Lightning eMotors posts $27.43M loss in final pre-public quarter but touts sales backlog

LOVELAND — Lightning eMotors Inc. (NYSE: ZEV) had a net loss of more than $27.43 million in the first quarter of 2021 before it went public last month but expects sales to reach between $50 million and $60 million by the end of the year.

The Loveland-based Lightning generated nearly $4.6 million in revenue during the period by selling 31 vehicles, compared with $695,000 in the same period last year. The company reported a first-quarter loss from operations of $5.3 million, up from $2.6 million a year ago.

Lightning makes electric engines and transmissions that replace gas-powered powertrains on buses and commercial trucks; it also installs and maintains charge points for electric vehicle fleets.

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That expansion outside of solely producing vehicles is a boon for the company as it manages an array of shortages of key materials, CEO Tim Reeser said, but he still expects the pandemic-led shortages to cut into the company’s operations in the short term.

“The current supply chain disruptions will have significant consequences on short term margin and operating profits,” he said in a statement.

The deep loss in the quarter is primarily driven by $20.53 million in expenses linked to changes to the value of its stock warrants.

However, the figures are all before the company completed a merger with the special-purpose acquisition company GigCapital3 Inc. in early May. The deal added $268 million in cash to the company’s books, and Lightning said at the time that it is under contract to deliver 1,500 vehicles this year and in 2022.

Those deliveries will be key to Lighting as it aims to hit projections of $60 million in revenues by the end of 2021, and to hit as much as $2 billion in sales by the end of 2025. The company claims to have a backlog of $169 million at the end of the quarter and up to $807 million within its sales pipeline and intends to deliver approximately 500 vehicles by the end of the year.