Wallbox NV

NYSE:WBX

Earnings Call Analysis

Earnings Call Transcript 2023-Q3

[Operator]

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Wallbox's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call and webcast. My name is Charlie and I'll be your operator for today's call. [Operator Instructions]

I will now turn the call over to Matt Tractenberg, Wallbox's Vice President, Investor Relations, to begin. Matt, please go ahead.

[Matthew Tractenberg, executive]

Thank you, Charlie, and good morning and good afternoon to everyone listening in today. Thank you for joining today's webcast to discuss Wallbox's Third Quarter 2023 results. This event is being broadcasted over the web and can be accessed from the Investors section of our website at investors.wallbox.com.

I'm joined today by Enric Asuncion, Wallbox's CEO; and Jordi Lainz, our CFO. Earlier today, we issued our press release announcing results from the third quarter period ending September 30, 2023, which can also be found on our website.

Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that certain statements made on today's call are forward-looking that may be subject to risks and uncertainties relating to future events and/or the future financial performance of the company. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated. Risk factors that may affect results are detailed in the company's most recent public filings with the SEC, including in the annual report, Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed on March 31, 2023.

We will be presenting unaudited financial statements in IFRS format that reflect management's best assessment of actual results. Also, please note that we use certain non-IFRS financial measures on this call and reconciliations of these measures are included in the presentation posted on the Investors section of our website. Also, A copy of these prepared remarks can be obtained from the Investor Relations website under Quarterly Results section, so you can more easily follow along with us today.

So with that out of the way, I'll turn it over to Enric.

[Enric Asuncion, executive]

Thank you, Matt, and thanks, everyone, for joining us today. In addition to renewing highlights from the third quarter 2023, we will spend some time discussing how the current market environment is evolving and how our strategy fits within. We will also dig into the AV transaction and why it has the opportunities to transform our competitive position in the years to come. And then we will review some recent partnerships and commercial wins. Jordi will then offer some color on our cost reduction efforts, provide additional detail on our quarterly performance and share some thoughts on our balance sheet as we close out the year. And finally, I will return to discuss our view of the market and what we are focused on for the remainder of the year and into the next. We will end by taking questions from our covering research analysts. So let's get started.

While the third quarter revenue finished below our expected range at EUR 32.5 million, down on a year-over-year basis, driven by continued channel destocking, we made great progress on a number of critical initiatives that were improving profitability, partnerships, balance sheet management and strategic M&A. As we said this year, a large inventory build occurred within our distribution partners in both Q2 and Q3 last year in anticipation of stronger delivers in 2022, which ultimately did not play out as planned. This created digital comps, both in revenue and unit volumes on a year-over-year basis for both Q2 and Q3 this year.

The trend that we discussed last quarter has continued and as a result, sell-through why our distributors exceeded the unit sold into those channels. That fell through unit growth on a global basis amounts to approximately 30% year-over-year, a reasonable growth rate in our opinion. On a regional basis, a sell-through growth was 32% in Europe and APAC combined and 16% in North America. We continue to work with our distributors to put in place systems and processes to provide better visibility and more properly aligned deinventory with end market demand.

We also continue to believe that we are approaching the deal adjustment and we'll provide more information as we have. It was another solid quarter for our bus business, driving 285% unit growth and 350% revenue growth, both on a year-over-year basis. While we spoke at length about the balance and diversification, the DC offering brings to our portfolio, it's worth mentioning again, is the demand is less correlated to deliveries that Baseline. It is a public infrastructure buildup and often driven by government and utilities. The removement of the network is expected to drive in the adoption, not the way around. For this reason, we continue to allocate resources business opportunity globally and believe we are extremely well positioned. We expect there will be times that 1 portion of the portfolio outperforms the other. The fact that we have a comprehensive solution across a global country to lead investors confidence we are working to cut the energy transition from a number of fronts. We believe this is within our control, and we expect to win in the marketplace.

The balance that we discussed with you in the past continues to evolve and, in some cases, accelerate. We discussed with you in the past continues to evolve and, in some cases, accelerate. ABL provides access to applications and geographies that we were underrepresented in. What you see from us as we enter 2024, is a business that plays across regions, product categories, applications, customer segments and economic divers. The purchasing decisions across residential, commercial and public charge are as different as those who make them. It's equally so on a geographical level, based on government initiatives and consumer preferences. This reduction of correlation to European deliveries is intentional. And so the shareholders will benefit from in the coming years in the form of consistency and stability. It was bid overnight, but slowly through organic and inorganic means, and we are at a meaningful point in that transformation. As a in Europe, this is globally by the excellent charge with was commercial copies with drive and many other new products hit the market and continue materially, you will see big changes from us.

