@Geely: Global News Mon 08 Apr 2024Lotus Technology Reports Unaudited Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Results

New York – April 8, 2024  Lotus Technology Inc. (“Lotus Tech” or the “Company”), a leading global luxury electric vehicle maker, today announced its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2023. The results reflect steady progress in the Company’s execution of its Vision80 strategy to become an all-electric, intelligent and luxury mobility provider before Lotus’s 80th anniversary in 2028.

In its first year of BEV delivery, the Company achieved a revenue of $679 million and a gross profit margin of 15% in 2023. Revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023 was $361 million, representing a 92% quarter-on-quarter increase. This strong performance was enabled by Lotus Tech’s asset-light business model, as the Company ramped up production and sales of BEV models.

The Company delivered 6,970 vehicles in 2023, an annual record in the 76-year history of the Lotus brand, with BEV models representing 63% of total deliveries. Vehicle deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2023 increased nearly 110% quarter-over-quarter to 3,749. The increase in deliveries was driven primarily by Eletre, the Company’s first lifestyle BEV, which ramped up production and sales in the second half of the year.

The Company also continued to expand its global presence, laying the foundation for continuing global roll-out of the brand’s vehicles with an increase of 46 stores year-on-year to a total of 215 locations as of December 31, 2023. Over the past year, Lotus Tech notably opened new flagship stores in prime locations, including in the Golden Triangle area of Paris, Mayfair in London, Gangnam-gu in Seoul, and other strategically important global cities. 

2024 will be a pivotal year for Lotus Tech’s execution of its Vision80 Strategy, as the Company further ramps up global deliveries of its leading product portfolio in new markets. In March 2024, the Company began deliveries of Emeya, its first electric hyper-grand tourer. Emeya deliveries are now underway in China and expected to begin in Europe in the third quarter of 2024. The Company’s Eletre hyper-SUV is also set to enter more markets including the U.S. over the course of 2024. In 2024, the Company expects to increase its total deliveries about threefold to 26,000, and further grow its healthy gross margin to 17-19%.

“We are pleased with the early progress and promising results achieved in 2023, with increasing deliveries reflecting the strength of our brand and ramping production,” said Lotus Tech CEO Qingfeng Feng. “We look forward to further accelerating our growth in the year ahead and remain dedicated to creating long-term value for our customers and investors as we continue to execute our Vision80 strategy, building on our luxury brand equity and advanced technology advantages.

  

Summaries of Operational and Financial Results

 

The below tables summarize key operational results of the Company in 2023.

 

Deliveries by model type

 

Q4 2023

Q3 2023

% Change (QoQ)

Full Year 2023

Lifestyle vehicles

2,599

891

191%

4,361

Sportscars

1,150

891

29%

2,609

Total

3,749

1,782

110%

6,970

 

 

Stores by geography

 

 As of December 31, 2023

As of December 31, 2022

North America

47

41

Europe

70

54

China

65

41

Rest of World

33

33

Total

215

169

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The below table summarizes key preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2023.
(in millions of U.S. dollars, unaudited)

 

 4Q 2023

3Q 2023

% Change (QoQ)

 Full Year 2023

Revenue

361  

188  

92%

679  

Cost of sales

293  

160  

83%

577  

Gross profit

68  

28  

142%

102  

Gross margin (%)

19%  

15%  

15%  

Operating loss

(228)  

(163)  

(736)  

Net loss

 (224)

(174)

      (750)

Adjusted EBITDA(1)

(206)  

(154)  

(693)  

(1)     Non-GAAP measure. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Appendix D – Unaudited Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP results (Adjusted EBITDA)” for details and a reconciliation of adjusted metrics to the nearest GAAP measure.

 

Recent Developments

·       Emeya deliveries: The Company launched Emeya, its first electric hyper-grand tourer, in September 2023. The Company began deliveries of Emeya in China in March 2024, and expects to begin deliveries in Europe in the third quarter of 2024.

·       Ultra-luxury model Evija deliveries: Lotus Tech started deliveries of Evija, the first British all-electric hypercar, in 2024.

