revenue, operating results, profitability and cash flows have varied in the past and are likely to vary significantly from quarter to quarter in the future. The factors that are likely to cause these variations include:
•warranty expense;
•associate wage levels and wage inflation in Türkiye, Mexico and other countries in which we operate, and continuing general inflationary pressures in these markets;
•operating and startup costs of new manufacturing facilities;
•wind blade model transitions;
•differing quantities of wind blade production;
•unanticipated contract or project delays or terminations;
•changes in the costs of raw materials or disruptions in raw material supply;
•scrap of defective products;
•payment of liquidated damages to our customers for late deliveries of our products;
•availability of qualified personnel;
•costs incurred in the expansion of our existing manufacturing capacity;
•volume reduction requests from our customers pursuant to our customer agreements;
•damage or production delays caused by earthquakes, fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme weather conditions such as windstorms, hailstorms, drought, temperature extremes, typhoons or other natural disasters or terrorism or health epidemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic;
•changes in our effective tax rate;
•general economic conditions; and
•the complexity of the financial assumptions we must use for forecasting our revenue, profitability and operating results under the revenue recognition standard and the impact that unanticipated blade transitions have on those estimates.
As a result, our revenue, operating results, profitability and cash flows for a particular period are difficult to predict and may decline in comparison to corresponding prior periods regardless of the strength of our business. It is also possible that in some future periods our revenue, operating results and profitability may not meet the expectations of securities analysts or investors. If this occurs, the trading price of our common stock could fall substantially, either suddenly or over time, and our business, operating results and financial condition would be materially harmed.
Our Credit Agreement with Oaktree contains, and any future loan agreements we may enter into may contain, operating and financial covenants that restrict our business and financing activities.
As of December 31, 2023, we had outstanding $395.0 million of senior, secured indebtedness under the Credit Agreement and Guaranty, dated as of December 14, 2023, between the Company and Oaktree Fund Administration, LLC (the Credit Agreement) and total outstanding indebtedness of $606.1 million. Our obligations under the Credit Agreement are secured by substantially all of our assets. In addition, from time to time, we enter into various loan, working capital and accounts receivable financing facilities to finance the construction and ongoing operations of our advanced manufacturing facilities and other capital expenditures. The Credit Agreement contains various financial covenants and other restrictions regarding, among other things, maintaining minimum cash balances,
making capital expenditures and other restricted payments, incurring additional indebtedness, creating liens, and paying dividends. The operating and financial restrictions and covenants contained in the Credit Agreement, as well as our other existing and any future financing agreements that we may enter into, may restrict our ability to finance our operations, engage in business activities, expand or fully pursue our business strategies or respond to changing business and economic conditions. Our ability to comply with these covenants may be affected by events beyond our control. A breach of any of these covenants could result in a default under the Credit Agreement or one or more of our other loan facilities, which could cause all of the outstanding indebtedness under such agreements to become immediately due and payable by us and/or enable the applicable lender to terminate all commitments to extend further credit. If we are forced to refinance these borrowings on less favorable terms or if cannot refinance these borrowings, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. In addition, if we were unable to repay the outstanding indebtedness upon a default, our lenders could proceed against the assets pledged as collateral to secure that indebtedness. Any acceleration of the amounts due under the Credit Agreement, or the exercise by the applicable lenders or agent of their rights under the related security documents, would likely have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our indebtedness may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our indebtedness could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition by, among other things:
•requiring us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to pay principal and interest on our debt, which would reduce the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, execution of our growth strategy and other general corporate purposes;
•limiting our ability to borrow additional amounts to fund debt service requirements, working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, execution of our growth strategy and other general corporate purposes;
•making us more vulnerable to adverse changes in general economic, industry and regulatory conditions and in our business by limiting our flexibility in planning for, and making it more difficult to react quickly to, changing conditions;
•placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared with those of our competitors that have less debt and lower debt service requirements; and
•making it more difficult for us to satisfy our financial obligations.
In addition, we may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow from our operations to repay our outstanding indebtedness when it becomes due and to meet our other cash needs or to comply with the financial covenants set forth therein. If we are not able to pay our debts as they become due, we could be in default of the Credit Agreement or other indebtedness. We might also be required to pursue one or more alternative strategies to repay indebtedness, such as selling assets, refinancing or restructuring our indebtedness or obtaining additional debt financing or selling equity securities on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive. We may not be able to refinance our debt or sell additional debt or equity securities or our assets on favorable terms, if at all, and if we must sell assets, it may negatively affect our ability to generate revenues.
The fluctuation of foreign currency exchange rates could materially harm our financial results.
Since we conduct a significant portion of our operations internationally, our business is subject to foreign currency risks, including currency exchange rate fluctuations. The exchange rates are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. For example, an increase in our Türkiye sales and operations will result in a larger portion of our net sales and expenditures being denominated in the Euro and Turkish Lira. Significant fluctuations in the exchange rate between the Turkish Lira and the U.S. dollar, the Turkish Lira and the Euro or the Euro and the U.S. dollar may adversely affect our revenue, expenses, as well as the value of our assets and liabilities. To the extent our future revenues and expenses are generated outside of the U.S. in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, including the Euro, the Turkish Lira, Mexican Peso or India Rupee, among others, we will be
subject to increased risks relating to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations which could materially harm our business, financial condition and operating results.
Our manufacturing operations and future growth are dependent upon the availability of capital, which may be insufficient to support our capital expenditures.
Our current wind blade manufacturing activities and future growth will require substantial capital investment. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, our capital expenditures, including those related to discontinued operations, were $36.1 million and $18.8 million, respectively, including assets acquired under finance leases in 2023 and 2022 of $0.8 million and $0.2 million, respectively. We plan to make continued investments in our U.S., Türkiye, Mexico, and India facilities. Our ability to grow our business is predicated upon us making significant additional capital investments to expand our existing manufacturing facilities and build and operate new manufacturing facilities in existing and new markets or access capital to acquire new businesses. We may not have the capital to undertake these capital investments. In addition, our capital expenditures may be significantly higher if our estimates of future capital investments are incorrect and may increase substantially if we are required to undertake actions to comply with new regulatory requirements or compete with new technologies. The cost of some projects may also be affected by foreign exchange rates if any raw materials or other goods must be paid for in foreign currency. We cannot assure you that we will be able to raise funds on favorable terms, if at all, or that future financings would not be dilutive to holders of our capital stock. We also cannot assure you that completed capital expenditures will yield the anticipated results. The Credit Agreement contains covenants that limit the amount of capital expenditures that we can make, and if we raise additional funds by obtaining loans from third parties, the terms of those financing arrangements may include negative covenants, or other restrictions on our business that could impair our operational flexibility and would require us to fund additional interest expense. If we are unable to obtain sufficient capital at a reasonable cost or at all, we may not be able to expand our business to take advantage of changes in the marketplace or may be required to delay, reduce or eliminate some or all of our current operations, which could materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our business and reputation could be adversely impacted by any violations of the FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act, and other foreign anti-corruption laws.
As a U.S. corporation, we are subject to the FCPA, which generally prohibits U.S. companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business. Other countries in which we operate also have anti-corruption laws, some of which prohibit improper payments to government and non-government persons and entities, and others extend their application to activities outside their country of origin. We have manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Türkiye and India, countries with a fairly high risk of corruption. Those facilities are subject to routine government oversight. In addition, a number of our raw materials and components suppliers are state-owned, particularly in China. Moreover, due to our need to import raw materials across international borders, we also routinely have interactions, directly or indirectly, with customs officials. In many foreign countries, under local custom, businesses engage in practices that may be prohibited by the FCPA or other similar laws and regulations. Additionally, we continue to hire associates around the world to support our international operations. Although we have implemented certain policies, procedures and controls designed to ensure compliance with the FCPA and similar laws, there can be no guarantee that all of our associates and agents, as well as those companies to which we outsource certain of our business operations, have not taken and will not take actions that violate our policies and the FCPA or other anti-corruption laws, which could subject us to fines, penalties, disgorgement, and loss of business, harm our reputation and impact our ability to compete in certain jurisdictions. In addition, these laws are complex and far-reaching in nature, and, as a result, we may be required in the future to alter one or more of our practices to be in compliance with these laws or any changes in these laws or the interpretation thereof. Moreover, our competitors may not be subject to the FCPA or similar laws, which could provide them with a competitive advantage in some jurisdictions.
Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and effectively address fraud risks.
We maintain a system of internal controls to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The process of designing and implementing effective internal controls is a
continuous effort that requires us to anticipate and react to changes in our business and the economic and regulatory environments and to expend significant resources to establish and maintain a system of internal controls that will be adequate to satisfy the reporting obligations of a public company. The effectiveness of our internal controls depends in part on the cooperation of senior managers worldwide.
Any system of controls, however well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, and not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the system are met. Any failure to maintain that system, or consequent inability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis, could increase our operating costs and harm our business, and lead to our becoming subject to litigation, sanctions or investigations by The NASDAQ Global Market (NASDAQ), the SEC or other regulatory governmental agencies and bodies. Furthermore, investors’ perceptions that our internal controls are inadequate or that we are unable to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis may harm our stock price.
Much of our intellectual property consists of trade secrets and know-how that is very difficult to protect. If we experience loss of protection for our trade secrets or know-how, our business would be substantially harmed.
