Ferrari plans 15 new models, SUV

MARANELLO (Italy): Ferrari plans 15 new models, including hybrids, a utility vehicle and special editions in its drive to hit a softened but still exacting mid-term earnings target.

The Italian supercar maker on Tuesday shifted to an adjusted core earnings forecast range of 1.82.0 billion euros ($2.1-2.3 billion) by 2022, rather than the doubling to 2 billion promised by late Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne.

Investors, who are looking for reassurance that the company can maintain recent strong growth, took the change in forecast in their stride and Ferrari shares closed up 3.9 per cent, recovering from earlier losses. “This is an ambitious plan, but a doable one based on a concrete, detailed framework,” Ferrari chief executive Louis Camilleri said its Maranello headquarters. Ferrari shares slid more than 8 per cent in August when Camilleri described as “aspirational” the targets set by Marchionne, whose sudden death in July jolted shareholders who had expected him to remain until 2021. Under the auto industry grandee Ferrari’s value had more than doubled since he took it public in 2015.

Camilleri and his team outlined a plan to show how a brand known for its racing pedigree and roaring combustion engines will shift to making a utility vehicle and hybrid cars and boost margins to more than 38 per cent without sacrificing exclusivity.

The company increased its dividend payout ratio and announced a 1.5 billion-euro share buyback plan, while its marketing chief promised a “significant increase in average retail price”. With margins at 30 per cent now, strong pricing power and an enviable customer waiting list, Camilleri inherits a business firing on all cylinders and is not expected to stray far from his predecessor’s script.

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