The exterior of an Aston Martin store.
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LONDON — British luxury carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda forecasts better profitability this year, after widening its 2022 pretax losses on the back of a weakening U.K. currency.
The company more than doubled year-on-year pretax losses to £495 million ($598 million) in 2022, from £213.8 million in 2021, saying earnings were “materially impacted” by a revaluation of some U.S. dollar-denominated debt, “as the GBP [U.K. currency] weakened significantly against the US dollar during the year.”
Adjusted operating losses also swelled to £118 million last year, from £74 million in 2021. Revenues rose by 26% on the year to £1.38 billion, with gross profit up by 31% year-on-year to £450.7 million.
Despite acknowledging supply chain and logistics disruptions — which have been pervasive in the automotive industry, notably as a result of semiconductor shortages — the company said its wholesale volumes increased by by 4% year-on-year to 6,412. The figure included more than 3,200 of vehicles from the Aston Martin DBX range, of which more than half were driven by the launch of the DX707 SUV model unveiled in February last year.
Aston Martin Lagona shares soared, up 14% at 10 a.m. London time, after Aston Martin Lagonda issued more optimistic guidance for this year.
“For 2023 we expect to deliver significant growth in profitability compared to 2022, primarily driven by an increase in volumes and higher gross margin in both Core and Special vehicles,” it said Wednesday, flagging a pick-up in activity in the second half of 2023.
“In addition to the ramp up of the already sold-out DBS 770 Ultimate, we expect deliveries of the first of our next generation of sports cars to commence in Q3.”
The company expects wholesale sale volumes to pick up to 7,000 units in 2023, anticipating its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to add roughly 20%.
It noted the ongoing…
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