We have a variety of IP rights, including patents, trademarks and copyrights, but much of our most important IP rights consist of trade secrets and know-how and effective IP protection may be unavailable, limited or outside the scope of the IP rights we pursue in the U.S. and in foreign countries where we operate. Although we strive to protect our IP rights, there is always a risk that our trade secrets or know-how will be compromised or that a competitor could lawfully reverse-engineer our technology or independently develop similar or more efficient technology. We have confidentiality agreements with each of our customers, suppliers, key associates and independent contractors in place to protect our IP rights, but it is possible that a customer, supplier, associate or contractor might breach the agreement, intentionally or unintentionally. It is also possible that our confidentiality agreements with customers, suppliers, associates and contractors will not be effective in preserving the confidential nature of our IP rights. The patents we own could be challenged, invalidated, narrowed or circumvented by others and may not be of sufficient scope or strength to provide us with any meaningful protection or commercial advantage. Once our patents expire, or if they are invalidated, narrowed or circumvented, our competitors may be able to utilize the inventions protected by our patents. Additionally, the existence of our IP rights does not guarantee that we will be successful in any attempt to enforce these rights against third parties in the event of infringement, misappropriation or other misuse, which may materially and adversely affect our business. Because our ability to effectively compete in our industry depends upon our ability to protect our proprietary technology, we might lose business to competitors and our business, revenue, operating results and prospects could be materially harmed if we suffer loss of trade secret and know-how protection or breach of our confidentiality agreements.
We may be subject to significant liabilities and costs relating to environmental and health and safety requirements.
We are subject to various environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and permit requirements in the jurisdictions in which we operate governing, among other things, health, safety, pollution and protection of the environment and natural resources, the handling and use of hazardous substances, the generation, storage, treatment and disposal of wastes, and the cleanup of any contaminated sites.
We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, capital and operating expenditures to comply with such laws, regulations and permit requirements. While we believe that we currently are in material compliance with all such laws, regulations and permit requirements, any noncompliance may subject us to a range of enforcement measures, including the imposition of monetary fines and penalties, other civil or criminal sanctions, remedial obligations, and the issuance of compliance requirements restricting our operations.
There can be no assurance that we will not in the future become subject to compliance requirements, obligations to undertake cleanup or related activities, or claims or proceedings relating to environmental, health or safety matters, hazardous substances or wastes, contaminated sites, or other environmental or natural resource damages, that could impose significant liabilities and costs on us and materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Work disruptions resulting from our collective bargaining agreements could result in increased operating costs and materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Certain of our associates in Türkiye and Matamoros, Mexico, which in the aggregate represented approximately 37% of our workforce as of December 31, 2023, are covered by collective bargaining agreements.
We have separate collective bargaining agreements for each of our Matamoros, Mexico manufacturing facilities. Our collective bargaining agreement at one of our Matamoros, Mexico manufacturing facilities is in effect through March 2025. Our collective bargaining agreement for our other facility in Matamoros, Mexico that we took over from Nordex in July 2021, pursuant to a 3-year supply agreement, is in effect through April 2025.
In July 2022, we experienced a brief labor disruption in our Türkiye manufacturing facilities as we worked with the union to address the inflationary pressures on wages. Our Türkiye manufacturing facilities have experienced significant wage inflation over the course of the past year. For example, the government of Türkiye increased minimum wages approximately 55%, 34% and 49%, respectively, effective January 1, 2023; July 1, 2023; and January 1, 2024. Our collective bargaining agreement for our Türkiye facilities is in effect through December 2024.
Additionally, our other associates working at other manufacturing facilities may vote to be represented by a labor union in the future. There can be no assurance that we will not experience labor disruptions such as work stoppages or other slowdowns by workers at any of our facilities. Should significant industrial action, threats of strikes or related disturbances occur, or other challenges with negotiating and extending our collective bargaining agreements with our unionized associates, we could experience further disruptions of operations and increased labor costs in Türkiye, Mexico or other locations, which could materially harm our business, operating results or financial condition. Any such work stoppage or slow-down at any of our facilities could also result in additional expenses and possible loss of revenue for us.
Our information technology infrastructure could experience serious failures or cyber security attacks, the failure of which could materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Information technology is part of our business strategy and operations. It enables us to streamline operation processes, facilitate the collection and reporting of business data, and provide for internal and external communications. There are risks that information technology system failures, network disruptions, breaches of data security and phishing and ransomware attacks could disrupt our operations. Any significant disruption or breach may materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
The price of our common stock may fluctuate substantially and your investment may decline in value.
The market price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially due to many factors, including:
•actual or anticipated fluctuations in our results of operations;
•our ability to provide products due to shipments subject to delayed delivery and deferred revenue arrangements;
•loss of or changes in our relationship with one or more of our customers;
•failure to meet our earnings estimates;
•conditions and trends in the energy and manufacturing markets in which we operate and changes in estimates of the size and growth rate of these markets;
•announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, developments, acquisitions, strategic partnerships or divestitures;
•availability of equipment, labor and other items required for the manufacture of wind blades;
•changes in governmental policies;
•our ability to successfully grow our automotive business;
•additions or departures of members of our senior management or other key personnel;
•changes in market valuation or earnings of our competitors;
•sales of our common stock, including sales of our common stock by our directors and officers or by our other principal stockholders;
•the trading volume of our common stock; and
•general market, industry and economic conditions.
These broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. In the past, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against a company following periods of volatility in the market price of that company’s securities. Securities class-action litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs or damages and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could materially harm our business and operating results.
A significant portion of our total outstanding shares may be sold into the public market in future sales, which could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market can occur at any time. These sales, or the market perception that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock. As of December 31, 2023, we had 46,471,131 shares of common stock outstanding. In addition, Oaktree owns approximately 9.9% of our outstanding common stock. All of the shares held by Oaktree can now be sold, subject to any applicable volume limitations under federal securities laws. We may issue debt or equity securities in other registered or unregistered convertible debt or equity offerings.
In the future, we may also issue our securities in connection with investments or acquisitions. The amount of shares of our common stock issued in connection with an investment or acquisition could constitute a material portion of our then-outstanding shares of our common stock. Any issuance of additional securities in connection with investments or acquisitions may result in additional dilution to you and may cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly.
The exercise of options and warrants and other issuances of shares of common stock or securities convertible into common stock under our equity compensation plans will dilute your interest.
Under our existing equity compensation plans, as of December 31, 2023, we had outstanding options to purchase 1,212,503 shares of our common stock, 1,516,377 restricted stock units and 308,741 performance stock units to our associates and non-employee directors. From time to time, we expect to grant additional options and other stock awards. The exercise of options at prices below the market price of our common stock could adversely affect the price of shares of our common stock. Additionally, any issuance of our common stock that is not made solely to then-existing stockholders proportionate to their interests, such as in the case of a stock dividend or stock split, will result in dilution to each stockholder by reducing their percentage ownership of the total outstanding shares. If we issue options or warrants to purchase our common stock in the future and those options or warrants are exercised or we issue stock, stockholders may experience further dilution.
We have indebtedness in the form of convertible senior notes, which could adversely affect our financial health and our ability to respond to changes in our business.
In March 2023, we issued and sold an aggregate of $132.5 million principal amount of convertible senior unsecured notes due in 2028 (the Notes) in a private placement offering. Our ability to repay our indebtedness, including the Notes, is significantly dependent on our generation of cash flow. Our indebtedness could have significant negative consequences for our security holders and our business, results of operations and financial condition by, among other things:
•increasing our vulnerability to adverse economic and industry conditions;
•limiting our ability to obtain additional financing;
•requiring the dedication of a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to service our indebtedness, which will reduce the amount of cash available for other purposes;
•limiting our flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in our business;
•diluting the interests of our existing stockholders as a result of issuing shares of our common stock upon conversion of the notes; and
•placing us at a possible competitive disadvantage with competitors that are less leveraged than us or have better access to capital.
Our business may not generate sufficient funds, and we may otherwise be unable to maintain sufficient cash reserves, to pay amounts due under our indebtedness, including the notes, and our cash needs may increase in the future.
Conversions or exchanges of our convertible senior notes may dilute the ownership interest of our stockholders or may otherwise affect the market price of our Common Stock.
The conversion of some or all the Notes will dilute the ownership interests of our stockholders to the extent we deliver shares of common stock upon conversion of any of the Notes. The notes may from time to time be convertible at the option of their holders prior to their scheduled terms under certain circumstances. On conversion of the Notes, we have the option to pay or deliver, as the case may be, cash, shares of our common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock. If we elect to settle our conversion obligation in shares of our common stock or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock, any sales in the public market of our common stock issuable on such conversion could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the existence of the Notes may encourage short selling by market participants because the conversion of the Notes could be used to satisfy short positions, or anticipated conversion of the Notes into shares of our common stock, any of which could depress the market price of our common stock.
The Capped Call Transactions may affect the value of the Notes and our common stock.
In connection with the Notes’ issuance, we entered into capped call transactions with certain financial institutions (option counterparties). The capped call transactions are generally expected to reduce the potential dilution of our common stock upon any conversion of the Notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted Notes, with such reduction and/or offset subject to a cap. From time to time, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding derivative transactions with respect to our common stock and/or purchasing or selling our common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions before the maturity of the Notes. This activity could cause a decrease in the market price of our common stock.
We are subject to counterparty risk with respect to the capped call transactions.
