Aston Martin has accelerated its forecasts after the successful launch of the DB11 as its turnaround plans gather pace.
However it is still being hampered by legacy problems, with the luxury sports car group recording a loss of £162.8m in 2016.
The Gaydon-based manufacturer was founded in 1913 and launched its Second Century plan in response to a £50m sales fall and big losses in 2014.
The first phase of the strategy, business stabilisation, was focused on stopping the dramatic sales fall. That has been achieved, with a 16% increase in revenues in 2016 doubling the 2015 improvement and resulting in sales of £593.5m.
The second and third phases of its plans are focused on strengthening its core offer and expanding its portfolio. It now has the ambition of bringing one new model to market every nine months until 2020.
Aston Martin’s chief executive officer Dr Andy Palmer said: “These results demonstrate the benefits of our Second Century plan, in which we have stabilised the company, strengthened the balance sheet and transformed our profitability.
“We have seen extremely strong demand for the DB11 in the fourth quarter and, together with our continued financial discipline and growth plans, this has enabled us to increase our 2017 forecasts meaningfully.”
The group is now forecasting that revenues will rise to between £785m and £815m in 2017 – with the mid-range representing a 70% increase in three years.
It also expects a big leap in operational profitability, as measured by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation). In 2017 it is forecasting EBITDA to be between £160m and £165m, which would be significantly up from £101.0m achieved in 2016, and more than double its 2015 level of £71.4m.
The demand for its DB11, which launched at the Geneva Motor Show last March and began shipping in the final quarter of 2016, is helping to drive the more ambitious expectations. Wholesale volumes rose 48% to 1,668 units in the last three months of the year, with orders coming from across the world.
The group’s expansion plans will be helped by the manufacturing plant it is building in St Athan, Wales, which will be fully operational in 2019.
