News just in for the world’s No.1 sports car manufacturer. Ferrari’s second-quarter profit rose 26% as sales of its new sports cars increased amid plans to improve margins with more special-edition vehicles. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes climbed to 156 million euros ($175 million) from 124 million euros, Ferrari said Tuesday.
The company confirmed its full-year forecast of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization totaling at least 800 million euros. Second-quarter profit on that basis amounted to 217 million euros, up 12%. Quarterly revenue increased 5.9% to 811 million euros.
Shipments rose 8% to 2,214 vehicles in the quarter, helped by strong sales of Ferrari’s 8-cylinder models, especially the newly launched 488 GTB and 488 Spider. Sales of 12-cylinder vehicles were impacted by the end of the limited series 1 million euro (USD1.12 million) LaFerrari hybrid. That impact was partially offset by the introduction of the new limited-edition F12 supercar.
Net industrial debt was reduced to 763 million euros by the end of June from 782 million three months earlier. Ferrari took on debt in its spinoff from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles at the beginning of the year. The company has faced doubts about whether its money-making potential is as high as CEO Sergio Marchionne promised prior to the listing.
Marchionne is seeking to boost profit by bringing out limited-edition vehicles more frequently, including this summer’s open-top version of the LaFerrari supercar.
Marchionne also aims to position Ferrari as a luxury goods business to win the trading multiples of companies such as Hermes and Prada and intends to expand the brand beyond cars. More details of that strategy will be unveiled next year.
Ferrari said full-year deliveries are now expected at around 8,000 vehicles, slightly above a previous forecast of more than 7,900, part of Marchionne’s goal to gradually raise volumes to 9,000 by 2019 without sacrificing brand exclusivity.
Net revenue is forecast at more than 3 billion euros from a previous guidance of around 3 billion euros.