The counterparties to the capped call transactions entered into in connection with the offering of the Notes are financial institutions, and we are subject to the risk that one or more of the counterparties may default or otherwise fail to perform, or may exercise certain rights to terminate, their obligations under the capped call transactions. Our exposure to the credit risk of the counterparties will not be secured by any collateral. Global economic conditions have in the past resulted in the actual or perceived failure or financial difficulties of many financial institutions. If a counterparty to one or more capped call transactions becomes subject to bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings with a claim equal to our exposure at the time under such transactions. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, generally, our exposure will increase if the market price or the volatility of our common stock increases. In addition, upon a default or other failure to perform, or a termination of obligations, by a counterparty, the counterparty may fail to deliver the shares of our common stock or cash required to be delivered to us under the capped call transactions and we may suffer adverse
tax consequences or experience more dilution than we currently anticipate with respect to our common stock. We can provide no assurances as to the financial stability or viability of the counterparties.
Provisions of Delaware law or our charter documents could delay or prevent an acquisition of our Company, even if the acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders and could make it more difficult for you to change management.
Provisions of Delaware law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. These provisions may also prevent or delay attempts by stockholders to replace or remove our current management or members of our board of directors. These provisions include: a classified board of directors; limitations on the removal of directors; advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and nominations; the inability of stockholders to act by written consent or to call special meetings; the ability of our board of directors to make, alter or repeal our amended and restated by-laws; and the authority of our board of directors to issue preferred stock with such terms as our board of directors may determine.
The affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75% of our shares of capital stock entitled to vote, and not less than 75% of the outstanding shares of each class entitled to vote thereon as a class, is necessary to amend or repeal the above provisions that are contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. In addition, absent approval of our board of directors, our amended and restated by-laws may only be amended or repealed by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75% of our shares of capital stock entitled to vote.
In addition, we are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which limits business combination transactions with stockholders of 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock that our board of directors has not approved. These provisions and other similar provisions make it more difficult for stockholders or potential acquirers to acquire us without negotiation. These provisions may apply even if some stockholders may consider the transaction beneficial to them.
As a result, these provisions could limit the price that investors are willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. These provisions might also discourage a potential acquisition proposal or tender offer, even if the acquisition proposal or tender offer is at a premium over the then current market price for our common stock.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties
Our headquarters is located in Scottsdale, Arizona, and we own or lease various other facilities in the U.S., Mexico, Türkiye, India, Denmark, Germany and Spain. We believe that our properties are generally in good condition, are well maintained and are generally suitable and adequate to carry out our business at expected capacity for the foreseeable future. The table below lists various information regarding our facilities as of February 22, 2024:
Operating
Year
Leased or
Approximate
Location
Segment
Commenced
Owned
Square
Footage
Description of Use
Newton, IA, U.S.
U.S.
Leased
337,922
Wind Blade Manufacturing Facility
Juárez, Mexico
Mexico
Leased
345,984
Wind Blade Manufacturing Facility
Juárez, Mexico
Mexico
Leased
453,096
Wind Blade Manufacturing Facility
Juárez, Mexico
Mexico
Leased
339,386
Wind Blade Manufacturing Facility
Matamoros, Mexico
Mexico
Leased
527,442
Wind Blade Manufacturing Facility
Juárez, Mexico
Mexico
Leased
300,277
Precision Molding Manufacturing and
Automotive Manufacturing Facility
Matamoros, Mexico
Mexico
Leased
557,491
Wind Blade Manufacturing Facility
Izmir, Türkiye
EMEA
Leased
343,000
Wind Blade Manufacturing Facility
Izmir, Türkiye
EMEA
Leased
817,078
Wind Blade Manufacturing Facility
Warren, RI, U.S.
U.S.
Leased
108,750
Precision Molding Manufacturing,
Research and Development, and
Automotive Manufacturing Facility
Santa Teresa, NM, U.S.
Mexico
Leased
503,710
Wind Blade Storage Facility
Kolding, Denmark
U.S.
Leased
2,583
Advanced Engineering Center
Chennai, India
India
Leased
776,280
Wind Blade Manufacturing Facility
Madrid, Spain
EMEA
Leased
26,124
Wind Blade Services Facility
Scottsdale, AZ, U.S.
U.S.
Leased
12,993
Corporate Headquarters
Berlin, Germany
U.S.
Leased
4,239
Engineering Center
Des Moines, IA, U.S.
U.S.
Leased
26,640
Wind Blade Services Facility

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
For a discussion of our legal proceedings, refer to Note 17 - Commitments and Contingencies - Legal Proceedings of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
On July 22, 2016, our common stock began trading on NASDAQ under the symbol “TPIC.” Prior to that time, there was no public market for our stock.
Performance Graph
The following graph and table illustrate the total stockholder return from July 22, 2016 through December 31, 2023, on our common stock, the Russell 2000 Index, the S&P Small Cap 600 Energy (Sector) Index and the NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index, assuming an investment of $100.00 on July 22, 2016 including the reinvestment of dividends.
Base Period
7/22/16
12/30/16
12/29/17
12/31/18
12/31/19
12/31/20
12/31/21
12/30/22
12/29/23
TPI Composites, Inc.
$
100.00
$
118.29
$
150.88
$
181.27
$
136.50
$
389.23
$
110.32
$
74.78
$
30.53
Russell 2000
100.00
111.89
126.60
111.19
137.56
162.82
185.12
145.21
167.13
S&P Small Cap 600 Energy (Sector)
100.00
133.11
97.60
55.64
47.19
28.17
44.86
65.17
66.48
NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy
100.00
102.59
134.16
116.50
163.93
462.91
448.76
311.51
278.55
Holders
As of January 31, 2024, there were five stockholders of record of our common stock, although there is a much larger number of beneficial owners.
Dividends
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on shares of our capital stock. We currently intend to retain earnings, if any, to finance the development and growth of our business and do not anticipate paying cash dividends on the common stock in the future. Any payment of any future dividends to holders of our common stock, will be at the discretion of the board of directors and subject to compliance with certain covenants in our loan agreements, after taking into account various factors, including our financial condition, operating results, capital requirements, restrictions contained in any future financing instruments, growth plans and other factors the board of directors deems relevant. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Liquidity and Capital Resources” included in Part II, Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
The information required in response to Item 201(d) of Regulation S-K is set forth in Part III, Item 12 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K which is incorporated herein by reference.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
There were no unregistered sales of equity securities during the year ended December 31, 2023 and from the period from December 31, 2023 to the filing date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K which have not previously been disclosed in a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities
None.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer
During the three months ended December 31, 2023 we did not repurchase any shares of our common stock.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. [Reserved]

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including information with respect to plans and strategy for our business and related financing, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those described in or implied by these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly those under “Risk Factors” included in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
OVERVIEW
Our Company
We are the only independent manufacturer of composite wind blades for the wind energy market with a global manufacturing footprint. We deliver high-quality, cost-effective composite solutions through long term relationships with leading original equipment manufacturers in the wind and automotive markets. We also provide field service inspection and repair services to our OEM customers and wind farm owners and operators, and we supply high strength, lightweight and durable composite products to the automotive market. We are headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona and operate factories in the U.S., Mexico, Türkiye, and India. We operate additional engineering development centers in Denmark and Germany and a services facility in Spain. For a further overview of our Company, refer to the discussion in “Business-Overview” included in Part I, Item 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
In December 2022, the Company committed to a restructuring plan to rebalance our organization and optimize our global manufacturing footprint. Changing economic and geopolitical factors, including increased logistics costs and tariffs imposed on components of wind turbines from China, including wind blades, has had an adverse impact on demand and profitability for our wind blades manufactured in our Chinese facilities. In connection with our restructuring plan, we ceased production at our Yangzhou, China manufacturing facility as of December 31, 2022 and are in the final stages of shutting down our business operations in China. Our business operations in China comprised the entirety of our Asia reporting segment. This shut down had a meaningful effect on our global manufacturing footprint and consolidated financial results. Accordingly, the historical results of our Asia reporting segment have been presented as discontinued operations in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Consolidated Balance Sheets. Our China operations represented a geographic operating segment that included (1) the manufacturing of wind blades at our facilities in Dafeng, China and Yangzhou, China, (2) the manufacturing of precision molding and assembly systems at our Taicang Port, China facility and (3) wind blade inspection and repair services. The following discussion reflects continuing operations only, unless otherwise indicated. For further information regarding our discontinued operations, refer to Note 2 - Discontinued Operations of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our business operations are defined geographically into four operating segments - (1) the U.S., (2) Mexico, (3) Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and (4) India. For further information regarding our operating segments, refer to Note 22 - Segment Reporting of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
KEY TRENDS AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AFFECTING OUR BUSINESS
Geopolitical events around the world have accelerated regional needs for energy independence and security. Climate change also continues to drive the need for renewable energy solutions and net-zero carbon emissions. Over the course of the past few years, we have seen numerous government policy initiatives aimed at expanding the use of renewable energy, including the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) in the U.S. and several policy initiatives in the European Union (EU) that are expected to simplify regulations, speed up permitting and promote cross-border projects to accelerate climate neutrality. We expect these recent trends in governmental policy will enable long-term revenue growth in the wind industry. As the majority of our wind blades are installed in the
U.S. and Europe, these policy trends are expected to have a material impact on our business and the pace of long-term growth.
