Aston Martin reverses loss to post record first nine-months

Aston Martin, the British producer of luxury handcrafted sports cars, today reported record nine-month results on revenues up 84 per cent to £567 million (Dh2.77 billion) for the period ending September 30 and raised its full-year outlook. Continued strong demand for the DB11 helped drive a near fourfold increase in Ebitda to £121 million, said the the company which has two showrooms in the UAE, while it generated pre-tax profits of £22m, reversing losses of £124m in the same period last year. “Our strong financial performance and continued profitability reflects the growing appeal of our high-performance sports cars, with the new DB11 Volante and a new Vantage expected to stimulate further demand in the coming year," said Andy Palmer, the Aston Martin president and chief executive. The company has also added to its push into marine craft following the world debut of its 37-foot Aston Martin AM37 powerboat at the 2016 Monaco Yacht Show last year. In September, Aston Martin announced a creative collaboration with Triton Submarines, a manufacturer of state-of-the-art submersibles. Codenamed Project Neptune, the venture "enables Aston Martin to further enhance and grow the brand into new aspects of the luxury world, with all the performance, beauty and elegance one has come to expect from the British marque", Aston said. Project Neptune marries Triton’s diving and operational expertise with Aston Martin’s design, materials, and craftsmanship and will be a strictly limited edition vehicle, using Triton’s Low Profile (LP) three-person platform as a base. "Project Neptune is defined by its sleek, elegant exterior,’ said the Aston Martin executive vice president and chief creative officer Marek Reichman. "We have used forms and proportions that express the same devotion to design, engineering and beauty that shape our cars." Patrick Lahey, the president of Triton Submarines, said: “We have always admired Aston Martin. The marque represents a deeply held passion for technology, engineering and timeless, elegant design. From our first interaction, it was apparent that Triton and Aston Martin were natural partners and our complimentary values will be realised in this truly exciting project.” ______________ Read more: Aston Martin Vantage launched in Dubai – in pictures DB11 powers Aston Martin back into black ______________ For the first nine months of the year, Aston Martin said wholesale car sales jumped 65 per cent to 3,330, while the average selling price rose to £150,000 "reflecting an improved mix and higher uptake of options". It also sold out its limited-edition Vanquish Zagato model. The model has been extended to include a Speedster and a Shooting Brake version. For the three-month period to September 30, Aston Martin generated an operating profit of £8.6m, compared with an operating loss of £8.5m in the prior year quarter, on third-quarter revenues that increased to £156.4m from £96.6m. “I am pleased to report that our performance has exceeded budget for 11 successive quarters and that revenue for the latest 12 months period continues to grow to record levels. Successful execution means the business is on track to outperform previous 2017 revenue and EBITDA guidance,” said Mark Wilson, the executive vice president and chief financial officer. Aston Martin revised its guidance for the full-year, "reflecting the strong performance in the first nine-month period". It now anticipates delivering Ebitda of at least £180m on revenues of over £840m, compared with previous guidance of £175m and £830m, respectively. The company generated cash from operating activities of £150.3m through the first nine months of 2017 and ended the period with £72m of cash. Other new ventures Aston Martin has embarked on include the Valkyrie hypercar project. Only 150 road cars will be made. Valkyrie is Aston Martin’s first ever hypercar. Alongside its ongoing product renewal programme, Aston Martin has continued with the construction of its new St Athan manufacturing facility in Wales. "Our ‘Second Century’ transformation programme continues to gain momentum, paving the way for an expanded global presence,” said Mr Palmer. In April, the company launched phase two of the St Athan development - only its second UK production line - on a former ministry of defence site. The new £200m facility will enable the company to start production of its first 4x4, the Aston Martin DBX, in 2019. “Due to its sheer size and scale, the St Athan [ex-aircraft] ‘super hangars’ represented an excellent opportunity for us to build our second manufacturing facility, within the envelope of an existing structure,” said Mr Palmer at the time. “It is perhaps fitting that St Athan is, like our headquarters and sports car factory at Gaydon, a former royal air force [RAF] base.” Adding to the air force connection, the car maker also announced its latest Q by Aston Martin creation; the Vanquish S Red Arrows edition.

Aston Martin reverses loss to post record first nine-months

Revenues up 84 per cent for the period ending September 30 with operating profit of £8.6m, compared with loss of £8.5m last year