- Produced 417 vehicles during the fourth quarter of 2023,
resulting in 1,056 vehicles produced during the full year
2023
- Recorded $6.1 million of
revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $16.1 million during the full year 2023
- Began deployment of enhanced omnichannel sales model with
distribution to key international markets in the U.A.E. and
South America
- Completed production launch on optimized high volume
OrcaTM Performance PWC and NomadTM snowmobile
product platforms achieving over 50 unit per week production on
both product lines
MONTREAL, April 2,
2024 /CNW/ - Taiga Motors Corporation (TSX:
TAIG) ("Taiga" or the "Company"), a
leading electric off-road vehicle manufacturer, today reported its
financial and operating results for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Taiga reported $16.1 million from
the sale of 592 vehicles during the full year of 2023 and
$6.1 million from the sale of 242
vehicles during the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2023. Nomad snowmobile production
started in November 2023 for the
2023/2024 winter season.
During the quarter, Taiga continued to build its sales channels
and commenced distribution to international markets in South America and the U.A.E. alongside the
continued development of its Taiga Service Provider ("TSP") network
to 40 locations across Canada and
the United States as of
December 31, 2023. To further
accelerate its market penetration and better support customers in
their local markets, the Company intends to further evolve its
omnichannel model, by expanding sales through dealers alongside
distribution and direct to customer sales.
Fourth Quarter 2023 Operational Updates
- Produced 417 vehicles, of which 243 were Orca Performance
watercraft and 174 were Nomad snowmobiles.
- Sold and delivered 242 vehicles, including 119 Orca PWC and 123
Nomad snowmobiles.
- Pre-order level stood at 2,442 as at December 31, 2023, as the Company focuses on
maintaining a pre-order level and sales pipeline in line with its
production plan.1
- Taiga Service Provider (TSP) network growth in 2023, with 30
TSPs onboarded as of December 31,
2023, covering 40 locations in North America.
- Initiated international PWC distribution in the U.A.E. and in
South America as well as
snowmobile deliveries across multiple fleet operators in
Sweden.
- Completed production launch on optimized high volume Orca
Performance PWC and Nomad snowmobile product platforms achieving
over 50 unit per week production on both product lines.
- Launched the new Cloud Connected Mobile App, enhancing
customers' experience and further solidify Taiga as a technology
leader in the off-road industry.
Fourth Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights (All amounts
in Canadian dollars unless indicated otherwise)
- Recorded revenue of $6.1 million
during the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to $1.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
- Recorded Cost of Sales of $15.6
million during the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to
$17.1 million in the fourth quarter
of 2022.
- Research & Development (R&D) expense (net of tax
credits) increased to $3.1 million in
the fourth quarter of 2023 from $2.0
million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
- General & Administration (G&A) expense increased to
$6.2 million from $4.9 million compared to the fourth quarter of
2022.
- Sales & Marketing (S&M) expense of $1.0 million remained relatively stable with no
change compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.
- Net loss for the period decreased to $22.2 million compared to $23.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Full-Year 2023 Financial Highlights (All amounts in
Canadian dollars unless indicated otherwise)
- Revenue of $16.1 million recorded
during 2023, compared to $3.2 million
recorded in 2022.
- Cost of Sales of $43.0 million
recorded during 2023, compared to $29.2
million reported in 2022.
- Research & Development (R&D) expense (net of tax
credits) increased to $15.4 million
from $9.4 million compared 2022.
- General & Administration (G&A) expense increased to
$20.9 million from $19.8 million in 2022.
- Sales & Marketing (S&M) expense increased to
$5.1 million from $4.3 million in 2022.
- Net loss for 2023 increased to $72.5
million compared to $59.5
million in 2022.
- Additions to Property and Equipment decreased to $11.4 million compared to $12.1 million in 2022.
- Cash and cash equivalents of $5.3
million as at December 31,
2023, compared to $22.8
million as at December 31,
2022.
- Inventory increased to $33.2
million as at December 31,
2023, compared to $20.8
million as at December 31,
2022.
2024 Priorities
After making major investments in 2022-2023 on new product
launches and to support the Company's rapid production ramp-up,
Taiga is now focused on driving cost efficiency throughout the
business and on deploying its omnichannel sales model to support
sustainable growth. In view of the current economic context
combined with an unusually mild winter that negatively impacted the
snowmobile business, Taiga is in the process of taking several
steps to adjust its operations to better align seasonal production
timing with dealer inventory levels. As such, the Company announced
today that it is temporarily pausing its vehicle production and
temporarily reducing its workforce accordingly by approximately 70
people. In addition, Taiga is committed to further reducing its
operating burn in 2024 and will continue to adjust the scale of its
operations to the current market reality while maintaining the
Company's focus on expanding sales.
Furthermore, given the transition period in which Taiga
currently finds itself as well as the Company's current overall
operational, market and financial circumstances, the Company has
decided that it does not currently intend to provide any
forward-looking guidance, production or sales outlook in respect of
the fiscal year ending December 31,
2024 nor for any subsequent period.
