Tesla Q4 Loss Narrows - Update

(RTTNews) - Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA), Wednesday reported a loss for the fourth quarter that was narrower than last year. The company said it expects to start volume production of Model 3 by September.

Palo Alto, California-based Tesla reported fourth-quarter loss of $121.3 million or $0.78 per share, compared to last year's loss of $320.4 million or $2.44 per share.

Excluding items, adjusted loss for the quarter were $0.69 per share, compared to adjusted loss of $2.02 per share last year. On average, 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.43 per share for the quarter.

Tesla's revenues for the quarter surged 88 percent to $2.28 billion from $1.21 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $2.18 billion.

Gross margins for the quarter improved to 19.1 percent from 18.0 percent a year ago.

Tesla said Model S and X orders reach record high during the fourth quarter, while Model 3 is on track for initial production in July and volume production by September.

Moving ahead, Tesla plans to deliver 47,000 to 50,000 new vehicles in first half of 2017, representing a growth of 61 to 71 percent from same period last year.

TSLA closed Wednesday's trading at $273.51, down $3.88 or 1.40%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, gained $8.69 or 3.16% in the after-hours trade.