��������

RIYADH: Electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Group, majority-owned by ��������’s Public Investment Fund, boosted deliveries by 38 percent in the second quarter as it narrowed its operational net loss and adjusted its production forecast for the year. 

The California-based company handed over 3,309 vehicles in the three months ending June 30, up from 2,394 a year earlier, while it reported a second-quarter operational net loss of $539.4 million, down from $643.4 million a year ago.

Production surged 83 percent year on year to 3,863 units, reflecting stronger demand for premium EVs in North America, according to a press release. 

This comes as the company expanded charging access for Lucid Air owners through a partnership with Tesla, enabling use of over 23,500 superchargers across North America. 

Marc Winterhoff, interim CEO at Lucid, said: “We had our sixth consecutive quarter of record deliveries in the second quarter and expect to continue this trend as we ramp up Lucid Gravity production in the second half of the year.” 

The company revised its full-year production guidance to a range of 18,000 to 20,000 vehicles, trimming expectations slightly from its earlier target of around 20,000 units. 

In line with its strategy to diversify revenue streams, Lucid recently announced a partnership with Uber Technologies and autonomous driving firm Nuro. The deal will see Uber deploy at least 20,000 Lucid Gravity vehicles equipped with Nuro Driver, a Level 4 autonomous system. 

“In the first quarter, we mentioned our ongoing partnership discussions to develop new revenue streams for our EV technology and beyond. The robotaxi partnership we announced with Uber and Nuro is a perfect example aligned with that strategy,” he added. 

“We delivered solid performance despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop, thanks to the adaptability and focus of our team in navigating a dynamic environment,” said Taoufiq Boussaid, chief financial officer at Lucid. 

Boussaid added that the company is currently focussed on business fundamentals to achieve its near-term goals which include disciplined cost management and brand building. 

“We remain committed to strengthening our balance sheet and maintaining long-term alignment with partners and shareholders,” he said. 

The company ended the second quarter with approximately $4.86 billion in total liquidity, the statement added. 

When factoring in preferred stock accretion — an accounting adjustment that reflects the increasing redemption value of convertible preferred shares held by certain investors, along with other items — the net loss attributable to common stockholders widened to $855.3 million in the second quarter of 2025, compared to $790.3 million in the same period a year earlier.

Preferred stock accretion does not involve an immediate cash outflow, but it reduces the earnings available to common shareholders and is therefore included in GAAP earnings per share calculations.

In April, Lucid had closed a $1.1 billion offering of convertible senior notes due in 2030.

At the time, the company said in a statement that $935.6 million of the net proceeds would be used to repurchase approximately $1.05 billion in aggregate principal of its outstanding 1.25 percent convertible senior notes due 2026. 

Lucid’s offering of convertible senior notes is a way for the company to raise cash by borrowing money that can later be converted into shares, while protecting existing investors from dilution. 

SINGAPORE: Oil prices climbed on Wednesday, rebounding from a five-week low in the previous day, on concerns of supply disruptions after US President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs on India over its Russian crude purchases.

Brent crude futures gained 48 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $68.12 a barrel by 9:45 a.m. Saudi time, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 43 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $65.59 a barrel.

“There’s still plenty of uncertainty over the US imposing secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian oil ... market chatter is growing that China’s purchases of Russian oil may come into focus next,” ING commodity strategists said on Thursday.

“If India were to stop buying Russian oil amid tariff threats, we believe the market would be able to cope with the loss of this supply,” they said, adding that the bigger risk was if other buyers also started to shun Russian oil.

Both oil contracts fell by more than $1 on Tuesday to settle at their lowest in five weeks, marking a fourth session of losses, on oversupply concerns from OPEC+’s planned September output hike.

“Investors are assessing whether India will reduce its Russian crude purchases in response to Trump’s threats, which could tighten supply, but it remains to be seen if that will actually happen,” said Yuki Takashima, economist at Nomura Securities.

“If India’s imports remain steady, WTI is likely to stay within the $60-$70 range for the rest of the month,” he said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, a move that will end its most recent output cut earlier than planned.

OPEC+ pumps about half of the world’s oil and had been curtailing production for several years to support the market, but the group introduced a series of accelerated output hikes this year to regain market share.

At the same time, US demands for India to stop buying Russian oil as Washington seeks ways to push Moscow for a peace deal with Ukraine could upset supply flows as Indian refiners seek alternatives and Russian crude is redirected to other buyers.

Trump on Tuesday again threatened higher tariffs on Indian goods over the country’s Russian oil purchases over the next 24 hours. Trump also said declining energy prices could pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the war in Ukraine.

New Delhi called Trump’s threat “unjustified” and vowed to protect its economic interests, deepening a trade rift between the two countries.

Nomura’s Takashima also pointed to industry data showing crude inventories in the US, the world’s biggest oil consumer, as supportive for the oil market.

US crude inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels last week, sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures said on Tuesday. That compares with a Reuters poll estimate of a 600,000 barrels draw for the week to August 1.

The US Energy Information Administration is due to release its weekly inventory data on Wednesday.