ORGN - Origin Materials plunges after plant construction extended cost estimate raised

2023-08-09 19:27:18 ET

Origin Materials ( NASDAQ: ORGN ) -56.1% post-market Wednesday after saying it is pushing back the timeline and raising the capital budget for completion of its second commercial plant.

Citing a "higher-cost capital project environment," Origin Materials ( ORGN ) now expects Origin 2 will be completed in two phases, with Phase 1 completion estimated in late 2026 to 2027, and Phase 2 completion projected in 2028, compared with the company's initial expectation for a mid-2025 completion.

The company also said it now sees the capital budget up to $400M for Phase 1 of Origin 2 and up to $1.2B for Phase 2, compared to the original $1.07B aggregate capital budget estimate provided in February 2021.

During Phase 1, Origin ( ORGN ) said it expects to achieve profitability from its oils and extractives stream, and from this stream, it plans to produce a drop-in biofuel with potential applications including marine fuel and heat and power generation; Phase 2 will expand production to include the mass production of platform chemicals CMF and HTC.

Phasing the plant is intended to enhance overall efficiency while improving short-term and long-term economics, the company said.

Origin ( ORGN ) reported a Q2 GAAP loss of $0.05/share on revenues of $6.9M.

More on Origin Materials:

• Financial and valuation comparison to sector peers
• Analysis: Origin Materials Rallies On Plant Startup News, Shares Remain A Buy
• Stock price return: Down 6.5% YTD, down 36% in the past 12 months

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