Continuing on with the performance. Gross margins were 35% in the third quarter, a 530 basis points sequential improvement, driven largely by product mix. Our cost reduction program is front and center and allow us to reduce cash expenses by an additional EUR 4.5 million sequentially. We expect to see the EUR 50 million reduction target previously discussed. Jordi will spend more time on that in a minute.

Adjusted EBITDA loss was EUR 16.6 million, a EUR 4.6 million improvement over the second quarter loss of EUR 21.2 million. This brings us to the facet of EV demand in general is, they are experiencing as they gain the competitive environment and we've seen pricing actions taken. There will be quarters or even years where consuming behavior is Valada as would be expected. But over the long term, replacing hundreds of millions of ICE vehicles and putting in place infrastructure to keep recharge and move it is 1 of the largest investment undertakings we may ever see. The current variability we've seen is not unexpected, not that we change our thesis -- in fact, EV demand relative to ICE appears to be relatively healthy. And while they may not match the OEM initial forecast, we believe in the adoption continues to grow path forward. I can tell lease -- there transition from fossil fuels to alternative sorters is occurring and will continue for metric. The management of -- at Emerging will take center stage intelligent systems to optimize our generation, storage and us will be critical. We continue to build that offering and is resonating with customers. Through financial incentives, governments are expected to continue to encourage consumers to see from ICE to EV in reais mood and may continue the call in bits and starts. But we believe that this will accelerate as we make our way through the next 3 to 5 years. prices need to reach parity with ICE vehicles. in prices will continue to decline as competition from Asian OEMs improvements from North America and European manufacturers. Low-cost producers will disrupt incumbents, forcing productivity Lower prices will bring consumers to the market that will otherwise be left out. A market consolidation within maybe channel space will contribute. Scale, or roll footprint and a comprehensive portfolio will be critical to winning in this marketplace. Given the size and scope of the reduction we see ahead, we will the small local companies with not hardware offerings with left. And as all companies we complete software and hardware portfolios will prevent -- for the quarter 2023, Europe contributed to EUR 2.7 million or 70% of total revenue. North America contributed EUR 6.7 million or 1% APAC was EUR 2 million or 6%, and LatAm was EUR 1 million or 3%. Variability in AC demand as a result of continued destocking was partially offset by strength in public charge. So per loan, our second-generation Cat charger continues to see strong reception from those customers. We see represented 25% of our revenue in the third quarter with 80%, 59% and so all services and accessories, the remaining 16%. 2023 has brought with the large orders from big strategic customers, including Iberdrola, Atlante, Oi, Osprey, charge and others. In some cases, these orders are in the tens of millions of euros over several years. We see a lot of opportunity here and we'll production in a controlled fashion been quality and reliability in for. This is a critical time for both Volvo and the market, one which requires the relentless proceed of Perkoa. We see retraction and customers have responded with repeat orders. It's encouraging to see and we remain committed to staying true to those states.

Gross margins were 35%, an increase from last quarter but lower than our long-term target. Margins were impacted by product needs which we expect to ease as we make our way to 2024. To provide color, approximately 60% of the units sold in the quarter were Supernova 150, up from 40% in the prior quarter. And while there'll be a higher gross margin profile in Supernova sit, our first-generation product is still lower than AC. So in time, as that mix shifts continues and the cost profile of the new product declines we anticipate that impact to line.

We also made progress on our cost-saving initiatives and pre benefits in OpEx on a combined basis totaled EUR 33.2 million, EUR 4.5 million better than the last quarter and EUR 16.8 million better than Q4 2022, our point of measurement. We have removed EUR 38.8 million of expenses so far this year. The rightsizing of our business, given the demand environment has put us in a position of strength and 1 that gives us line of sight to profitability in the coming year. The processes and policies will now put in place will provide the structure for the next phase of growth. while allowing for the flexibility we'll need to navigate dynamic market conditions.