·       Lotus Chapman Bespoke launch: In March 2024, the Company proudly launched its bespoke services providing different levels of premium customization to Lotus vehicles, from unique one-off Lotus cars to limited-edition artist collections and individualized trims with exclusive personal touches.

·       Lotus Day 2024: This year’s annual Lotus Day event was hosted during March 29-31, 2024, celebrating the brand’s heritage and bringing our community closer together on racetrack with China’s debut drive of Evija, Lotus’s ultra-luxury all-electric hyper car, as well as on-track test drives of Eletre, Emeya and Emira.

·       Super Charging Stations: As part of its commitment to deliver a premium charging service to Lotus drivers, the Company has established 65 super charging stations equipped with its cutting-edge 480kw fast charging solution in premium locations in China. These are part of a charging network across Europe and China of about 300,000 public charging stations available to Lotus owners. The Company expects to continue expanding its charging network as its BEVs launch across the world.

 

Conference call

Lotus Tech management will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on Monday, April 8, 2024 (14:00 Central European Time / 20:00 China Standard Time on the same day).

 

There will be a live audio webcast and replay available following completion of the call on the Company’s investor relations website at https://ir.group-lotus.com/.

 

For participants who wish to join the call, please complete online registration prior to the scheduled call start time using the link provided below. Upon registration, participants will receive a confirmation email with conference call access information, including dial-in numbers and a unique PIN.

 

Participant online registration link: https://register.vevent.com/register/BI56a4f47247f5442f8fad57983f214c4e

 

– END –

 

Notes to Editors

 

About Lotus Technology Inc.

Lotus Technology Inc. has operations across China, the UK, and the EU. The Company is dedicated to delivering luxury lifestyle battery electric vehicles, with a focus on world-class R&D in next-generation automobility technologies such as electrification, digitalisation and more. For more information about Lotus Technology Inc., please visit www.group-lotus.com.

 

Statement Regarding Preliminary Unaudited Financial and Operational Results

The unaudited financial and operational information published herein is preliminary in nature and subject to potential adjustments, which could result in differences from the unaudited operational and financial information published herein. For the avoidance of doubt, the preliminary unaudited operational and financial information published herein should not be considered a substitute for the further financial information to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the year ended December 31, 2023.

 

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company uses non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted net loss and adjusted EBITDA, in evaluating its operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. Adjusted net loss represents net loss excluding share-based compensation expenses, and such adjustment has no impact on income tax. The Company defines adjusted EBITDA as net income excluding interest expense, interest income, income tax (benefit) expense, depreciation of property, equipment and software and share-based compensation expenses. The Company believes that non-GAAP financial measures help identify underlying trends in its business and enhance the overall understanding of the Company’s past performance and future prospects. The Company also believes that non-GAAP financial measures allow for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by the Company’s management in its financial and operational decision-making.

 

These non-GAAP financial measures are not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP methods of accounting and reporting used by other companies. Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools and when assessing the Company’s operating performance, investors should not consider them in isolation, or as a substitute for financial information prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The Company encourages investors and others to review its financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure. The Company mitigates these limitations by reconciling non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable U.S. GAAP performance measures, all of which should be considered when evaluating the Company’s performance. For more information on non-GAAP financial measures, please see “Appendix D – Unaudited Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results (Adjusted EBITDA)” set forth at the end of this press release.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that may constitute “forward-looking” statements pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may”, “should”, “expect”, “intend”, “will”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “predict”, “potential”, “forecast”, “plan”, “seek”, “future”, “propose” or “continue”, or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology although not all forward-looking statements contain such terminology. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including those identified under the heading “Risk Factors” in the registration statement on Form F-4 filed by Lotus Tech with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Lotus Tech undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

 

For more information on Lotus, please contact:

 

Media

Rana Khatun

Head of Corporate PR and Communications

rana.khatun@eu.lotuscars.com

 

IR

Demi Zhang

ir@group-lotus.com

 

 

 

Appendix A

 

Lotus Technology Inc.