Despite these favorable long-term policy trends, we expect reduced demand in the near term while the wind industry awaits clarity on the implementation guidance related to key components of the IRA and clarity around more robust policies in the EU. In addition, permitting, transmission, transmission queues, the ability of the broader wind industry supply chain to ramp volume, elevated interest rates and inflation, and the cost and availability of capital are further factors limiting the timing of the wind market recovery. Specific to our customers and our manufacturing lines, we ended 2023 with 37 dedicated manufacturing lines and expect to end 2024 with 36 dedicated manufacturing lines. We expect to have six manufacturing lines in startup and four manufacturing lines in transition during 2024 as our customers prepare for anticipated stronger demand beginning in 2025. Four of the manufacturing lines in startup will be in Juarez, Mexico at a previously idle manufacturing facility and two of the manufacturing lines in startup will be in Türkiye where two longer blade lines will replace three blade lines due to space considerations. The four manufacturing lines in transition will all occur in one of our Matamoros, Mexico manufacturing facilities. For the other Matamoros, Mexico facility, which is a four-line manufacturing facility we took over from Nordex in July 2021, we plan to exit this location at the end of the three-year contract on June 30, 2024. The impact of all these changes, along with near term demand reductions from one of our customers as they consider existing inventory levels and contemplate changes in geographic demand, is expected to result in 2024 sales down slightly from 2023. We expect the first half of 2024 will be down more than the second half of 2024 as the manufacturing lines in startup or transition will be ramping throughout the year.
While the accelerated pace of new product introductions within the industry over the last five years and along with the push for larger wind turbines getting to market quicker has significantly reduced the levelized cost of wind energy, it is also a contributing factor to quality issues that have surfaced in the wind industry. In early 2023, we started to see increased inspection and repair costs due to enhanced customer inspection criteria requirements. With the quality issues in the wind industry that have been in the public eye over the course of this last year, most of our customers, and some of their customers, are requiring additional quality control checks and measures that are adding cost and time to the production process. In 2023, the Company was impacted by the following costs related to quality issues:
oWe recorded a $42.7 million charge for a single warranty campaign with a current customer.
oManufacturing costs increased by $17.0 million due to increased inspection and repair activities due to enhanced customer requirements.
oWe diverted many of our field services technicians from revenue-generating work to warranty inspection and repair, resulting in Field Services sales down 31% in 2023 compared to 2022.
Our results of operations have been adversely impacted by the performance of our Matamoros, Mexico manufacturing facility that we took over from Nordex in July 2021. For example, during 2023, production had to be temporarily paused due to extreme heat and humidity issues at this facility. Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2023 were negatively impacted by approximately $17.3 million due to these lost production days. We experienced a loss from operations of $45.6 million and $40.8 million at this facility, for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
During 2023, the overall pricing for raw materials that we source modestly decreased compared to 2022. We expect raw materials pricing to continue its downward trend in 2024. With our contract structure and shared cost approach with our customers, we expect to have a net benefit from this reduction in material pricing in 2024 as compared to 2023.‌
Ongoing inflationary pressures have caused and may continue to cause many of our production expenses to increase, which adversely impacts our results of operations. The government of Mexico increased minimum wages approximately 20% effective January 1, 2023, and an additional 20% effective January 1, 2024. The government of Türkiye increased minimum wages approximately 55% and 34%, respectively, effective January 1, 2023 and July 1, 2023. In May 2023 we agreed to an amendment to our collective bargaining agreement with our associates in Türkiye which resulted in significantly increased wages for these associates. During 2023, these total wage increases in Türkiye have increased our labor costs at these facilities by approximately 64%, net of favorable foreign currency
fluctuations, compared to the same period in 2022. The government of Türkiye further increased minimum wages 49% effective January 1, 2024. While our customer contracts allow us to pass a portion of these increases to our customers, we will not be able to recover 100% of the increased labor costs caused by this wage inflation. If our manufacturing facilities in these countries continue to experience wage inflation at these levels and the increased costs in local currency are not offset with favorable foreign currency fluctuations, such elevated wages will have a material impact on our results of operations.
We have made significant investments to expand the automotive business during the last several years. While we believe there is increasing demand for composite products for electric vehicles and we have made much progress with the automotive business, we intend to prioritize capital for growth in the wind blade business in the near term. As a result, we are in the process of exploring strategic alternatives to ensure our automotive business is sufficiently funded to execute on its growth strategies. We expect to complete this process no later than June 30, 2024.
We were notified on August 7, 2023 that Proterra Inc. (Proterra), one of our customers in our automotive business line, filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, and that Proterra had rejected its bus body supply agreement with us as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. Net sales from this bus body supply agreement were less than 2% of our consolidated net sales prior to the bankruptcy filing. As a result of the bankruptcy filing by Proterra, we recorded a charge for credit losses on contract assets of $12.8 million, a charge for credit losses on accounts receivable of $8.1 million, a charge for inventory of $1.7 million, an impairment charge of $0.7 million related to fixed assets, and severance charges totaling $0.4 million.
COMPONENTS OF RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Net Sales
We recognize revenue from the majority of our manufacturing services over time as our customers control the product as it is produced, and we may not use or sell the product to fulfill other customers’ contracts. Net sales include amounts billed to our customers for our products, including wind blades, precision molding and assembly systems and other products and services, as well as the progress towards the completion of the performance obligation for products in progress, which is determined on a ratio of direct costs incurred to date in fulfillment of the contract to the total estimated direct costs required to complete the performance obligation.
Cost of Goods Sold
Cost of goods sold includes the costs we incur at our production facilities to make products saleable on both products invoiced during the period as well as products in progress towards the satisfaction of the related performance obligations for which we have an enforceable right to payment upon termination and we may not use or sell the product to fulfill other customers’ contracts. All costs incurred at our production facilities, as well as the allocated portion to our production facilities of costs incurred at our corporate headquarters and our research facilities, are directly or indirectly related to the manufacturing of products or services and are presented in cost of goods sold. Cost of goods sold includes such items as raw materials, direct and indirect labor and facilities costs, including purchasing and receiving costs, plant management, inspection costs, production process improvement activities, product engineering and internal transfer costs. In addition, all depreciation associated with assets used in the production of our products is also included in cost of goods sold. Direct labor costs consist of salaries, benefits and other personnel related costs for associates engaged in the manufacturing of our products and services. All direct labor costs, excluding non-productive labor costs, are included in the measure of progress towards completion of the relevant performance obligation when determining revenue to be recognized during the period.
Startup and transition costs are primarily unallocated fixed overhead costs and underutilized direct labor costs incurred during the period production facilities are transitioning wind blade models and ramping up manufacturing. The cost of sales for the initial products from a new model manufacturing line is generally higher than when the line is operating at optimal production volume levels due to inefficiencies during ramp-up related to labor hours per blade, cycle times per blade and raw material usage. Additionally, these costs as a percentage of net sales are generally higher during the period in which a facility is ramping up to full production capacity due to underutilization of the facility. Manufacturing overhead at each of our facilities includes virtually all indirect costs
(including share-based compensation costs) incurred at the plants, including engineering, finance, information technology, human resources and plant management.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses primarily relate to the unallocated portion of costs incurred at our corporate headquarters and our research facilities and include salaries, benefits and other personnel related costs for associates engaged in research and development, engineering, finance, internal audit, information technology, human resources, business development, global operational excellence, global supply chain, in-house legal and executive management. Other costs include outside legal and accounting fees, risk management (insurance), share-based compensation and certain other administrative and global resources costs.
The unallocated research and development expenses incurred at our Warren, Rhode Island location as well as at our Kolding, Denmark advanced engineering center and our Berlin, Germany engineering center are also included in general and administrative expenses. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, research and development expenses totaled $1.4 million, $1.1 million and $1.0 million, respectively.
Loss on Sale of Assets and Asset Impairments
Loss on sale of assets represents the losses on the sale of certain receivables, on a non-recourse basis under supply chain financing arrangements with our customers, to financial institutions and losses on the sale of other assets at our corporate and manufacturing facilities. Asset impairments represent the losses on the impairment of our assets at our corporate and manufacturing facilities.
Gain on extinguishment of Series A Preferred Stock
Gain on extinguishment of Series A Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the Series A Preferred Stock), represents the gain recognized as a result of the cashless exchange of all of the outstanding Series A Preferred Stock for the new senior secured term loan (the Term Loan) under the Credit Agreement that we entered into in December 2023. See Note 12, Debt and Note 15, Mezzanine Equity for further discussion of the gain recognized.
Restructuring Charges
Restructuring charges primarily consist of associate severance, one-time termination benefits and ongoing benefits related to the reduction of our workforce and other costs associated with exit activities, which may include costs related to leased facilities to be abandoned and facility and associate relocation costs.
Other Income (Expense)
Other income (expense) consists of interest expense on our debt borrowings and the amortization of deferred financing costs on such borrowings, foreign currency income and losses, interest income, losses on extinguishment of debt and miscellaneous income and expense.
Income Taxes
Income taxes consists of federal, state, provincial, local and foreign taxes based on income in jurisdictions in which we operate, including in the U.S., Mexico, Türkiye, India and various countries within Europe. The income tax rate, tax provisions, deferred tax assets and liabilities vary according to the jurisdiction in which the income or loss arises. Tax laws are complex and subject to different interpretations by management and the respective governmental taxing authorities and require us to exercise judgment in determining our income tax provision, our deferred tax assets and liabilities and the valuation allowance recorded against our net deferred tax assets.
KEY METRICS USED BY MANAGEMENT TO MEASURE PERFORMANCE
In addition to measures of financial performance presented in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP, we use certain other financial measures and operating metrics to analyze our performance. These “non-GAAP” financial measures consist of EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow and net cash (debt), which help us evaluate growth trends, establish budgets, assess operational efficiencies, oversee our overall liquidity, and evaluate our overall financial performance. The key operating metrics consist of wind blade sets produced, estimated megawatts of energy capacity to be generated by wind blade sets produced, utilization, dedicated manufacturing lines, and manufacturing lines installed, which help us evaluate our operational performance. We believe that these measures are useful to investors in evaluating our performance.
