As Vancouver’s Westport Innovations (NASDAQ:WPRT) cuts jobs and salaries, the CEO of the natural gas engine manufacturer is hoping for growth in the coming year following “disappointing” third-quarter financial results.
Westport Innovations posted losses of US$25.5 million in 2014’s Q3 compared with US$30.2 million during the same period in 2013.
Meanwhile, revenue dropped 45.6% year-over-year, falling from US$46.5 million in Q3 of 2013 to US$25.3 million in Q3 of 2014.
CEO David Demers pointed to a drop in direct sales and transitioning to a new market plan as reasons for the drop in revenue.
“This is still disappointing when we’re looking for strong growth and we need to work to improve results,” he told investors in a conference call.
Demers said the company is in the midst of reducing its global workforce by 9%. Meanwhile, Westport executives are taking, on average, a 12% salary cut beginning New Year’s Day and dropping 2014 earned bonuses and the 2015 cash bonus program.
He said these measures are expected to save the company $13 million in 2015.
Demers said the company has also been impacted by oil prices.
“Although it is true that there is still a big gap between gasoline and CNG (compressed natural gas) prices, the incentive to aggressively switch to CNG is simply not there,” Westport CFO Ashoka Achuthan said.
