Rivian posted a quarterly net loss of almost $US2.5b between October and December last year, with raw material costs and supply chain woes biting particularly hard.
The hyped EV pickup and SUV startup, backed by heavyweights Ford and Amazon, says it lost $US2.45b ($A3.3b) over Q4 of 2021: comprising $US2.07b ($A2.8b) lost to operating expenses, and $US383 million ($A520m) lost in the process of generating $US54 million ($A73m) in revenue.
This near $US2.5b quarterly loss compared to a $US353 million ($A480m) loss in Q4 of 2020.
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As you might imagine, these financial results – compounded by the enormous complexities involved in scaling production, just ask Elon Musk – haven’t done wonders for Rivian’s share price which closed at $US41.16 ($A55.91).
Keep in mind when Rivian IPO’d late last year on the back of the Tesla hype train, it was billed as the biggest initial float since Facebook. Shares peaked at $US172 ($A233.70) a pop on November 16.
Regardless of these results, Rivian was naturally talking up its achievements of late, which included taking 83,000 orders on the R1T ute and R1S SUV, 100,000 orders on the EDV van from Amazon, growing to 11,500 staff, and choosing Atlanta as the site of its second planned US plant.
The company says it has produced just 2425 cars to the end of March 8 at its plant in Illinois, 1015 of which were in 2021, though it says the plant is now “starting to ramp nicely”.
“Our path to EV leadership won’t be easy. In the immediate term, we are not immune to the supply chain issues that have challenged the entire industry,” the company said in its shareholder statement.
“Those issues, which we believe will continue through at least 2022, have added a layer of complexity to our production ramp-up. We are working diligently and collaboratively with suppliers to identify and head off problems or constraints as quickly as possible.
“Our manufacturing operations are making progress, and our plant is outrunning the constraints of our supply chain. Our demonstrated production rate is in line with our expectations.
“Ramping up a manufacturing facility and simultaneously launching multiple vehicles is an extremely complex task, but this is a core competency that we are building, as it will be critical for us to rapidly scale and drive our impact over the next several years as we launch additional vehicles and production plants.”
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