Nikola NKLA Q2 2022 earnings

Nikola on Thursday reported revenue for the second quarter that beat Wall Street expectations as it delivered 48 of its electric heavy trucks. The company also reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the period.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

• Revenue: $18.1 million, vs. $16.5 million expected.
• Adjusted loss per share: 25 cents, versus vs. 27 cent per-share loss expected.

Nikola built 50 trucks during the second quarter, 48 of which were delivered to its dealers before quarter-end. All 50 of those trucks were battery-electric versions of its Tre semi. That was slightly below Nikola’s own forecast, which had called for between 50 and 60 deliveries in the period.

The company is in the process of ramping up production at its Arizona factory, and said it expects to be building trucks at a rate of five per shift by November.

Nikola confirmed its earlier guidance for 2022. It still expects to deliver between 300 and 500 of its battery-electric Tre trucks by year-end, and to complete testing of prototypes of its upcoming hydrogen fuel-cell truck with two fleet clients including Anheuser-Busch.

“Our momentum continued during the second quarter as we began delivering production vehicles to dealers and recognizing revenue from the sale of our Nikola Tre BEVs,” said CEO Mark Russell in a statement.

Nikola’s shares were up about 5% in premarket trading after the news was released

Nikola still has ample cash on hand. As of June 30, it had $529 million in cash and an additional $313 million remaining on its existing equity line of credit, for total liquidity of $842 million. That was up from $794 million in total liquidity as of the end of the first quarter.

Separately, Nikola announced that it has chosen locations for three hydrogen refueling stations in California, including one at the Port of Long Beach. The stations, which are expected to open in late 2023, will be used by Nikola’s upcoming fuel-cell-powered trucks.

Nikola has had a busy week. The company on Monday announced that it agreed to acquire one of its battery-pack suppliers, Romeo Power, for $144 million in stock. A day later, it won shareholder approval to issue new stock after spending two months working to get enough votes to overcome an objection by the company’s disgraced founder, Trevor Milton.

Milton left Nikola in September 2020 amid allegations of fraud, but he remains the company’s largest shareholder with control over roughly 20% of its stock.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.