Nikola’s revenue tops expectations on delivery of 48 electric trucks

Nikola on Thursday reported revenue for the second quarter that beat Wall Street expectations as it delivered 48 of its electric heavy trucks. The company also reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the period.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

• Revenue: $18.1 million, vs. $16.5 million expected.
• Adjusted loss per share: 25 cents, versus vs. 27 cent per-share loss expected.

Nikola built 50 trucks during the second quarter, 48 of which were delivered to its dealers before quarter-end. All 50 of those trucks were battery-electric versions of its Tre semi. That was slightly below Nikola’s own forecast, which had called for between 50 and 60 deliveries in the period.

“The primary reason for our deliveries coming in at the low end of our guidance range was caused by two weeks of production losses in Q2 related to battery pack delivery delays from Romeo Power,” Chief Financial Officer Kim Brady said during Nikola’s earnings call.

Nikola announced an agreement to acquire Romeo Power on Monday.

The company is in the process of ramping up production at its Arizona factory, and said it expects to be building trucks at a rate of five per shift by November.

Nikola confirmed its earlier guidance for 2022. It still expects to deliver between 300 and 500 of its battery-electric Tre trucks by year-end, and to complete testing of prototypes of its upcoming hydrogen fuel-cell truck with two fleet clients including Anheuser-Busch.

Nikola’s shares rose sharply after the news was released. The stock ended the day at $7.90, up about 6.3%.

Nikola still has ample cash on hand. As of June 30, it had $529 million in cash and an additional $313 million remaining on its existing equity line of credit, for total liquidity of $842 million. That was up from $794 million in total liquidity as of the end of the first quarter.

Separately, Nikola announced that it has chosen locations for three hydrogen refueling stations in California, including one at the Port of Long Beach. The stations, which are expected to open in late 2023, will be used by Nikola’s upcoming fuel-cell-powered trucks.

Nikola has had a busy week. After announcing its acquisition of Romeo Power for $144 million in stock, the company on Tuesday won shareholder approval to issue new stock. Nikola had spent two months working to get enough votes to overcome an objection by its disgraced founder, Trevor Milton.

Milton left Nikola in September 2020 amid allegations of fraud, but he remains the company’s largest shareholder with control over roughly 20% of its stock.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.