5/30/2004

UQM: Losses mount; CEO looks to future

The Daily Times-Call

FREDERICK — Despite a drop in revenue and an increase in losses, executives with UQM Technologies remain optimistic about the future.
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004, UQM reported a net loss of $519,541, or 3 cents per common share, on total revenue of $764,804. That compares with a loss of $250,325, or 1 cent per share, during the same period last year.
Bill Rankin, UQM’s president and CEO, attributed the losses to higher research and development expenditures, lower product sales and the divestiture of the company’s electronics manufacturing facility in St. Charles, Mo.
UQM develops alternative-energy technologies for use in all types of vehicles, from wheelchairs to automobiles to aircraft.
For the fiscal year ending
March 31, UQM reported a loss of $1.4 million, or 7 cents per common share of stock, on revenue of $5.04 million. For the previous fiscal year, the company reported revenue of $7.5 mil-
lion and a loss of $933,507, or 5 cents per common share.
But in a conference call with investors, Rankin was optimistic.
“Most importantly, the question of if and when hybrid-electric vehicles will enter the mainstream marketplace has been answered, and of course, it’s now, from what the news is telling us,” Rankin said.
Higher-priced gas is one reason the vehicles are getting more attention, he said. And the Toyota Prius has proven so successful that the car company plans on launching other hybrid gas-electric vehicles, including a hybrid Lexus SUV.
“This has put its competitors in catch-up mode,” Rankin said, adding later that UQM’s other projects — including building motors for John Deere, the military and Boeing — also have him looking forward to the future.