Aston Martin cuts full-year volume outlook, shares slide

Aston Martin Lagonda posted a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss on Wednesday as it downgraded its volume outlook for the year, sending shares in the luxury car maker tumbling.

In the three months to the end of September, the adjusted operating loss narrowed to £48.4m from £55.5m in the same period a year earlier, but came in worse than expectations of £37.5m. Meanwhile, revenue ticked up to £362.1m from £315.5m.

AML backed its full-year guidance but made some changes to the volume outlook due to initial delays to the DB12 ramp-up in the third quarter.

The company said it remains on track to achieve its financial targets of around £2bn revenue and £500m adjusted EBITDA by 2024/25.

However, it now expects year-on-year growth in volumes to 6,700 units for 2023, down from around 7,000 previously.

"Given the initial delays experienced with the DB12 ramp up during Q3, we have marginally updated our FY volume outlook as the impact limits production capacity for the full year," it said.

"Demand is very strong, with DB12 orders into Q2 2024 and production is now running at the rates required to meet our volume expectations for the year."

At 1450 GMT, the shares were down 10% at 197p.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "It may make luxury sports cars but a 2023 recovery in Aston Martin Lagonda’s share price has lost speed with all the grace of an old banger on the way to the scrapyard in recent months.

"The latest disappointment comes as the company downgrades production guidance for its DB12 model thanks to delays in ramping up capacity.

"The company is seeing strong demand but, with losses coming in ahead of expectations, there is little reason for the market to give Aston Martin the benefit of the doubt for even the smallest misstep. For now, little credence is being given to a 2024 forecast for £2 billion in revenue and £500 million in adjusted earnings.

"It is still sitting on a big pile of debt and continues the painful effort of deleveraging a strained balance sheet.

"Undoubtedly, progress has been made in fixing some of the problems faced by the business but it all feels a bit too little too late.

"With the shares trading at a tenth of the level at which they listed in 2018, the optimistic comparisons Aston Martin made for itself with Italian rival Ferrari look as fanciful as they ever did."