Shares of electric vehicle charging company
Wallbox
couldn’t hold on to early gains Wednesday, even though the company reported better-than-expected costs. Slowing EV adoption has investors down.
Wallbox reported a 2023 fourth-quarter loss before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of €11.1 million ($12 million) from sales of $46.8 million Wednesday morning. Wall Street was looking for a $14 million loss from sales of $50.6 million, according to FactSet.
Shares were up 5.7% in premarket trading at $1.68 apiece, but closed down 5% at $1.51. The
S&P 500
and
Nasdaq Composite
fell 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively.
The smaller loss helped initially. “2023 was a year of transitions at Wallbox. The EV adoption curve is in the process of crossing the chasm, which combined with higher interest rates and increased channel inventory, [drove] variability in our forecasts and results,” said CEO Enric Asuncion in a news release.
EV sales are still growing, but 2023 was a year where the factors he mentioned drove lower-than-expected EV sales at many auto makers—and lower share prices for many EV-related stocks. Coming into Wednesday trading, Wallbox shares were down about 72% over the past 12 months.
Wallbox reacted to that by cutting costs.
“We are more lean, focused, and determined than ever before, and we believe we are better positioned to lead in the markets in which we compete,” Asuncion added.
The company is still optimistic about the future. Asuncion said on his company’s earnings conference call that there were almost 13.6 million EVs sold globally in 2023, and industry estimates are for 18 million units in 2024.
The company’s cash balance ended the year at about $115.3 million. Analysts project cash use of about $61 million in 2024.
Overall, five out of eight, or 63%, of analysts rate Wallbox shares Buy. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%. The average analyst price target for Wallbox stock is about $3.40 a share.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]
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