Key Financial Measures
The following discussion reflects continuing operations only, unless otherwise indicated. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period's presentation.
The key financial measures as of and for the years ended December 31 are as follows:
(in thousands)
Net sales
$
1,455,183
$
1,522,741
$
1,472,386
Net loss from continuing operations
(196,453
)
(55,550
)
(155,894
)
EBITDA(1)
(127,910
)
17,864
(74,818
)
Adjusted EBITDA(1)
(85,920
)
37,857
(20,055
)
Capital expenditures(2)
36,137
18,832
37,119
Free cash flow(1)(2)
(117,109
)
(81,104
)
(62,644
)
Total debt, net of debt issuance costs
and debt discount
485,193
61,173
74,646
Net cash (debt)(1)
(323,218
)
82,042
167,519
(1)See below for more information and a reconciliation of EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow and net cash (debt) to net loss from continuing operations attributable to common stockholders, net cash provided by (used in) operating activities and total debt, net of debt issuance costs and debt discount, respectively, the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.
(2)Capital expenditures and free cash flow include amounts from discontinued operations. Refer to Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for more information.
EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA
We define EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, as net income or loss from continuing operations plus interest expense, income taxes and depreciation and amortization. We define adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA plus any share-based compensation expense, plus or minus any foreign currency losses or income, plus or minus any losses or gains from the sale of assets and asset impairments, plus any restructuring charges. Adjusted EBITDA is the primary metric used by our management and our board of directors to establish budgets and operational goals for managing our business and evaluating our performance. We monitor adjusted EBITDA as a supplement to our GAAP measures, and believe it is useful to present to investors, because we believe that it facilitates evaluation of our period-to-period operating performance by eliminating items that are not operational in nature, allowing comparison of our recurring core business operating results over multiple periods unaffected by differences in capital structure, capital investment cycles and fixed asset base. In addition, we believe adjusted EBITDA and similar measures are widely used by investors, securities analysts, ratings agencies, and other parties in evaluating companies in our industry as a measure of financial performance and debt-service capabilities.
Our use of adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the net income or loss from discontinued operations;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect our cash expenditures for capital equipment or other contractual commitments;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the interest expense or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments on our indebtedness;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the dividends to our now extinguished Series A Preferred Stockholders or accretion of the Series A Preferred Stock;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the gain on extinguishment of our Series A Preferred Stock;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect losses on extinguishment of debt relating to prepayment penalties, termination fees and the write off of any remaining debt discount and debt issuance costs upon the repayment or refinancing of our debt;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect tax payments that may represent a reduction in cash available to us;
•although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future, and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect capital expenditure requirements relating to the future need to augment or replace those assets;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect share-based compensation expense on equity-based incentive awards to our officers, associates, directors and consultants;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the foreign currency income or losses in our operations;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the gains or losses on the sale of assets and asset impairments;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect restructuring charges; and
•other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA differently, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
In evaluating EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that in the future, we will incur expenses similar to the adjustments noted herein. Our presentations of EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as suggesting that our future results will be unaffected by these expenses or any unusual or non-recurring items. When evaluating our performance, you should consider EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA alongside other financial performance measures, including our net income (loss) and other GAAP measures.
Free cash flow
We define free cash flow as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less capital expenditures. We believe free cash flow is a useful measure for investors because it portrays our ability to generate cash from our business for purposes such as repaying maturing debt and accrued interest paid in kind on debt and funding business acquisitions.
Net cash (debt)
We define net cash (debt) as total unrestricted cash and cash equivalents less the total principal amount of debt outstanding. The total principal amount of debt outstanding is comprised of the long-term debt and current maturities of long-term debt as presented in our consolidated balance sheets adding back any debt issuance costs. We believe that the presentation of net cash (debt) provides useful information to investors because our management reviews net cash (debt) as part of our oversight of overall liquidity, financial flexibility and leverage. Net cash (debt) is important when we consider opening new manufacturing facilities and expanding existing manufacturing facilities, as well as for capital expenditure requirements.
The following tables reconcile our non-GAAP key financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures:
EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31 are reconciled as follows:
(in thousands)
Net loss attributable to common stockholders
$
(177,612
)
$
(124,208
)
$
(165,588
)
Net loss from discontinued operations
5,326
9,755
3,654
Net loss from continuing operations attributable
to common stockholders
(172,286
)
(114,453
)
(161,934
)
Preferred stock dividends and accretion
58,453
58,903
6,040
Gain on extinguishment of
Series A Preferred Stock
(82,620
)
-
-
Net loss from continuing operations
(196,453
)
(55,550
)
(155,894
)
Adjustments:
Depreciation and amortization
38,869
38,772
37,606
Interest expense, net
12,112
5,029
13,644
Income tax provision
17,562
29,613
29,826
EBITDA
(127,910
)
17,864
(74,818
)
Share-based compensation expense
9,916
14,459
7,814
Foreign currency loss (income), net
5,162
(4,571
)
21,970
Loss on sale of assets and asset impairments
21,862
9,842
12,436
Restructuring charges, net
5,050
12,543
Adjusted EBITDA
$
(85,920
)
$
37,857
$
(20,055
)
Free cash flow, which includes discontinued operations, for the years ended December 31 is reconciled as follows:
(in thousands)
Net cash used in operating activities
$
(80,972
)
$
(62,272
)
$
(25,525
)
Less capital expenditures
(36,137
)
(18,832
)
(37,119
)
Free cash flow
$
(117,109
)
$
(81,104
)
$
(62,644
)
Net cash (debt) as of December 31 is reconciled as follows:
(in thousands)
Cash and cash equivalents
$
161,059
$
133,546
$
216,236
Cash and cash equivalents of
discontinued operations
9,669
25,929
Total debt, net of debt issuance costs
and debt discount
(485,193
)
(61,173
)
(74,646
)
Net cash (debt)
$
(323,218
)
$
82,042
$
167,519
Key Operating Metrics (1)
The key operating metrics as of and for the year ended December 31 are as follows:
Sets
2,584
2,441
2,674
Estimated megawatts
11,382
10,736
10,607
Utilization
%
%
%
Dedicated manufacturing lines
Manufacturing lines installed
(1)See below for more information on each of our key operating metrics.
Sets represents the number of wind blade sets, consisting of three wind blades each, which we produced worldwide during the period. We monitor sets and believe that presenting sets to investors is helpful because we believe that it is the most direct measurement of our manufacturing output during the period. Sets primarily impact net sales.
Estimated megawatts are the energy capacity to be generated by wind blade sets produced during the period. Our estimate is based solely on name-plate capacity of the wind turbine on which the wind blades we manufacture are expected to be installed. We monitor estimated megawatts and believe that presenting estimated megawatts to investors is helpful because we believe that it is a commonly followed measurement of energy capacity across our industry and provides an indication of our share of the overall wind blade market.
Utilization represents the percentage of the number of wind blades produced during the period compared to the total potential wind blade capacity of the manufacturing lines installed during the period. We monitor utilization because we believe it helps investors to better understand how close we are to operating at maximum production capacity.
Dedicated manufacturing lines are the number of wind blade manufacturing lines that we have dedicated to our customers pursuant to our supply agreements at the end of the period. We monitor dedicated manufacturing lines and believe that presenting this metric to investors is helpful because we believe that the number of dedicated manufacturing lines is the best indicator of demand for the wind blades we manufacture for customers under our supply agreements in any given period. Lines become dedicated upon the execution of a supply agreement; this means that lines are typically dedicated before they are installed.
Manufacturing lines installed represents the number of wind blade manufacturing lines installed and either in operation, startup or transition during the period. We believe that total manufacturing lines installed provides an understanding of the number of manufacturing lines installed and either in operation, startup or transition. From time to time, we have manufacturing lines installed that are not dedicated to our customers pursuant to a supply agreement.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2022
The following table summarizes certain of our operating results as a percentage of net sales for the years ended December 31 that have been derived from our consolidated statements of operations:
Net sales
100.0
%
100.0
%
Cost of sales
104.5
97.4
Startup and transition costs
1.5
1.7
Total cost of goods sold
106.0
99.1
Gross profit (loss)
(6.0
)
0.9
General and administrative expenses
3.4
2.1
Loss on sale of assets and asset impairments
1.5
0.6
Restructuring charges, net
0.3
-
Loss from continuing operations
(11.2
)
(1.8
)
Total other income (expense)
(1.1
)
0.1
Loss before income taxes
(12.3
)
(1.7
)
Income tax provision
(1.2
)
(1.9
)
Net loss from continuing operations
(13.5
)
(3.6
)
Preferred stock dividends and accretion
(4.0
)
(3.9
)
Gain on extinguishment of Series A Preferred Stock
5.7
-
Net loss attributable to common stockholders
from continuing operations
(11.8
)
(7.5
)
Net loss from discontinued operations
(0.4
)
(0.6
)
Net loss attributable to common stockholders
(12.2
)%
(8.1
)%
Net sales
Consolidated discussion
The following table summarizes our net sales by product/service for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
Wind blade, tooling
and other wind
related sales
$
1,394,316
$
1,423,824
$
(29,508
)
(2.1
)%
Automotive sales
22,775
44,002
(21,227
)
(48.2
)
Field service, inspection
and repair services
sales
38,092
54,915
(16,823
)
(30.6
)
Total net sales
$
1,455,183
$
1,522,741
$
(67,558
)
(4.4
)%
The decrease in net sales of wind blades, tooling and other wind related sales (collectively, Wind) for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, was due primarily to a reduction in wind blade inventory included in contract assets driven by working capital initiatives and the wind down of lines in transition at the end of the year. The inventory reduction significantly impacted net sales of Wind for the year ended December 31, 2023 as lower blade inventory costs directly correlate to lower revenue under the cost-to-cost revenue recognition method for our blade contracts. These decreases were offset by an increase in the number of wind blades produced, increased average sales prices, favorable foreign currency fluctuations, and an increase in tooling sales. The decrease in automotive sales for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, was primarily due to a decrease in the number of composite bus bodies produced as a result of Proterra's bankruptcy during the third quarter of 2023 and a decrease in sales of other automotive products due to our customers’ supply chain constraints and delays in transitions of new product launches. The decrease in field service, inspection and repair services (collectively, Field Services) sales for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same
period in 2022, was primarily due to a reduction in technicians deployed to revenue generating projects due to an increase in time spent on non-revenue generating inspection and repair activities. The fluctuating U.S. dollar against the Euro in our Türkiye operations had a favorable impact of 1.0% on consolidated net sales for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022.
