NETHERLANDS
Dutch e-bus manufacturer Ebusco has released an interim trading update following an initial results assessment of the first months of 2024 in which it says that although it sees the actions taken in the last 12 months as bearing fruit, its current expected projected revenue and profit for the year is no longer achievable.
The company says that its ‘strategic shift’ to re-introduce working with contract manufacturers has proven to be the right choice and has led to an acceleration of assembly time. The number of buses delivered in the year to date has increased to 90 compared to 66 in the first half of 2023, the company says, and it expects that number to accelerate in the second half of the year. The company adds that its Ebusco 3.0 buses in operation with customers continue to outperform in terms of energy efficiency, and that the strong operational performance and the resulting market demand enables it to plan production well into 2025.
Earlier this year, Ebusco also introduced a revised organisational structure, which it says has led to clearer roles and responsibilities. Although the company says that it is now seeing the first positive results of the management actions taken, it cautions that the transition of its assembly process and logistic flows to contract manufacturers has encountered start-up inefficiencies which have delayed production compared to its initial plan and will take the remainder of 2024 to resolve.
The firm adds that at its in-house production facility in Deurne, the finishing of buses continues to be impacted by inefficiencies, slowing down factory output which, besides having an impact on revenue, has also had an impact on its cost reduction programme which has not yet been fully implemented.
To counter these setbacks, Ebusco says it has taken the decision to prioritise customer orders that are currently on assembly lines and in the Pre Delivery Inspection stage to focus on maximum speed of delivery of buses that are close to completion. Furthermore, it is continuing to seek to identify additional cost savings over and above its initial plans.