Plug Power Announces First Quarter 2011 Financial Results

LATHAM, N.Y., May 12, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG), a
leader in providing clean, reliable energy solutions, today reported its
financial results for the first quarter of 2011. This new year marks a fresh
start for Plug Power's scope of business. Unlike years past, 2011 marks the
first year the company is entirely committed to its GenDrive(R) product line. As
the only hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer to offer customers a complete product
suite enabling full-fleet conversions, Plug Power has captured over 85 percent
of the fuel cell-powered material handling market today.

Plug Power saw its most successful quarter in the company's history during the
first quarter of 2011, primarily based on the unprecedented number of commercial
orders it received. Order ramp-up, year over year, has legitimized the GenDrive
business for Plug Power, and helped illustrate the commercial traction driving
the company toward profitability. Plug Power closed out 2010 with a total of 543
GenDrive orders. In just the first quarter of 2011 alone, the company has
already exceeded full year totals for prior years, accumulating 555 GenDrive
unit orders.

Plug Power's current backlog of 938 orders represents approximately $19M in
future revenue; the company expects roughly 65 percent of these orders to ship
throughout the remainder of 2011. With this increase in orders, and engineering
improvements that utilize common components across product lines, Plug Power
expects to drive down material costs by 30 to 40 percent. Implementation is
currently underway and Plug Power expects these improvements to begin to impact
its financial results by the end of 2011.

Plug Power's customer list continues to grow with new adopters and repeat
customers who are implementing GenDrive-powered fleets at multiple facilities
within their organization. Specifically, Plug Power has seen an upswing in the
food distribution market.

"The continued commercial growth of our GenDrive business is a result of the
business-altering benefits experienced by our customers in the material handling
space," said Andy Marsh, CEO at Plug Power. "Early adopter customers are now
realizing results, and speaking to superior performance and reliability of
hydrogen fuel cells in their operations."

Financial Results

Net loss for the first quarter of 2011 was $7.2 million, or $0.05 per share on a
basic and diluted basis. This compares with a net loss of $10.6 million, or
$0.08 per share, for the first quarter of 2010.

Total revenue for the first quarter of 2011 was $6.0 million, comprised of $5.0
million for product and service revenue, $0.8 million for research and
development (R&D) contract revenue, and $0.2 million for licensed technology
revenue. This compares to total revenue of $4.4 million in the first quarter of
2010, which was comprised of $3.2 million of product and service revenue and
$1.2 million of R&D contract revenue.

The Company shipped 144 units during the first quarter of 2011 compared to 104
units in the first quarter of 2010.

Total cost of revenue for the first quarter of 2011 was $8.0 million, comprised
of $6.7 million for product and service cost of revenue and $1.3 million for R&D
contract cost of revenue. This compares to total cost of revenue of $5.2 million
in the first quarter of 2010, which was comprised of $3.3 million of product and
service cost of revenue and $1.9 million for R&D contract cost of revenue.

R&D expenses for the first quarter of 2011 were $1.1 million compared with $5.5
million for the first quarter of 2010. The overall decline in R&D expenses is
related to our corporate restructuring plan, and our transition from a
development stage enterprise focused on research and development to a company
focused on the commercial production of our products.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were $3.6 million for the
first quarter of 2011 compared with $3.9 million for the first quarter of 2010.
Additionally, $0.6 million was expensed for amortization of intangible assets
during the first quarter of 2011 compared to $0.6 million for the first quarter
of 2010.

Cash and Liquidity

Net cash used in operating activities for the first quarter of 2011 was $7.2
million. On March 31, 2011, Plug Power had cash, cash equivalents and
available-for-sale securities of $13.0 million and net working capital of $17.2
million. This compares to $21.4 million and $23.7 million, respectively, at
December 31, 2010.

The accompanying financial statements and reconciliation tables provide
additional information on the Company's year-to-date performance as it relates
to milestones previously announced.

Conference Call and 10-Q Filing

Plug Power has scheduled a conference call on May 25, 2011 at 10:00 am ET to
review the Company's results for the first quarter of 2011. Interested parties
are invited to listen to the conference call by calling 877.407.8291 or
201.689.8345 for international participants.

The webcast can be accessed by going directly to the Plug Power Web site
(www.plugpower.com) and selecting the conference call link on the home page. A
playback will be available online for a period following the call.

Plug Power will file its Quarterly Form 10-Q on or before May 13, 2011.

About Plug Power Inc.

