Fisker Cuts 2023 Production Forecast On Underwhelming Q1 Results

The EV startup cut its production guidance for the full year to 32,000-36,000 Ocean SUVs, down from an earlier target of 42,400.

Fisker Ocean at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Dan Mihalascu

By: Dan Mihalascu

May 10, 2023 at 8:11am ET

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Fisker released its first-quarter financial results on May 9, and the numbers don't look that good despite the fact it was the company's first quarter as a revenue-generating company.

The EV startup reported a wider loss for the period than expected and cut its production guidance for the full year to 32,000-36,000 Fisker Ocean SUVs, down from 42,400 in its earlier guidance. Fisker blamed both setbacks on last-minute snags as it is in the very early stages of production at contract manufacturer Magna Steyr's plant in Graz, Austria.

CEO Henrik Fisker said on the earnings call that the company expects to build between 1,400 and 1,700 vehicles in the second quarter, assuming its suppliers ramp up as expected. After that, Fisker expects to quickly increase production in the third quarter to a run rate of about 6,000 vehicles per month for the rest of 2023.

"We are ready to go full speed on production next week. [By the] end of this month, we are already going to produce 55 cars a day," Henrik Fisker told CNBC's Phil LeBeau on Tuesday.

The company said it had about 65,000 reservations for the Ocean as of May 8, which is roughly the same number it reported in February.

Gallery: Fisker Ocean at Goodwood FoS 2022

Fisker Ocean at Goodwood FoS 2022

Fisker also claims to have more than 6,000 reservations for its upcoming second model, the entry-level Pear EV that will be built by Foxconn in Ohio starting in 2025.

Moving on to the financials, Fisker's net loss for the quarter was $120.6 million (versus $122.1 million a year ago) on revenue of about $198,000 (versus $14.4 million expected). The loss was wider than forecast, and Fisker attributed it to higher research and development expenses that it's not expected to repeat.

The company said it had $652.5 million in cash remaining as of March 31, down from $736.5 million at the end of 2022. Fisker revealed that it raised about $47 million via direct stock sales during the quarter.

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While the EV startup is obviously bleeding cash, the good thing is it began delivering vehicles to customers in Europe last week. Mind you, it only handed over two vehicles so far, including one to CEO Henrik Fisker. US deliveries of the Ocean SUV could also start before the end of May, with the company currently expecting regulatory approval, the executive told CNBC.

Fisker's shares fell abruptly after the Q1 financial report, ending the day down about 7 percent.

Other recent updates on EV startup Fisker

Fisker Denies Ocean EV's Debut Is Delayed By Software Issues

Fisker Unveils Ocean Force E Off-Road SUV

Source: Fisker Inc via CNBC

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