Australian EV charging manufacturer Tritium goesinto administration
Australian electric vehicle (EV)charging equipment manufacturer Tritium, which had pivoted to theUS market, has declared itself insolvent.
Troubled Tritium, in a filing on April 18, 2024 with the US Securitiesand Exchange Commission (SEC), has called for an administrator to be appointed.
“On April 18, 2024, by resolutions of their boards, it was determinedthat the Company and three of its Australian subsidiaries, Tritium Pty Ltd,Tritium Holdings Pty Ltd and Tritium Nominee Pty Ltd… were insolvent or likelyto become insolvent,” the filing reads.
In the filing, it says Peter Gothard, James Dampney, and William Colwellof KPMG should be appointed as joint and several administrators of theNasdaq-listed firm.
They’ll take control of the companies subject to their appointment.
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Australian EVcharging manufacturer Tritium goes into administration© Provided byCarExpert.com.au
TheAustralian reports McGrathNicol’s restructuring team has been named receiversand managers of Tritium, with Shaun Fraser telling the publication the team’simmediate focus was to stabilise the company’s operations and work closely withits employees, customers and suppliers “to secure the best possible outcome forall parties”.
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“A sale process for Tritium’s business and assets was underway prior toour appointment and we will be re-engaging as a matter of urgency withinterested parties and the broader market to seek to find long-term capital,”Mr Fraser said.
Tritium was founded in 2001 in Brisbane as an engineering consultingfirm, and in 2013 introduced its first DC fast charger.
By 2020 it had become a leading provider of DC chargers with a claimed15 per cent global market share, and the backing of coal barons Trevor St Bakerand Brian Flannery.
The next year saw a successful Nasdaq stock listing in 2021, which hadTritium valued at $2 billion.
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Tritium’s Brisbanefacility© Provided by CarExpert.com.au
It inked a deal in January 2023 to supplyBP with fast-chargers, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calledthe firm a local example of innovation and success that October.
But in November 2023 it announced it would shutter its Brisbane facilityto consolidatemanufacturing operations at its Lebanon, Tennessee plant in theUS.
It said the move aligned with its plans to be profitable in 2024, but bythis point, its share price was on a downward slide.
One investor, Brian Flannery, told TheAustralian Financial Review at the time that the companyhad left the factory closure too late.
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Australian EVcharging manufacturer Tritium goes into administration© Provided byCarExpert.com.au
“The current directors have let it go too far and watched the marginsdisappear,” Mr Flannery told the AFR.
“They should have bitten the bullet and moved to the United Statesearlier and kept an R&D [research and development] centre in Brisbane.
“I think they need to find a big backer to take it private. I thinktaking it private is the only option. I am hoping someone takes them over.”
He reportedly sold hisfive per cent stake in the firm in February 2024.
Tritium received a deficiency notice from Nasdaq in October 2023 saying thebid price of its ordinary shares had closed below US$1 per share for theprevious 30 consecutive days.
In March 2024, it received a delisting determination from Nasdaq as itsordinary shares had a closing bid price of US$0.10 or less for 10 consecutivetrading days.
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Australian EVcharging manufacturer Tritium goes into administration© Provided byCarExpert.com.au
Tritium subsequently did a reverse stock split, with every 200 hundredshares consolidated into one. Subsequently, the firm received a notice fromNasdaq that it didn’t meet the required number of publicly held shares tocontinue being listed.
Attempts to secure external capital from state and federal governmentsappear to have been unsuccessful.
Ex-Tritium employees told CarExpert earlierthis year, under the condition of anonymity, that the companysuffered from poor management, while its products were unreliable.
“There were a lot of design flaws [in the chargers] that were mostlyignored. People at the top refused to make the necessary changes,” one formeremployee told CarExpert.
“I loved the company and the career progression opportunities that wereat hand, but it wasn’t too long until I started to notice the company waslosing its spark due to bad management.
“No one wanted to take accountability when things went wrong but ratherplayed the blame game. Issues were never resolved because of that.”
MORE: Electriccar chargers ‘flawed’ and faulty – ex-Tritium employees
AustralianEV charging manufacturer Tritium goes into administration (msn.com)