The ABL transaction, which was closed on November 2, is 1 of the most important events in our company's history. This has the opportunity to drastically change our financial profile and provide meaningful commercial, operational and financial synergies. They are the market share leader in German. -- 1 of the most important geographies in the world. The commercial market, the operate is less correlated with in deliveries than residential solutions. This is more to of the demand drivers of the splice infrastructure. This transaction further diversifies our portfolio, provides balance and expand our product and service addressable markets. While the EBIT demand curve might see variability, this induction offers further fusion against those near-term impacts. The size of the German market is second only to China and North America. There are almost 2.7 million TVs on the rock there today. is massive. And as I just discussed, since variability based on government incentives. Additionally, Germany requires a new certification called Ide. This ensures that the amount of elasticity delivered to the vital is measured accordingly. So payments can occur. And commercial and public application where energy is being sold required as well as many residential use cases where company cars are provided a common occurrence in general. ABL has a long history of offering innovative technologies. The management team has established itself as a trusted partner to brands, including die, and they have sold more than 600,000 charges today.

The product offering has been focused on these commercial applications and delivery charges and I certify something Wallbox did not have. Because of this, the product overlap is minimal. This transaction provides us immediate access to a market where we were underrepresented and provides opportunity to expand our offerings into established sales cans. Bringing Wallbox products like Supernova, Ulsan Quesarito, Germany and ABL products to the rest of the world is something that will drive exciting value for both companies. As a reminder, Worth paid EUR 10 million in cash already and we'll pay another EUR 5 million in 2024 to acquire the operations and assets of APL -- this was structured as an asset deal, which made the need pursue liabilities. Instead, we bring the interactor property, inventory facilities and equipment, employee contracts, customer relationships and talented management team to work, whether the company will be the largest European charging name with the most comprehensive offering and broader ceratin footprint. We anticipated the in between EUR 60 million and EUR 75 million of revenue and positive adjusted EBITDA interest Q4. This will be immediately accretive to Walvax in the upcoming year. As background, in Presend, ABL generated approximately EUR 150 million in sales with positive EBITDA. In terms of one, the company began investing in new facilities to bring its new products to market, the that investment occurred just before government subsidies were turned off late last year. The comfort timing in turn, retail opportunities and brought Volvo and real together. Incentivizing and aligning objectives between AB and Wallworks shareholders is extremely important. For this purpose, earn-outs are utilized.

In summary, ABL management has a minority ownership stake in the business entity will create. While the sales and margin targets are ambitious higher than those shared with you here, both Vineland Woo shareholders will be rewarded in the C. We are excited to see the hit the ground brand. Now I want to spend a few minutes on the benefits we expect to capture as a result of this transaction. The commercial synergies are the first I'd like to discuss certified product portfolio is the most visible and taxable commercial benefit we see. A certification was something we were working on is not -- the experience even has in navigating the standards and requirements with accelerated process with super mobile ultimately providing faster access to the market in 2024. For the applications, in addition to lithium commercial, we now can bring the full go of offering to establishes channel in German. Weiser, our baccharter, and the industry first will benefit from the strong relationship that Linas. Given the size and focus of the general market or intelligent energy management solutions, we are optimistic about the opportunity. And finally, there will be other markets within Europe where the ABL offering is better aligned with the market needs. For example, Areas charge, the meet the needs of customers looking for a robust solution for fleets, apartments and office panel. The Mace segment is so impacted than others and puts us immediately in a leadership position. The ability to quickly leverage that solution in countries that ABL cover in asset operating offers a unique opportunity that we will quickly go after. -- where may inform in our stable channels only accelerates our ability to participate in those projects. The operational synergies are equally compete ABL brings with it 2 one-factor facilities. The location in Germany is nearly 100% automated, and the location in Morocco is cost optimized. The facilities also capabilities that burn arenas, including injection molding and stocked monopat. By leveraging this from ABL and not the Volvo fleets like PCBs, -- the combined entity can further increase Berceation and no more in house. The savings could be millions a year. The scale and scope of our combined offering and footprint also allows for both vendors and sourcing consolidation and leverage. Simply put, given our size, we are a major force in beta and expect to realize volume discounts that will immediately benefit gross margins. Optimizing R&D and CapEx in other operational benefits, we see effect combining 2 product road maps into 1 will allow us to, in some cases, do more and others to spend less. A example of this is how it will impact ore Wallbox coming answer to commercial applications. ABL satisfied the European market immediately and can be sold through our channels today. But this also allows us to see for IM&D CapEx, which is no longer need in Europe to North America. Customers there have been eagerly awaiting a robust commercial solution and Orion will meet their needs purposes. This refocusing of investment and resources while expanding our service and product addressable market is a function of a complementary offering and and thus more examples to share. And the financial synergies provide for a normal shareholder value creation.

