Aston Martin posts narrowing of FY losses as sales jump

Luxury car maker Aston Martin posted a narrowing of its full-year losses on Wednesday as sales surged.

In the year to the end of December 2021, pre-tax losses narrowed to £213.8m from £466m the year before, with revenue up 79% to £2bn. Aston Martin attributed the jump in revenue largely to substantial volume growth, driven by customer demand, and strong pricing dynamics. On a two-year basis, sales were up 12%.

Meanwhile, total wholesales grew 82% from the previous year to £6.2bn as more normal operations were resumed following Covid restrictions in 2020.

Chief executive officer Tobias Moers said: "The operating environment remained challenging throughout 2021. Despite this, we grew our core business to plan, with a demand-led delivery of our volume targets and enhanced core profitability.

"We achieved strong pricing and closed the year with dealer stock at optimum levels. We also started delivery of the once-in-a-generation Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercars. This was achieved despite the technical ambition of the product, supply chain constraints and with no compromise on quality, resulting in fewer cars than originally planned shipping in 2021.

"Beyond 2022 we are confident in the medium and long-term potential for the business with our exciting product plans and a defined path to electrification."

Aston Martin said it was well on its way to achieving medium-term targets of circa 10,000 wholesales, £2bn in revenues and £500m adjusted EBITDA by 2024/25.

At 0940 GMT, the shares were down 1.3% at 1,083p.

Laura Hoy, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Aston Martin’s efforts to reposition itself on the upper end of luxury cars appears to be working - not only is James Bond rolling around in one in his latest film, but the cars seem to be picking up speed with consumers as well. The number of cars sold to dealers almost doubled, and now that inventory levels have been balanced, demand outpaced supply and helped average selling prices increase. This is a huge step in the right direction for Aston - who painstakingly suffered through the pandemic while also undergoing a major strategy shift.

"So far, it seems Aston Martin is doing everything right to get itself back on track. But the year ahead looks bumpier by the day as inflation and oil prices weigh on the entire industry. The group looks in a solid position to continue chipping away at its goal to deliver 10,000 vehicles, but a huge part of that number will rest on the group’s yet unproven electric strategy."