The architects of modern fuel cell technology, Plug Power revolutionized the
industry with cost-effective power solutions that increase productivity, lower
operating costs and reduce carbon footprints. Long-standing relationships with
industry leaders forged the path for our key accounts, including Wegmans, Whole
Foods, and FedEx Freight. With more than 1,200 GenDrive units shipped to
material handling customers, accumulating over 2.5 million hours of runtime,
Plug Power manufactures tomorrow's incumbent power solutions today. Visit us at
www.plugpower.com.

The Plug Power Inc. logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4446

Plug Power Inc. Safe Harbor Statement

This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to
expectations regarding revenues, reductions in material and product costs,
improvements in gross margin, and unit orders and shipments. These statements
are based on current expectations that are subject to certain assumptions, risks
and uncertainties, any of which are difficult to predict, are beyond our control
and that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations
in our forward-looking statements including, but not limited to: the risk that
we continue to incur losses and might never achieve or maintain profitability,
the risk that the additional capital we expect we will need to raise to fund our
operations beyond the first quarter of 2012 may not be available; our lack of
extensive experience in manufacturing and marketing products may impact our
ability to manufacture and market products on a profitable and large-scale
commercial basis; the risk that unit orders will not ship, be installed and/or
converted to revenue, in whole or in part; the risk that pending orders may not
convert to purchase orders, in whole or in part; the risk that our continued
failure to comply with NASDAQ's listing standards may severely limit our ability
to raise additional capital; the cost and timing of developing, marketing and
selling our products and our ability to raise the necessary capital to fund such
costs; the ability to achieve the forecasted gross margin on the sale of our
products; the actual net cash used for operating expenses may exceed the
projected net cash for operating expenses; the cost and availability of fuel and
fueling infrastructures for our products; market acceptance of our GenDrive
systems; our ability to establish and maintain relationships with third parties
with respect to product development, manufacturing, distribution and servicing
and the supply of key product components; the cost and availability of
components and parts for our products; our ability to develop commercially
viable products; our ability to reduce product and manufacturing costs; our
ability to successfully expand our product lines; our ability to improve system
reliability for our GenDrive systems; competitive factors, such as price
competition and competition from other traditional and alternative energy
companies; our ability to protect our intellectual property; the cost of
complying with current and future federal, state and international governmental
regulations; and other risks and uncertainties discussed under "Item IA-Risk
Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2010, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 31,
2011, and the reports we file from time to time with the SEC. Plug Power does
not intend to, and undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements
as a result of new information or future events.

Financial Highlights

Balance Sheets (Dollars in
thousands):
--------------------------------
(unaudited)

March 31, December 31,
2011 2010
------------ ------------
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 13,002 $ 10,955
Available-for-sale securities -- 10,403
Accounts receivable 4,327 4,196
Inventory 9,717 10,539
Assets held for sale 1,000 1,000
Prepaid expenses and other
current assets 1,233 1,585
------------ ------------

Total current assets 29,279 38,678

Restricted cash 525 525
Property, plant and equipment,
net 10,310 9,839
Investment in leased property -- 263
Intangible assets, net 9,460 9,872

------------ ------------

Total assets $ 49,574 $ 59,177
============ ============

Liabilities and Stockholders'
Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 2,022 $ 3,560
Accrued expenses 3,965 4,336
Product warranty reserve 992 863
Current portion long term debt -- 10
Deferred revenue 3,966 4,350

Other current liabilities 1,125 1,901
------------ ------------

Total current liabilities 12,070 15,020

Other liabilities 1,279 1,244
------------ ------------

Total liabilities 13,349 16,264

Stockholders' equity 36,225 42,913

------------ ------------
Total liabilities and
stockholders' equity $ 49,574 $ 59,177
============ ============

Statements of Operations Three months ended March
(Dollars in thousands): 31,
-------------------------------- --------------------------
(unaudited)

2011 2010
------------ ------------
Revenue
Product and service revenue $ 4,994 $ 3,163
Research and development
contract revenue 785 1,208

Licensed technology revenue 163 --
------------ ------------
Total revenue 5,942 4,371

Cost of revenue and expenses
Cost of product and service
revenue 6,690 3,288
Cost of research and
development contract revenue 1,337 1,882
Research and development
expense 1,063 5,487
Selling, general and
administrative expense 3,562 3,857
Amortization of intangible
assets 581 562
------------ ------------

Operating loss (7,291) (10,705)

