- Lotus Tech recorded revenue of $173 million and gross profit margin of 18%
- Delivered approximately 2,194 vehicles1, with global markets outside China contributing over 75% of total deliveries
- Revealed luxury customized editions of classic sportscar and BEV lifestyle models
NEW YORK, May 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lotus Technology Inc. ("Lotus Tech" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: LOT), a leading global luxury electric vehicle maker, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.
The Company achieved total revenue of $173 million in the quarter, a year-on-year growth of 811% and a gross profit margin of 18%, powered by an asset-light model and high-margin businesses including R&D services and accessories. The Company successfully launched its Chapman Bespoke service in the first quarter of 2024, providing premium customization to Lotus vehicles.
Lotus Tech delivered a total of 2,194 vehicles in the first quarter. The Company began deliveries of Emeya in China, its first electric hyper-grand tourer, and further expanded its product portfolio to four models. In the China market where the Company operates a direct-to-customer sales model, the deliveries in the first quarter had a year-on-year growth of over 100%. Customer deliveries of Emira, the brand’s ICE sports car manufactured in the UK, also commenced in the US at the beginning of this year.
Global markets outside China contributed over 75% of the company’s deliveries in the first quarter. With a global sales network of over 200 stores in prime locations around the world, the Company continues to leverage its global distribution footprint for international expansion. After China and Europe, the Company began taking orders for Eletre in more than 10 new markets across the Middle East, Asia and the Americas in the first quarter. Lotus Tech also expects to begin expanding Emeya sales to new markets in the third quarter of the year.
"Through our unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence, we are making steady progress on delivering Lotus Tech’s Vision80 plan," said Lotus Tech CEO Qingfeng Feng. "Our global strategy continues to drive growth and success as we expand our presence and sales across key luxury markets worldwide. We are encouraged by the positive feedback received in these new markets and look forward to rolling out new models to new geographies throughout the year."
Operational and Financial Summaries
The below tables summarize key operational results for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Deliveries1 by model type
| 1Q 2024 | 1Q 2023 | % Change (YoY) | FY2023 | |
| Lifestyle vehicles | 1,047 | 236 | 344% | 4,361 |
| Sportscars | 1,147 | 28 | - | 2,609 |
| Total | 2,194 | 264 | 731% | 6,970 |
The below table summarizes key preliminary financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
(in millions of U.S. dollars, unaudited)
| 1Q 2024 | 1Q 2023 | % Change (YoY) | FY2023 | |
| Revenue | 173 | 19 | 811% | 679 |
| Cost of Revenues | 143 | 19 | 653% | 577 |
| Gross profit | 30 | 0.2 | - | 102 |
| Gross margin | 18% | 1% | - | 15% |
| Operating loss | (233) | (162) | 44% | (736) |
| Net Loss | (258) | (160) | 61% | (750) |
| Adjusted EBITDA* | (204) | (154) | 32% | (693) |
*Non-GAAP measure. See Appendix C for details and a reconciliation of adjusted metrics to the nearest GAAP measure.
Recent Developments
- Global Premiere of Emeya Blossom Limited Edition: In April, the Company revealed the Chapman Bespoke limited collection Emeya Blossom, a luxuriously customized vehicle integrating Colin Chapman’s charm into its design concept. This collection features rare gradient painting and 42 natural sapphires on the instrument panel, which garnered significant attention from viewers at the Beijing Auto Show.
- Beijing International Automotive Exhibition: The Company showcased limited editions of Lotus vehicles including the Evija Fittipaldi, Eletre Type 79, Emira Tailor Made, Type 66 as well as Emeya Blossom, which received a high level of customer interest during the 10-day exhibition.
- Charging Solutions: Lotus Tech entered into a strategic partnership with NIO on battery charging, granting Lotus Tech vehicles with access to NIO’s network of over 2,000 charging stations across China.
- ESG: In May, the Company published its annual 2023 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report, which outlined its achievements in building a green value chain, leading clean mobility, and upholding business integrity through the efforts in information security and privacy protection as well as in community support.
Conference Call
Lotus Tech management will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 (14:00 Central European Time / 20:00 China Standard Time on May 29, 2024) to discuss financial results and answer questions from investors and analysts.
For participants who wish to join the webcast, please register at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/gwuvrehk.
Following completion of the call, audio replay will be available on the Company’s investor relations website: https://ir.group-lotus.com/.