Investors should read in their entirety the Company's 2023
annual disclosure documents filed on April
2, 2024, including but not limited to the 2023 Annual
MD&A and 2023 Annual Information Form.
Taiga will not be hosting a conference call to discuss its
fourth quarter and full year 2023 results. Analysts and investors
may contact Taiga's Chief Financial Officer by writing to
eric.bussieres@taigamotors.ca.
About Taiga
Taiga (TSX: TAIG) is a Canadian company reinventing the
powersports landscape with breakthrough electric off-road vehicles.
Through a clean-sheet engineering approach, Taiga has pushed the
frontiers of electric technology to achieve extreme power-to-weight
ratios and thermal specifications required to outperform comparable
high-performance combustion powersports vehicles. The first models
released include a lineup of electric snowmobiles and personal
watercraft to deliver on a rapidly growing demand from recreational
and commercial customers who are seeking better ways to explore the
great outdoors without compromise. For more information, visit
www.taigamotors.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking information"
within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation.
Such forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to,
information with respect to our objectives and the strategies to
achieve these objectives, the expected operations, financial
results and condition of the Company, expectations regarding market
trends, the Company's growth rates, the Company's future objectives
and strategies to achieve those objectives, as well as information
with respect to our beliefs, plans, expectations, anticipations,
estimates and intentions.
This forward-looking information is identified by the use of
terms and phrases such as "may", "would", "should", "could",
"expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "plan", "foresee",
"believe", and "continue", as well as the negative of these terms
and similar terminology, including references to assumptions,
although not all forward-looking information contains these terms
and phrases. Forward-looking information is provided for the
purposes of assisting the reader in understanding the Company and
its business, its financial position, operations, prospects and
risks at a point in time in the context of historical and possible
future developments and therefore the reader is cautioned that such
information may not be appropriate for other purposes.
We draw your attention to the "Financial Position" section of
the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the fiscal
year ended December 31, 2023, and to
note 2 of our consolidated financial statements which indicate the
existence of material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt
on the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. Both
during the upcoming fiscal quarter and over the next twelve months,
and despite having announced earlier in March 2024 that Export Development Canada had
agreed to upsize its funding facility with Taiga and that the
Company was able to draw down an additional $3.75 million under the upsized facility, the
Company will require additional financing in the immediate term in
order to fund its existing and future operations and obligations,
including through the issuance of equity, equity-related or debt
securities or through obtaining credit from government or financial
institutions. See the "Subsequent events" section of the Company's
management's discussion and analysis for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2023 for additional
details. At the present time and despite having deployed
significant efforts to seek any form of additional funding, there
is significant doubt that the Company will be able to secure any
meaningful amount of additional third-party funding or financing in
the immediate, near and medium terms. All of the foregoing indicate
that there exists a material uncertainty that may cast significant
doubt on the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
Given all of the above, Taiga is in the process of taking a number
of steps to restructure its operations and to reduce its operating
expenses, including by significantly downsizing the scale of its
operations and by reducing, even significantly, the number of its
employees, and the Company may well be required to take additional
restructuring measures in the near term. However, there can be no
assurance that any such downsizing efforts and initiatives
currently underway or that may be undertaken by the Company in the
near term will prove to be effective in sufficiently reducing the
Company's operating burn and, as such, there can be no assurance
that the Company will be able to continue as a going concern and
continue to pay its obligations and liabilities as they become
due.
Forward-looking information is based on a number of
assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties,
many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual
results to differ materially from those that are disclosed in, or
implied by, such forward-looking information. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the Company's
continuing negative operating cash flows and the limited prospects
for the Company to obtain a meaning amount of additional funding or
financing, limited operating history, delays in the ramp-up and
commissioning of our assembly and production facilities,
development of the network of dealers, supply chain dependence and
disruptions and the impact of such disruptions on our ability to
fulfil orders, quality control concerns, regulatory compliance,
future capital requirements, warranty and product recalls, product
and those described in the Company's management's discussion and
analysis for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2023, and under the "Risk Factors" section of the
Company's annual information form filed on April 2, 2024 on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at
sedarplus.ca. Forward-looking statements reflect management's
current beliefs, expectations and assumptions and are based on
information currently available to management. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, as there can be no assurance that the future
circumstances, outcomes or results anticipated or implied by such
forward-looking statements will occur or that plans, intentions or
expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based
will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contemplated by such statements.
All of the forward-looking information contained in this
press release is qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements,
and there can be no guarantee that the results or developments that
we anticipate will be realized or, even if substantially realized,
that they will have the expected consequences or effects on our
business, financial condition or results of operation. Unless
otherwise noted or the context otherwise indicates, the
forward-looking information contained herein is provided as of the
date hereof, and we do not undertake to update or amend such
forward-looking information whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable
law.
1Pre-orders for new Taiga vehicles are cancelable and
the deposit fully refundable, and there can be no assurance that
such pre-orders will be converted into sales.
SOURCE Taiga Motors Corporation