Andy Palmer has spent a good part of his time at the helm of Aston Martin spreading the word that the luxury sports-car maker should command the high valuations of its rival Ferrari.
By the start of trading on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday, the chief executive had largely succeeded. Aston Martin was priced at £19 ($24.69) a share in an initial public offering, on par with Ferrari’s lofty profit multiples. But by day’s end, the stock had slipped 4.7 per cent, and continued its downward slide on Thursday, losing 0.6 per cent in London.
The drop offers proof that Mr Palmer has a lot to do to convince investors of his vision for the company.
“We’ve taken 105 years to get to an IPO, we are not going to worry much on what the initial shares are doing,” Mr Palmer said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “We will always look over the longer term.”
Analysts were never so sure that the comparison with Ferrari was warranted. The Italian company is more profitable and has a stronger balance sheet, generating piles of cash.
Mr Palmer had spent the final two weeks before the IPO in a sprint, pitching the deal to more than 350 investors across the globe. But as the stock listing approached, it became clear the upper end of the original target of £22.50 was out of reach.
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Read more:
Aston Martin seeks IPO valuation of more than £5bn
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“They priced it pretty well, getting that valuation,” said Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst at Evercore ISI in London. “For now, there is very little left until people see some numbers and are willing to take more risk.”
Mr Palmer pointed out that Ferrari lost 38 per cent in its first four months of trading. It’s long since recovered, and is up 36 per cent this year to a $25.8 billion market value, despite industry uncertainty from trade wars and a softening of markets in China and the US.
“Just remember what happened to Ferrari when they listed. There was a lot of volatility there,” Mr Palmer said. For Aston Martin, it’ll subside as investors “get comfortable with the idea that there’s a second car maker in the luxury space.”
The British manufacturer is still working to expand its presence in the sports-car world with the Vanquish, Vantage and DB models. A new SUV and Aston’s first electric car - the Rapide E - are both due next year.
Mr Palmer has unveiled a series of models to support a plan to eventually double output to 14,000 cars a year.
He has managed to turn around a historically loss-making car-maker into a profit generating company that is on its way to building its cash flow.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The%20specs
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Afghanistan squad
Gulbadin Naib (captain), Mohammad Shahzad (wicketkeeper), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Cofe
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 80-100
Amount raised: $13m
Investors: KISP ventures, Cedar Mundi, Towell Holding International, Takamul Capital, Dividend Gate Capital, Nizar AlNusif Sons Holding, Arab Investment Company and Al Imtiaz Investment Group
