Success may not be a straight line, but every now and then, it has to come up for air.

The electric vehicle sector has been going through some difficulties lately as sales have slowed and companies cut back on production plans.

This situation is particularly tough for EV startups, such as Lordstown Motors, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2023 to restructure and sell its assets.

The debtor won confirmation of its Chapter 11 plan on March 5 and was ready to emerge from bankruptcy.

Fisker  (FSR)  is another EV company that has been forced to make some hard decisions, including, most recently, pausing production of its vehicles for six weeks beginning March 18.

Shares finished down 15.6% on Monday to 14 cents.

The Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based company, founded in 2007 by Henrik Fisker, a Danish automotive designer and entrepreneur, said in a March 1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Form that it would be late in filing its 10-K annual report for the year ending Dec. 31, 2023.

CFO: 'Substantial doubt'

Fisker said it had undergone a change in key accounting personnel and needed more professionals with accounting knowledge, training, and experience to complete the report, which was due on Feb. 29.

Florus Beuting, who was named chief accounting officer in early November, left the automaker a short time later.

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His exit followed the departure of John C. Finnucan IV, who left in late October after about three years at the company to take a job with another company. Angel Salinas took over the position in early January.

Fisker said it had identified material weaknesses in revenue and related balance sheet accounts and expected capital expenditures and working capital requirements to decrease in 2024 and beyond as it enters the second year of production of the Fisker Ocean.

The company recently reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1.23 per share, far beyond the FactSet consensus of a 22-cent loss and the year-ago loss of 54 cents a share.

Revenue totaled $200.1 million, short of FactSet’s call for $327.7 million and below the year-ago tally of $306 million.

Chief Financial Officer Geeta Gupta-Fisker told analysts, "There is substantial doubt about our ability to continue the going concern when we file our 10-K with the SEC."

She added, "2023 was a much more challenging year than we anticipated."

"However, I can assure you that everyone at Fisker is working extremely hard around the clock," Gupta-Fisker said, according to a transcript of the call.