FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:FCEL) announced Wednesday that it is planning to add more than 100 manufacturing jobs as it increases annual production to 55 megawatts from the current 25 megawatts run rate.
The Danbury, Connecticut-based company said it will add over 100 manufacturing jobs at its Torrington, Connecticut, manufacturing facility to support the 120% increase in production rate.
FuelCell Energy designs, installs, services and operates fuel cell power plants for power generation.
Investors sent shares up nearly 4% in premarket trade on news. In the opening minutes of trading, the stock is slightly higher to $US1.34.
READ: FuelCell Energy developed 62.3 megawatts worth of projects during the fiscal 2Q
Last year, FuelCell undertook the expansion of its manufacturing facility to better position for growth after winning two projects totaling 22.2 megawatts from Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
“With approximately 85 megawatts of new projects slated for production over the next 18 months, and a very active pipeline of new projects, we are confident that this is the right time to take this action," FuelCell Energy CEO Chip Bottone said in a statement.
The CEO also said the firm’s financial performance reflected the impact of the “reduced manufacturing run-rate over the past couple of years, costing the business over US$12mln annually in under-absorbed factory overhead."
"Once this production increase is fully implemented, we will no longer have this drag on our financial results," said Bottone.
Contact Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive