Fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems reported a revenue of $15.4 million in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, a 6% year-over-year (YoY) increase, supported by growth in the bus segment of the heavy-duty mobility market. The revenue, however, fell short of analysts’ expectations by $1.33 million.

Ballard’s bus-related revenue surged 41% YoY to $12.5 million, driving a 22% increase in the revenue of the heavy-duty mobility segment to $12.9 million. However, this was offset by weaker sales in truck, rail, and marine verticals.

Revenue from the stationary segment declined 84% YoY to just $0.6 million, while the emerging and other markets category jumped 757% YoY to $1.9 million.

The company reported adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) loss of $27.5 million, improving from a loss of $36.6 million in Q1 2024. The improvement in adjusted EBITDA was driven primarily by margin and operating cost improvements, as well as certain changes in mark-to-market gains on financial assets.

Net loss stood at $21 million, decreasing from $41.3 million in the same quarter last year.

The company reported a loss per share of $0.07, beating analysts’ expectations by  $0.03.

Ballard’s total operating expenses fell 31% YoY to $25.5 million, driven by reductions across research and development (28%), general and administrative (32%), and sales and marketing (23%). Cash operating costs decreased 22% YoY to $23.2 million. These cost cuts stemmed from corporate restructuring efforts initiated in September 2024.

Cash used in operating activities totaled $24.4 million, up from $20 million in Q1 2024, as Ballard continues to invest in operations amid the ongoing industry transition. The company ended the quarter with $576.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, eliminating the need for near- or mid-term financing.

The order backlog at the end of Q1 2025 was $158 million, a decrease of 9% compared to the end of Q4 2024, because of delivering more revenue in Q1 than new orders received in Q1. The 12-month order book was $92.4 million at the end of Q1, a decrease of $6.6 million or 7% from the end of Q4 2024.

President and CEO Randy MacEwen acknowledged the industry’s current challenges. “While we saw soft order intake in Q1 due to market rationalization and tariff uncertainties, we remain optimistic about receiving significant orders in the coming quarters. Our restructuring efforts are showing early financial benefits, and we will continue to focus on disciplined execution.”

On the macroeconomic and geopolitical context affecting operations, he said, “In the first quarter, amidst an uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical industry context, we made important progress against our controllables, including customer deliveries, operating costs, and product development programs. We expect to realize further reductions to our operating costs and reduce cash utilization over the remainder of the year from this restructuring.”

“While uncertainties around evolving global tariff policies remain, expected policy changes are not likely to materially impact our business in 2025. We’ve reviewed the bills of materials for each of our fuel cell engines and assessed the potential tariff impact based on the country of origin of each BOM component. We expect sales in the U.S. to represent roughly 20% of our 2025 revenue. Based on current information and following certain mitigation actions, we expect an increased tariff cost of about 20% on products being sold into the U.S. market, for which we expect to fully pass the incremental costs on to our customers,” MacEwen said.

He added that Ballard had already taken steps to mitigate these impacts, such as accelerating the movement of some materials into the U.S. before the tariffs took effect and evaluating supplier transitions. However, these come with some complexity and timing challenges.

MacEwen acknowledged ongoing pricing pressures, “There’s a lot of pressure on the selling price in China. In Europe and North America, we’re seeing pressure there as well — both from a value proposition for the customer and competitive pressures.”

On the cost side, Ballard continues to focus on reducing fuel cell stack costs and balance-of-plant component costs. He reiterated, “The key is the whole market understanding that there will be some pass-through of tariff costs through the value chain. I don’t expect to have any major update on this front later this year.”

Ballard has maintained its 2025 guidance ranges for total operating expenses at $100–$120 million and capital expenditures at $15–$25 million, with expectations for back-half-weighted revenue performance as the hydrogen and fuel cell markets gradually recover.

Ballard reported a revenue of $24.5 million, a 48% YoY decline, in the fourth quarter of 2024, reaching $24.5 million.