Lordstown Motors loss widens on steep costs, delivery delay (updated)

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06/03/2023 12:51

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       March 6 (Reuters) - Lordstown Motors Corp  RIDE.O  on
Monday posted a bigger loss for the fourth quarter, as the
electric-vehicle (EV) maker struggled with production costs and
missed its delivery target for the Endurance pickup truck in the
period.
    EV companies that went public in past few years have been
battling surging costs and challenges in securing supply of
parts to make enough vehicles to meet the sector's burgeoning
demand.
    At the start of commercial production in September, the
company had set a target to deliver 50 vehicles in 2022 and more
in 2023 out of the planned first batch of 500 units.
    However, it made only 31 units for sale and suspended
production of the pickup truck due to performance and quality
issues with some components.
    Lordstown had said in January it expected production to be
slow through its first quarter due to supply chain constraints,
particularly with the availability of hub motor components.
    The company began making its Endurance electric pickup truck
in September after Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn
 2317.TW  acquired Lordstown's Ohio factory and entered a deal
to make their vehicle.
    Net loss for the quarter ended Dec. 31 stood at $102.3
million, compared with $81.2 million a year earlier. The results
included an impairment charge of $36.5 million that the firm
said was driven mainly by a decrease in its stock price.
    The company had a cash balance of $121.4 million, at the end
of the fourth quarter, down from $154.2 million in the preceding
quarter.
    Revenue during the quarter was $194,000, compared with
analysts' estimate of $1.29 million, according to IBES data from
Refinitiv.

 (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh
Venkateshwaran)
 ((Akash.Sriram@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/hoodieonveshti;))