Segment discussion
The following table summarizes our net sales by our four geographic operating segments for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
U.S.
$
51,100
$
89,170
$
(38,070
)
(42.7
)%
Mexico
589,539
646,615
(57,076
)
(8.8
)
EMEA
573,483
568,992
4,491
0.8
India
241,061
217,964
23,097
10.6
Total net sales
$
1,455,183
$
1,522,741
$
(67,558
)
(4.4
)%
U.S. Segment
The following table summarizes our net sales by product/service for the U.S. segment for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
Wind blade, tooling
and other wind
related sales
$
-
$
1,000
$
(1,000
)
NM
Automotive sales
22,775
44,002
(21,227
)
(48.2
)
Field service, inspection
and repair services
sales
28,325
44,168
(15,843
)
(35.9
)
Total net sales
$
51,100
$
89,170
$
(38,070
)
(42.7
)%
NM - not meaningful.
The decrease in the U.S. segment’s automotive sales for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, was primarily due to a decrease in the number of composite bus bodies produced as a result of Proterra’s bankruptcy during the third quarter of 2023, and a decrease in sales of other automotive products. The decrease in the U.S. segment’s Field Services sales for the year ended December 31, 2023, was primarily due to a reduction in technicians deployed to revenue generating projects due to an increase in time spent on non-revenue generating inspection and repair activities.
Mexico Segment
The following table summarizes our net sales by product/service for the Mexico segment for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
Wind blade, tooling
and other wind
related sales
$
587,628
$
642,377
$
(54,749
)
(8.5
)%
Field service, inspection
and repair services
sales
1,911
4,238
(2,327
)
(54.9
)
Total net sales
$
589,539
$
646,615
$
(57,076
)
(8.8
)%
The decrease in the Mexico segment’s net sales of Wind for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, was due primarily to a reduction in wind blade inventory included in contract assets driven by working capital initiatives and the wind down of lines in transition at the end of the year and lower average sales prices due to the impact of raw material and logistic cost reductions on our blade prices. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in the number of wind blades produced due to an increase in lines in production and an increase in tooling sales in preparation for manufacturing line startups and transitions. The decrease in the Mexico segment’s Field Services sales for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, was primarily due to a reduction in technicians deployed to revenue generating projects due to an increase in time spent on non-revenue generating inspection and repair activities.
EMEA Segment
The following table summarizes our net sales by product/service for the EMEA segment for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
Wind blade, tooling
and other wind
related sales
$
565,627
$
562,485
$
3,142
0.6
%
Field service, inspection
and repair services
sales
7,856
6,507
1,349
20.7
Total net sales
$
573,483
$
568,992
$
4,491
0.8
%
The increase in the EMEA segment’s net sales of Wind for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, was primarily due to an increase in the number of wind blades produced in 2023 as compared to 2022 due to a brief labor disruption in Türkiye in the third quarter of 2022 as we worked with the union to resolve inflationary pressures on wages, favorable foreign currency fluctuations, and higher average sales prices due to the impact of inflation on wind blade prices. These increases were partially offset by a reduction in wind blade inventory included in contract assets driven by working capital initiatives and the wind down of lines in transition at the end of the year. The increase in the EMEA segment’s Field Services sales for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, was primarily due to an increase in demand for such services in this region and the commencement of our service center in Spain during 2022. The fluctuating U.S. dollar relative to the Euro had a favorable impact of 2.7% on the EMEA segment’s net sales for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022.
India Segment
The following table summarizes our net sales by product/service for the India segment for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
Wind blade, tooling
and other wind
related sales
$
241,061
$
217,962
$
23,099
10.6
%
Field service, inspection
and repair services
sales
-
(2
)
NM
Total net sales
$
241,061
$
217,964
$
23,097
10.6
%
The increase in the India segment’s net sales of Wind for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, was primarily due to an increase in the number of wind blades produced due to the transition of two of our manufacturing lines from one type of wind blade to a new type of wind blade during the prior comparative period, partially offset by lower average sales prices due to the impact of raw material and logistic cost reductions on our blade prices.
Total cost of goods sold
The following table summarizes our total cost of goods sold for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
Cost of sales
$
1,520,974
$
1,482,428
$
38,546
2.6
%
Startup costs
4,399
-
4,399
NM
Transition costs
17,358
25,668
(8,310
)
(32.4
)
Total cost of goods sold
$
1,542,731
$
1,508,096
$
34,635
2.3
% of net sales
106.0
%
99.1
%
6.9
%
Total cost of goods sold as a percentage of net sales increased by approximately 6.9% for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, primarily driven by an increase of $50.6 million of total warranty costs due to changes in previous estimates primarily associated with a single campaign with a current customer, an increase in operating costs due to additional quality control measures implemented in certain of our manufacturing facilities, increased labor costs in Türkiye and Mexico as a result of wage increases, continued cost challenges at facilities in Matamoros, Mexico, and unfavorable foreign currency fluctuations. These unfavorable items were partially offset by reduced startup and transition costs and cost savings initiatives. The fluctuating U.S. dollar against the Euro, Turkish Lira, and Mexican Peso had a combined favorable impact of 0.3% on consolidated cost of goods sold for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022.
General and administrative expenses
The following table summarizes our general and administrative expenses for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
General and
administrative expenses
$
49,133
$
32,349
$
16,784
51.9
%
% of net sales
3.4
%
2.1
%
1.3
%
General and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales increased by 1.3% for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, and was primarily driven by $20.9 million of credit losses on contract assets and accounts receivable from the Proterra bankruptcy impacting our automotive business, partially offset by lower stock-based compensation expense and employee incentive costs.
Loss on sale of assets and asset impairments
The following table summarizes our loss on sale of assets and asset impairments for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
Loss on sale of receivables
$
19,546
$
9,754
$
9,792
100.4
%
Loss on sale of other assets
26.3
Asset impairment charges
2,105
(79
)
2,184
NM
Total loss on sale of assets
and asset impairments
$
21,862
$
9,842
$
12,020
122.1
% of net sales
1.5
%
0.6
%
0.9
%
The increase in loss on sale of assets and asset impairments for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, was primarily due to an increase in the volume of receivables sold through our accounts receivable financing arrangements with certain of our customers, and an increase in the agreed-upon discount rates, as well as an increase in asset impairments in our automotive business from the Proterra bankruptcy during the third quarter of 2023.
Restructuring charges, net
The following table summarizes our restructuring charges, net, for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
Severance
$
5,075
$
(210
)
$
5,285
NM
Other restructuring costs
(25
)
(498
)
(105.3
)
Total restructuring charges, net
$
5,050
$
$
4,787
NM
% of net sales
0.3
%
0.0
%
0.3
%
The increase in restructuring charges, net for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022 was primarily due to an increase in severance costs at our Türkiye and Rhode Island facilities.
Income (loss) from continuing operations
Segment discussion
The following table summarizes our income (loss) from operations by our four geographic operating segments for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
U.S.
$
(47,909
)
$
(46,387
)
$
(1,522
)
(3.3
)%
Mexico
(174,009
)
(76,096
)
(97,913
)
(128.7
)
EMEA
33,571
77,195
(43,624
)
(56.5
)
India
24,754
17,479
7,275
41.6
Total loss from
operations from
continuing operations
$
(163,593
)
$
(27,809
)
$
(135,784
)
(488.3
)
% of net sales
-11.2
%
-1.8
%
(9.4
)%
U.S. Segment
The increase in the loss from operations in the U.S. segment for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022 was primarily due to credit losses and asset impairment charges in our automotive business as a result of Proterra’s bankruptcy, increased labor costs, and a decrease in the volume of field service sales, partially offset by a decrease in non-restructuring related operating costs at our Newton, Iowa manufacturing facility and lower general and administrative expenses.
Mexico Segment
The increase in loss from operations in the Mexico segment for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, was primarily due to increased warranty costs and additional quality control measures implemented in certain manufacturing facilities, increased labor costs, continued cost challenges at our facilities in Matamoros, Mexico, and unfavorable foreign currency fluctuations. These unfavorable items were partially offset by reduced startup and transition costs and additional fees received from our customer related to the temporary production pause at one of our Matamoros, Mexico facilities. The fluctuating U.S. dollar relative to the Mexican Peso had an unfavorable impact of 2.2% on the Mexico segment’s cost of goods sold for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022.
