The corona crisis exacerbates the problems facing British luxury car maker Aston Martin.
Due to the production halt and rapidly shrinking sales, the pre-tax loss widened to £119 million (GBP) in the opening quarter (equivalent to just over $145 million), as the manufacturer of the legendary James Bond car announced on Wednesday. A year ago there had been a loss of a good £17 million. “We were obviously pretty badly affected by Covid-19, starting with China in January, but even more so as it spread to Europe and the United States,” said CEO Andy Palmer. The virus and the resulting global downturn would have had a major impact on business in the first quarter.
The uncertainty currently makes it impossible to make a forecast for the further course. The company expects business to remain under pressure in the coming months. Therefore, further measures have been taken to reduce operating costs and limit cash outflows. Management also reviews all financing and refinancing options to increase liquidity. Aston Martin’s stock fell five percent to 36 pence after the numbers were released.
SUV should turn around things
The Ferrari rival has been struggling with falling sales and homemade problems for a long time. The company only tightened the austerity measures in November. A few months ago, the Canadian billionaire and Formula 1 racing team owner Lawrence Stroll got on board. In the course of a capital increase, he acquired a 25 percent stake in the traditional British company. Stroll wants to put Aston Martin on the road to success with Formula 1 technology. The British set too late on the trend towards lucrative SUVs, from which competitors such as the VW subsidiary Porsche have long benefited, and are now changing course. It starts with the DBX, which is to be launched in the summer. Further models are to follow next year. The plant in St. Athan in Wales started up again last week, but production in southern England has not yet started.
