Lordstown Motors Corp. shares fell 3% in premarket trade Monday, after the electric vehicle company posted a wider-than-expected loss for the first quarter, but said it’s still expecting production of its Endurance electric truck to start in the third quarter. The company had a net loss of $89.6 million, or 46 cents a share, for the quarter, narrower than the loss of $125.2 million, or 72 cents a share, posted in the year-earlier period. The FactSet consensus was for a loss of 45 cents. The company is still pre-revenue and aims to provide electric light duty trucks for the commercial fleet market. Operating costs came to $87.9 million in the quarter, up 3.8% from the fourth quarter and down 17.3% from the same period a year ago. It made progress on the terms of a manufacturing agreement and product development agreement with Foxconn. Foxconn will make the Endurance at the company’s Lordstown, Ohio facility, which the Taiwanese contract electronics maker also known as Hon Hai Technology Group, is buying. It reaffirmed its target for start of commercial production of the Endurance and said it expects initial production of about 500 units with commercial deliveries expected to begin in the fourth quarter. The company ended the quarter with $203.5 million in cash. “We are managing through a tough macroeconomic environment, and we are focused on managing our liquidity as we bring the Endurance to launch,” Chief Financial Officer Adam Kroll said in a statement. “At the same time, we understand that raising additional capital is critical to our ability to achieve our business plan in 2022 and beyond.” Shares are down 50% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has fallen 13%.
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