Newport Beach-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp. reported revenue and adjusted profits in the second quarter that missed Wall Street expectations.
The country’s biggest builder and operator of natural-gas fueling stations posted revenue of $86.9 million, down 11% from a year earlier. Clean Energy reported after hours, citing lower fuel prices and slower than expected sales in China from its compression manufacturing unit for the drop.
The company reported a net loss of $29.9 million, down from a loss of $32.3 million a year earlier. Wall Street was looking for a net loss of $24.4 million.
Analysts on average had forecast sales of about $98.3 million.
Clean Energy said it delivered 74.4 million gallons of liquefied and compressed natural gas, up 15%.
It entered the year with high hopes it could sustain long-term profitability—a longtime knock on the company—as it reined in construction costs of a nationwide plan it started four years ago to dot major highways with natural-gas fueling stations.
Speculative buildouts were largely eliminated this year as the company focused on existing fleets and big, longer-term customers that fuel up at its network of more than 535 stations in 42 states.
Clean Energy raised $450 million in 2011 as part of its effort to build “America’s Natural Gas Highway,” a network of natural-gas stations spread out about every 250 miles along major transportation arteries in California, Texas, the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast.
Major backers included cofounder and legendary oilman and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens and Oklahoma City-based giant Chesapeake Energy Corp.
Clean Energy shares were down slightly at the close of intraday trading to a market value of about $514 million.