For participants who wish to join the call by phone, please register at https://register.vevent.com/register/BI205823e15f3a49cdb5ade4789837bb8c.
About Lotus Technology
Lotus Technology Inc. has operations across the UK, the EU and China. 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.
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. Lotus Tech defines adjusted EBITDA as net loss excluding interest income, interest expense, income tax expenses, depreciation of property, equipment and software, and share-based compensation expenses. The Company believes that the 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 the 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.
The 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. The 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 the 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 the non-GAAP financial measures, please see "Appendix C – Unaudited Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results (Adjusted net loss/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 in the Company’s filings 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.
Contact Information
For investor inquiries
Demi Zhang
ir@group-lotus.com
For media inquiries
Brunswick Group
Lotustechmedia@brunswickgroup.com
__________________________
1 Invoiced deliveries, including commissioned deliveries.
Appendix A
Lotus Technology Inc.
Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets
(All amounts in thousands)
| As of | |||
| Mar 31, 2024 | Dec 31, 2023 | ||
| US$ | US$ | ||
| ASSETS | |||
| Current assets | |||
| Cash | 232,859 | 418,941 | |
| Restricted cash | 275,657 | 7,873 | |
| Securities pledged to an investor | 187,568 | - | |
| Accounts receivable – third parties, net | 78,293 | 76,664 | |
| Accounts receivable – related parties, net | 67,784 | 22,430 | |
| Inventories | 368,514 | 265,190 | |
| Prepayments and other current assets – third parties, net | 87,961 | 63,870 | |
| Prepayments and other current assets – related parties, net | 34,085 | 28,744 | |
| Total current assets | 1,332,721 | 883,712 | |
| Non-current assets | |||
| Restricted cash | 1,154 | 321 | |
| Investment securities – related parties | 2,063 | 3,326 | |
| Securities pledged to an investor | 309,613 | - | |
| Loans receivable from a related party | 202,969 | - | |
| Property, equipment and software, net | 352,329 | 354,617 | |
| Intangible assets | 116,359 | 116,360 | |
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 168,442 | 173,103 | |
| Other non-current assets – third parties | 55,146 | 50,533 | |
| Other non-current assets – related parties | 2,701 | 2,706 | |
| Total non-current assets | 1,210,776 | 700,966 | |
| Total assets | 2,543,497 | 1,584,678 | |
Lotus Technology Inc.
Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets (cont’d)
(All amounts in thousands)
| As of | |||
| Mar 31, 2024 | Dec 31, 2023 | ||
| US$ | US$ | ||
| LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) | |||
| Current liabilities | |||
| Short-term borrowings – third parties | 462,801 | 226,772 | |
| Accounts payable – third parties | 50,418 | 20,123 | |
| Accounts payable – related parties | 394,185 | 340,419 | |
| Contract liabilities – third parties | 62,118 | 44,184 | |
| Contract liabilities – related parties | 227 | - | |
| Operating lease liabilities – third parties | 16,186 | 16,760 | |
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities – third parties | 412,910 | 419,422 | |
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities – related parties | 303,669 | 290,686 | |
| Exchangeable notes | - | 378,638 | |
| Convertible notes | - | 20,277 | |
| Total current liabilities | 1,702,514 | 1,757,281 | |
| Non-current liabilities | |||
| Contract liabilities – third parties | 6,468 | 6,245 | |
| Operating lease liabilities – third parties | 88,268 | 91,929 | |
| Operating lease liabilities – related parties | 11,735 | 12,064 | |
| Put option liabilities – third parties | 169,808 | - | |
| Put option liabilities – related parties | 38 | 11,884 | |
| Exchangeable notes | 76,371 | 75,678 | |
| Convertible notes | 80,692 | 81,635 | |
| Warrant liabilities | 7,287 | - | |
| Deferred income | 270,396 | 270,097 | |
| Other non-current liabilities – third parties | 108,560 | 103,403 | |
| Other non-current liabilities – related parties | 1,561 | 1,634 | |
| Total non-current liabilities | 821,184 | 654,569 | |
| Total liabilities | 2,523,698 | 2,411,850 | |
Lotus Technology Inc.
Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets (cont’d)
(All amounts in thousands)
| As of | |||
| Mar 31, 2024 | Dec 31, 2023 | ||
| US$ | US$ | ||
| MEZZANINE EQUITY | |||
| Series Pre-A Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | - | 184,509 | |
| Series A Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | - | 199,021 | |
| Total mezzanine equity | - | 383,530 | |
| SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) | |||
| Ordinary shares | 7 | 21 | |
| Additional paid-in capital | 1,848,517 | 358,187 | |
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | 23,677 | 25,267 | |
| Accumulated deficit | (1,846,642) | (1,588,773) | |
| Total shareholders’ equity (deficit) attributable to ordinary shareholders | 25,559 | (1,205,298) | |
| Noncontrolling interests | (5,760) | (5,404) | |
| Total shareholders’ equity (deficit) | 19,799 | (1,210,702) | |
| Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders’ equity (deficit) | 2,543,497 | 1,584,678 | |
Appendix B
Lotus Technology Inc.
Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data)
| For the Three Months Ended | |||
| Mar 31, 2024 | Mar 31, 2023 | ||
| US$ | US$ | ||
| Revenues: | |||
| Sales of goods | 160,784 | 16,483 | |
| Service revenues | 12,298 | 2,638 | |
| Total revenues | 173,082 | 19,121 | |
| Cost of revenues: | |||
| Cost of goods sold | (139,273) | (16,551) | |
| Cost of services | (3,495) | (2,393) | |
| Total cost of revenues | (142,768) | (18,944) | |
| Gross profit | 30,314 | 177 | |
| Operating expenses: | |||
| Research and development expenses | (104,692) | (65,494) | |
| Selling and marketing expenses | (103,489) | (51,776) | |
| General and administrative expenses | (56,970) | (45,284) | |
| Government grants | 1,519 | 605 | |
| Total operating expenses | (263,632) | (161,949) | |
| Operating loss | (233,318) | (161,772) | |
| Interest expenses | (3,947) | (434) | |
| Interest income | 1,665 | 2,769 | |
| Investment loss, net | (1,394) | (2,163) | |
| Share of results of equity method investments | 201 | (465) | |
| Foreign currency exchange gains (losses), net | (6,667) | 3,062 | |
| Changes in fair values of mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interest, exchangeable notes and convertible notes, excluding impact of instrument-specific credit risk | 8,404 | (2,535) | |
| Changes in fair values of warrant liabilities | 4,853 | - | |
| Changes in fair values of put option liabilities | (27,880) | 1,874 | |
| Loss before income taxes | (258,083) | (159,664) | |
| Income tax (expense) benefit | (142) | 89 | |
| Net loss | (258,225) | (159,575) | |
| Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests | (356) | (1,918) | |
| Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders | (257,869) | (157,657) | |
| Accretion of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | (2,979) | (7,248) | |
| Net loss available to ordinary shareholders | (260,848) | (164,905) | |
| Loss per ordinary share | |||
| —Basic and diluted | (0.47) | (0.35) | |
| Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding used in computing net loss per ordinary share | |||
| —Basic and diluted | 558,429,003 | 474,621,603 | |
Lotus Technology Inc.
Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss (cont’d)
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data)
| For the Three Months Ended | |||
| Mar 31, 2024 | Mar 31, 2023 | ||
| US$ | US$ | ||
| Net loss | (258,225) | (159,575) | |
| Other comprehensive loss: | |||
| Fair value changes of mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interest, exchangeable notes and convertible notes due to instrument-specific credit risk, net of nil income taxes | (175) | (1,042) | |
| Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of nil income taxes | (1,415) | (7,037) | |
| Total other comprehensive loss | (1,590) | (8,079) | |
| Total comprehensive loss | (259,815) | (167,654) | |
| Less: Total comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests | (356) | (1,918) | |
| Total comprehensive loss attributable to ordinary shareholders | (259,459) | (165,736) | |
Appendix C
Lotus Technology Inc.
Unaudited Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP results (Adjusted net loss/Adjusted EBITDA)
(All amounts in thousands)
| For the Three Months Ended | |||
| Mar 31, 2024 | Mar 31, 2023 | ||
| US$ | US$ | ||
| Net loss | (258,225) | (159,575) | |
| Share-based compensation expenses | 35,323 | - | |
| Adjusted net loss | (222,902) | (159,575) | |
| Net loss | (258,225) | (159,575) | |
| Interest expenses | 3,947 | 434 | |
| Interest income | (1,665) | (2,769) | |
| Income tax expense(benefit) | 142 | (89) | |
| Depreciation | 16,174 | 7,604 | |
| Share-based compensation expenses | 35,323 | - | |
| Adjusted EBITDA | (204,304) | (154,395) | |