Unaudited Consolidated and Combined Balance Sheets

 

(All amounts in thousands)

 

 

As of

 

December 31, 2023

 

December 31, 2022

 

US$

 

US$

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

Current assets

 

 

 

 

Cash

 

418,941

 

736,605

Restricted cash

 

7,873

 

2,392

Accounts receivable – third parties, net

 

76,664

 

111

Accounts receivable – related parties, net

 

22,430

 

8,545

Inventories

 

265,190

 

22,703

Prepayments and other current assets – third parties, net

 

63,870

 

44,375

Prepayments and other current assets – related parties, net

 

28,744

 

8,732 

 

 

 

Total current assets

 

883,712

 

823,463

 

 

 

 

Non-current assets

 

 

 

 

Restricted cash

 

321

 

536

Investment securities – related parties

 

3,326

 

8,411

Property, equipment and software, net

 

354,617

 

253,471

Intangible assets

 

116,360

 

116,364

Operating lease right-of-use assets

 

173,103

 

158,724

Other non-current assets – third parties

 

50,533

 

10,983

Other non-current assets – related parties

 

2,706

 

 

 

 

Total non-current assets

 

700,966

 

548,489

 

 

 

 

Total assets

 

1,584,678

 

1,371,952

 

Lotus Technology Inc.

Unaudited Consolidated and Combined Balance Sheets (Con’d)

 

(All amounts in thousands)

 

 

As of

 

December 31, 2023

 

December 31, 2022

 

US$

 

US$

LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities

 

 

 

 

Short‑term borrowings – third parties

 

226,772

 

28,748

Accounts payable – third parties

 

20,123

 

1,466

Accounts payable – related parties

 

340,419

 

5,770

Contract liabilities – third parties

 

44,184

 

7,843

Operating lease liabilities – third parties

 

16,760

 

15,815

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities – third parties

 

419,422

 

323,299

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities – related parties

 

290,686

 

183,237

Exchangeable notes

 

378,638

 

355,320

Mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interest

 

 

11,381

Convertible notes

 

20,277

 

 

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

 

1,757,281

 

932,879

 

 

 

 

Non‑current liabilities

 

 

 

 

Contract liabilities – third parties

 

6,245

 

Operating lease liabilities – third parties

 

91,929

 

98,963

Operating lease liabilities – related parties

 

12,064

 

170

Put option liabilities

 

11,884

 

Exchangeable notes

 

75,678

 

71,792

Convertible notes

 

81,635

 

76,770

Deferred tax liabilities

 

 

126

Deferred income

 

270,097

 

258,450

Other non-current liabilities – third parties

 

103,403

 

15,824

Other non-current liabilities – related parties

 

1,634

 

1,584

 

 

 

 

Total non‑current liabilities

 

654,569

 

523,679

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

 

2,411,850

 

1,456,558

 

 

 

Lotus Technology Inc.

Unaudited Consolidated and Combined Balance Sheets(con’d)

 

(All amounts in thousands)

 

 

As of

 

December 31, 2023

 

December 31, 2022

 

US$

 

US$

MEZZANINE EQUITY

 

 

 

 

Series Pre-A Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares

 

184,509

 

177,284

Series A Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares

 

199,021

 

191,125

 

 

 

 

 

Total mezzanine equity

 

383,530

 

368,409

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

 

 

 

Ordinary shares

 

21

 

21

Additional paid-in capital

 

358,187

 

403,103

Receivable from shareholders

 

 

(26,447)

Accumulated other comprehensive income

 

25,267

 

17,707

Accumulated deficit

 

(1,588,773)

 

(846,757)

 

 

 

 

 

Total shareholders’ deficit attributable to ordinary shareholders

 

(1,205,298)

 

(452,373)

Noncontrolling interests

 

(5,404)

 

(642)

Total shareholders’ deficit

 

(1,210,702)

 

(453,015)

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders’ deficit

 

1,584,678

 

1,371,952

 

 

 

 

 

  

Lotus Technology Inc.

