Aston Martin careers to £320m loss as car sales fall a third
Iconic sports car brand Aston Martin fell to a £322m operating loss in 2020, the firm said this morning, as coronavirus restrictions saw car sales fall a third.
In line with this fall, total retail sales slipped 32 per cent, from 6,150 last year to 4,150 this year.
Despite the fall in sales, however, shares in the firm rose 9.3 per cent as markets opened this morning.
On the operations front, Aston Martin said that the launch of the DBX SUV model had been a success, adding that the Valkyrie was on track for delivery in the second half of 2021.
It also said that based on the initial months of its transformation programme, it was on track for plans to sell 10,000 cars a year by 2024 – 2025.
This would bring in around £2bn in revenues, and earnings of £500m, Aston Martin said.
Looking to 2021, the car firm said that it was forecasting 6,000 sales, with most of its earnings weighted to the second half of the year.
Today’s results are the first since the luxury brand announced that Mercedes-Benz would take a 20 per cent stake in the firm back in October.
The deal was the latest step in new owner Lawrence Stroll’s attempts to turn around the troubled carmaker, which has seen its shares struggle since first listing in 2018.
However, the Mercedes agreement caused a surge of support for Aston’s stock, which has doubled since the deal was announced.
Despite this, shares are still lingering at just a fifth of the levels they first floated at.
Commenting on today’s results, Stroll said: “2020 has been a transformative year for Aston Martin. Since I became Executive Chairman in April, we have made significant progress to position the company for success to capture the huge and exciting opportunity ahead of us.
“I am extremely pleased with the progress to date despite operating in these most challenging of times. I both welcomed the strong support we received from existing investors and was delighted to attract new investors to Aston Martin through the successful refinancing actions taken during 2020.”
Julie Palmer, partner at corporate restructurers Begbies Traynor, said: “Aston Martin has to hone in on and highlight the qualities that made it a prized asset of UK automotive and a sought after brand in the first place.
“It has to show the world what it can do with an EV now that it has Mercedes technology, all while ensuring that it doesn’t lose its unique identity.
“The launch of the new DBX SUV has given investors reason to be hopeful, and the release of the latest James Bond film will place the brand in front of a global audience once again, but if Aston Martin is unable to start plugging its losses, it will struggle to get back in the black.”