Aston Martin loses £670m in value after share price crash
Shares in luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin fell more than 20% after it revealed pre-tax losses of £68m.
The market value of the Gaydon-based group dropped by £670m yesterday, continuing the downward trend since it floated in October.
The company went public with a £4.3bn valuation but it closing share price of £10.80 now values it at less than £2.5bn.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “It may still be James Bond’s favourite model but shares in luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda appear to have real engine trouble.”
Aston Martin achieved annual revenues of more than £1bn for the first time after it achieved a big jump in car sales. It sold 6,441 vehicles in 2018, 26% more than a year earlier, although the average selling price was down slightly to £157,000.
Chief executive Dr Andy Palmer said it had been “an outstanding year” for the company, “delivering strong growth, with improving revenues, unit sales and adjusted profits”.
Adjusted EBITDA – a measure of operational profitability – was up 20% to £247m.
However adjusting items of £136m relating to the IPO – including the £61m cost of settling long-term employee incentives – dragged the group’s operating performance down to a statutory pre-tax loss of £68m.
“So why does chief executive Andy Palmer describe last year as an ‘exceptional’ one for the group?,” asked Mould. “Well it did post record revenue of more than £1bn with volumes ahead of guidance, but today’s negative market reaction suggests it has a lot more to do to win over the sceptics.”
