Distributed generation storage and energy services company SunPower Corporation’s net loss widened to $51 million for the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year (FY) 2023 against the loss of $2 million year-on-year (YoY), primarily due to higher cost of revenue and operational expenses.

Higher cost of revenue led to Sunpower’s gross margin dipping to 17.1% in the quarter compared with 21.7% YoY.

However, the company’s revenue rose by 26% YoY to $440.9 million for January-March, mainly driven by higher customer additions. The company added 21,000 new customers during the quarter, up 27% YoY.

SunPower adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) stood at $1 million in Q1, down from $11 million YoY.

Additionally, the company repaid $425 million convertible debt in January 2023.

SunPower invested in a unique virtual power plant in collaboration with OhmConnect, in California during Q1.

The company’s complete storage solution— SunVault battery storage will connect with OhmConnect to dispatch excess stored energy to Sunpower’s solar customers during low sun days.

SunPower also piloted new scheduling software in the quarter, enabling more reliable appointment times and providing customers with real-time tracking of technicians traveling to their site.

SunPower’s  CEO Peter Faricy said, “We exited the first quarter with high customer growth, significant new financing commitments, and unprecedented retrofit backlog driven by our efforts securing customers under NEM 2.0. This progress, despite challenging weather in California, validates the strength of the residential solar market and SunPower’s ability to capture growing demand.”

“As retail electricity rates continue to rise and consumers urgently seek a more affordable and reliable energy source, the solar value proposition remains strong.”

KKR Funds

Recently, the company announced that it has inked a definitive agreement with global investment firm KKR under which credit funds managed by the latter will commit to buying $550 million of solar energy loans made to Sunpower customers.

SunPower’s Chief Financial Officer Guthrie Dundas commented, “With the closing of this transaction, we have raised sufficient capital year-to-date to fund a total of $1 billion of incremental solar loans for SunPower’s customers.  As demand continues to rise, we expect this additional capital will power our loan bookings volume into 2024 and enable SunPower to increase access to the benefits of solar for more homeowners.”

KKR’s Managing Director Avi Korn said, “Residential solar is a key area of focus for our Asset-Based Finance business. We look forward to supporting one of the industry’s leading platforms to provide solar and energy services through this transaction.”

SunPower posted a YoY increase of 43% in revenue at $497.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, primarily driven by the addition of 23,700 new customers, up 39% YoY. It was also the company’s highest-ever customer acquisition in a quarter.