Aston Martin shares remain under pressure despite upping outlook
LUXURY CAR firm Aston Martin Lagonda has seen shares remain under pressure despite upping its sales outlook in its first set of results as a listed company.
The maker of luxury cars favoured by spy James Bond now expects sales for the full-year at the top end of its guided range of 6,200 to 6,400 units, following a jump in third-quarter sales and profits.
But shares dropped and its stock is now trading below its £19 float price when it listed last month as investors continue to believe the business is over-valued.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said Aston Martin has been pitched as a fast-growth company so it has to deliver rapid growth in each set of financial results in order to live up to its own hype.
He said: “Significant investment will be needed to meet its growth ambitions so the market will be keeping a close eye on cash generation and its capacity to fund items like machinery upgrades across several production sites.
“Missing growth targets would be devastating to the share price and management credibility.”
Aston Martin made a pre-tax profit of £3.1m in the third quarter to September 30 compared with just £300,000 in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue increased 81 per cent to £282.4m.
The company said sales in China more than doubled thanks to strong demand for DB11 derivative car models and the new Vantage model.
Wholesale car units doubled to 1,776, driven by growth in the Americas and Asia Pacific, including China.
Unit sales in the UK increased 66 per cent.