Rivian reports mixed Q1 results but trims capex forecasts and sees ‘gross profit’ for Q4

Rivian (RIVN) reported mixed quarterly results for the first quarter, but will see more cost savings from shifting upcoming R2 production to its regular factory in Illinois and trimming its capital spending expectations. The electric car maker also reaffirmed its full-year loss forecast and still sees a “path” to a “modest gross profit” in the fourth quarter of this year.

During the quarter, Rivian reported revenue of $1.204 billion versus $1.175 billion expected, representing an 80% jump from last year. However, Rivian reported a loss per share of $1.45 versus an expected $1.27, with an operating loss of $1.484 billion compared to an expected loss of $1.299 billion.

Rivian reiterated its revised EBITDA loss forecast of $2.70 billion for 2024, but now expects its capital expenditures to improve to $1.2 billion from $1.75 billion earlier due to moving the start of R2 production to its regular factory in Illinois, with more savings expected. In 2025 and 2026.

Rivian stock was trading higher in the hours after publishing its first-quarter results, but fell about 4% after the results were published.

“We achieved several milestones this quarter, including producing our 100,000th vehicle in regular mode, successfully navigating a retooling upgrade, and unveiling our new midsize platform, which supports the R2, R3 and R3X,” CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement.

The company also said that, as a result of the retooling upgrade and other improvements, Rivian remains “confident on its path to achieving modest overall earnings in the fourth quarter of this year.”

By moving R2 production to its current U.S. plant instead of its upcoming plant in Georgia, Rivian said Tuesday the company would save more than $2.25 billion. The company now expects its normalized plant following the R2 launch and plant changes to reach 215,000 units of total annual capacity across all vehicles, which includes up to 155,000 units of R2.

Regarding the cash cushion, Rivian said that it had $5.98 billion at the end of the first quarter, compared to $7.86 billion it had at the end of the fourth quarter.

Last month, the company reported first-quarter R1T and R1S production of 13,980 and deliveries of 13,588, beating expectations by about 12,400 units. The company also reaffirmed production guidance of 57,000 vehicles in 2024.

Part of the reduction in these costs came in the form of reducing employee salaries by 10%, with the company citing economic uncertainty. Although Rivian reiterated its expectations of reaching “modest gross profit” by the end of 2024, Rivian did not repeat its previous statements that it is “very close” to achieving a positive contribution margin at the end of 2023.

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Earlier this year, Rivian said development of its plant in Georgia had been put on hold for the time being, though Georgia Governor Brian Kemp had halted… Scaringe said again The company was not abandoning the project.

Once R2 is ready for a larger rollout, the next Georgia facility will handle the rollout, Scaringe said. The company also said it will launch its R2 in Europe, which will be a huge market for the company as it does not currently sell its larger R1 vehicles on the continent.

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow it Twitter and on Instagram.

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