Exhibit 99

Capstone Turbine Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2018 Financial Results

Year-over-Year Quarterly Revenue Increases 32%

Quarterly Gross Margin Expands from 5% to 15% of Revenue Year-over-Year

Adjusted EBITDA Loss Improves 55% to $2.3 Million from $5.1 Million Last Year

Conference Call and Webcast to Be Held Today at 1:45 PM PT, 4:45 PM ET

CHATSWORTH, Calif., Nov. 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.capstoneturbine.com) (NASDAQ:CPST), the world’s leading clean technology manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, reported financial results for its second quarter of fiscal 2018 ended September 30, 2017.

The company reported total revenue of $19.8 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2018 and a net loss of $3.7 million, or $0.09 per share. This compares with total revenue of $15.0 million and a net loss of $5.9 million, or $0.19 per share, reported for the second quarter of fiscal 2017. Weighted average shares outstanding for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 were 42.9 million compared with 30.5 million in the year-ago quarter.

Operating expenses for the quarter decreased 8% to $5.9 million from $6.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating expenses were the lowest reported since the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999. The Adjusted EBITDA loss improved 55% to $2.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2018 from $5.1 million in the year-ago quarter.

“Our second quarter and six-month year-to-date results are in-line with our internal expectations and represent a significant improvement over last year. In fact, our second quarter operating expenses were the lowest in 18 years,” said Darren Jamison, President and Chief Executive Officer of Capstone.

“Significant progress has been made on our multi-point strategic profitability plan. We recently announced that we are expecting to see an expansion of our accessories, parts and service business over the next two quarters with increased revenue and improved margins, lowering our operating expense target to $5 million a quarter once our Chatsworth facility is subleased and expecting to see $2.5 million in bad debt recovery in the next two quarters,” said Mr. Jamison. “This represents significant successful execution against our strategic plan, and when combined with the recently confirmed shipment of the 5.2 MWs for a large pipeline project, the Capstone team believes we have an opportunity to accelerate our goal of reaching Adjusted EBITDA breakeven in the upcoming December and/or March quarters,” said Mr. Jamison. “This is not our final business destination as we are just getting rolling, but it would mark a very significant milestone for all Capstone employees and stakeholders,” added Mr. Jamison.

Business developments and milestones recently achieved

Financial Highlights of Fiscal 2018 Second Quarter:

“Although our book-to-bill ratio temporarily slowed compared to the previous two quarters as our product mix shifted to smaller 65-kilowatt units during the quarter, recent hurricane activity is driving additional near-term opportunities in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico,” added Mr. Jamison. “We had previously quoted projects in these regions, however, as a result of the recent hurricanes the project operators are looking to potentially accelerate their project timelines,” added Mr. Jamison.

“We continue to manage the balance sheet and working capital while focusing on our war on costs and making progress towards our near-term goal of obtaining Adjusted EBITDA breakeven,” said Ms. Brooks. “Last week we added an additional $1.7 million in cash to our balance sheet with the exercise of warrants, which contributed to our objectives of maintaining a strong balance sheet and working to clean up our cap table,” added Ms. Brooks.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income before interest, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization expense, stock-based compensation expense, the change in warrant valuation and restructuring charges. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of our liquidity or financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative 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. 

Conference Call and Webcast
The company will host a live webcast today, November 2, 2017, at 1:45 PM Pacific Time (4:45 PM Eastern Time) to provide the results of the second quarter fiscal 2018 ended September 30, 2017. The company will discuss its financial results and will provide an update on its business activities. At the end of the conference call, Capstone will host a question-and-answer session to provide an opportunity for financial analysts to ask questions. Investors and interested individuals are invited to listen to the webcast by logging on to the company's investor relations webpage at www.capstoneturbine.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on the website for 30 days.

About Capstone Turbine Corporation
Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.capstoneturbine.com) (NASDAQ:CPST) is the world's leading producer of low-emission microturbine systems and was the first to market commercially viable microturbine energy products. Capstone has shipped over 9,000 Capstone Microturbine systems to customers worldwide. These award-winning systems have logged millions of documented runtime operating hours. Capstone is a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Combined Heat and Power Partnership, which is committed to improving the efficiency of the nation's energy infrastructure and reducing emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases. A UL-Certified ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 certified company, Capstone is headquartered in the Los Angeles area with sales and/or service centers in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is used in the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "objective," "intend," "targeted," "plan" and similar phrases. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties described in Capstone's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that may cause Capstone's actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied in such statements. Capstone cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Capstone undertakes no obligation, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

"Capstone" and "Capstone Microturbine" are registered trademarks of Capstone Turbine Corporation. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. 

