Tesla reported another profit for the first quarter of 2020, making it profitable for three consecutive quarters. In the quarter to late March, the company had sales of $ 5.98 billion, which was just below analyst expectations. The company reported earnings of 9 cents per share according to general US accounting rules (GAAP), while analysts had expected a loss of 25 cents. Total GAAP profit in Q1 2020 was $ 16 million, according to Tesla. In a first reaction after the figures were published, the share gained a good 4 percent after the exchange and initially increased these profits.
Adjusted $ 1.24 earnings per share
As adjusted earnings per share, Tesla reported $ 1.24, far more than the market had previously expected. Analysts had expected a loss of 37 cents per Tesla share; in the same quarter of the previous year, Tesla had even lost $ 2.90 per share. The first quarter of this year was on the way to becoming the quarter with the highest deliveries ever, until the corona restrictions began in March, the message said.
Tesla recalled that it delivered more electric cars overall than ever in a first quarter. With an increase of 32 percent compared to Q1 / 2019 for this season, sales were also higher than ever before. Compared to the previous quarter at the end of 2019, sales decreased by around $ 1.4 billion. According to Tesla, this was mainly due to the fact that deliveries were only possible to a limited extent at the end of the quarter.
Tesla cash outflow above expectation
Tesla said the company’s liquidity reserves at the end of the quarter were $ 8.1 billion. The company’s first quarter net outflow was $ 895 million; Bloomberg said the value was $ 300 million higher than expected. With a capital increase, Tesla had raised an additional $ 2 billion this February.
Tesla did not give any concrete outlook for the near future in its quarterly statement. Profit and cash flow forecasts for the year as a whole will only be commented on after the second quarter because the range of possible results is currently too wide. In general, Tesla said it wanted to continue to achieve industry-leading margins and profitability. The company also has enough liquidity to invest significantly in the product roadmap and long-term capacity expansions. In the short term, the production of the Model Y in the Gigafactorys in Berlin and Shanghai is the most important project
Tesla delivery target valid for 2020?
Tesla at least did not directly withdraw his forecast of being able to deliver at least 500,000 electric cars this year: They had enough capacity to reach this value “despite the reported interruptions”. For the US factories, however, it is currently unclear how quickly production can be ramped up there again. The Reuters news agency interpreted this as meaning that the target is at least suspended until new statements after Q2.
–