As I mentioned, ABL generated substantial revenue and positive adjusted EBITDA in 2022. As the new products hit the try, we anticipate them achieving their targets and generating positive adjusted EBITDA next year. It only increased our confidence in our ability to deliver positive adjusted EBITDA at the consolidated level in 2024. To personal contact, Amandelbult on a combined basis delivered revenue of approximately EUR 46 million in the third quarter. ABL group margin are rates the global strips as well, approximately 40%, and we see opportunities to improve them further. And finally, regarding operating costs -- prior to the transaction, the company completed a cost improvement program to rightsize the business relative to market demand. This allows a more target approach to identifying potential savings that can arise from the buses combination. We will always go on a fee by case basis and ensure we're optimizing the combined operations in order to live Valinor all stakeholders.

In summary, this transaction has the ability to accelerate our strategic plan will provide a level of scale that does not insist today. With that scale, we respectively profitable intern before. It will offer unique opportunities to follow the investments and bring new products to new markets. This transformational for Wallbox, I'm excited to see what it leads us. The first partnership we announced in the quarter was Kia. Kia selected Wallbox as its partner in the launch of this beautiful neolithic SUV Daly. Here, we'll offer U.S. customers and solutions that include Quasar 2 if generation 11.5 kilowatt by directional charter will enable EV owners to charge and discharge directly vehicle to border on or set energy backlit. I can hold up to 100-kilowatt hours of energy over 5x the amount of energy of a standard 13.5 kilowatt hours from storage system and power a typical hose or earns consumption for at days. we may for expensive common energy strong systems.

In case of the that we are too for recovery mode Autobank switches the users' power source from the mid- to allow a homeowner to use their evening as an emergency generator. This type of package service is becoming not only increasingly important but crucial given the sheer volume and duration of our auto gets in the U.S. Last year, Californian witnessed 39 power outages and more than 44 hours of total OpEx across the U.S., unforeseen power outage costs the U.S. economy EUR 150 billion annually. We're excited to WowieAmerica toward our share vision for accelerating our lactation and transforming how we came a interact Meg. The next announcement we made was not free to multi solutions. -- which is a inventory including stellar. We alluded to this collaboration on the backhoes and we are proud to finally discuss who is it. The opportunity will involve both full furniture for their customers and Super for leadership.

We will be shipping Supernova in the current quarter and expect to accelerate as we make our way to 2024. I'd like to point out how we come an opportunity dealerships brine. Remember, -- in leadership will in both AC and DC as well as by election of capabilities. You cannot service a fully charge. So capturing that energy through by direction of charging, which today is wasted and moving into other vehicles or selling it back to there is a compelling value proposition for thesis, and there are more than 21,000 of them in North America. One, we need to invest within EUR 100 and EUR 1 million to be ready, the massive market, and we are uniquely positioned. We look forward to being a competency management aspect to them. And finally, we've announced a strategic balancing with Austin 1 of the U.K.'s largest and little rapid initial networks. The collaboration will be leased by expanding the open network with 135 units of all Super novelty charter coupled with Wolberg offering preventative and creative maintenance for the supermarket. Jason availability and liability are both crucial for consumer confidence in making the switch direct vehicles. All of Supernova uses a modular design with a simple user setting experience and payment process. It ensures that engines get ease of use and a high standard of a whilst charge phone operators can scale the units easily to improve availability.

Jordi, I'll come back to you to comment further on our financial details.

[Jordi Lainz, executive]

Thank you, Enric Good morning and good afternoon to everyone. Our third quarter results came in lighter than expected, driven by additional channel inventory adjustments and some regional variability from residential applications. I'll provide more detail on these results discuss some financing activities we've announced and shared some puts on the remainder of the year. For the third quarter of 2023, revenue was EUR 32.5 million, flat from the previous quarter. On a year-over-year basis, revenue declined in both the U.S. and Europe driven largely by continued destocking. On a sell-through basis, unit volumes increased by 30% driven by strength in the U.S. The inventory build that occurred last year continued in the quarter, and while it's difficult to say for sometime based on the pattern we saw last year, we expect less of impact for -- gross margin for the quarter was 35% at a 130 basis point improvement over the last quarter. Mix shift from new products continue to impact our margins, but progress is being made. These margins are now above 30%, up from 10% last year. As we continue to transition from Gen1 to Yet, we believe we will see gradual improvement, enabling consolidated gross margins paintemid- to high stories in the fourth quarter.

