The facilities for jumping to listing in the United States have been one of Ferrovial’s arguments to justify the transfer of its headquarters to the Netherlands. The company intends to make its debut on the New York market via Amsterdam, a path similar to the one followed by the Wallbox electric car charger company, but which did not then imply the transfer of its tax residence to the Netherlands. “We created a holding company in the Netherlands to go public, but the fiscal headquarters remained in Spain,” said Enric Asunción, CEO of the technology company.
Wallbox went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2021 through a SPAC. The company chose the Netherlands to expedite procedures, but avoided moving its fiscal headquarters. The firm still does not pay Corporate Tax or dividends because it is in losses due to its growth, but once the benefits arrive, it guarantees that the rates will be taxed in Spain.
Without directly mentioning Ferrovial, the automotive sector firm did mark differences with the Del Pino family group. “The holding company was set up in the Netherlands from a commercial point of view because our lawyers recommended the country’s legislation as it was more efficient and quicker when it came to going public in the United States, a process that took us between three and six months, but at a tax level we guarantee that we will pay all taxes in Spain”, explained the financial director, Jordi Lainz, in the presentation of 2022 results.
Wallbox was the first Spanish company to be listed in the United States through a SPAC
Wallbox, which is listed in the United States through the Dutch holding company Wallbox NV –a company created specifically for this purpose-, It was the first Spanish company to enter the American stock markets through a SPAC. It had never been done before and to try to expedite the process the Netherlands was chosen, since similar operations had already been undertaken from there.
However, the company’s assets and staff are in Wallbox SL, the Spanish subsidiary 100% owned by the Central European parent company. And they guarantee that it was structured in such a way that at the fiscal level it remains in Madrid – not in Barcelona, where it centralizes its operations. This could be done because, although it is rare for them to differ, Spanish law allows the registered office and the tax office to not be the same.
Today, the company has a factory in Arlington (Texas) and concentrates 25% of sales in the United States. In addition, it has been declared eligible by the Biden administration to opt for the 7.5 billion dollars that the White House intends to distribute to build electrical charging infrastructure in the country.
Wallbox results in 2022
The company presented its 2022 operating results this Wednesday, a year that ended with an adjusted Ebitda -discounting the stock options of workers- of negative 88.2 million, 150% more than the negative 35.22 million of the campaign 2021. Revenues doubled (+105%) to 146.9 million.
Wallbox did not make its net result public for the moment, but justified the red numbers by the costs associated with its growth. Last year, for example, it opened two factories: one in Barcelona for the European market and another in Arlington (Texas) to supply the US market. In addition, it undertook the acquisition of the American charger installer COIL Inc and Ares Electronics, a Spanish component firm.
However, the brake on the electric car market took its toll on him and he had to lower his expectations. “It was expected that in 2023 4 million electric cars would be delivered in Europe, but the figure has now been cut to 3.1 million”, compared Asunción. For this reason, the company presented an employment regulation file (ERE) with the aim of saving 50 million per year that affected 96 employees.
By 2023, the organization predicts a growth in the turnover of between 60% and 100%, until reaching between 240 and 290 million. In the last quarter of this year, positive Ebitda should be registered for the first time, a circumstance that will continue throughout 2024 and will be consolidated in 2025 with the first net profit, according to the plan presented to the market.
