SunPower gets Nasdaq deficiency notice for late filing

(Image by Markus Spiske from Pixabay.)

SunPower, a residential solar technology and energy services provider, announced it received a notice from the Nasdaq indicating that the company is not in compliance with a Nasdaq listing rule after a delay in filing a form.

Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) requires timely filing of all required periodic financial reports with the SEC. Since SunPower did not timely file the Form 10-K with the SEC, it received the notice.

The notice has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of the company’s common stock on the Nasdaq, but the composite requires companies who receive deficiency notices to make a public announcement disclosing that they received the notice, as well as the rule(s) upon which the notice was based.

The notice indicated that the company must submit a plan to regain compliance with the Listing Rule within 60 calendar days and, following receipt of such plan, Nasdaq may grant an extension of up to 180 calendar days from the Form 10-K due date, or until September 11, 2024, for the company to regain compliance.

SunPower has also been grappling with debt problems and a CEO shakeup. In February, the company announced that CEO Peter Faricy had departed the company effective February 26, 2024, with the board conducting a search process to identify a permanent CEO.

Earlier in February, SunPower announced it had raised $175 million in capital financing through a second-lien term loan, following a debt fiasco that can be traced back to an inventory reporting error. Before that announcement, SunPower said it had received additional waiver extensions from Atlas Securitized Products Holdings, L.P., and Bank of America, providing for the extension of the latest temporary waivers until February 16.

In December 2023, SunPower announced it had breached a credit agreement due to late financial reporting caused by a subsidiary’s inventory reporting error, per Reuters, which allowed its lenders to immediately demand the repayment of its $65 million debt. The company soon received a waiver from its lenders preventing technical default and providing $75 million in funding, extending the timeframe for repayment. SunPower said it would likely not be able to continue operations if it was not able to secure more funding.