A123 Systems (AONE) beat estimates after the bell yesterday, but the company remains a long ways off from being profitable and results were basically flat over the year ago quarter.  The company posted an EPS loss of .22/share, which is a bit worse than the .19/share loss reported last year, but better than the .33/loss analyst expected.  Revenues came in at $23.6 million which is better than the $19 million analyst estimate and a slight improvement over the year ago quarter.  This is another company that has traders excited about the future, so the results are relatively meaningless now.  It’s interesting to note that most of the revenue was related to smart grid applications which in my opinion could be just as lucrative (if not more so), than the electric car biz.

CEO David Vieu commented on some of positive developments in the quarter:

“During the third quarter, we signed a supply agreement for certain programs with BMW, received notice of a design win for a new application with an existing heavy duty customer and won several development projects in the automotive sector. We are also pleased that AES commissioned A123 Hybrid Ancillary Power Units in Chile during the third quarter, in addition to placing additional orders for deployment in North America. We are highly focused on establishing a strong market position in the electric grid services market, as we have in the automotive sector.  We were pleased to hear Chrysler’s announcement on November 4, 2009, in which they reaffirmed their commitment to electric vehicles and combined both Fiat’s European and Chrysler’s U.S. programs in this area under the leadership of Chrysler’s electric vehicle management. The high level of interest and design activity across our portfolio of customers and prospects, and in each of our target markets, is encouraging for A123’s long-term growth.”

Shares of AONE gapped down about a buck at the open but have erased the entire loss and shares are now in the green.