EV firms Lordstown Motors, Nikola stick to production targets

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Lordstown's logo is pictured on a smartphone in this illustration taken, December 4, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

By Akash Sriram

(Reuters) -Electric-vehicle makers Lordstown Motors Corp and Nikola Corp on Thursday shrugged off supply chain snarls that weighed on peers to reaffirm annual production targets after reporting upbeat quarterly performance.

Lordstown Motors' shares advanced about 8% as it cited lower expenses to slash its full-year capital needs to between $50 million and $75 million, from about $150 million.

The company maintained that it would start making vehicles in the third quarter and deliver in the fourth. Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn is set to manufacture Lordstown Motors' Endurance electric trucks after buying the U.S. company's Ohio facility. The deal was prompted by the need to clinch funds essential for the start of production of Endurance.

Nikola's shares rose about 6% after it beat revenue estimates and said it would start its pilot for the Tre fuel-cell electric vehicle with Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Inc on Aug. 22 and battery electric truck in September.

If production successfully ramps up as promised and if it attracts buyers for its trucks and they're happy with the performance, Nikola's past issues will be forgotten quickly, AJ Bell analyst Danni Hewson said.

In contrast, luxury electric-vehicle maker Lucid Group Inc on Wednesday halved its production forecast for the year, citing supply chain and logistics issues.

Nikola produced 50 Tre battery electric vehicles at its facility in Coolidge, Arizona, in the April-June quarter and delivered 48 units to dealers.

"The deliveries were slightly short of our model and guidance, although the average selling price was approximately $55,000 per truck higher than our expectation," D.A. Davidson analyst Michael Shlisky said.

The asset sale helped Lordstown Motors post a net income of $63.7 million for the second quarter, compared with a loss of $108.2 million a year earlier.

Adjusted loss of 19 cents per share was narrower than analysts' average estimate of 45 cents, according to Refinitiv data.