Pod Point’s profit skyrockets as EV market soars
Electric vehicle (EV) charging firm Pod Point has reported skyrocketing profits as a result of strong consumer demand.
In the year ended 31 December, the company registered an 86 per cent increase in year-on-year revenue, going up to £61.4m, while gross profit surged 99 per cent. Gross margins went up two per cent, while home gross margins grew from 25 per cent to 28 per cent.
In Pod Point’s first results since its October £120m IPO, the EV charging provider’s EBITDA amounted to £58,000 as a result of revenues increasing.
“I desperately wanted to present a great set of figures and I think we did just that this morning,” Pod Point’s chief executive Erik Fairbairn told Morning Wire today. “Whether we’re talking about home charge or commercial, all parts of Pod Point are really singing.”
The firm’s market share in home charging increased to 18 per cent, with 54,977 home units installed, while commercial charging retained a 4 per cent piece of the pie. Pod Point signed significant agreements with both commercial partners such as Lidl or Tesco and with automotive giants such as Fiat and Jaguar Land Rover.
According to Fairbairn, 2021 was the year EV became a mass market, opening growth opportunities for years to come. “2021 is the setup for 2022, and I expect to see some wonderful ongoing growth in the electric vehicle market,” he said. “We thought 2021 was a good year and 2022 to me looks like it’s going to continue that trend very much.”
Even though some analysts believe there is a discrepancy between EV demand and the infrastructure available, Fairbairn said infrastructure is being built concurrent with the number of cars on the road.
“We have one per cent of electric vehicles on the road today and we have some charging infrastructure which is sensible versus one per cent of vehicles being electric,” he said. “What we don’t have is charging infrastructure for 10 per cent of EV.
“What we have to do is continue building the charging infrastructure concurrent with the number of cars coming to the market.”
As more and more people turn to EVs, so companies such as Pod Point plan to roll out infrastructure.
“We are a long way from finishing, we’re very much on a journey but I think we’re doing a very respectable job of it.”