We were able to further reduce both employee-related cash expenses and OpEx, which amounted to EUR 33.2 million in the period. If you recall, our intention was to reduce 2023 expenses by EUR 50 million using the fourth quarter 2022 as our champions. Through the third quarter, we have removed EUR 38.8 million from our 23 costs. The most recent quarterly cash expenses are EUR 16.8 million lower than Q4 2018. This implies that we will exceed our planned reduction something we are proud to share with you today. We see additional opportunities to reduce costs further, and we will aggressively go after them. Adjusted EBITDA loss for the period was EUR 16.6 million, a 22% sequential improvement and 20% improvement over the prior year period. We remain extremely focused on cost and conserving cash and have seen tangible benefits of both efforts.

We all improved our balance sheet in the quarter. We ended September with approximately EUR 81 million of cash and equivalents. In October, we secured an additional EUR 35 million loan from several European banking partners at a rate of 3-month was 3.25%. That well combined with the attractive purchase price of ABL allows us to remain close to the EUR 100 million mark where we are comfortable. We ended the third quarter with EUR 65 million of long-term debt, which excludes that Q4 funding event. We did not utilize the ATM during the third quarter. was again very line with approximately EUR 4.2 million in the period with EUR 1.2 million spent on property, plant and equipment. Year-to-date, we've spent EUR 11.6 million. We expect an additional EUR 4 million to EUR 6 million of CapEx spent in the fourth quarter of 2017, resulting in a full year figure less than EUR 20 million. and significantly less than the EUR 26 million previously planned for the year. Inventories were EUR 94 million, down slightly from the second quarter. Full-time headcount increased by almost 100 people on a quarter-over-quarter basis. We are at the headcount level of Q2 2022, and believe the absolute number will continue to trend down.

To provide a bit more detail on our balance sheet, here you see the debt recovery. As of September, we had approximately EUR 65 million of interest billing long-term loans with maturity greater than 1 year. We also have EUR 19 million of short-term loans. The EUR 65 million matures over the coming 5 years. Our fixed rate debt is at 4.1%, and our floating rate debt is at an average 3 months real close 5.8%. These balances exclude the new EUR 35 million loan brought on in October. As you can see, we have careful finance business and do not have meaningful near-term interest rate risk. We believe we are adequately capitalized and are able to service our debt. investors should the comfort that we are in a solid position.

Enric I'll turn to you to provide some closing commentary.

[Enric Asuncion, executive]

Thanks, Jordi. As we in 2023 and prepared for 2024 is an extremely important time for Wallbox. We have set up to scale on the business that will allow us to live profitability very soon. The multiple new products we are bringing to market today provides access to applications and geographies that we not seen before. turning in North America, D.C. and commercial in Germany, recharge in Europe or either in the U.S. for apartments and office lots by the retina around the world. These revenue opportunities are real. They will contribute meaningfully and ABL is an important part of that. We expect revenue growth to resume in the fourth quarter. Managing our cost base is equally critical as we have before. While we've taken huge steps to rightsize the business given the environment, we see more opportunity ahead. We will be either more efficient and more flexible in the coming year. Breaking even then generating positive adjusted EBITDA is now expected just a quarter later than originally planned. We believe that our operating leverage will be greater than previously sold given ADR potential. It's an exciting time and 1 that we are very proud of. We believe we are doing the right things and we measure our progress against our strategic plan by speaking with customers and staying close to the market transitions being our business. Today, we are fully focused on what we can control. This includes the market share, controlling costs and ensuring we at to profitability in 2024. Each wallbox is focused on this initiative, and we are willing to do whatever it takes to. While we cannot control the market, we are going to know how we interview within that. We have rediversification across products, markets and geographies that rely less on media.

We will be largely profitable with a more efficient operational and a more complete offer. We appreciate your trust, I look forward to turning the corner to ovenabilityin the upcoming year. That, we believe, will set us apart from the competition and hardly for seat on where it should be. the massive wave of action and channel infrastructure that we see coming over the next decade, and we are ready for.

With that, we are ready to take questions from our analysts.

[Matthew Tractenberg, executive]

[Operator Instructions] Charlie, I think you have some instructions for our analysts and how to get into the queue.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from George Gianarikas of Canaccord Genuity.

[George Gianarikas, analyst]

So I'd like to ask about your expectations around reaching EBITDA positive for next year. You said in 2024. I was wondering whether that means that you expect to reach profitability for the full year? And also your previous expectation about being EBITDA flat in the fourth quarter of '23.

