The Wall Street Journal news department was not involved in the creation of this content. PRESS RELEASEApril 3, 2014, 10:27 a.m. ET Following the Filing of Its Annual Report for the Year 2013, Green Automotive Provides Guidance on Its 2014 Forecast for Shareholders and Investors EmailPrinter FriendlyShare: facebook ? More Text
RIVERSIDE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 03, 2014-- This first guidance from the management of Green Automotive Company (OTCQB: GACR) for analysts, shareholders and investors builds on the results posted in our 10-K for full year 2013 filed on the 31(st) March 2014 in which we saw a nearly 10 fold rise in revenue over 2012.
Based on the assumption that Green Automotive closes the acquisitions of Blackhawk, a leading manufacturer of specialist composite materials and Transhock, a well established re-manufacturer and distributor of vehicle parts and accessories, the management of GAC are forecasting an annual revenue of approximately $13.8m (2013: $3m), and breakeven performance, (at an operational level, excluding non cash items) for 2014 (2013: -$2.3m at an operational level, excluding non cash items) (based on 7 months revenues from both companies).
Growth is expected in our Newport Coachworks business from an increased delivery of its diesel and CNG powered buses to fill a pre-existing book of orders, with anticipated weekly production rising from circa 2 buses per week, to over 4 buses. We expect full production of our electric shuttle bus to start in July 2014 with delivery to customers from September onwards. In addition we expect to start to export our buses during 2014, with interest from markets such as the Middle East, India and China.
The Blackhawk business should benefit from the increase in Newport Coachwork's activity as well as from the acquisition of new customers.
Transhock is expected to continue the growth enjoyed in 2013 and to further expand its on-line presence.
Our UK based retail operation, GoinGreen, should continue their upward trend as we broaden our electric vehicle product range with new introductions such as the Brammo electric motorbike, and iMoving commercial vehicles. We expect to open our first GoinGreen retail outlet in the US in 2014.
Our technology development business, Liberty e-tech anticipates bringing on board more EV development work and our after sales program Liberty e-care should grow from expansion into other geographical areas such as the US.
We consider ourselves to be a state-of-the-art niche vehicle design, engineering, manufacturing, and sales & support company, driving innovation in the use of cutting edge zero and low emission technologies. Our strength lies in our highly specialized businesses and their respective synergies. We believe with our portfolio of Liberty Electric Cars (e-tech and e-care), Newport Coachworks, GoinGreen, Blackhawk and Transhock that we possess a portfolio of synergistic businesses that are vertically integrated, each working with the other and also with external clients. We are active in four linked market segments: advanced vehicle technology development, engineering & design with a focus on zero and low emission solutions; manufacturing and customization of vehicles for niche markets (with the potential to be low emission or electric vehicles); retail sales of a range of zero emission transport solutions, and after sales support programs for electric or low emission vehicles including parts remanufacturing, servicing and repair.
The continued adoption of more stringent environmental legislation, particularly reducing exhaust and pollutant emissions to address significant health concerns will be a key driver in our industry. The market for Hybrid and Pure EV transport is forecasted to grow from its current $69bn to $334bn by 2023 (IDTech Ex 2013).
Our focus on low volume niche vehicle markets in the emerging EV sector reduces the number of competitors we face. The niche vehicle market for EV's is represented by the sectors where the volume is too low for a major OEM to be able to produce vehicles economically, and where a big degree of customization takes place from one vehicle to the next. Vehicles that typically fall in this category are buses, taxis, limousines, agricultural vehicles, fire engines, ambulances, funeral cars, airport vehicles, military vehicles, pumping vehicles, vehicles for mines, vehicles for theme parks, and forestry vehicles. In all of these categories and more, there are small, niche vehicle manufacturers servicing those industries, but they are now under pressure to do so in an environmentally clean way. We believe our broad expertise in EV technology and niche vehicle design, manufacturing, sales and after sales support, will enable us to create a successful business in the sectors we choose to enter. We are initially prioritizing the shuttle bus market, building on the experience and Know-How of our Californian based company Newport Coachworks in this segment. The introduction of our electric shuttle bus which produces zero emissions and a massive reduction in CO2 levels, also helps businesses and communities to work in a more cost efficient way. In addition to the potential savings in fuel costs (electricity is on average 80% less than the cost of diesel per mile travelled), electric buses benefit from a number of federal and state-based financial incentives that allow their owners to reduce significantly the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
We will continue to be engaged in extensive research and development activities. Our subsidiary, Liberty Electric Cars, is involved in a number of advanced research programs for developing next generation electric vehicle ("EV") solutions. These programs include the prestigious "Deliver" project where LEC is working together with OEM's and "tier one" automotive companies to develop "next generation" pure electric commercial vehicle; the "Motore" project in which LEC has partnered with other "tier one" automotive companies and universities to develop a "rare earth" free electric motor technology, and the Epsilon project designed to develop a lightweight passenger vehicle (sub 600kg) with safety levels more normally associated with a full size passenger car. In addition LEC continues to investigate and work on a number of ground breaking new technologies, any one of which might, if proven successful, accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. Our focus is on the deployment of low emission technology for niche vehicles in either our own platforms or those of other companies wanting to build low or zero emission transport solutions.
Due to its experience in EV technologies and in servicing EVs, Liberty Electric Cars will continue to supply on-going support for electric vehicles run by key clients in Europe, including major companies such as FedEx, UPS and Veolia. More recently Liberty E-Care has pioneered the refurbishment of EV batteries to extend the life of used EV batteries and provide an alternative for significantly less cost than a replacement battery. Liberty Electric Cars is believed to be one of a very small number of companies in the world offering this type of refurbishment program. This unique Know How should allow us to expand our business into other geographical regions.
Ian Hobday, CEO of Green Automotive: "I believe the revenue growth we achieved in 2013, together with the acquisitions we have made, provide us with a great platform to build on. We will continue to execute our Global Business Plan going forward; integrating Blackhawk and Transhock; generating further synergies and reducing back office costs, whilst continuing grow through the acquisition of new customers."
Green Automotive has planned to provide an update of this information on a quarterly basis.
About Green Automotive Company visit www.thegreenautomotivecompany.com
LYC Price at posting:
18.5¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
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