Tesla Motors has said it expects to realise its first profit in the first quarter of 2013, after posting a net loss of US$89.9m in the fourth quarter.
The electric car maker, founded by Elon Musk, went public in 2010 and since then has narrowed its losses as production of the Model S sedan ramped up late last year, Reuters reported.
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The fourth-quarter loss of $0.79 per share came on revenue of $306m. Full-year revenue was $413m, with a loss of $396m, or $3.69 per share.
In January, CEO Musk said Tesla hoped to earn a quarterly profit later this year.
In an earnings release, the company amended that timetable, saying, “We expect to be slightly profitable (excluding only non-cash option and warrant-related expenses) in Q1 2013.”
Tesla also it expects to be “near breakeven on cash flow” in the first quarter.
The carmaker, based in Palo Alto, California, said it plans to deliver over 20,000 Model S sedans this year, with sales rising higher in 2014 as the car is introduced in new markets outside North America. Tesla said it sold 2,650 Model S sedans in 2012, most of them in the fourth quarter.
Tesla plans to begin selling the Model S in Europe this summer and in Asia this autumn.
Musk in January said the company had reached its target production rate for the Model S of 20,000 a year and expects to launch the Model X, a luxury crossover built on the Model S platform, in the second half of 2014, with a smaller, less expensive sedan code-named Genn III to follow in 2015-2016.
The automaker, founded by Musk, went public in 2010. The Model S is the company’s second electric vehicle, after the two-passenger Roadster sports car. The Model S, which went into production last June, starts at nearly $60,000 before a federal tax credit, with prices ranging to over $105,000.
The company said it is reducing production costs while boosting gross margins, with a target of 25% margins by year-end.
Tesla said it made its first loan repayment of $12.7m last quarter to the USDepartment of Energy, with a second payment due in March. The automaker received $465m in low interest loans from the DOE, Reuters said.
