Polestar secures USD 1 billion external funding; business outlook confirmed

  • USD 950 million external funding secured
  • Geely Sweden Holdings intends to participate in future financing activities when required
  • Richer product mix: global roll-out of two new SUVs to drive significant volume and profit margin progression expected in second half of the year
  • Efficiency program delivers results

 

GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN – 28 February 2024. Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC (Nasdaq: PSNY), the Swedish electric performance car brand, announces that it has secured USD 950 million in external funding. The company is making strong progress on its strengthened business plan and achieving its 2025 targets.

The financing is being provided by 12 leading international banks including BNP Paribas, Natixis, Standard Chartered, BBVA, HSBC and SPDB, in the form of a three-year loan facility. It provides Polestar with the funds it requires to finance the next stage of its development and covers a large majority of its estimated financing needs. Cash on the balance sheet as at 31 December 2023 was approximately USD 770 million.

Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, says: “Securing funding from a syndicate of global banks reflects our partners’ support for Polestar’s growth course. Together with Geely’s full financial support and access to innovative technology and engineering expertise, we have reinforced our path towards cash flow break-even targeted in 2025.”

Daniel Li, Geely Holding Group CEO and Polestar Board Member, says: “As a strategic partner and direct shareholder in Polestar, Geely will continue to provide full operational and financial support to the iconic performance car brand going forward. ​ We will retain our shares in Polestar and intend to participate in future financing activities when required. Polestar will have full access to technologies and engineering expertise from Geely Holding to realise its global growth targets.”

 

Delivering on our strengthened business plan

The financing that has now been agreed will be accompanied by a comprehensive efficiency program from Polestar. Among other measures, 10 percent of jobs have been cut since mid-2023, with a further 15 percent to follow this year.

Polestar has thus made significant progress on its strengthened business plan and 2025 targets: achieving cash flow break-even, annual volume of over 155,000 and a gross margin in the high teens

At the same time, Polestar was able to expand its model range with two high-margin SUVs. The Polestar 4 sales are accelerating around the world, Polestar 3 has now started production in China and has also successfully completed test production runs in South Carolina, USA. Prototype production of Polestar 5, a progressive performance GT, will also accelerate in 2024.

Finally, in addition to the secured USD 950 million in external funding, the recently announced new shareholder structure in Polestar provides a solid basis for the brand’s further business development. Under the new structure, Geely Sweden Holdings will become the second largest shareholder and Volvo Cars intends to retain an 18% stake.

“This marks a new phase in Polestar’s business,” says Thomas Ingenlath. “The efforts of recent years are paying off: We improved our cost basis, secured financing and are ramping up our product offensive. Both SUVs now sharpen the brand, target one of the fastest growing segments in the industry and position us for strong volume growth and profit margin progression from the second half of 2024,” he adds.

 

Outlook

At the end of this year, Polestar expects volume growth that supports the 2025 volume target and a double-digit gross profit margin. Volume and margin progression are expected to be weighted towards the second half of 2024, as the two SUVs reach full production and global distribution.

 

Publication of full-year 2023 results and conference call

Polestar is adjusting the release date for the preliminary unaudited financial and operational results for the full year 2023 to a later date. This will allow the Company time to complete the first year of compliance required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Polestar management will hold a live audio webcast tomorrow, February 29, 2024 at 08:00 ET (14:00 CET) to discuss the Company’s business and outlook update. The live webcast will be available at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/6p89czud/.

 

Following the completion of the call, a replay will be available shortly at https://investors.polestar.com.

 

Ends.

 

Notes to editors

Polestar’s three-year loan facility involves 12 banks, with BNP Paribas, Natixis and Standard Chartered leading the transaction and BBVA, HSBC, and SPDB acting as Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners.

 

Statement Regarding Preliminary Unaudited Financial and Operational Results

The unaudited financial and operational information published in this press release is preliminary and subject to potential adjustments. Potential adjustments to operational and consolidated financial information may be identified from work performed during Polestar’s year-end audit. This could result in differences from the unaudited operational and financial information published herein. For the avoidance of doubt, the preliminary unaudited operational and financial information published in this press release should not be considered a substitute for the financial information to be filed with the SEC in Polestar’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Evi Boits

Communications Manager, oona agency

 

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À propos de Polestar

Polestar (Nasdaq : PSNY) est la marque suédoise de voitures électriques performantes qui met l'accent sur le design et l'innovation sans compromis, avec l'ambition d'accélérer le changement vers un avenir durable. Basée à Göteborg, en Suède, ses voitures sont disponibles sur 27 marchés en Amérique du Nord, en Europe et en Asie-Pacifique.

Polestar compte trois modèles dans sa gamme : la Polestar 2, la Polestar 3 et la Polestar 4. Les modèles prévus comprennent la Polestar 5 GT à quatre portes (qui sera introduite en 2025), le roadster Polestar 6 et le SUV compact, la Polestar 7. Ses véhicules sont actuellement fabriqués sur deux continents, l'Amérique du Nord et l'Asie, mais Polestar prévoit de diversifier davantage son empreinte industrielle, avec la production de la Polestar 7 prévue en Europe.

Polestar a un engagement inébranlable en matière de développement durable et a établi une roadmap ambitieuse pour atteindre ses objectifs climatiques : réduire de moitié les émissions de gaz à effet de serre d'ici 2030 par véhicule vendu et devenir climatiquement neutre sur l'ensemble de sa chaîne de valeur d'ici 2040. La stratégie globale de Polestar en matière de développement durable couvre les quatre domaines suivants : le climat, la transparence, la circularité et l'inclusion.  

Déclarations prospectives

Ce communiqué de presse contient des déclarations qui ne sont pas des faits historiques, mais plutôt des déclarations prospectives au sens du Private Securities Litigation Reform Act de 1995. Ces déclarations prospectives comprennent celles qui traitent d'activités, d'événements ou de développements que Polestar ou sa direction pensent ou anticipent comme pouvant se produire à l'avenir. Toutes les déclarations prospectives sont basées, le cas échéant, sur nos attentes actuelles, sur diverses suppositions et sur des données disponibles auprès de tiers. Nos attentes et nos suppositions sont exprimées de bonne foi et nous pensons qu'elles reposent sur une base raisonnable. Toutefois, rien ne garantit que ces déclarations prospectives se concrétiseront ou se révéleront exactes, car elles sont intrinsèquement soumises à des risques connus et inconnus, à des incertitudes et à d'autres facteurs susceptibles d'entraîner une différence matérielle entre les résultats, les performances ou les réalisations réels et les résultats, les performances ou les réalisations futurs exprimés ou sous-entendus dans ces déclarations prospectives. De nombreux risques, incertitudes et autres facteurs peuvent faire en sorte que les résultats réels diffèrent matériellement de ceux énoncés dans les déclarations prospectives, y compris les risques et incertitudes énoncés dans les sections intitulées "Risk Factors" et "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" dans le formulaire 20-F de Polestar et d'autres documents déposés, ou à déposer, auprès de la U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission par Polestar. Pour toute déclaration prospective contenue dans ce document ou dans tout autre document, nous revendiquons la protection de la sphère de sécurité ('safe harbor') pour les déclarations prospectives contenue dans le Private Securities Litigation Reform Act de 1995, et nous n'assumons aucune obligation de mettre à jour publiquement ou de réviser ces déclarations à la lumière de nouvelles informations ou d'événements futurs, sauf si la loi l'exige.