Aston Martin’s losses narrow amid ramp up in new car models
The ailing car manufacturer has launched a swathe of new cars of late in a bid to turn its fortunes around.
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Aston Martin’s losses narrowed in the third quarter, beating analyst forecasts as the luxury automaker shipped more cars and “pro-actively” managed ongoing supply chain issues.
Pre-tax loss narrowed by 90% to £12.2 million in the third quarter, while wholesale volumes came in at 1,641, up 14% year-on-year.
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.
Aston Martin, famous for making fictional spy James Bond’s cars, is also 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, which alongside the other new cars is expected to help strengthen its order book into 2025.
Mr 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 £391.1 million, while net debt was up £1.21 billion, up 62% on the same period last year.