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(Alliance News) - Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC on Friday said it expects to deliver significant growth in 2022, but only after lowering its 2021 profit forecast due to fewer of its pricey Valkyrie AMR Pro supercars were shipped in the fourth quarter.
The Warwick-based luxury automaker said wholesales - meaning deliveries to dealers - grew 82% year-on-year to 6,182 units in 2021. The company noted that 3,001 DBX units wholesaled in first full year of production taking estimated 20% market share of the luxury SUV segment.
Meanwhile, retails - dealer sales to customers - outpaced wholesales.
"The evidence is there that our strategy is working, as retail sales are well ahead of wholesales supported by strong pricing and improving residual values. It is a very long time since the core business was in such good health as it is today," Chair Lawrence Stroll said.
AJ Bell's Russ Mould pointed out that the chair's statement was quite bold, "given the rocky road it has travelled since being a listed business, and even beforehand".
"Let's hope management doesn't live to regret such a bullish comment, given Aston Martin has form for disappointing shareholders," Mould said.
Aston Martin shares were up 2.4% to 1,403.42 pence each in London late Friday morning, having initially traded lower.
Aston Martin said it is on track to deliver its medium-term objectives of around GBP2 billion in revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of around GBP500 million by 2024 to 2025. In 2020, revenue came in at GBP611.8 million, slipping 38% from GBP980.5 million in 2019. Meanwhile, the company posted a negative Ebitda of GBP70.1 million in 2020, preceded by an Ebitda of GBP118.9 million in 2019.
However, Aston Martin warned that its adjusted Ebitda for 2021 will be GBP15 million lower than anticipated.
The company said 10 of its Aston Martin Valkyrie and Valkyrie AMR Pro vehicles were shipped in the fourth quarter, fewer than planned.
"The impact is timing only, all Aston Martin Valkyrie coupes are sold and remain allocated to customers with significant deposits. An associated reduction in 2021 depreciation and amortisation is expected to result in a broadly net neutral impact on adjusted operating profit. This timing change will see deliveries and the associated Ebitda continue through 2022 as planned and now through 2023," Aston Martin added.
"Unfortunately, the company still can't shake the habit of delivering some sort of bad news every time it updates the market," Mould said.
Mould said the Aston Martin share price hasn't collapsed, because it was only a timing issue, with the buyers still lined up. "Nonetheless, this setback reinforces the message that Aston Martin still seems incapable of running smoothly as a business," the analyst said.
Results for 2021 will be released on February 24.
By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com
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