Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA), Wednesday posted a profit for the first quarter, its first-ever quarterly profit in ten years, driven mainly by strong sales of its Model S electric luxury sedan.
Tesla shares surged 25 percent in after hours trade, following the news. Earnings and revenues for the period easily beat Wall Street expectations.
Palo Alto, California-based Tesla reported first-quarter profit of $11.2 million or breakeven per share, compared to a loss of $89.9 million or $0.86 per share last year.
Excluding items, earnings for the quarter were $0.12 per share. On average, seven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.04 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Tesla, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, said its sold 4,900 Model S cars in the quarter. On April 1, Tesla said sales of Model S sedan had exceeded 4,750 units, above the prior outlook of 4,500 units.
Chief Executive Musk said, "Tesla reached profitability in the first quarter of 2013 for the first time in our ten year history. We exceeded our own targets for deliveries, significantly expanded gross margin, and improved execution throughout the company."
Tesla's revenues for the quarter surged 83 percent to $561.8 million from $30.2 million last year. Analysts expected revenues of $492.02 million.
Tesla expects to build about 5,000 Model S vehicles in second quarter, and to deliver over 4,500 vehicles in North America. The company lifted its full-year 2013 outlook to about 21,000 deliveries from a prior outlook of 20,000 worldwide deliveries.
In early-April, Tesla had launched a 'revolutionary' finance option for prospective buyers of its fast selling Model S car in partnership with Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and US Bancorp. The financing option includes a guaranteed buyback after three years.
Gross margin for the quarter was 17 percent, double the 8 percent reported in the previous quarter. Tesla reaffirmed its guidance of a gross margin of 25 percent in fourth quarter.
TSLA closed Wednesday at $55.79, up $0.28 or 0.50%, on the Nasdaq. The stock further surged $14.56 or 26.11% in after hours trade. Trading volume for the day was 6.3 million shares, far above three-month average volume of 2.7 million.
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