Interest and other income and
realized loss from
available-for-sale securities 34 342
Change in fair value of auction
rate securities repurchase
agreement -- (666)
Net trading gain -- 666
Interest and other expense and
foreign currency gain (loss) 14 (196)
------------ ------------

Net loss $ (7,243) $ (10,559)
============ ============

Loss per share: Basic and
diluted $ (0.05) $ (0.08)
============ ============

Weighted average number of
common shares outstanding 132,250,954 130,440,572
============ ============

Plug Power Inc.
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP financial measures

Reconciliation of Reported Net loss to EBITDAS
---------------------------------------------------

Three months
ended March 31,
-----------------------

2011 2010
---------- -----------

Operating loss, as reported $ (7,291) $ (10,705)

Stock based compensation 392 506

Depreciation and amortization 1,087 1,384
---------- -----------

EBITDAS $ (5,812) $ (8,815)
========== ===========

EBITDAS is defined as net income before interest
expense, provision for income taxes, depreciation
and amortization expense and charges for equity
compensation. EBITDAS is a non-GAAP measure of our
financial performance and should not be considered
as alternatives to net income or any other
performance measure derived in accordance with
GAAP, or as an alternative to cash flows from
operating activities as a measure of our
liquidity.

Reconciliation of Gross margin percentage to Adjusted gross
margin percentage
---------------------------------------------------------------

Three months
ended March 31,
-----------------------

2011 2010
---------- -----------

Total revenues, as reported $ 5,942 $ 4,371

Licensed technology revenue (163) --
Deferred revenue recognized from previous reporting
periods (474) (833)
Current invoiceable value of shipments, recorded to
deferred revenue 253 --
---------- -----------

Total revenues, as adjusted $ 5,558 $ 3,538
========== ===========

Total cost of product and service revenue and cost
of research and development revenue $ 8,027 $ 5,170
========== ===========

Gross margin percentage (35.1%) (18.3%)
========== ===========

Adjusted gross margin percentage (44.4%) (46.1%)
========== ===========

Gross margin percentage is a financial ratio used to indicate the
relationship between cost of sales and total revenue. We use the term
adjusted gross margin percentage to refer to total revenue, as adjusted,
less total cost of product and service revenue and total cost of research
and development contract revenue as a percentage of total revenues, as
adjusted. This non-GAAP financial measure allows management to view gross
margin percentage as if revenue had been fully recognized upon invoicing.
We believe that these non-GAAP measures, when taken together with our GAAP
financial measures, allow us and our investors to better evaluate
short-term and long-term profitability trends.

While management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide
useful supplemental information to investors, there are limitations
associated with the use of these non-GAAP financial measures. These
measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP and may not be directly
comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential
differences in the exact method of calculation.

Plug Power Inc. and Subsidiaries
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)

Three months ended
March 31,
-----------------------

2011 2010
---------- -----------
Cash Flows From Operating Activities:
Net loss $ (7,243) $ (10,559)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net
cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 505 822
Amortization of intangible asset 582 562
Stock-based compensation 392 506
Provision for bad debts -- 93
Realized loss on available for sale
securities 22
Net unrealized gains on trading securities -- (666)
Change in fair value of auction rate debt
securities repurchase agreement -- 666
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of
effects of acquisitions:
Accounts receivable (130) (684)
Inventory 1,076 (352)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 351 664
Accounts payable and accrued expenses (2,386) (1,222)

Deferred revenue (384) (834)
---------- -----------

Net cash used in operating activities (7,215) (11,004)
---------- -----------

Cash Flows From Investing Activities:
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (967) (386)
Investment in leased property -- (283)
Proceeds from trading securities -- 8,250
Proceeds from maturities and sales of
available-for-sale securities 10,399 25,928

Purchases of available-for-sale securities -- (20,009)
---------- -----------
Net cash provided by investing
activities 9,432 13,500
---------- -----------

Cash Flows From Financing Activities:
Purchase of treasury stock (158) (439)
Repayment from borrowings under line of
credit -- (8,250)

Principal payments on long-term debt (10) (103)
---------- -----------

Net cash used in financing activities (168) (8,792)
---------- -----------

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash (2) (16)
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash
equivalents 2,047 (6,312)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of
period 10,955 14,581

---------- -----------

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 13,002 $ 8,269
========== ===========

CONTACT: Media Contact:
Reid Hislop
Plug Power Inc.
Phone: (518) 782-7700 ext. 1360

Investor Relations Contact:
Cathy Yudzevich
Plug Power Inc.
Phone: (518) 782-7700 ext. 1448