Unaudited Consolidated and Combined Statements of Comprehensive Loss

 

(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share/ADS data)

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

2023

 

2022

 

US$

 

US$

Revenues:

 

 

 

 

Sales of goods

 

660,158

 

1,186

Service revenues

 

18,850

 

8,371

Total revenues

 

679,008

 

9,557

Cost of revenues:

 

 

 

 

Cost of goods sold

 

(564,741)

 

(948)

Cost of services

 

(12,086)

 

(6,302)

Total cost of revenues

 

(576,827)

 

(7,250)

Gross profit

 

102,181

 

2,307

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

Research and development expenses

 

(368,729)

 

(445,844)

Selling and marketing expenses

 

(328,935)

 

(151,331)

General and administrative expenses

 

(144,533)

 

(148,369)

Government grants

 

4,077

 

55,824

Total operating expenses

 

(838,120)

 

(689,720)

Operating loss

 

(735,939)

 

(687,413)

Interest expenses

 

(10,200)

 

(8,542)

Interest income

 

9,204

 

12,188

Investment loss, net

 

(1,162)

 

(3,246)

Share of results of equity method investments

 

(1,048)

 

(2,762)

Foreign currency exchange gains (losses), net

 

42

 

(11,505)

Changes in fair values of mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling
interest, exchangeable notes and convertible notes, excluding
impact of instrument-specific credit risk

 

(7,531)

 

(22,991)

Changes in fair values of put option liabilities

 

(2,508)

 

Loss before income taxes

 

(749,142)

 

(724,271)

Income tax expense

 

(1,113)

 

(292)

Net loss

 

(750,255)

 

(724,563)

Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

 

(8,254)

 

(642)

Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders

 

(742,001)

 

(723,921)

Accretion of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares

 

(15,121)

 

(910)

Net loss available to ordinary shareholders

 

(757,122)

 

(724,831)

Loss per ordinary share1

 

 

 

 

—Basic and diluted

 

(1.60)

 

(1.52)

Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding
used in computing net loss per ordinary share
1

 

 

 

 

—Basic and diluted

 

474,621,603

 

475,805,054

 

1 Shares outstanding for all periods reflect the adjustment for recapitalization upon the consummation of merger transaction in February 2024.

 

 

 

Lotus Technology Inc.

Unaudited Consolidated and Combined Statements of Comprehensive Loss (cont’d)

 

(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share/ADS data)

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

2023

 

2022

 

US$

 

US$

Net loss

 

(750,255)

 

(724,563)

 

 

 

 

 

Other comprehensive income:

 

 

 

 

Fair value changes of mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling
interest, exchangeable notes and convertible notes due to
instrument-specific credit risk, net of nil income taxes

 

(8,650)

 

(893)

Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of nil income taxes

 

16,210

 

18,669

 

 

 

 

Total other comprehensive income

 

7,560

 

17,776

 

 

 

 

Total comprehensive loss

 

(742,695)

 

(706,787)

Less: Total comprehensive loss attributable to
noncontrolling interests

 

(8,254)

 

(642)

Total comprehensive loss attributable to ordinary shareholders

 

(734,441)

 

(706,145)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Lotus Technology Inc.

Unaudited Consolidated and Combined Statements of Comprehensive Loss

 

(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share/ADS data)

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

 December 31, 2023

 September 30, 2023

 December 31, 2022

 

US$

US$

US$

Revenues:

 

 

 

 

Sales of goods

 

354,678

180,626

484

Service revenues

 

6,389

7,280

5,416

Total revenues

 

361,067

187,906

5,900

Cost of revenues:

 

 

 

 

Cost of goods sold

 

(289,495)

(155,689)

(360)

Cost of services

 

(3,139)

(4,596)

(4,396)

Total cost of revenues

 

(292,634)

(160,285)

(4,756)

Gross profit

 

68,433

27,621

1,144

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

Research and development expenses

 

(134,182)

(81,999)

(230,306)

Selling and marketing expenses

 

(137,704)

(72,995)

(82,626)

General and administrative expenses

 

(26,330)

(37,786)

(44,432)

Government grants

 

1,720

1,695

Total operating expenses

 

