08:29 AM EDT, 05/06/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Ballard Power Systems ( BLDP ) edged up in pre-market Nasdaq trading after the company on Tuesday said its first-quarter loss narrowed on higher revenue and lower costs.

The hydrogen fuel-cell manufacturer said it lost US$21.0 million, or US$0.07 per share, in the period, compared with a year-prior loss of US$41.1 million, or US$0.07. The FactSet consensus estimate expected a loss of US$0.11 per share.

Revenue rose 6.2% to US$15.4 million from US$14.5 million on a 31% rise in engines for transit-bus engines, which accounted for 81% of revenue in the quarter.

Along with higher revenue, Ballard cut operating expenses by 31%, to US$25.5 million from US$37.1 million, as it continues with a restructuring launched in September.

"Amidst an uncertain macroeconomic, geopolitical and industry context, we continue to focus on our controllables. Compared to prior year, 2025 Q1 revenue increased 6%, engine shipments were up 31%, gross margin improved by 14 points, and Total Operating Expenses 2 were down 31%.," chief executive Randy MacEwen said in a release.

The company did not provide guidance for 2025 revenue and income, though it sees expenses of around US$110 million, with capital spending of around US$20 million. It noted the effect of tariffs remain an open question.

"As we look to the remainder of 2025, we will continue to navigate uncertainties related to hydrogen policies and trade tariffs. We will continue to focus on our customers, new order intake, on-time delivery of quality products, gross margin expansion initiatives, and prioritized product development and cost reduction programs. As our Q1 results reflect, we are starting to see the positive financial impact of the corporate restructuring we initiated last year," MacEwen said.

Ballard ended the quarter with an order backlog of US$158 million, down from US$173.5 million at the end of 2024.

The company's shares were last seen up US$0.01 to US$1.27 in premarket trading. They closed unchanged at $1.74 Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.