- New chief technical officer also hired
- First quarter loss more than doubles to £112mn
Aston Martin Lagonda (AML) is to appoint ex-Ferrari boss Amedeo Felisa as its new chief executive, with current head Tobias Moers stepping down immediately “by mutual consent”, the luxury carmaker said.
Felisa, who is already a non-executive director at the firm, spent 26 years at Ferrari, including eight as its chief executive, will be joined by Roberto Fedeli as chief technical officer. He has previously worked at Ferrari and is considered to be the creator of the Italian carmaker’s first hybrid supercar, Ferrari LaFerrari, Aston Martin said in a statement. He has also worked at BMW and more recently at supercar maker Silk-FAW.
The pair are part of a revamped management team that includes new chief financial officer, Doug Lafferty, who joined the company's board this month, and chief people officer Simon Smith.
“We have a clear objective to continue the transformation of Aston Martin into an ultra-luxury, high-performance brand and become a leader in our sector,” Felisa said.
Aston Martin also reported first quarter results, showing pre-tax losses increased by 164 per cent to £112mn despite a 4 per cent increase in revenue to £233mn. Net debt grew by another £65mn since year-end to £957mn. The company also said its interest cost for the coming year is likely to be £25mn higher than previously assumed at £195mn due to a revaluation of its dollar-denominated debt.
Aston Martin’s share price jumped 7 per cent following the announcement but progress this year will depend on how its new DBX model is received, said Hargreaves Lansdown equity analyst Laura Hoy. Although DBX orders are up 60 per cent on last year, the company needs to generate enough cash to tackle its growing debt pile and bring down its hefty financing costs before we change our sell recommendation.
