- Nikola reported a wider quarterly loss following a costly recall.
- The company will have to spend $61.8 million to replace battery packs in more than 200 trucks.
- But it now has more cash and nearly 300 orders for its latest model.
Electric truck maker Nikola said Thursday that it has received nearly 300 orders for its new hydrogen fuel cell semitruck — but it's facing what will be a costly recall of its earlier battery-electric trucks.
Nikola recalled all of its Tre battery-electric trucks, 209 in total, in August following a fire caused by a coolant leak in a truck's battery pack. It said on Thursday that after an investigation into the causes, it has decided to replace the battery packs on all 209 trucks at an estimated cost of $61.8 million.
It expects to resume delivering battery-electric trucks to customers in the first quarter next year. Despite the recall, a dealer ordered 47 battery-electric trucks during the third quarter, Nikola said.
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Nikola said it currently has 277 "non-binding" orders for its new fuel-cell truck from 35 different fleet customers. It shipped a total of three trucks during the third quarter, versus 63 in the year-ago quarter.
Here are the key numbers from Nikola's third-quarter earnings report.
- Adjusted loss per share: 30 cents vs. 14 cents expected by Wall Street analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv
- Revenue: Negative $1.7 million vs. Wall Street's estimate of $13.3 million, according to LSEG
Nikola's net loss was $425.8 million, or 50 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, excluding stock-based compensation, it lost 30 cents per share. A year ago, Nikola lost $236.2 million, or 54 cents per share.
Money Report
Nikola reported negative revenue of $1.7 million in the third quarter, after it paid out about $2.4 million to buy back seven trucks from former dealers as new CEO Steve Girsky refocused the company's sales efforts on California. Its revenue was $24.2 million in the third quarter of 2022.
Nikola raised $250 million during the third quarter. As of Sept. 30, it had $362.9 million in cash, up from $226.7 million as of June 30 and just $121.1 million as of March 31.
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