TSLA -15 to 258, finally getting whacked after another earnings miss and the likelihood of another capital raise in the near future to accommodate the huge cash burn rate ....
per briefing.com -
Tesla reports Q4 results; guides 1H17 production; Model 3 on track for initial production in July, volume production by September (273.51 -3.88) :
Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.69 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.16 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.53); revenues rose 88.2% year/year to $2.29 bln vs the $2.2 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
Model S+ X net orders +49% Y/Y. Preannounced deliveries +27%
Average transaction prices increased 1% from Q3 2016, primarily driven by continued mix shift to Model X. This was partially offset by unfavorable foreign currency changes during the quarter.
Non-GAAP automotive gross margin decreased sequentially for three primary reasons with a combined unfavorable gross profit impact of more than 3 percentage points of gross margin: despite continued strong demand for Autopilot, co recognized almost no new Autopilot-related revenue in Q4, as software updates were delayed until Q1; unfavorable exchange rate changes during the quarter; a sequential increase in fixed asset dispositions
capital expenditures came in below plan as we continue to negotiate more favorable payment terms with capital equipment suppliers, pushing some payments closer to the start of Model 3 production and some payments beyond the start of production
"Model 3 program is on track to start limited vehicle production in July and to steadily ramp production to exceed 5,000 vehicles per week at some point in the fourth quarter and 10,000 vehicles per week at some point in 2018. To support accelerating vehicle deliveries and maintain industry-leading customer satisfaction, we are expanding our retail, Supercharger, and service functions."
SolarCity: "We plan to reduce customer acquisition costs by cutting advertising spending, selling solar products in Tesla stores, and shifting from leasing to selling solar energy systems. During this transition, we plan to prioritize cash preservation over growth of MW deployed. As this transition progresses, we see a return to growth of MW deployed later this year to help us generate the cash and realize the cost synergies we projected prior to the acquisition."
Battery cell production started at Gigafactory 1
All Tesla vehicles in production have the hardware necessary for full self-driving
Cash balance +10% Q/Q to $3.4 bln; OCF -$448 mln
Outlook:
The Model 3 and solar roof launches are on track for the second half of the year. However, since even a coupleweek shift in timing could have a meaningful impact on total deliveries and installs, we are focusing our guidance on the first half of the year. We expect to deliver 47,000 to 50,000 Model S and Model X vehicles combined in the first half of 2017, representing vehicle delivery growth of 61% to 71% compared with the same period last year.
In addition, both GAAP and non-GAAP automotive gross margin should recover in Q1 to Q3 2016 levels and then continue to expand in Q2 2017.
As for our energy generation and storage business, we plan to prioritize profitability and cash preservation over total MW deployed ahead of the solar roof launch.
We are on track to generate $500M in cash (including growth of non-recourse project financing) by 2019 and achieve the cost synergies we committed to upon acquiring SolarCity. Specifically, we plan to reduce customer acquisition costs by cutting advertising spending, selling solar products in Tesla stores, and shifting away from leasing solar systems.
We expect to invest between $2 billion and $2.5 billion in capital expenditures ahead of the start of Model 3 production. We continue to focus on capital efficiency while also investing in battery cell, pack and energy storage production at Gigafactory 1
