Electric vehicle maker Lucid (LCID) reported mixed first-quarter results as a larger-than-expected loss outweighed the company’s assertion that its Gravity SUV is still on track to debut in 2024.
During the quarter, Lucid reported revenue of $172.7 million, beating expectations of $150.1 million and up nearly 16% from a year ago. However, EPS loss was $0.30, higher than estimates of $0.25, with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $598.4 million compared to Bloomberg analysts’ expectations of $505.1 million.
Lucid stock fell more than 10% in early trading Tuesday.
Last month, Lucid announced that it produced 1,728 vehicles and delivered 1,967 vehicles in the first quarter, compared to 2,391 vehicles produced and 1,734 vehicles delivered in the fourth quarter. The successively higher delivery numbers were positive news for investors, and the company said it was targeting to produce 9,000 vehicles in 2024. Last year, Lucid produced 8,428 vehicles and delivered 6,001 to customers.
Lucid’s latest round of electric vehicle price cuts, announced in February, likely boosted sales, but there was concern that they impacted the company’s margins, something Lucid has not officially announced.
“If you look at the first quarter, despite the pricing actions we took in the current quarter, our gross margin improved sequentially, and that was a result of the cost optimization initiatives the company took,” Lucid interim CFO Gagan Dhingra told Yahoo Finance in Phone call shortly after Lucid’s earnings announcement. “And technology plays a crucial role – battery costs, you know, [have] just chill.”
Dhingra also noted that the company worked with suppliers to reduce bill of materials (BOM) costs, as well as logistics costs, to improve margins.
Another area of concern for investors is the capital expenditure incurred for Gravity’s production activities. Lucid said capital expenditures were $198.2 million in the quarter, and expenses are expected to reach $1.5 billion in 2024.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson was optimistic that these costs would pay off for Lucid. “I’m really optimistic about that [Gravity] It’s going to give us a lot of scope, and a lot of the cost structure isn’t related to the BOM itself. “It’s about economies of scale in terms of amortizing those damned fixed costs, and what we need is scale, and I think gravity will give us scale,” Rawlinson told Yahoo Finance.
Regarding its cash position, Lucid said it has $4.62 billion in cash and cash equivalents on hand, enough liquidity to last through the second quarter of 2025. Lucid announced in late March that it had entered into a financing agreement with its largest shareholder, May Third Investments. The company invested $1 billion. Ayyar is one of the companies affiliated with the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
“We are the cornerstone of [Saudi Arabia’s 2030] Vision, [and] “We have mutual incentives to succeed,” Rawlinson said regarding Lucid’s deep ties with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF. “The Public Investment Fund wants us to succeed, and this is not just an ordinary financial investment. But why do they trust us? Because what distinguishes us is that we have the highest technologies in the world in this field.”
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow it Twitter and on Instagram.
Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including stock-moving events
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
“Infuriatingly humble alcohol fanatic. Unapologetic beer practitioner. Analyst.”