Financial Tables Follow

 
CAPSTONE TURBINE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share amounts)
(Unaudited)
               
    September 30,   March 31,  
    2017     2017    
Assets              
Current Assets:              
Cash and cash equivalents   $  10,156     $  14,191    
Restricted cash      5,000        5,514    
Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $6,773 at September 30, 2017 and $6,845 at March 31, 2017      13,248        17,003    
Inventories      16,274        14,538    
Prepaid expenses and other current assets      2,545        3,073    
Total current assets      47,223        54,319    
Property, plant and equipment, net      2,232        2,115    
Non-current portion of inventories      994        961    
Intangible assets, net      523        651    
Other assets      331        225    
Total assets   $  51,303     $  58,271    
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity              
Current Liabilities:              
Accounts payable and accrued expenses   $  14,096     $  14,719    
Accrued salaries and wages      1,834        1,819    
Accrued warranty reserve      2,562        3,766    
Deferred revenue      4,999        5,050    
Revolving credit facility      9,575        11,533    
Current portion of notes payable and capital lease obligations      14        302    
Total current liabilities      33,080        37,189    
Long-term portion of notes payable and capital lease obligations      20        26    
Other long-term liabilities      136        158    
Total liabilities      33,236        37,373    
Commitments and contingencies              
Stockholders’ Equity:              
Preferred stock, $.001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; none issued      —        —    
Common stock, $.001 par value; 515,000,000 shares authorized, 44,959,744 shares issued and 44,813,869 shares outstanding at September 30, 2017;
38,920,174 shares issued and 38,803,630 shares outstanding at March 31, 2017
     45        39    
Additional paid-in capital      879,639        874,697    
Accumulated deficit      (859,959 )      (852,199 )  
Treasury stock, at cost; 145,875 shares at September 30, 2017 and 116,544 shares at March 31, 2017      (1,658 )      (1,639 )  
Total stockholders’ equity      18,067        20,898    
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity   $  51,303     $  58,271    
 


                           
CAPSTONE TURBINE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
                           
    Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended  
    September 30,   September 30,  
    2017     2016     2017     2016    
Revenue:                          
Product, accessories and parts   $  16,005     $  11,518     $  31,496     $  27,301    
Service      3,769        3,480        7,518        6,762    
Total revenue      19,774        14,998        39,014        34,063    
Cost of goods sold:                          
Product, accessories and parts      13,549        11,341        27,586        24,978    
Service      3,209        2,987        6,173        5,416    
Total cost of goods sold      16,758        14,328        33,759        30,394    
Gross margin      3,016        670        5,255        3,669    
Operating expenses:                          
Research and development      1,139        1,350        2,288        2,972    
Selling, general and administrative      4,796        5,036        9,757        10,782    
Total operating expenses      5,935        6,386        12,045        13,754    
Loss from operations      (2,919 )      (5,716 )      (6,790 )      (10,085 )  
Other income (expense)      14        (27 )      4        (43 )  
Interest income      —        7        9        12    
Interest expense      (98 )      (129 )      (319 )      (263 )  
Change in warrant valuation      (657 )      —        (657 )      —    
Loss before income taxes      (3,660 )      (5,865 )      (7,753 )      (10,379 )  
Provision for income taxes      7        —        7        3    
Net loss   $  (3,667 )   $  (5,865 )   $  (7,760 )   $  (10,382 )  
                           
Net loss per common share—basic and diluted   $  (0.09 )   $  (0.19 )   $  (0.18 )   $  (0.36 )  
Weighted average shares used to calculate basic and diluted net loss per common share      42,941        30,498        42,606        28,843    
 


         
CAPSTONE TURBINE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURE
(In thousands)
         
    Three months ended    Six months ended
Reconciliation of Reported Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA   September 30,   September 30,
    2017     2016     2017     2016  
Net loss, as reported   $ (3,667 )   $ (5,865 )   $ (7,760 )   $ (10,382 )
Interest expense      98        129        319        263  
Provision for income taxes      7        —        7        3  
Depreciation and amortization      279        396        583        802  
Stock-based compensation      154        241        307        479  
Restructuring charges      219              219        
Change in warrant valuation      657        —        657        —  
Adjusted EBITDA   $ (2,253 )   $ (5,099 )   $  (5,668 )   $  (8,835 )
 

To supplement the Company’s unaudited financial data presented on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, management has used Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure. This non-GAAP measure is among the indicators management uses as a basis for evaluating the Company’s financial performance as well as for forecasting future periods.  Management establishes performance targets, annual budgets and makes operating decisions based in part upon these metrics. Accordingly, disclosure of this non-GAAP measure provides investors with the same information that management uses to understand the Company’s economic performance year-over-year. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income or other measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income before interest, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization expense, stock-based compensation expense, the change in warrant valuation and restructuring charges. Restructuring charges includes one-time costs related to our cost reduction initiatives. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of our liquidity or financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative 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.

While management believes that the non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information to investors, there are limitations associated with the use of these measures. The 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. Management compensates for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and by using Adjusted EBITDA only supplementally and by reviewing the reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to their most comparable GAAP financial measures.

Non-GAAP financial measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative for, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The Company’s non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP financial measures, and should be read only in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.

CONTACT:
Capstone Turbine Corporation
Investor and investment media inquiries:
818-407-3628
ir@capstoneturbine.com