Polestar HY Operating Loss Widens Despite Revenue Surge

By Scott Kanowsky 

Investing.com -- Shares in Polestar Automotive Holding (NASDAQ:PSNY) fell by more than 4% in pre-market U.S. trading on Thursday after the premium Swedish electric vehicle maker reported a bigger first-half loss despite sales nearly doubling.

The firm, a spin-off of Volvo Car Group (ST:VOLCARb), saw its operating loss increase by $520.5M during the first six months of the year, a widening of 143% compared to the same period in 2021.

Polestar said this larger loss was due to investment in the "commercial expansion" of the business, along with a one-time charge of $372.3M stemming from its recent merger with a blank-check firm backed by billionaire Alec Gores and investment bank Guggenheim Partners. The company listed its shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York in June via this tie-up.

Meanwhile, total revenue spiked by 95% to $1.04B thanks mainly to heavy customer demand for its Polestar 2 vehicles. Global delivery volumes also rose by 123% to 21,185 cars during the first half.

"[W]e maintained strong momentum in our global order take and expect to deliver 50,000 cars to our customers this year, meeting our 2022 sales guidance. With several ground-breaking cars to come, Polestar is poised for a period of rapid growth,” said Chief Executive Officer Thomas Ingenlath in a statement.

Polestar added that vehicle deliveries will most likely be weighted toward the fourth quarter of the year because of disruptions linked to Covid-19 lockdowns in China.