- USD 950 million external funding secured
- Geely Sweden Holdings intends to participate in future
financing activities when required
- Richer product mix: global roll-out of two new SUVs to drive
significant volume and profit margin progression expected in second
half of the year
- Efficiency program delivers results
Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC (Nasdaq: PSNY), the Swedish
electric performance car brand, announces that it has secured USD
950 million in external funding. The company is making strong
progress on its strengthened business plan and achieving its 2025
targets.
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the full release here:
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Polestar lineup including Polestar 2,
Polestar 3, Polestar 4, Polestar 5. (Photo: Polestar)
The financing is being provided by 12 leading international
banks including BNP Paribas, Natixis, Standard Chartered, BBVA,
HSBC and SPDB, in the form of a three-year loan facility. It
provides Polestar with the funds it requires to finance the next
stage of its development and covers a large majority of its
estimated financing needs. Cash on the balance sheet as at 31
December 2023 was approximately USD 770 million.
Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, says: “Securing funding from a
syndicate of global banks reflects our partners’ support for
Polestar’s growth course. Together with Geely’s full financial
support and access to innovative technology and engineering
expertise, we have reinforced our path towards cash flow break-even
targeted in 2025.”
Daniel Li, Geely Holding Group CEO and Polestar Board Member,
says: “As a strategic partner and direct shareholder in Polestar,
Geely will continue to provide full operational and financial
support to the iconic performance car brand going forward. We will
retain our shares in Polestar and intend to participate in future
financing activities when required. Polestar will have full access
to technologies and engineering expertise from Geely Holding to
realise its global growth targets.”
Delivering on our strengthened business plan
The financing that has now been agreed will be accompanied by a
comprehensive efficiency program from Polestar. Among other
measures, 10 percent of jobs have been cut since mid-2023, with a
further 15 percent to follow this year.
Polestar has thus made significant progress on its strengthened
business plan and 2025 targets: achieving cash flow break-even,
annual volume of over 155,000 and a gross margin in the high
teens.
At the same time, Polestar was able to expand its model range
with two high-margin SUVs. The Polestar 4 sales are accelerating
around the world, Polestar 3 has now started production in China
and has also successfully completed test production runs in South
Carolina, USA. Prototype production of Polestar 5, a progressive
performance GT, will also accelerate in 2024.
Finally, in addition to the secured USD 950 million in external
funding, the recently announced new shareholder structure in
Polestar provides a solid basis for the brand’s further business
development. Under the new structure, Geely Sweden Holdings will
become the second largest shareholder and Volvo Cars intends to
retain an 18% stake.
“This marks a new phase in Polestar’s business,” says Thomas
Ingenlath. “The efforts of recent years are paying off: We improved
our cost basis, secured financing and are ramping up our product
offensive. Both SUVs now sharpen the brand, target one of the
fastest growing segments in the industry and position us for strong
volume growth and profit margin progression from the second half of
2024,” he adds.
Outlook
At the end of this year, Polestar expects volume growth that
supports the 2025 volume target and a double-digit gross profit
margin. Volume and margin progression are expected to be weighted
towards the second half of 2024, as the two SUVs reach full
production and global distribution.
Publication of full-year 2023 results and conference
call
Polestar is adjusting the release date for the preliminary
unaudited financial and operational results for the full year 2023
to a later date. This will allow the Company time to complete the
first year of compliance required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.
Polestar management will hold a live audio webcast tomorrow,
February 29, 2024 at 08:00 ET (14:00 CET) to discuss the Company’s
business and outlook update. The live webcast will be available at
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/6p89czud/.
Following the completion of the call, a replay will be available
shortly at https://investors.polestar.com.
Ends
Notes to editors
Polestar’s three-year loan facility involves 12 banks, with BNP
Paribas, Natixis and Standard Chartered leading the transaction and
BBVA, HSBC, and SPDB acting as Mandated Lead Arrangers and
Bookrunners.
Statement Regarding Preliminary Unaudited Financial and
Operational Results
The unaudited financial and operational information published in
this press release is preliminary and subject to potential
adjustments. Potential adjustments to operational and consolidated
financial information may be identified from work performed during
Polestar’s year-end audit. This could result in differences from
the unaudited operational and financial information published
herein. For the avoidance of doubt, the preliminary unaudited
operational and financial information published in this press
release should not be considered a substitute for the financial
information to be filed with the SEC in Polestar’s Annual Report on
Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023.
About Polestar
Polestar (Nasdaq: PSNY) is the Swedish electric performance car
brand determined to improve society by using design and technology
to accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility. Headquartered in
Gothenburg, Sweden, its cars are available online in 27 markets
globally across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Polestar plans to have a line-up of five performance EVs by
2026. Polestar 2, the electric performance fastback, launched in
2019. Polestar 3, the SUV for the electric age, launched in late
2022. Polestar 4, the SUV coupé transformed, is launching in phases
through 2023 and into 2024. Polestar 5, an electric four-door GT
and Polestar 6, an electric roadster, are coming soon.
