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Aston Martin losses soar to £118.9m as demand dries up

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Time 9:28 am, May 13, 2020

Aston Martin saw its pre-tax loss soar to £118.9m for the first three months of this year – up from £17.3m in 2019.

In its first-quarter results announced today (May 13) via the London Stock Exchange, the luxury car maker also reported that the number of vehicles it sold had dropped by nearly half for the same period – 578, down from 1,057 – as the start of the coronavirus crisis began to make its presence felt.

Meanwhile, its revenue plummeted by 60 per cent from £196m to £78.6m.


Andy Palmer, president and group chief executive, said: ‘Covid-19 and the resulting global economic shutdown has had a material impact on our performance this quarter.’

He praised staff for their efforts to help the NHS in its battle against the coronavirus, as reported by Car Dealer, saying: ‘I am particularly proud of the hard work of our people in producing personal protective equipment for frontline NHS workers to whom we all owe an enormous debt of gratitude.’

All its UK manufacturing sites shut from March 25, and 93 per cent of its dealership network closed at some point during the first quarter.


Sales in China plunged by 86 per cent, with the Europe, Middle East and Africa region dropping by 30 per cent. Sales fell by 57 per cent in the Americas, but the UK was hardier, registering only a three per cent decrease.

On the plus side, all 18 of its dealerships in China have reopened, and it said that more than 15 per cent of its global network was ‘fully open’, hinting at the start of a recovery.

In addition, on Monday (11th) it started making bodies for its first luxury SUV at the St Athan factory, which opened last week.

Most of Aston Martin’s staff are still furloughed, though, and its factories are just working to fulfil orders that they already had.

Its share price is down 93 per cent – currently 33.75p – compared with when it listed in October 2018.

CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: ‘It is worth noting the car manufacturer had problems before the health crisis, and that’s why Aston Martin’s share price was hit so hard amid the Covid-19-related sell-off.

‘The group issued profit warnings in January 2020 and in July 2019.’

That forced the manufacturer to start a plan to ‘reset and safeguard’ its long-term future.

Aston Martin has withdrawn its financial guidance for the year.


More: Aston Martin extends new car warranties to June 30

More: It’s gowns, visors and shields for Aston Martin as it helps protect NHS frontline workers

John Bowman's avatar

John has been with Car Dealer since 2013 after spending 25 years in the newspaper industry as a reporter then a sub-editor/assistant chief sub-editor on regional and national titles. John is chief sub-editor in the editorial department, working on Car Dealer, as well as handling social media.



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