(Reuters) -Electric-vehicle startup Fisker Inc on Monday flagged increased orders for its sports utility vehicle Ocean and maintained its production forecast for the year, sending its shares higher by 26% in early trading.
Demand for electric vehicles has surged globally as countries seek to tackle climate change by opting for cleaner transport options and setting net-zero carbon emissions targets.
Fisker said reservations for the first model of Ocean rose to more than 65,000 as of Feb. 24, from 62,000 as of Oct. 31, 2022.
The company expects testing for homologation — the certification for roadworthiness — to be complete by March.
Fisker reiterated the production target of 42,400 cars with its manufacturing partner Magna International’s Austrian unit in 2023, but said the forecast is dependent on supply chain deliveries as per its projection and timely homologation process.
The firm also said it targets a gross margin range of 8% to 12% and positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization this year.
“I don’t frankly see a risk (to gross margin) unless battery prices triple,” finance chief Geeta Gupta said on an earnings conference call.
Magna and Fisker began producing the Ocean SUV in November, after reporting a sell-out of the Sport and Ultra variants of the car they planned to produce this year for the U.S. market.
In August, Fisker said it was exploring options to manufacture in the United States in 2024.
The company, however, reported a wider quarterly loss on Monday. Its net loss stood at 54 cents per share, compared with analysts’ average estimate of 42 cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Last year, its net loss was $138.4 million or 47 cents.
Fisker, which expects expenses of up to $610 million this year, had cash and cash equivalents of $736.5 million at the end of the fourth quarter, down from $824.7 million in the preceding three months.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh Venkateshwaran)
