Fisker Automotive Inc. Chief Executive Tom Lasorda might have been seeking some negotiating leverage when he recently said the Anaheim-based luxury automaker’s next model could be built outside the U.S.
Lasorda’s comments earlier this month at the New York Auto Show, where Fisker introduced its latest hybrid, surprised Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and economic development director Alan Levin. Both told The Associated Press they were unaware Fisker was considering moving production of its newly named Atlantic model from Delaware.
Fisker spokesperson Roger Ormisher said afterward that Delaware remains Fisker’s first choice but that the company will explore alternative sites as it renegotiates a U.S. Energy Department loan.
Fisker planned to build the Atlantic at a former General Motors Co. plant it purchased for $18 million, but its recent production problems led to a freeze of $336 million of a one-time $529 million federal loan. (It didn’t help that other federal loan recipients, including electric battery maker Ener1 Inc., had recently filed for bankruptcy protection.)
Fisker’s loan was frozen after the company failed to meet undisclosed federal sales and production goals. The holdup prompted 40 layoffs at Fisker’s Anaheim headquarters and cutbacks in Delaware.
The company’s second model—a hybrid, like the inaugural Karma two-seater—is a four-cylinder four-seater with a longer wheelbase and more trunk space. The Atlantic is expected to sell for about half the Karma’s roughly $100,000 price tag and is widely seen as a make or break model for Fisker and a bellwether for the electric-car industry.
Powerwave Tumbles Again
Shares of Powerwave Technologies Inc. tumbled last week after the Santa Ana-based company provided a revenue outlook in the first quarter below Wall Street expectations.
Investors sent shares down more than 35% on April 13, a day after Powerwave said it projected $40 million to $45 million in revenue in the March quarter.
Analysts on average had forecast sales of $62 million.
Powerwave makes antennas, filters and other equipment for cell phone towers.
Its devices capture and boost radio signals between cell phones and base stations inside towers.
Powerwave cited a continued weakness in several of its markets and capital spending delays among network providers for the dreary outlook.
The company has seen sales drastically fall since October, when executives cited a “significant” slowdown in spending by North American network operators and the stalled merger between AT&T Inc. in Dallas and Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile USA Inc.
That proposed deal collapsed late last year.
Powerwave has initiated a series of moves since then to conserve cash or build up capital. That included a reverse split of common stock intended to prop up its share price, selling its headquarters for $49.1 million in a lease-back deal, and cutting 110 employees, or 5% of its work force, as part of a restructuring plan.
The cash-strapped company trimmed operating expenses in the December quarter by $14 million to roughly $12 million, a move that helped increase cash reserves to $70.3 million, up from $46.6 million in the prior quarter.
Powerwave is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings May 3.
Bits and Pieces
Cypress-based Universal Electronics Inc., which makes electronic games and remote controls, was named the Mitsubishi Electric Digital Televisions Supplier of the Year. … ThinkASG, an Irvine-based IT-services provider, nabbed IBM’s Growth Leadership and Competitive Leadership awards. … Santa Ana-based audio software maker SRS Labs Inc. won a Reader’s Choice Award from about.com for its new MyTunes Pro app. … Huntington Beach-based AnyMeeting, a Web-conferencing provider, surpassed 120,000 registered users in a 600% jump in the last year. The company, funded by Tech Coast Angels and a similar group in Pasadena, recently rolled out an app allowing six-way video conferencing.