The Polestar 0 project supports the company’s ambitious goal of
creating a truly climate-neutral production car by 2030. The
research initiative also aims to create a sense of urgency to act
on the climate crisis, by challenging employees, suppliers and the
wider automotive industry, to drive towards zero.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release (“Press Release”) may
be considered “forward-looking statements” as defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements generally relate to future events or the future
financial or operating performance of Polestar including the number
of vehicle deliveries and gross margin. For example, projections of
revenue, volumes, margins, cash flow break-even and other financial
or operating metrics and statements regarding expectations of
future needs for funding and plans related thereto are
forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify
forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may”, “should”,
“expect”, “intend”, “will”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”,
“predict”, “potential”, “forecast”, “plan”, “seek”, “future”,
“propose” or “continue”, or the negatives of these terms or
variations of them or similar terminology. Such forward-looking
statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors
which could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and
assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Polestar and its
management, as the case may be, are inherently uncertain. Factors
that may cause actual results to differ materially from current
expectations include, but are not limited to: (1) Polestar’s
ability to maintain agreements or partnerships with its strategic
partners, such as Volvo Cars, Geely or Xingji Meizu Group, and to
develop new agreements or partnerships; (2) Polestar’s ability to
maintain relationships with its existing suppliers, source new
suppliers for its critical components and enter into longer term
supply contracts and complete building out its supply chain, while
effectively managing the risks due to such relationships; (3)
Polestar’s reliance on its partnerships with vehicle charging
networks to provide charging solutions for its vehicles and its
reliance on strategic partners for servicing its vehicles and their
integrated software; (4) Polestar’s reliance on its partners, some
of which may have limited experience with electric vehicles, to
manufacture vehicles at a high volume or develop devices, products,
apps or operating systems for Polestar, and to allocate sufficient
production capacity or resources to Polestar in order for Polestar
to be able to increase its vehicle production capacities and
product offerings; (5) the ability of Polestar to grow and manage
growth profitably including expectations of growth and financial
performance by generating expected revenues at expected selling
prices, maintain relationships with customers and retain its
management and key employees; (6) Polestar’s estimates of expenses,
profitability, gross margin, cash flow, and cash reserves; (7)
increases in costs, disruption of supply or shortage of materials,
in particular for lithium-ion cells or semiconductors; (8) the
possibility that Polestar may be adversely affected by other
economic, business, and/or competitive factors; (9) the effects of
competition and the high barriers to entry in the automotive
industry, and the pace and depth of electric vehicle adoption
generally on Polestar’s future business; (10) changes in regulatory
requirements, governmental incentives and fuel and energy prices;
(11) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted
against Polestar or others, adverse results from litigation,
governmental investigations or audits, or tax-related proceedings
or audits; (12) the ability to meet stock exchange listing
standards; (13) changes in applicable laws or regulations or
governmental incentive programs; (14) Polestar’s ability to
establish its brand and capture additional market share, (15) the
risks associated with negative press or reputational harm,
including from lithium-ion battery cells catching fire or venting
smoke; (65) delays in the design, development, manufacture, launch
and financing of Polestar’s vehicles and other product offerings,
and Polestar’s reliance on a limited number of vehicle models to
generate revenues; (16) Polestar’s ability to continuously and
rapidly innovate, develop and market new products; (17) risks
related to future market adoption of Polestar’s offerings; (18)
risks related to Polestar’s distribution model; (19) the impact of
the global COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, interest rate changes, the
ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia and in Israel and the
Gaza Strip, supply chain disruptions, fuel and energy prices and
logistical constraints on Polestar, Polestar’s projected results of
operations, financial performance or other financial and
operational metrics, or on any of the foregoing risks; (20)
Polestar’s ability to forecast demand for its vehicles; (21)
Polestar’s ability to raise additional funding; (22) Polestar’s
ability to successfully execute cost-cutting activities and
strategic efficiency initiatives; (and (23) other risks and
uncertainties set forth in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and
“Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in
Polestar’s Form 20-F, and other documents filed, or to be filed,
with the SEC by Polestar. There may be additional risks that
Polestar presently does not know or that Polestar currently
believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to
differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.
Nothing in this Press Release should be regarded as a
representation by any person that the forward-looking statements
set forth herein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated
results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved. You
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements,
which speak only as of the date they are made. Polestar assumes no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new
information becomes available in the future, except as may be
required by law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240228093729/en/
Bojana Flint Investor Relations bojana.flint@polestar.com Theo
Kjellberg Corporate PR Theo.kjellberg@polestar.com Tanya Ridd
Global Head of Communications & PR tanya.ridd@polestar.com
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