Proterra (NASDAQ:PTRA) share sunk 54% on Thursday after the commercial vehicle supplier reported fourth-quarter results that missed Wall Street estimates.
Total revenue grew 17% year-over-year to $80 million in the fourth quarter, but net loss widened from $45.1 million in the prior-year quarter to $81 million.
Research and development expenses grew 50% year-over-year to $18.8 million in the fourth quarter, largely due to continued investment in new product development and customer programs to support anticipated future growth.
Capital expenditures totaled $17.6 million, compared to $10.5 million in the prior-year quarter, largely related to construction of the new Powered 1 factory.
For 2023, the company forecasts revenue in the range of $450 million to $500 million, well below analysts’ estimate of $533.82 million. Capital spending is expected to be around $25 million compared to $59.5 million in 2022.
Management said: “Although we expect early production inefficiencies and underutilization at Powered 1 to translate to gross losses in the first half of the year, we expect positive gross margin in the second half of 2023. Additionally, following restructuring of our workforce announced in January 2023, we expect operating expenses to decrease by approximately $15 million in 2023.”