[Enric Asuncion, executive]

Thank you, George. This is Enric. We are seeing great traction on cost reduction, and we expect by 2024 as a full year to be a profitable year in adjusted EBITDA basis. And what we are doing right now, and as I said during the call, we are reducing cost and adapting to the environment. Therefore, we expect that breakeven or actually profitability to be in Q1 2024. And we've been able to improve EBITDA 22% for this quarter. We believe we will make great progress in Q4 in very small negative numbers, but actual positive numbers, we won't see them until Q1 to Q4.

[George Gianarikas, analyst]

And as a follow-up, I'd just like to switch gears a little bit and ask about the inventory destocking. I know last quarter, you mentioned that you thought it was -- you basically had a sort of an equilibrium, but you continue to see inventory in the channel. Can you just talk about the measures that you've put in place to understand where inventory currently stands and when you now expect to be through that flush?

[Enric Asuncion, executive]

Yes. So actually, if we look at the difference between sell-out and sell-in, so the charges that were sold by the board partners, we see a EUR 10 million difference. And that's something that we have not seen materialize this quarter. When talking with partners and looking at the data, what we see is that they are carrying less inventory that we're they normally would. They used to have at least 1/4 of inventory and some of them are being more lean and having a couple of quarters a quarter. That's happening for some are, big partners, especially that want to manage in a more smart way, they're working capital. And this is the gap that we've seen in Europe, mostly for EC charging, which was this EUR 10 million. As we look forward, we are seeing that it's getting better, and we expect already Q4 and Q1 to be clean in terms of inventory.

[Matthew Tractenberg, executive]

George, the only other thing I would add, it's Matt, by the way, is that this is now 4 quarters of channel destocking. So the inventory build at our channel partners ended in the third quarter of last year. So while we don't want to tell you that it's complete, the data that we're looking at suggests that we're nearing the end of that cycle. And so that's what Jordi was talking about, the impact being less going forward. That's what we believe, and we're getting that both from the data and from conversations with customers. So hopefully, that's helpful.

[Operator]

Our next question comes from Abhi Sinha of Northland Capital.

[Abhishek Sinha, analyst]

So I just want to understand on the ABL acquisition. I understand Germany was an import area where you were underrepresented. The first thing is, is that enough for you to make a breakthrough in Germany? Or would you require more similar acquisitions there? And second, is there any other import area in Europe where you are underrepresented and something more like this kind of acquisition might be a possibility?

[Enric Asuncion, executive]

Thank you, Abhi, this is Enric. So ABL is the market share leader in Germany. So when it comes to AC charging yes, it's more than enough. And the commercial network they have established after 100 years of a company, it's massive in Germany. They have presence in municipalities, in distribution channels, with installers. They even have a training center for installers all across Germany. So we're bringing Supernova and pull our products through their commercial network is going to be obviously a huge synergy. So yes, it's an app for AC and for this charging. ABL is super excited to start selling Supernovas actually. And they bring a product that for us was Ryan. Orion is our commercial charger focus to sell energy in commercial applications. The M4 fulfill exactly what Orion should have fulfill. is a product that is tested that is being sold. So as we speak now, what we are doing, we are offering it to other geographies where ABL is 1 presented. Obviously, they have strong in Germany, but not in the rest of Europe. And we also see a lot of synergies coming from there. When you ask about other countries that you think we think they're in representative, I think we -- after this acquisition, we are powerhouse in Europe -- we are the #1 manufacturer of EV charging in the European continent with offering in all segments from home commercial and fast charging and even by direction of charging. So Immediately, I say no. I say we don't need any other acquisition like this in Europe. But we also recognize there's going to be more consolidation in the European space. And we continue to look for opportunities. But by now, our focus is making sure we can grow the ABL business together with the Wallbox business.

[Operator]

Our next question comes from Stephen Gengaro of Stifel.

[Stephen Gengaro, analyst]

I think 2 for me. Just ABL contributed, I don't know, about EUR 13.5 million in the quarter. Is that -- and I know you gave some guidance on 2024 as well. Is that a reasonable run rate? And is there any seasonality we should be thinking about in the ABL business? Did I lose you?

[Matthew Tractenberg, executive]

Sorry about that.

[Operator]

I believe we've lost connection with the speaker team. There we go.

