10:04 am, October 30, 2024
Aston Martin beat analyst forecasts and narrowed losses in the third quarter, latest results show.
The luxury sports car maker lowered its pre-tax loss by 90% to £12.2m, while wholesale volumes soared by 14% to 1,641 cars.
However, total wholesale volumes for the year-to-date are 17% down on 2023, standing at 3,639, which it put down to a transition to a new range of models including its Vantage and DBX707 models.
Bosses said the firm is trying to manage supply chain issues which it warned last month would hit annual production by about 1,000 fewer cars.
Meanwhile, it has also been battling a ‘weak macroeconomic environment’ in the key Chinese market. A recent downward trend in Chinese sales continued in the most recent quarter, with year-to-date volumes falling 54% compared with the same point in 2023.
Since Aston Martin was bought by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll in 2020, it has pushed on with a swathe of new model launches in a bid to turn its ailing fortunes around.
It recently appointed a new chief executive, Adrian Hallmark, who joined in September amid a ramping up of sales of its new Vantage and DBX707 models, which it said helped boost production volumes.
The company is also set to introduce its new V12 Vanquish model imminently, and has signed deals for new showrooms in the UK.
Hallmark said: ‘I can already clearly see growth opportunities for the company as we bring incredible products to market and deliver on our vision to be the world’s most desirable, ultra-luxury British performance brand.
He added: ‘We will drive profitability through a forensic approach to cost management and unrelenting focus on quality with a more balanced delivery profile in the future for our full range of new core models.’
Quarterly revenue was up 8% on last year, at £391.1m, while net debt was up £1.21bn, up 62% on the same period last year.
