Nio expects first quarter deliveries to be 25,000-26,000 units, implying March deliveries of about 9,217-10,217 units.
Nio posted four-quarter revenue that exceeded expectations, but guidance for first-quarter deliveries and revenue was slightly lower than expected.
The company reported revenue of RMB 9.9 billion ($1.55 billion) in the fourth quarter, up 49 percent from a year earlier and up 1 percent from the third quarter, according to its unaudited earnings report, which was released after the US stock market closed on Thursday.
That was above the median analyst estimate of RMB 9.72 billion in a Bloomberg survey and RMB 6.641 billion in the same quarter last year.
Nio reported vehicle sales revenue of RMB 9.22 billion in the fourth quarter, up 49.3 percent year-on-year and up 6.7 percent from the third quarter.
Nio delivered a record 25,034 vehicles in the fourth quarter, which was near the upper end of its previous guidance range of 23,500 to 25,500 vehicles.
The company reported a net loss of RMB 2.14 billion in the fourth quarter, an increase of 54.4 percent year-on-year and 156.7 percent from the third quarter.
Excluding stock-based awards, it reported an adjusted net loss of RMB 1.75 billion, up 31.5 percent year-on-year and 206.6 percent from the third quarter. This was higher than the RMB 1.326 billion reported in the year-ago quarter and market expectations of RMB 1.511 billion.
Nio's net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders in the fourth quarter was RMB 2.18 billion, an increase of 46 percent from the same period last year and 23.8 percent from the third quarter.
Basic and diluted net loss per ADS were both RMB 1.36 in the fourth quarter of 2021. Excluding share-based compensation expenses and accretion on redeemable non-controlling interests to redemption value, adjusted basic and diluted net loss per ADS were both RMB 1.07.
The company's gross margin was 17.2 percent in the fourth quarter, unchanged from a year ago. That was down from 20.3 percent in the third quarter and lower than analysts' expectations of 17.4 percent.
"The decrease of gross margin from the third quarter of 2021 was mainly resulted from the sales of automotive regulatory credits in the third quarter of 2021 which contributed a higher gross margin," Nio said.
Nio's vehicle margin in the fourth quarter was 20.9 percent, up from 17.2 percent in the year-ago quarter and 18.0 percent in the third quarter.
The company expects to deliver 25,000-26,000 units in the first quarter, lower than analysts' expectations of 27,958 units. Considering that Nio delivered 15,783 vehicles in the first two months of the year, the guidance implies March deliveries of about 9,217-10,217 units.
Nio expects revenue for the first quarter to be RMB 9.63 billion - RMB 9.99 billion, compared to analyst estimates of RMB 10.5 billion.
As of December 31, 2021, Nio's cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investment were RMB 55.4 billion.
For the full year 2021, Nio's revenue was RMB 36.1 billion, up 122.3 percent year-on-year. Vehicle sales revenue was RMB 33.1 billion, up 118.5 percent year-on-year.
The company's net loss in 2021 was RMB 4 billion, a decrease of 24.3 percent from 2020. Excluding share-based compensation expenses, the adjusted net loss was RMB 3 billion for the full year of 2021, a decrease of 41.2 percent from the previous year.
Net loss attributable to Nio's ordinary shareholders was RMB 10.6 billion for the full year of 2021, an increase of 88.4 percent from the previous year. The adjusted net loss attributable to Nio's ordinary shareholders was RMB 2.98 billion.
Basic and diluted net loss per ADS were both RMB 6.72 for the full year of 2021. Adjusted basic and diluted net loss per ADS were both RMB 1.89.
Nio repurchased equity interests in Nio China from a minority strategic investor for a total consideration of RMB 8.0 billion and recorded an amount of RMB 6.59 billion in accretion on redeemable non-controlling interests to redemption value in 2021, it said.
Click here to view the detailed financial results on Nio's investor relations page.
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