[Matthew Tractenberg, executive]

We're good. Okay. My apologies. So Stephen, just to clear that up, ABL did not contribute anything in the third quarter. The number that we gave you, which was approximately EUR 46 million was a data point to give you a sense of the size or the scale of the combined business. But remember, we closed the transaction on November 2. So we will include 2 months of Q4 in our Q4 numbers, but they didn't contribute today to the numbers that we reported here today. Your question was about linearity, seasonality or sort of the path forward. And I think what we want to leave you with is that we expect somewhere between EUR 60 million and EUR 75 million. during the 2024 period. We've set very aggressive targets for them and we'll continue to report on how their performance is. But how that shakes out over the next couple of quarters I think give us a quarter or 2 just to get our hands around the business and spend time with the team, and we'll share more with you on the next call. Okay?

[Stephen Gengaro, analyst]

And then just as a follow-up, you mentioned how strong that business was in 2022. I understand Germany is a more mature market. But I'm just sort of trying to understand the drop in revenue. I mean it half in 2022. What's behind that? Are they sold businesses? Is it just evolution of the German market? And is that EUR 150 million the kind of potential they could get back to?

[Enric Asuncion, executive]

Steven, this is Enric. So that's something that happened to all Chairman companies and companies that participate in the market. We also saw this drop on sales in the German market. That was driven by the KFW incentive. There was -- the German bank was subsidizing commercial and home chargers in Germany, almost for free, basically, including installation. And when that so last year, at the end had an impact in the whole market. We are seeing -- as you can see, the EUR 13 million, EUR 15 million revenue quarterly right now. And we obviously believe that they can go back there to these numbers. as the German market becomes more normalized after this year. You have to think that it was a very subsidized time in 2022, 2023 after the subsidies were finished Obviously, the market grows because there has been a lot of people that have bought charges in that period. But now in the Q3 and Q4, we are starting to see exciting opportunities. And we also saw new incentives coming from KFW in the German market. So it's not only that the market is improving. Also the same entity is adding smarter and less this rates incentive, but still that support the growth of the charging business.

[Matthew Tractenberg, executive]

So Stephen, yes, we -- I just want to be clear, we do believe it. Stephen, over time, we do believe that, that team can get back to those numbers. Okay.

[Operator]

Our next question comes from Ben Kallo of Baird.

[Ben Kallo, analyst]

All right. Just sticking to the acquisition there, can you give us any details about the process, was the competitive -- and then just because of that fluctuation in revenue from '22 to '23 and the thoughts about getting back to that. Can you talk how you guys looked at valuation when you made the acquisition? .

[Jordi Lainz, executive]

Yes. Ben, it's Jordi Lainz. Well, it has been a very special process because it was a private owned company by a family, it's a very old company. And they were doing significant efforts in 2022 in terms of investments to achieve higher growth on 2023, that finally, as Enric mentioned, did not come. This financing of these big investments and increase in headcount were expected for a market growth that didn't happen. And since first quarter 2023, this company show how their sales were not growing them on 15%, their sales were decreasing by 50%. And it creates stress situation that became on a bankruptcy process in June 2023, where the business was managed by administrator and same administration process. In that process, it's a third party, which is assisting to the existing owners to a selling process as quick as possible. In that situation, we were in front of a process with at least 2 competitors to European competitors and a couple of private venture companies. and selected company that was the most excited and complementary in terms of achievement common goals in terms of market share and complementary products was Wallbox. And this is why Wallbox presented an offer in competition with other 3 offers that was best elected because was considered the best option for the future growth of the business. And this is why it has been, as you can -- and the market has seen a very competitive and attractive pricing for the business for the whole business.

[Enric Asuncion, executive]

Ben, to add to that, this is Enric. So the owners of ABL at the time the family owner, they had part of the decision on who was the best offer. And the fact that there was no overlap between Wallbox and ABL, and they are very complementary companies. And that has obviously keeps forward the thesis that was an important part of the decision. But yes, it was a very competitive process.

[Ben Kallo, analyst]

As we think about gross margin and any kind of seasonality into next year, can you talk about if there is any seasonality think impacts gross margin? And any kind of -- there's a bunch of factors that you talked about in the prepared remarks impacting gross margin, but how we should think about ever increasing it and kind of timing for the increases in gross margin.

[Enric Asuncion, executive]

Yes. So we don't expect any seasonality. We expect constant improvement as the Generation 2 Supernova is becoming a bigger part of the product mix of our CFC sales. You have to see that Supernova has very high -- Supernova 2 has higher gross margin than Supernova, which was much lower, and that's the biggest driver in gross margin. when next -- at the end of this year, this current quarter, we are also launching Supernova in the U.S., and it's coming with a very great gross margin closer to the 40%, which is the target of the company. And therefore, also this will support building margin.