(296,496)

(191,085)

(357,364)

Operating loss

 

(228,063)

(163,464)

(356,220)

Interest expenses

 

(2,833)

(3,897)

(148)

Interest income

 

1,946

1,410

3,001

Investment income (loss), net

 

147

(4,079)

(1,177)

Share of results of equity method investments

 

(400)

(22)

(1,439)

Foreign currency exchange gains (losses), net

 

(841)

4,502

4,134

Changes in fair values of mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interest,
exchangeable notes and convertible notes, excluding impact of
instrument-specific credit risk

 

7,863

(2,637)

(5,932)

Changes in fair values of put option liabilities

 

(1,787)

(4,027)

Loss before income taxes

 

(223,968)

(172,214)

(357,781)

Income tax benefit (expense)

 

237

(1,368)

(137)

Net loss

 

(223,731)

(173,582)

(357,918)

Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

 

(603)

(1,872)

(501)

Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders

 

(223,128)

(171,710)

(357,417)

Accretion of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares

 

(10,058)

(4,805)

(910)

Net loss available to ordinary shareholders

 

(233,186)

(176,515)

(358,327)

Loss per ordinary share1

 

 

 

 

—Basic and diluted

 

(0.49)

(0.37)

(0.75)

Weighted average number of ordinary shares
outstanding used in computing net loss per ordinary share
1

 

 

 

 

—Basic and diluted

 

474,621,603

474,621,603

475,805,054

 

1 Shares outstanding for all periods reflect the adjustment for recapitalization upon the consummation of merger transaction in February 2024.

Lotus Technology Inc.

Unaudited Consolidated and Combined Statements of Comprehensive Loss (con’d)

 

(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share/ADS data)

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

December 31, 2023

 September 30, 2023

 December 31, 2022

 

US$

US$

US$

Net loss

 

(223,731)

(173,582)

(357,918)

 

 

 

 

 

Other comprehensive income:

 

 

 

 

Fair value changes of mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interest,
exchangeable notes and convertible notes due to instrument-specific
credit risk, net of nil income taxes

 

(8,065)

974

(1,727)

Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of nil income taxes

 

  (7,867)

  (10,486)

1,584

 

 

 

 

Total other comprehensive income

 

(15,932)

(9,512)

(143)

 

 

 

 

Total comprehensive loss

 

(239,663)

(183,094)

(358,061)

Less: Total comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

 

(667)

(1,998)

(503)

Total comprehensive loss attributable to ordinary shareholders

 

(238,996)

(181,096)

(357,558)

 

 

Appendix D

Lotus Technology Inc.

Unaudited Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP results (Adjusted EBITDA)

 

(All amounts in thousands)

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

2023

 

2022

 

 

US$

 

US$

Net loss

 

(750,255)

 

(724,563)

Share-based compensation expenses 

 

 

10,625

Adjusted net loss

 

(750,255)

 

(713,938)

Net loss

 

(750,255)

 

(724,563)

Interest expenses 

 

10,200

 

8,542

Interest income 

 

(9,204)

 

(12,188)

Income tax expense 

 

1,113

 

292

Share-based compensation expenses 

 

 

10,625

Depreciation 

 

54,957

 

12,790

Adjusted EBITDA

 

(693,189)

 

(704,502)

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

December 31, 2023

 

September 30, 2023

 

December 31, 2022

 

US$

 

US$

 

US$

Net loss

(223,731)

 

(173,582)

 

(357,918)

Share-based compensation expenses 

 

 

Adjusted net loss

(223,731)

 

(173,582)

 

(357,918)

Net loss

(223,731)

 

(173,582)

 

(357,918)

Interest expenses 

2,833

 

3,897

 

148   

Interest income 

(1,946)

 

(1,410)

 

(3,001)

Income tax (benefit)/expense 

(237)

 

1,368

 

137

Share-based compensation expenses 

 

 

Depreciation 

16,307

 

16,009

 

7,298

Adjusted EBITDA

(206,774)

 

(153,718)

 

(353,336)

 

 

 

 

 

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