£3.2bn car crash at Aston Martin

Shares shaken and stirred after disastrous float

ASTON Martin shares sunk to fresh lows after a £79m loss.

The company – whose cars are featured in a string of James Bond films (including 1964’s Goldfinger, starring Sean Connery, pictured) – said first half sales were hit by a slump in demand across the UK and Europe.

The bleak update sent the stock tumbling 12.3pc, or 70p, to 498p, bringing investors’ total losses to 74pc since the company’s float at 1900p a share last autumn.

The slump has slashed Aston Martin’s value from £4.3bn when it joined the stock market to just £1.1bn.

It was another blow to the 106year-old group a week after it issued a profit warning and said it was cutting back production.

Boss Andy Palmer admitted the firm was going through a ‘difficult period’ but insisted it would stick to its current plans.

But the gloomy results piled further pressure on the chief executive as speculation grew that he would need to tap investors for money to prop up the company’s finances.

Palmer, 56, acknowledged the sharp reaction from investors but insisted: ‘I’m confident that we are taking the right actions.’

Aston Martin reported a loss of £78.8m for the six months to June 30, compared to a £20.8m profit over the same period in 2018.

Sales fell from £424.9m to £407.1m. The company shifted 2,442 vehicles during the first half, up from 2,299 last year.

But a higher proportion of these were £121,000 Vantages and £225,000 DBS Superleggeras, with fewer so-called ‘specials’ such as the £2m Valkyrie sold.

That brought the average selling price of Aston Martin’s cars in the period down from £167,000 to £145,000.

The malaise is likely to bring tougher scrutiny of the company’s ‘Second Century’ plan under Palmer, which will see it aim to launch seven new cars in seven years, and target major markets such as the US and China.

It is banking on the success of newer models such as the upcoming DBX, its first SUV car, and the £1m Valhalla, to help boost sales.

Palmer said part of the decision to cut back production was to prevent too many vehicles being sent out to dealerships – something which could encourage discounting. The company now only expects to sell 6,300 to 6,500 cars this year, down from 7,100 to 7,300 it forecast in February.

It is also braced for further pain in the event of a No Deal Brexit on October 31.

Palmer said Aston Martin had been planning extensively, for example importing parts via multiple UK ports, and the firm could now ‘live with’ that outcome.

‘The car industry in general is pretty resilient once it knows what it’s dealing with,’ he added.

The company has haemorrhaged more than £10m in value daily since making its stock market debut, raising further questions about the decision to go public.

Yesterday the Daily Mail reported that shares sold by Palmer during the float would now be worth a fraction of the £35.6m he made from them at the time.

Palmer banked £6.6m of the proceeds while the remaining £29m went towards tax.