As the EV manufacturer burned through cash battling supply chain limitations and production difficulties to bring its electric vehicles to market, Rivian saw its first-quarter losses nearly quadruple. Rivian recorded net losses of $1.59 billion in the first quarter, up from $414 million in the same time previous year. Rivian is now shipping its R1T truck and R1S SUV to customers, as well as its EDV commercial electric van to Amazon. Additionally, the business disclosed a first-quarter loss of $1.77 per share on $95 million in revenue.
Rivian reported a loss of $1.43 per share for the first quarter on an adjusted basis. These results fell short of analysts’ forecasts, notably in terms of revenue. According to Yahoo Finance statistics, analysts predicted Rivian would post an adjusted loss of $1.44 per share on revenue of $130.5 million in the first quarter of 2022. Despite the dismal results, Rivian shares increased by more than 7% in after-hours trade, possibly as a result of investors holding onto some of the better news to come out of the Q1 reports.
Rivian declared a desire to eventually control more than 10% of the worldwide market in addition to reiterating its objective to produce 25,000 vehicles in 2022. The carmaker warned in a letter to shareholders that supply chain restrictions on semiconductors and other components act as a substantial bottleneck, which limited how optimistic it could be about its future.
The firm stated: “Since March 31, 2022, we have been had to cease production for longer periods of time than anticipated, resulting in about a quarter of the budgeted production time being wasted owing to supplier restrictions. To fulfill its goal for the year, the EV manufacturer needs produce 10 times more than the 1,227 vehicles it delivered in the first quarter (2,553 total vehicles created). In contrast, Rivian delivered 909 automobiles in the fourth quarter of last year, its first as a publicly traded firm.
With more than 90,000 orders for its battery-electric R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV in the United States and Canada, Rivian claimed that demand is outstripping supply. To that purpose, a new bookings system will be introduced, which will prevent consumers from configuring their vehicles until closer to the delivery date. This summer, the business is anticipated to start construction on a second facility where it would ultimately make cars on its upcoming R2 platform, “a more reasonably priced mid-sized SUV targeting worldwide markets.” The $1.5 billion incentive package was the highest ever given by the state of Georgia for the $5 billion complex.
Rivian stated that increasing output at its facility in Normal, Illinois, where it intends to implement a second shift this summer, is its primary priority in the meantime. The combined yearly capacity of the two plants is expected to be 600,000 automobiles. Ford sold 8 million shares of Rivian this week after an insider lockup for the stock expired on Sunday. Rivian went public in November with a market valuation bigger than both Ford and GM.
