Looks like Tesla is finally getting into the groove, as the company reported yet another profitable quarter, getting $105 million in profits on nearly $7.4 billion in revenue. The results sent its share prices soaring in after-hours trading. This follows in from the shares already trading at record highs, making the company the only U.S. automaker to cross $100 billion in market cap.
To begin with, revenues were just a tad higher this quarter (~1%) when compared with the same period last year. Tesla reported revenue of $7.38 billion, 17% higher than the $6.3 billion generated in the previous period. However, it is close to the $7.2 billion that the company generated in the fourth quarter of previous year.
Tesla reported a net income of $105 million in its fourth-quarter results, equivalent to 56 cents a diluted share, compared with $140 million, or 78 cents a share, in the same year-ago period. Tesla earned $386 million, or $2.14 a share, in the fourth quarter when adjusted for one-time items.
The company also increase its net cash and cash equivalents. Tesla reported a $930M increase in its cash and cash equivalents in Q4 to $6.3B. The operating cash flow less capex for Q4 2019 stood at $1.0B.
Capital expenditures grew 27% compared to the same quarter last year, to $412 million,. This was largely a result of company’s accelerated construction pace of its gigafactory in Shanghai. Still, capital expenditures for 2019, which reached $1.3 billion, were surprisingly lower than in 2018, when it surpassed $2.1 billion.
However, despite all those brilliant numbers, Tesla did mention that its average selling price has gone down, largely due to an increase in the number of cars leased. And Model 3 has become a big part of that program. Revenue growth was offset by higher
lease mix, Model 3 becoming a larger part of the company’s product mix, introduction of the Standard Range trims of Model 3, and adjustments to vehicle pricing.
“These changes have resulted in a reduction to the average selling price (ASP) relative to 2018,” the report said. “We do not expect ASP to change significantly in the near term, which means volume growth and revenue growth should correlate more closely this year.”
China plant will be the big focus in both short and long term as investors expect the company to speed up production in coming quarters. Tesla delivered 19,475 Model S and Model X in the fourth quarter, a 29% decline from the same period last year.
