Full year losses increase for Aston Martin but confidence grows
WARWICKSHIRE-based luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin has seen full year losses widen as a result of weak demand in the Eurozone.
Latest accounts show the Gaydon firm made a pre-tax loss of £34m for 2012 (2011: £33.1m). The full-year loss was adjusted to £24.9m against £21.2m for the previous year.
The company said the high luxury sports segment had been severely affected by recession and in 2012 global sales levels were around 67,500 units which represents a fall of 39% from its 2007 peak of 110,000 units.
In 2012 the group’s revenue decreased by 9% due to the weakness of its European markets and new vehicle launches occurring in the fourth quarter.
The company has had a hard time during the recession but it has remained in business and is continuing to fight back. Since 2009 the group’s turnover has increased by 33%.
The accounts indicate how the current management has striven to restructure the business following its purchase from Ford in 2007.
The group partially financed the acquisition of the business (Aston Martin Lagonda Group Ltd) through a £200m loan facility with WestLB bank. The loan was repaid in June 2011. Following repayment of the loan the group issued £304m of 9.25% Senior Secured Notes repayable in 2018 and also has access to a £30m revolving credit facility until 2016, which was fully drawn at December 31, 2012. The interest rate charged on the RCF is based on LIBOR.
Until the £200m loan was repaid it attracted interest at a rate of 4.45% above LIBOR.
The company, which this year celebrates its centenary, has continued to introduce new models but the cost of repaying the debt has impacted on development costs. Nevertheless, it is now looking to the future with optimism.
The directors state in their full year report that after considering the “forecasts, appropriate sensitivities, current trading and available facilities” they are confident the business has adequate resources to continue operations for the foreseeable future.
The business has been boosted by the injection of £150m from investment firm Investindustrial and earlier this year it announced a tie-in with Mercedes AMG, which will see the two parties collaborate on new engine and component programmes.
In closing, the directors state: “Global economies have continued to show uncertainty during 2012; however, the high luxury sports segment has experienced a small recovery.”
Latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that so far in 2013 the company has sold 725 cars in the UK (2012: 738), a drop of 1.76%. Global figures are not available.
