- Deliveries for 2021 grow by 82 per cent to 6,182 vehicles
- Medium-term target is to generate £2bn a year producing 10,000 cars
Aston Martin Lagonda (AML) warned that earnings for 2021 would be lower than previously forecast due to delays in shipping its new Valkyrie “hypercar”.
The company shipped 10 new Valkyrie and Valkyrie AMR Pro vehicles to customers in the final quarter, which was fewer than previously anticipated, leading it to cut its adjusted cash profit forecast by £15m.
The issue is one of “timing only”, given that all of the Valkyrie Coupe models rolling off the production line have been sold to customers who have put down significant deposits, the company said in a trading update.
Overall, the number of vehicles it delivered to dealers last year increased by 82 per cent to 6,182, it added.
“We inherited a challenging programme with Valkyrie but we are now producing these fabulous hypercars. Our progress to-date underpins my confidence in the future, our continued success and the potential for the business,” chairman Lawrence Stroll said.
Stroll became the biggest shareholder in Aston Martin after leading a consortium that invested in the heavily-indebted luxury car maker in April 2020. He recently increased his stake, spending more than £4.8m on 400,000 shares last month after a rise in short selling pushed its share price to a 12-month low of £11.41. It now trades at £14.09 per share, valuing the company at about 1.6-times sales – close to its five-year average.
The company continues to lose money – in the nine months to 30 September it declared a £188.6m loss before tax on revenue of £736.4m. Stroll said he remains confident that the turnaround plan is working and that Aston Martin can achieve its “medium-term” target of making £500m of adjusted cash profit on £2bn of revenue through the delivery of 10,000 vehicles a year. We would like to see more evidence of progress before changing our sell recommendation.
Last IC View: Sell, 1,967p, 21 Mar 2021