EMEA Segment
The decrease in income from operations in the EMEA segment for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022 was primarily due to inflation impacting operating costs that we were not able to pass on to our customers, increased labor costs as a result of wage increases in Türkiye, and an adverse cumulative catch-up adjustment as a result of changes in certain of our estimated costs to complete our performance obligations. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in the volume of wind blades produced in 2023 as compared to 2022 due to a brief labor disruption in Türkiye in the third quarter of 2022 as we worked with the union to resolve inflationary pressures on wages, an increase in wind blade prices, cost savings initiatives, and favorable foreign currency fluctuations. The fluctuating U.S. dollar relative to the Turkish Lira and Euro had a favorable impact of 5.2% on the EMEA segment's cost of goods sold, for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022.
India Segment
The increase in income from operations in the India segment for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, was primarily due to an increase in the volume of wind blades produced and operational efficiencies as the facility was ramping up production in early 2022.
Other income (expense)
The following table summarizes our total other income (expense) for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
Interest expense, net
$
(12,112
)
$
(5,029
)
$
(7,083
)
(140.8
)%
Foreign currency
income (loss), net
(5,162
)
4,571
(9,733
)
(212.9
)
Miscellaneous income
1,976
2,330
(354
)
(15.2
)
Total other income (expense)
$
(15,298
)
$
1,872
$
(17,170
)
NM
The change in total other income (expense) for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, was primarily due to unfavorable foreign currency fluctuations and an increase in interest expense, net due to the issuance of $132.5 million of convertible senior unsecured notes.
Income taxes
The following table summarizes our income taxes for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
Income tax provision
$
(17,562
)
$
(29,613
)
$
12,051
40.7
%
Effective tax rate
9.8
%
114.2
%
Our income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022 decreased due to the mix of earnings of our operations in foreign jurisdictions and changes in our uncertain tax positions.
Net loss from continuing operations
The following table summarizes our net loss from continuing operations for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
Net loss from
continuing operations
$
(196,453
)
$
(55,550
)
$
(140,903
)
NM
The increase in the net loss for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022 was primarily due to the reasons set forth above.
Net loss from discontinued operations
The following table summarizes our net loss from discontinued operations for the years ended December 31:
Change
$
%
(in thousands)
Net loss from
discontinued operations
$
(5,326
)
$
(9,755
)
$
4,429
45.4
%
The change in net loss from discontinued operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022, was primarily due to the closure of production at our Yangzhou, China facility at the end of 2022. In September 2023, we completed the sale of our Taicang, China facility, received proceeds of $12.8 million, and recorded a net gain on the sale of $0.4 million.
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2021
For a comparison of our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Results of Operations” included in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on February 22, 2023 and incorporated herein by reference.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
In November 2021, we entered into a Series A Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement with Oaktree Power Opportunities Fund V (Delaware) Holdings, L.P., OPPS TPIC Holdings, LLC, and Oaktree Phoenix Investment Fund L.P. (collectively, the Purchasers), pursuant to which we issued and sold to the Purchasers 350,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $350.0 million. We used $181.2 million of the net proceeds from the issuance and sale of the Series A Preferred Stock to repay all outstanding indebtedness under our previous senior secured credit facility and terminated such credit facility. The remainder of the net proceeds were used for general corporate purposes. In connection with the transaction, we also issued warrants to purchase 4,666,667 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.01 per share to the Series A Preferred Stockholders. In August 2022, the Series A Preferred Stockholders exercised the outstanding, fully vested warrants at a price of $0.01 per share to purchase an aggregate of 4,666,667 shares of common stock on a cashless basis, resulting in the net issuance to the Purchasers of an aggregate of 4,664,155 shares of common stock. On December 14, 2023, we entered into the Credit Agreement and a Common Stock Purchase Agreement with the Purchasers, pursuant to which all of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, along with $86.0 million of and unpaid dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock, were exchanged for the $393.0 million Term Loan and the issuance of 3,899,903 shares of common stock. See Note 12, Debt and Note 15, Mezzanine Equity, to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for further discussion on the Series A Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement.
Our primary needs for liquidity have been, and in the future will continue to be, capital expenditures, purchases of raw materials, new facility startup costs, the impact of transitions, working capital, debt service costs, warranty costs and restructuring costs associated with the optimization of our global footprint. Our capital expenditures have been primarily related to machinery and equipment for new facilities or facility expansions. Historically, we have funded our working capital needs through cash flows from operations, the proceeds received from our credit facilities and from proceeds received from the issuance of stock. We had net proceeds under our financing arrangements of $124.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to net repayments of $13.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had $485.2 million and $61.2 million in outstanding indebtedness, net of debt issuance costs and discounts, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, we had an aggregate of $68.8 million of remaining capacity of cash and non-cash financing, including $63.5 million of remaining availability for cash borrowing under our various credit facilities. Based upon current and anticipated levels of operations, we believe that cash on hand, available credit facilities and cash flow from operations will be adequate to fund our working capital and capital expenditure requirements and to make required payments of principal and interest on our indebtedness over the next twelve months.
We anticipate that any new facilities and future facility expansions will be funded through cash flows from operations, the incurrence of other indebtedness and other potential sources of liquidity. The Term Loan contains certain covenants and rights including, but not limited to, amount of indebtedness, capital expenditure limitations, a U.S. cash on hand balance requirement of $40.0 million through September 30, 2024 and $50.0 million thereafter.
At December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents totaling $161.1 million and $133.6 million, respectively. The December 31, 2023 balance included $45.0 million of cash located outside of the U.S., $40.6 million in Türkiye, $1.9 million in India, $1.2 million in Mexico and $1.3 million in other countries. The December 31, 2022 balance included $9.2 million of cash located outside of the U.S., $2.4 million in Türkiye, $4.7
million in India, $1.4 million in Mexico and $0.7 million in other countries. In addition to these amounts, at December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents related to our discontinued operations of $0.9 million and $9.7 million, respectively, all located outside of the U.S.
We are not presently involved in any off-balance sheet arrangements, including transactions with unconsolidated special-purpose or other entities that would materially affect our financial position, results of operations, liquidity or capital resources, other than our accounts receivable assignment agreements described below. Furthermore, we do not have any relationships with special-purpose or other entities that provide off-balance sheet financing; liquidity, market risk or credit risk support; or engage in leasing or other services that may expose us to liability or risks of loss that are not reflected in the consolidated financial statements and related notes.
Our segments enter into accounts receivable assignment agreements with various financial institutions. Under these agreements, the financial institution buys, on a non-recourse basis, the accounts receivable amounts related to our segment’s customers at an agreed-upon discount rate.
The following table summarizes certain key details of each of the accounts receivable assignment agreements in place as of December 31, 2023:
Year Of Initial Agreement
Segment(s) Related To
Current Annual Interest Rate
Mexico
LIBOR plus 0.75%
Asia and Mexico
LIBOR plus 1.00%
Asia
Fixed rate of 3.85%
EMEA
EURIBOR plus 1.95%
India
LIBOR plus 1.00%
U.S.
SOFR plus 0.29%
Mexico
SOFR plus 0.29%
EMEA
EURIBOR plus 1.97%
As the receivables are purchased by the financial institutions under the agreements noted above, the receivables are removed from our consolidated balance sheet. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, $1,026.1 million and $913.5 million, respectively, of receivables were sold under the accounts receivable assignment agreements described above.
Cash Flow Discussion
The following table summarizes our key cash flow activity for continuing and discontinued operations for the years ended December 31:
$ Change
(in thousands)
Net cash used in operating activities
$
(80,972
)
$
(62,272
)
$
(18,700
)
Net cash used in investing activities
(23,301
)
(18,832
)
(4,469
)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
121,994
(14,597
)
136,591
Impact of foreign exchange rates on cash, cash
equivalents and restricted cash
2,023
(3,448
)
5,471
Net change in cash, cash equivalents
and restricted cash
$
19,744
$
(99,149
)
$
118,893
Operating Cash Flows
Net cash used in operating activities increased by $18.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022 primarily as the result of an increase in net losses, partially offset by a reduction in wind blade inventory included in contract assets driven by working capital initiatives and the wind down of production for wind blade lines in transition.
Investing Cash Flows
Net cash used in investing activities increased by $4.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022 primarily as the result of an increase in capital expenditures, partially offset by proceeds from the sale of our Taicang, China facility.
We anticipate fiscal year 2024 capital expenditures of between $25 million to $30 million. We have used, and will continue to use, cash flows from operations, the proceeds received from our credit facilities and the proceeds received from the issuance of stock for the continued investment in our existing manufacturing facilities.
Financing Cash Flows
Net cash provided by financing activities increased by $136.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022 primarily as the result of proceeds from the $132.5 million convertible notes and proceeds from the loan to finance our purchase of the wind turbines in Türkiye.
For a discussion and comparison of our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Results of Operations” included in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on February 22, 2023 incorporated herein by reference.
Our Indebtedness
For a discussion of our indebtedness, refer to Note 12, Debt, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Other Contingencies
For a discussion of our legal proceedings, refer to Note 17, Commitments and Contingencies - Legal Proceedings, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The wind blades and other composite structures that we produce are subject to warranties against defects in workmanship and materials, generally for a period of two to five years. We are not responsible for the fitness for use of the wind blade or the overall wind turbine system. If a wind blade is found to be defective during the warranty period as a result of a defect in workmanship or materials, among other potential remedies, we may need to repair or replace the wind blade (which could include significant transportation and installation costs) at our sole expense. At December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had accrued warranty reserves totaling $37.5 million and $22.3 million, respectively.