Additionally, as we keep producing our own inventory, the 1 we have in our warehouses that give us opportunities to improve the design to cost of our products. as we've been cleaning inventories from many products, we didn't have an opportunity to implement design to cost improvements that have not been seen because we were eating through inventory. But already this quarter also, there's new initiatives that are coming and reduce cost and impact obviously gross margin. So I think we should expect to see in general, an improvement on gross margin, getting close to the 40% target of the company. There might be some quarters where we have an extra sale of Supernova unless AC or more AC, unless Supernova, that's going to be what will create a little bit of noise. But in general, we expect improvement and no seasonability.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from Robert Jamieson of UBS.

[Robert Jamieson, analyst]

Just one, just to go back to ABL real quick, just 2-part question here. One, what's the level of EBITDA that they experienced in 2022? I know you said it was profitable and they generated EUR 150 million in revenue. And then, I guess, second to that, related to gross margin. I mean, look, it looks like you have a lot of opportunities here. You've got additional capacity for other components that you might have been buying from a third party, whether that's the socket manufacturing injection molding. Can you maybe talk about how to think about that next year in terms of gross margin and benefits there? And then as well as any kind of benefits to reduction in CapEx or OpEx that you'll also receive from ABL?

[Jordi Lainz, executive]

Robert, it's Jordi Lainz. As we mentioned in the script, company reported positive adjusted EBITDA in 2022 with single digits, positive single digit. -- on 2022. And last 3 years ago were constantly net profit. And this lower positive EBITDA, we do just that begin to decrease sales in the last quarter, but for year-end, was a positive adjusted EBITDA. And another point that we believe is really interesting is significant gross margins at the company has been reported historically in older portfolio that is around 40% and some months above.

[Enric Asuncion, executive]

Yes. Robert, going to the gross margin potential improvements, you're right. There's a lot of upside for gross margin. So we are not including in our target of 40% for next year. these potential upsides, but there's many things. So 1 thing that's very interesting is for our commercial products, for example, Pulsar socket or copper S we use a device that a socket that important part of the cost of the charge actually is where all the power goes -- so it's plastic with a lot of copper inside. And normally, we buy this from suppliers, but now ABL being an expert on the subject they manufacture them. They manufacture them for all the different markets because every market has a special socket designs. So this immediately brings an improvement on gross margins for these kind of products. Obviously, we don't expect to hit our P&L until the second half of the year as we are working on that right now. Or for example, ARIES, we make our PCs we assemble our own PCBs. And in this case, ABL has to buy PCBs from third parties. So in that case, also that's something we will work with ABL to provide to them. So there's a lot of opportunities here. Again, no overlap -- and that's why was so exciting to find out this about ABL and looking forward to this upside.

[Robert Jamieson, analyst]

[

Excellent. Congrats on the sounds exciting for next year. And then I guess just kind of more stepping back to a higher level question in U.S. and nevi deployments. Just curious with your conversations that you might be having and obviously, it's a very competitive landscape given everyone is trying to get their chargers in the ground. But just curious, what are some of the most important attributes that customers are looking for in terms of the charging equipment itself? I mean, is there anything that you've seen through your conversations that's consistently a topic of conversation. Just curious any insight there.

[Matthew Tractenberg, executive]

Yes, Robert, it's Matt. Thanks for the question. So I think that there's 3 things. One is the ability to effectively deploy OCPP. So what you're finding is that customers want to control the driver experience. we enable that. We're agnostic to it. And if that's something that they want, we're all for that. And that's not something that you see across the competitive landscape. Sometimes it's spoken about, but it's not particularly embraced. So that's the first thing that they're asking for. The second thing is modularity or scalability, right? I think that they want to scale into the higher power chargers eventually. There's not a lot of cars on the road today that can charge it 300 or more kilowatt speeds. And so what you're seeing is that they want to gradually layer themselves into that infrastructure and spend when it's needed. So that's two. And then I think the third thing is reliability. It's really the most important factor that everybody is asking about. And so high quality, making sure the uptime is impeccable Christine. That is something that we've been focused on since the beginning. We have a lot of good data and a lot of great experience here in Europe, delivering very, very high-quality DC fast chargers, and that's something that's top of mind for customers as well. Does that answer your question? .

[Robert Jamieson, analyst]

Yes, very helpful.

[Matthew Tractenberg, executive]

Charlie, I think that that's going to be our last question. So I want to thank everybody for joining us today. We hope you found today's call a good use of your time. Please watch our website for details if you're interested in meeting with us. Let us know if we can help you in any way. Have a great day, everyone.

[Operator]

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.