More woes for the US hydrogen truck manufacturer Nikola, which has disclosed a net loss of $966 million for the fiscal year 2023, significantly surpassing its $784 million loss in 2022.
The Arizona-based company also posted negative adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of minus $519 million, according to a company announcement at the end of February 2024. This figure accounts for expenses such as stock-based compensation and legal fees, falling outside generally accepted accounting principles.
However, Nikola witnessed a reduction in losses during the final quarter of 2023, says the company, narrowing to nearly $154 million from $426 million in the preceding quarter. The improvement followed the shipment of its first 35 Tre fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), generating $11.5 million in revenue for the quarter, doubling the revenue from the same period a year earlier. The company’s total income for the year amounted to $35.8 million.
The Tre FCEV has secured 355 out of 360 vouchers provided by California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). Nikola CEO, Steve Girsky, highlighted the strong demand for Nikola’s Fuel Cell truck, surpassing requests for all other truck OEMs combined, including both battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks.
Despite a recent recall, Nikola continues to receive requests for its battery-electric truck, with 33 vouchers requested since October 2023. Girsky, who assumed the role of acting CFO this month following the departure of the previous CFO, Anastasiya Pasterick, stated that the recalled electric trucks are undergoing battery pack replacements, with the first batch expected to be returned to users by the end of Q1 and all units to be retrofitted by the end of Q2 or early Q3. Additionally, Nikola plans to retrofit previously produced battery-electric trucks with new battery packs for sale in late Q3 or early Q4.
Nikola’s share price has remained below $1 per share since the beginning of December 2023 and even the slighlty more positive Q4 trading performance failed to boost investor confidence.