As of December 31, 2023, we had no material operating expenditures for environmental matters, including government imposed remedial or corrective actions, during the year ended December 31, 2023.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of our assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We evaluate our estimates on an ongoing basis, including those related to revenue recognition, income taxes and warranty expense. We base our estimates on our historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making the judgments we make about the carrying values of our assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Because these estimates can vary depending on the situation, actual results may differ from the estimates.
We believe the following critical accounting policies affect our more significant judgments used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Recognition. The majority of our revenue is generated from supply agreements associated with manufacturing of wind blades and related services. We account for a supply agreement when it has the approval from both parties, the rights of the parties are identified, payment terms are established, the contract has commercial substance and the collectability of consideration is probable. Our manufacturing services are customer specific and involve production of items that cannot be sold to other customers due to the customers’ protected IP.
Revenue is primarily recognized over time as we have an enforceable right to payment upon termination and we may not use or sell the product to fulfill other customers’ supply agreements. Because control transfers over time, revenue is recognized based on the extent of progress towards the completion of the performance obligation under the cost-to-cost input measure of progress as this method provides the best representation of the production progress towards satisfaction of the performance obligation. Under the cost-to-cost method, progress and the related revenue recognition is determined by a ratio of direct costs incurred to date in fulfillment of the performance obligation to the total estimated direct costs required to complete the performance obligation.
Determining the revenue to be recognized for services performed under our supply agreements involves judgments and estimates relating to the total consideration to be received and the expected direct costs to complete the performance obligation. Our estimates of variable consideration and determination of whether to include estimated amounts in the transaction price are based largely on an assessment of our anticipated performance and all information available to us at the time of the estimate and may materially change as additional information becomes known.
Under the cost-to-cost method, contract assets established primarily relate to our rights to consideration for work completed but not billed at the reporting date on our supply agreements. The contract assets are transferred to accounts receivable when the rights become unconditional, which generally occurs when customers are invoiced upon the determination that a product conforms to the contract specifications.
See Note 1 - Summary of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - (c) Revenue Recognition of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for further discussion of our accounting policies related to revenue recognition, including accounting policies surrounding our non-manufacturing related services.
Income Taxes. In connection with preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate our income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. This process involves our assessment of any net operating loss carryforwards, as well as estimating our actual current tax liability together with assessing temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of items, such as reserves and accrued liabilities, for tax and accounting purposes. We also have to assess whether any portion of our earnings generated in one taxing jurisdiction might be claimed as earned by income tax authorities in a differing tax jurisdiction. Significant judgment is required in determining our annual tax rate, the allocation of earnings to various jurisdictions and the evaluation of our tax positions.
In the normal course of business, we establish valuation allowances for our deferred tax assets when the realization of the assets is not more likely than not. We intend to maintain such valuation allowances on our deferred tax assets until there is sufficient evidence to support the reversal of all or some portion of the allowances. We maintain a valuation allowance for all of our deferred tax assets in the U.S., Switzerland, Spain and for our discontinued operations in China. The effect of a change in judgment concerning the realizability of deferred tax assets is included in our income tax provision.
As of December 31, 2023, we have U.S. federal net operating losses (NOLs) of approximately $392.7 million, state NOLs of approximately $317.0 million, foreign NOLs of approximately $4.7 million and foreign tax credits of approximately $1.9 million available to offset future taxable income in the U.S. and Spain. Income tax expense or benefit, deferred tax assets and liabilities, and liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits reflect our best estimate of current and future taxes to be paid. We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions in which we operate, principally, Mexico, India and Türkiye, and our discontinued operations in China. Significant judgements and estimates are required in determining our consolidated income tax expense. The statutory federal corporate income tax rate in the U. S. is 21% and the tax rates in China, Mexico, India and Türkiye are 25%, 30%, 17% and 22%, respectively. One of our two Türkiye facilities is located in a tax-free zone and is not subject to income taxes on earnings recognized from its manufacturing activities.
Warranty Expense. The wind blades we manufacture are subject to warranties against defects in workmanship and materials, generally for a period of two to five years. We are not responsible for the fitness for use of the wind blade in the overall wind turbine system. If a wind blade is found to be defective during the warranty period as a result of a defect in workmanship or materials, among other potential remedies, we may need to repair or replace the wind blade at our sole expense. We provide warranties for all of our products with terms and conditions that vary depending on the product sold. We record warranty expense based upon our estimate of future repairs using a probability-based methodology that considers previous warranty claims, identified quality issues and industry practices. Once the warranty period has expired, any remaining unused warranty accrual for the specific products is reversed against the current year warranty expense amount, provided that the warranty accrual for other products whose warranty period has not yet expired is sufficient to cover the estimated cost of future repairs for those other products.
Our estimate of warranty expense requires us to make assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain, including future rates of product failure, repair costs, availability of materials, shipping and handling, and de-installation and re-installation costs at customers’ sites, among others. When a potential or actual warranty claim arises, we may accrue additional warranty reserves for the estimated cost of remediation or proposed settlement. In 2023, we accrued additional warranty expenses of approximately $42.7 million beyond the normal warranty expense described above related to a remediation campaign for a specific wind blade model for one of our customers. In 2022, we accrued additional warranty expenses of approximately $7.2 million beyond the normal warranty expense described above related to a remediation campaign for a specific wind blade model for one of our customers. Changes in warranty reserves could have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements. For example, as of December 31, 2023, a hypothetical change of 10% in the accrual rate of our warranty reserve would have resulted in a change to our warranty reserve of approximately $5.1 million.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
For a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements, see Note 1 - Summary of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

---

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
We are exposed to market risk in the ordinary course of our business. These market risks are principally limited to changes in foreign currency exchange rates and commodity prices.
Foreign Currency Risk. We conduct international manufacturing operations related to our continuing operations in Mexico, Türkiye and India. Our results of operations are subject to both currency transaction risk and currency translation risk. We incur currency transaction risk whenever we enter into either a purchase or sale transaction using a currency other than the local currency of the transacting entity. With respect to currency translation risk, our financial condition and results of operations are measured and recorded in the relevant functional currency and then translated into U.S. dollars for inclusion in our consolidated financial statements. In recent years, exchange rates between these foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar have fluctuated significantly and may do so in the future. A hypothetical change of 10% in the exchange rates for the countries above would have resulted in a change to loss from our continuing operations of approximately $13.6 million and $5.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Commodity Price Risk. We are subject to commodity price risk under agreements for the supply of our raw materials. We have not hedged our commodity price exposure. We generally lock in pricing for our key raw materials for 12 months which protects us from price increases within that period. As many of our raw material supply agreements have meet or release clauses, if raw materials prices go down, we are able to benefit from the reductions in price. We believe that this adequately protects us from increases in raw material prices in the near term and also enables us to take full advantage of decreases.
Resin and resin systems are the primary commodities for which we do not have fixed pricing. Approximately 59% of the resin and resin systems, and approximately 91% of the carbon fiber, we use is purchased under contracts either controlled or borne by two of our customers and therefore they receive/bear 100% of any increase or decrease in resin and carbon fiber costs further limiting our exposure to price fluctuations. Prior to taking into account any contractual obligations of our customers to share with us the cost savings or increases resulting from a change in the price of resin and resin systems, we believe that a 10% change in the price of resin and resin systems for the customers in which we are exposed to fluctuating prices would have had an impact to loss from our continuing operations of approximately $5.7 million and $7.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Under our supply agreements, our customers typically receive approximately 70% of the cost savings or increases resulting from a change in the price of resin and resin systems.
Interest Rate Risk. As of December 31, 2023, all outstanding working capital loans, secured and unsecured financing and finance lease obligations are fixed rate instruments and are not subject to fluctuations in interest rates.

---

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
The financial statements required to be filed pursuant to this Item 8 are appended to this Report. An index of those financial statements is found in Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

---

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None

---

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in our reports under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Rule 13a-15(b) promulgated under the Exchange Act, our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the design and operating effectiveness as of December 31, 2023 of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) promulgated under the Exchange Act. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2023.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
As required by Rules 13a-15(f) promulgated under the Exchange Act, our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023. Management based its assessment on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Management's assessment included evaluation of elements such as the design and operating effectiveness of key financial reporting controls, process documentation, accounting policies
and our overall control environment. Based on this assessment, management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2023 to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. We reviewed the results of management's assessment with the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors.
Our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023 has been audited by KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is included herein.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the three months ended December 31, 2023, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. Other Information
Not applicable.
PART III

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to “Business - Information about our Executive Officers” included in Part 1, Item 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the information that will be contained in our proxy statement related to the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which we intend to file with the SEC within 120 days of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. Executive Compensation
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the information that will be contained in our proxy statement related to the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which we intend to file with the SEC within 120 days of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the information that will be contained in our proxy statement related to the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which we intend to file with the SEC within 120 days of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the information that will be contained in our proxy statement related to the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which we intend to file with the SEC within 120 days of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services
Our independent registered public accounting firm is KPMG LLP, Phoenix, AZ, Auditor Firm ID: 185.
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the information that will be contained in our proxy statement related to the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which we intend to file with the SEC within 120 days of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
(a)Financial Statements and Schedules
The financial statements listed in the accompanying Index to Consolidated Financial Statements are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. All financial statement schedules have been omitted as the required information is not applicable or is not material to require presentation of the schedule, or because the information required is included in the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
(b)Exhibits
See Exhibit Index.