Car battery maker A123 Systems’ 2nd-qtr loss widens, results miss analyst expectations

A123 Systems’ 2Q loss widens, results disappoint

WATERTOWN, Mass. — A123 Systems Inc., which makes lithium-ion batteries for cars, said Tuesday that its second-quarter loss climbed as its expenses rose.

The results fell short of analyst expectations.

Shares of A123 fell 48 cents, or 4.6 percent, to $9.96 in after-hours trading. They had fallen 42 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $10.44 during regular trading.

For April through June, A123 reported a loss of $34.2 million, compared with a loss of $21.9 million a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, the company’s loss was much smaller in the more recent quarter — 33 cents per share compared with $2.36 per share last year — because A123 used a much larger number of shares to calculate the loss in the second quarter of 2010.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a smaller loss of 27 cents per share.

Revenue rose 15 percent to $22.6 million. Analysts were looking for $25.5 million in revenue.

Operating expenses increased 48 percent to $29.6 million.